Millefiori Cane Technique + Picture tutorials

What is a Polymer Clay millefiori Cane?

              A cane is the design or pattern you create with different colors of polymer clay in a long tube that can be sliced off and used on various projects.  It gives even and unique looks to you beads.

                 Cane working is a technique that was originally used in glass work for making complex designs. A cane is a log or cylinder of clay that has a design running through it, so each cross section slice of the cane holds the design. You can make a large design that's easy to handle, and then reduce the size of the cane by pressing or rolling it so the cane becomes longer and thinner and the design becomes tiny and delicate. Because of the ductility of the clay, the design stays intact no matter how small you make it.
     
Apply the thin cane slices to your  jewelry and see it, just listen to your heart what it says..??  <3

How do I make a cane?

To make a cane, you combine sheets and long snakes of clay in a pattern that will be revealed when you slice the cane. You can use any combination of colors and patterns.

Here's some picture tutorials of making cane found from various sites.. Try n enjoy..... :)

Reference links mentioned below.

1) Simplest Watermelon Cane for a Trinket Bowl

 2) Swirl / Jelly Roll Cane

3) Leaf Cane

                       

4) Petal Cane :

  5)  Turquoise Cane             

How do I make beads with cane / Use of canes?

Purpose of making canes is to imprint even and same design over all beads.

* For this we have to roll some clay in the shape and quantity as required for the jewelry we gonna        make. For this you can use any scrap clays too.

*Slice the cane thin as far as possible (cross section)

*Wrap these slices all around the scrap clay we already rolled.

*If it's not scrap n you do'nt want designs wrapped the bead full, apply slices here n there, It will give   another look

Turquoise  & Amber Cane Beads :

The Slice of the  itself make a bead. Check How did I use the turquoise cane slices for earrings .

Canes being beads

How helpful these posts are ?

Filigree Techniques

Filigree-  Its amazingly beautiful   

       

Venera Collections (store)

   
  Filigree  is a delicate kind of jewellery metalwork, usually of gold and silver, made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together on to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs.

     The English word filigree is shortened from the earlier use of filigreen which derives from Latin "filum" meaning thread and "granum" grain, in the sense of small bead. The Latin words gave filigrana in Italian which itself became filigrane in 17th-century in French.

                                    The polymer artists apply this techniques well incorporated in their jewellery these days. The apliqué work or polymer embroidery too comes under the head. The artists use extruded threads of clay or very small balls to decorate in special pattern. Even you can make very small flowers, leaves wines and attach to a clay surface. At the end you will be enlighted with a very pretty piece like a nice painting..

Ombre filigree (applique work)

Here's the steps of embroidery work in pictures. Hope you can understand something from this and wait until my vedio tutorial get uploaded...

Cassia Fistula

     

 Today its 10 april 2015, we keralites gonna celebrate the festival Vishu on 14 april every year. When think about vishu the Cassia Fistula flowers comes first. Its the ritual that day we first see the Lord Krishna's idol along with fruits, veggies, must with Cassia flowers. So its inevitable part of celebration......

I thought of duplicating these flowers into my jewellery. First I made a leaf pattern on green color clay, drawn some veins with needle;made pendant bail with clay itself. Hence I do embroidery on this leaf.

Also I did an appliqued leaves on bail to look pretty. How does it look? 

Polymer clay Jewellery

From :http://artisanwhimsy.ning.com/

Found on   www.odnoklassniki.ru

See you :)

Importance of Marbling

Marbling

It’s a repeated process which helps to attain many goals. Hey you be obsessive no matter…

Why artists prefer to marble it??

               Primarily marbling produces a nicely conditioned clay. Also it blends colors together to form a new color. Either we can create special effects like  of wood, stone or marble by blending accurate colors. Be accurate in choice.

PROCESS:

1) Condition the colors of the clay separately , then roll it into snakes and hold in a manner all colors are visible.

2) Twist all the snakes to make a spiral, Roll it until smooth and pliable.

3) Make a snake again and fold in half, form a spiral by twisting as earlier.Do the same again n again ....huh… hands feel to relax L A pasta machine will work either.

4) For a marble effect, stop before all the colors blend  n become single..  

See you soon..... :D

Skinner blend

Skinner blend flower beads (google images)

Mr. Judith Skinner introduced so that it is named after him. It is a very useful  and most beautiful technique that allow us to create a sheet of clay with a smooth blend between two or more colors. It is possible to make a Skinner Blend using a roller pin which is non sticky n spreads evenly. Spread the conditioned units of many colors clay in a particular manner into a sheet with the roller then fold it. Roll it again .Again and again you should do until you get a nice blend. Unless be careful , all colors will blend together n end up with a new color :-(. But a pasta machine simplifies the process.

Pasta Machine

Your palms can relax until…

The resultant color is representative of the type of shades you'll see in the middle of a Skinner Blend between those two colors. Analogous colors usually blend well.  On the other hand, complementary colors (colors on opposite sides of the color wheel) tend to merge into brown.

I explain.. Once you've chosen your colors:-

Condition the colors of clay separately.

Roll each color of clay into a sheet that is approximately 1/8" thick (use the thickest setting on your pasta machine).

Cut across each sheet diagonally to create two triangles. Somewhat "skinny" or "tall" triangles are usually preferred. (You can cut the sheets separately or stack them, make a singe diagonal cut, and peel the layers apart.)

Take one triangle of each color and fit them together to create a whole square or rectangle (depending on the shape of the triangles). Press the touching seams of the two triangles together.

Blend the clay by rolling it through the pasta machine on the thickest setting or rolling with a brayer. After feeding it through the pasta machine the first time, fold the sheet in half, bringing the bottom edge up even with the top. Flatten the folded edge slightly to keep your sheet neat. Feed the doubled sheet into the pasta machine, folded edge first. (This helps prevent air from becoming trapped in the clay, which leads to unsightly bubbles.) If you are rolling by hand, try to flatten the slab of clay only until it reaches its original thickness (about 1/8").

Repeat this process (rolling and folding) numerous times, being sure to fold in the same direction (bottom to top) and put the clay into the pasta machine folded side first. The first several passes through the pasta machine will not appear to make much difference in the clay, but if you keep at it, you'll begin to see a change. The magic number seems to be twenty, but it may vary somewhat. Stop when you are happy with the degree of blend.
This is a wonderful picture describing the effect I found on web . Don't know the author :(

(Image courtesy : Google)

There are many ways to modify the look of your blend. Try blending more than two colors, placing strips of white clay between colors, and varying the proportions of the triangles (long and skinny vs. short and fat).

I stopped with this much as required for my project, you go further to achieve prettiest blend

Good night
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More about storing, durability etc

Storing clay

             Polymer clay,can be stored for months or years. Exposure to air will not hurt it, although it's best to keep it wrapped for protection from dust and lint. Unlike terracotta clay, polymer clay does not contain water that can evaporate. The main danger to polymer clay is from excessive heat or ultraviolet light; these can partially fire the clay, making it unusable. Over time, the plasticizer that keeps the clay soft can also leach out, leaving hard, crumbly clay.

Your clay will last longer if you keep it away from sunlight and heat.

you can keep a finished piece of cane as long as you want before firing it. As always, make sure not to let dust get on the pieces, and make sure that unfired canes aren't stored touching each other or they will start to bond together and won't be separable without damage. Better wrap them individually in aluminium foils. Some times clay tend to bond with plastic containers they keep in unless we wrap it.

Durability of jewellery

      Since polymer clay is a kind of plastic, it's very durable. The colors of polymer clay generally are stable in normal use, although a piece exposed to direct sunlight for years (such as a wind chime) will probably fade. There are artists who have pieces decades old that still look like new.

Thin pieces sometimes may get broken, be bit careful while handling.


                      -------------

Sanding, Buffing & Polishing

Sanding

Sand paper

Sanding removes unwanted fingerprints. (sandpaper that can be used either with or without water) to avoid inhaling dust during sanding. This type of sandpaper is black or grey, not brown or tan, like regular sandpaper. The package will specify the type, so there should be no confusion.

You can find higher-grit sandpapers in some hardware and hobby stores or in the automotive departments of stores or online. Deciding which grits to use is a matter of personal preference. Experiment until you find a routine that satisfies you. You should usually start with a grit that looks and feels like the texture of your clay surface.

Follow the link by amazing PC tutor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdy17OUUGyE

Buffing 

Once your polymer clay piece has been sanded, you'll want to buff it to give it some shine. Unsanded clay can also be buffed, but for the very highest shine, sanding is preferable. Polymer clay can be

buffed by hand with a piece of old, soft denim (white is best, as it can't possibly leave behind a trace of color), muslin, or other soft fabric. Vigorously rub the polymer clay against the fabric until you achieve the desired results. Hand-buffing produces a soft sheen.
When buffing polymer clay, you should not use the powders or pastes that are used when polishing metal or rocks. These will damage polymer clay. You should only be using soft, dry fabric.

Polishing

Finishing or polishing used  to seal any surface treatment that might otherwise loss. For instance, pieces antiqued with acrylic paint or decorated with mica powders may need to be sealed to protect the surface treatment. There are a number of finishes used by polymer clay artists. 

A few are manufactured specifically for use with polymer clay, while others have been "discovered" by artists to be compatible with the clay. Apply thin coats after curing. You can use poly glaze introduced by clay manufacturers or even you can go for a transparent nail polish.

Curing ( Baking) your clay

Hey .. it’s nothing other than the baking process. 

Baking/curing is the most important part of creating with polymer clay. You can create the most amazing thing, but if it's under cooked your creation will break. On the other end tend to burn inside oven. Be cautious it neither over cooked nor under cooked. Both harm your creation.

Try baking like this, will not damage the shape of your work

Polymer clay needs to be baked for it to become hardened and durable. To bake your polymer clay creations, you will need an oven that can program temperatures between 215°F (102°C) to 325°F (163°C). This range is sufficient to bake any polymer clay item.

You can use a regular oven / convection oven or a toaster. BUT do not a microwave as it will burn.Me uses an OTG(mini oven)for my works to cure. 

Polymer clay is known to be safe and non-toxic for people;however while it is baking, don't let it burn because it may generate enormous volume of fumes that are toxic. Never bake polymer clay items and food in the same oven at the same time. 

Oven Thermometer

 Preferably place your oven where ventilation is plenty or in an isolated room, cover your polymer clay item with aluminium foil or place it between two disposable aluminum pans lids to catch the fumes.It also prevent transulent clay from fading by exposing to direct heat. I always leave them after baking,in the oven itself to cool down. Unless if it seems over cooked n scared of burn immediately place the hot beads or charms whatever thing you made into icy water. You will get a strong piece.

If polymer clay is baked above it's recommended temperature, it will get burned.As I told, It produce enormous toxic fumes not to breathe.So be cautious keep away children. Make sure the temperature inside the oven is correct by using an oven thermometer. We can’t relay upon the temperature actually our oven produces.

Another difficulty in determining the time to be taken for baking, why it becomes hard because different ovens produce different temperature for the same setting. So we have to make some tests with some bits of clay. Each time record the temperature, time taken etc and try to break the clay cured. Continue till you are satisfied with the strength. Then you will be able to conclude yourself. Now lets go baking.

Its good enough to insert beads on a skewer to keep lifted not to touch any surface like showed in the picture.

Techiques used....

Every one  longing for beautiful product at the end,  no matter whether it could be a figurine, charm , key chain, jewelry , even can be a customized pen wrapped in clay. There are lot of techniques in which few popularly known will be quoted in coming posts.

               
:)