FREE Video | How to Create Polymer Clay Halloween Mummy Face Millefiori Cane

Free polymer clay video!
Mummy face millefiori cane

Purim (a similar jewish version for Halloween) was the holiday I loved the most as a child. I remember I used to wait for the day my mother asks me "who do you want to be" this year?
I was a ballerina, little red riding hood, a hippie, a rabbit, a traditional Japanese dressed lady, and even a kitty (it's me age 4 in the photo!).
All these special costumes were handmade by my mother and I can not thank her enough for being so cooperative with our childhood desires.

Purim is due in 6 months but Halloween is only 60 days away!
Have you planned your polymer clay projects? gifts? treats?

Me as a kitty!

You are most welcome to join me in a new FREE 29 minutes video tutorial, teaching you all how to create this spooky (spooky? I think it's cute!) millefiori mummy face cane, made of only 3 clay colors - white, grey and black.
Skinner blend, stitched lips, black eyeballs and nose - and you have a super cool cane to add to your Halloween gift collection!

Lot's of useful tips are included in this video, including my way of creating a skinner blend, inserting details inside a round cane, accurate slicing of a plug, stripy finish wrap around the cane, and many more!

and...

Don't miss the special giveaway! SORRY! Giveaway closed!

I am giving away 3 canes of this cutie!

Post a comment under this post with your answer -
=> What was your favorite costume on Halloween as a child?
OR
=> Post a link to one of your polymer clay Halloween themed creations!

Post your comments below along with your email address so I can contact you if you win -
In my next PolymeriOnline blog post, 3 of you will be drawn out from all the comments and WIN A CANE - FREE!

Good luck and have fun!

Polymeri Online 19.8.12 | Polymer windup toys, Marine & Zippered jeans bracelets, 3D avocado cane and Cute cake toppers

Polymer clay toys

Sswoss is a Singapore artist who specialize in design, illustration and both integrated into clay illustration designs.
If I am correct, she takes windup toys, add polymer clay figures, details and decorations, and you have a whole new different super special toy.
She is also using paper and scissors to create her unique designs, in this photo with a cute rocking giraffe toy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sswoss/
Click on the right column to see more of her work, and her blog here

Marine polymer clay wavy bracelet

Dina Kovalkina's Marine bracelet reminded me that I haven't been in the beach this summer. This is especially ridiculous because I live 10 minutes of the nearest beach...
The jellyfish and the extreme heat kept me in the air condition but thanks to my daily walks to the post office I got a nice tan on my arms (with sunscreen!) :)
Her bracelet is all wavy on the sides, this feature will work great with the super soft clay these days.
She is from Russia and uses polymer clay with semi-precious stones, glasses and Czech crystal stones .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinslava/4964577792/
Here is another coily earring set to think about.

Polymer clay zippered bracelet

Zippered jeans bracelet? Spanish Miryam Garcia made this one for a swap in the spanish association, The swap was to make a trade for a bracelet or bangle with another member.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinkyta/7543760108/
Don't miss her brush beads - metal base beads with millefiori canes as brush hair!

Avocado millefiori cane

I found Elizabeth West avocado cane in her flickr gallery a long time ago, I really liked the center part of it - made of shaded brown which seems almost 3D.
I wish she had more of her polymer work in her flickr/etsy.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caneme/4417793240/

Polymer clay cake toppers

I couldn't resist Maria's cake toppers, They are so cute! Maria finished tourist & business administration Studies in Greece, She opened up her Etsy shop after being motivated to do so by friends and family. It was so hard to choose which one to show in the enclosed photo, finally I chose a bride penguin and a groom piggy :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartshapedCreations

Polymeri Online 11.8.12 | Polymer and mosaics, Silver and polymer, Incense stick holder and Child head tutorial

This week I decided to dig into my list and feature some of the older fav I've bookmarked myself to post here, this list contains all my future posts and is being collected slowly with every polymer piece I see online -

Polymer Clay and Mosaic

Nataly is a mosaic artist born in Russia but currently lives in Israel.
All crafts and mosaics helps her unwind from her work as a neuroscientist in the hospital research laboratory. She started to create as a way to lose weight, because she wasn't able eat in evening as part of her diet. Mosaic helped her.
As a neuroscientist she knows that creating has so many good health effects and this is also part of the reasons to keep doing it.
Nataly's work is usually created using small stones, mosaic/glass tiles but occasionally she uses polymer clay as a free form decoration along with all other tiles.
In this piece - a tree in bloom, she used mosaic tiles, small stones, glass beads and polymer clay. It was made as a 72 birthday present for her mother.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45526512@N07/4376852162/
Check out her fish clock using organic glass base, decorated with mosaic and air-dry clay.

Polymer Clay and Silver Brooch

Krista Breckman works with silver, copper, metals and.. polymer clay.
Her work with polymer includes techniques like mokume gane and  metal leaf and the addition of silver bordering makes it so elegant.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristakile/3044266127/

Polymer Clay Incense Stick Holder - Prince Frog

Italian Leila Bidler made a super cuter incense stick holder for a swap back in 2009, the swap theme was fairy tales and she decided to create a frog prince with a golden ball.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gom6699/4183808471/
A incense burner is super easy to make, all you have to do is find your main piece and pierce a hole for the stick (make sure it is far enough from the clay to avoid polymer burning).

Glow in the dark Incense Holder

Here is another example by RedPebbleArt (Valerie Marousek) - A lotus burner made with glow in the dark fimo which is great for the total atmosphere.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80077300/glowing-water-and-lotus-incense-burner

Polymer Clay Tutorial -
Sculpting a Child Head

Sculpturing was never my strong point, therefore I admire every person who has a talent for this part of art, Lewis Goldstein posted a tutorial for sculpturing a polymer clay child head. After taking a look at the photos, I think I can do it too. Looks so easy when you see all the steps - right?
More of his(her?) work and gallery - here
http://www.lewisgoldsteinartanddesign.com/DollTutorial.htm

Have a great weekend! 

Join my classes on CFCF Conference | Feb 2013, Maryland USA

One of my favorite ways to kick start my creativity is by meeting people. 

There’s nothing like the power and support of a group and fellow artists to enhance creativity, tips sharing, revealing new secrets and brain storming about polymer clay crafting.

Cabin Fever Clay Festival 2013 will be our special opportunity to meet.

I'm coming all the way from Israel to Maryland, on February 2013 to teach 2 special classes and share my knowledge with you.
I would love to meet you there!
We may have a chance to share a cup of coffee!

What is "Cabin Fever Clay Festival"?
Cabin Fever Clay Festival (in short, CFCF) is the most comprehensive hands on conference for polymer clay in the US east coast, takes place annually in Laurel, MD.
This is it's 6th year and the conference is one of the biggest seen!

CFCF 2013 will take place on Feb 15th - PreConference workshops and Feb 17th-20th Main Conference - This event hosts a great selection of polymer clay artists offering intriguing classes in many fields.

Following by the increasing demand for unique hands on technique classes, I am exited to offer CFCF students a fresh breeze of workshops with new, original, popular and exciting projects & designs - The Skyscraper Technique in a 8 hours master-class and The Brocade Hemisphere Purses in a 4 hours class.

These leading projects were featured at Staedtler's FIMO "CreativeWorld" trade show in Germany; on "ThePolymerArts" magazine cover and on various books and websites, based on my top sellers tutorials and brought especially to you for CFCF.

My workshops on CFCF 2013 will feature learning and implementation, knowledge and creation of a final product - Brocade Hemisphere purse, Skyscraper pendants and DiscChic earrings, a real treat and an amazing project to brag about once you return home!

So - Clean up your pasta machine, sharp your blades and get ready for 5 amazing days of learning, improving, enhancing, refining and elevating your polymer skills! 

In my classes, each student will receive a special BONUS CD as handsouts portraying these techniques, including PDF files and videos to watch again any time in the future.

So, what will you get when you come to CFCF 2013?
You'll ask your questions, directly;
You'll learn all the little (and big) secrets & details to create a professional piece;
You'll enhance your techniques & abilities;
You'll go through all the steps in a super detailed process;
You'll experiment with new materials you haven't used before;
You'll create mixed media designs;
You'll review alternative variations for each design;
You'll finish your workshop with a finalized project;
AND you'll be able to brag to your friends when you return home!

Enroll now!
Give yourself a gift of creativity, boost your polymer clay skills with innovative techniques to create endless variations, meet new friends and colleagues, discuss polymer clay 24/7 -

Join CFCF conference by clicking the following link -
http://polymerclayfests.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/cfcf-2013-planning-for-another-year-of-talent-and-fun/

Places are limited and filling up quickly!

=========================

My classes schedule on CFCF 2013

On Sunday, Feb 17th 8:00AM
Pre-conference 8 hour class - The Skyscraper technique and Flakes Technique;
Students will create a Skyscraper pendant and use my popular DiscChic blanks to create an earring set.


On Monday Feb 18th 1:00PM
or
On Wednesday Feb 20th 8:00AM
Conference 4 hour class - The Brocade Hemisphere purses;
Students will create a Brocade Hemisphere purse from start to finish.

=========================

All the details, registration forms, classes description and general information can be found at the event website - http://polymerclayfests.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/cfcf-2013-planning-for-another-year-of-talent-and-fun/
You can join the blog mailing list to be informed of our special announcements, gifts and prizes for the attendees.

Feel free to email me with any question, thought or comment to imishly{at}gmail.com

Hope to see you there!
Iris :)

Polymeri Online 29.7.12 | Polymer IPOD case, Mokume on glass, Poinsettia and flowers, Before and after paintings

Polymer clay ipod case

Eten-Iren, mentioned several months ago made this colorful ipod case on a base plastic case - isn't this cool? I wonder if she made the roses, cured and then adhered them to the base case or placed it in the oven? I'll have to try curing some plastic cases and see if they are heat resistant :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/104768347/ipod-touch-4-case-free-shipping-ipod-4

Mokume gane on glass

Mokume on a glass - Larissa Joonas from Estonia is using a glass as a surface for "shaving" off the mokume gane pieces. That is one option for creating this special effect.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eutrapelia/7396278886/
She has several pictutorials in her flickr gallery -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eutrapelia/sets/72157620458176437/

Polymer clay flower sculpturing

Liudmyla Heggland is a bead and polymer clay artist, creating flowers seems to be a natural talent of hers, here is a yellow poinsettia brooch and another flowery neck-piece, this necklace won 2nd place on 2010 Fire Mountain Gems contest.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mila-heggland/5251998374/

Polymer clay jewelry with paints - Before and after

Adding acrylic/oil paints to a texture can upgrade any design. Take a look at ToutEnCouleur before and after photos: a dots texture with paints addition.

Here is the "before" - http://www.flickr.com/photos/toutencouleur/4236945660/in/set-72157622994730063/
and "after" -http://www.flickr.com/photos/toutencouleur/4236168315/in/set-72157622994730063/
She is working with polymer, resin, paper and carton, I also liked her tourbillons beads, they remind me of flying skirts...

Everyone is talking about the heat all around, I am officially waiting for the winter, I think the clay will also appreciate it, have a great cool day!

Polymeri Online 21.7.12 | Fantasy dolls, Creepy wall art, Embroidery inspired brooch and Wedding cake replicas

Polymer clay doll

SandraArteagA is a spanish doll maker artist. Her dolls are not the traditional ones you would expect when thinking of a "doll", they are all born in Sandra's heart and have a fantasy character of their own. Each with it's own special  design.
Sandra's dolls are made of polymer clay or paper, dressed in fabrics and cloths.
In her polymer clay creations she sculpts over a strong armature covered with polyfil, allowing repositioning some parts of the body.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SandraArteagA
http://sandra-arteaga-dolls.blogspot.com

Polymer clay creepy wall ornaments

CreepyStuff creates revamped weirdness, creatures, monsters & Halloween goodies. All their creepy witches, devils and zobmies are handmade without molds and are hand-painted. Halloween is getting closer!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CREEPYSTUFF

Polymer clay embroidery brooch

And to a totally different look - The ClayLoft are a polymer clay sculpture shop dedicated to purposeful jewelry & colorful accessories. Their soft colors and pleasant designs are "an emotional eye therapy", here is one of them, a vintage embroidery inspired brooch.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheClayLoft

Polymer clay wedding cake replica

Jessieraye is a polymer miniature food expert, she can take a photo of your wedding cake and create a matching replica!
This is a wonderful wedding/anniversary gift :)
There is a LOT of sugar in Jessie's Etsy store, take a look around.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95373590/your-own-custom-miniature-wedding-cake

Polymeri Online 15.7.12 | "Not for the serious" jewelry, Simple truths pendants, Millefiori house cane tutorial, Crochet cabochon and my new rug in process

Polymer clay "Flip my pages, Honey" Bookmark

Nelli Kivinen from Helsinki Finland says her jewelry are for the not so serious people, she creates a world of cute polymer clay animals - penguins, bears and other adorable animal earrings, she is also working with recycled paper.
Take a look at her polymer clay bookmark in a speech bubble comic geek text - "Flip my pages, Honey!"
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NellinShoppi

Polymer clay "Make a wish" pendants 

TesoriTrovati is the creator of "Simple truths" - pendants and charms carrying an inspiration message or an image. Something to think about when wearing.
I love inspirational quotes, they are all so touching and true :)
http://www.treasures-found.blogspot.co.il/p/simple-truths.html
You can see her process - working with white clay and painting with alcohol inks -
http://www.treasures-found.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/simple-truths-celebration.html
and her Flickr gallery - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tesoritrovatijewelry/

Polymer clay millefiori house cane tutorial 

This website was spotted at the Israeli guild website - A fun colorful and abstract house millefiori cane tutorial made into a beautiful bangle and pendant -
http://www.livemaster.ru/topic/93495-sostavlenie-risunka-iz-polimernoj-gliny?msec=1?

Polymer clay crochet pendants

Crochet cabochon in polymer! Pilar created a wonderful design using extruded strands wrapped around a polymer clay millefiori bead, how lovely!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amatista/7378880288/

My crochet "sheet" rug

Speaking of crochet, I took several days off polymer to create a crocheted rug using old colorful bed sheets of mine, it's a fun project and everyone in the house is complaining about the noise I am making when tearing off the sheets into strands. These strands are connected into a big "sheet-yarn" ball and crocheted like regular yarn. I will keep you updated on my final project when I am finished.

Have a great week!

Polymeri Online 1.7.12 | Polymer clay fish ponds, Fun jewelry and accessories, Miniature 3D painting and Plant pot tutorial

Polymer Clay Fish Pond - Suzanne Baer

I have been seeing lot's of polymer clay fish ponds lately :)
Here is one by Suzanne Baer, according to her It is an underwater world inside a jar. It took quite a while to create but she enjoyed every minute.
This pond will be shown at an exhibit at the Drahtzug on September 6th 2012.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seefeldsu/7421532428/

Polymer Clay Fish Pond - TinyStuff

TinyStuff also posted her polymer clay fish ponds in her flickr gallery, take a look at her cool looking polymer clay cuffs.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinystuffs/sets/72157623362533263/with/5263006862/

Polymer SailBoat ribbon

Speaking of sea and fish ponds, Creashine store sure looks like a fun summer visit at the beach. The live colors, sailboat ribbons, seagull flying ring - so cute!
I love Stacey's use of the metal elements embedded in the clay!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreaShines

Miniature 3D Paintings

Sheryl Retener Contridas is the owner of "Sugared Lipz" creating small kawaii miniature painting and adorable accessories, these tiny creations always makes me wonder if these artists have a special pair of miniatures hands...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugared-Lipz/146530078766341

Polymer Clay Plant Pot Tutorial

Get your mellon scoop ready for another miniature project - a plant pot tutorial!
This cute decoration doesn't need too much space and will color your desk or shelf with a touch of nature :)
http://transientexpression.com/tutorial-tiny-polymer-clay-plant-pots/

Lot's of tutorials (most non polymer) are offered in Transientexpression blog.

Join the INKredibles! Last 2 days for the special introductory offer!

Luminous Metallics - Alcohol inks and polymer clay

Life is full of surprises when it comes to sharing your art passion, I always have this feeling when I see a new customer from a new country join in.
I am fortunate to have students from all over the world and even countries Israel doesn't have diplomatic relations with.
Today I "met" my 1st customer from China purchasing the INKredible tutorials!
It's a small world! :)

OK, I know I should be moving on the my next projects but these alcohol inks got into my blood system! I just can't stop working with it! :)

Flower Power Alcohol Inks and
Polymer Clay Pendants

Here is another necklace made in the Luminous Metallic technique (see above) and more "Flower Power" pendants sent as giveaways to all my customers;

Tear Drops Necklace
Polymer clay and alcohol inks

The Teardrop necklace using several inking techniques and round beads (below) using alcohol inks and.... sea salt! I had to try mixing salt with the ink in the same way it is used in silk painting techniques - it doesn't look the same but that's another way of using salt!

Polymer clay beads
Alcohol inks and sea salt!

Last project made 2 days ago was the TRIO pin with 3 layers of inked sheets and a matching earring set.

TRIO pin and earring set

Now I have to move on and do something else! :)

Last reminder - don't miss the last days offering the 3 INKredible tutorials for a special introductory price with few last "Flower Power" giveaways.
3 PDF's, 15 projects and 8 videos - 2 CD's, free shipping and a gift pendant - offer expires on June 30th!

Join the INKredibles!
http://polypediaonline.com/133688/INKredible_PolymerClay_AlcoholINKS_Tutorial

Polymeri Online 23.6.12 | Hunger games polymer, Round PearlEx mirror, Pins curtain display, HUGE candy canes video and Reverse impression tutorial

Hunger Games Polymer
Clay Pendant

Ghie-Trinket Tales, a phillipins polymer clay artist and a chemist by profession presents a nice collection of polymer clay designs in her Flickr gallery - mirrors, pens, steampunk and jewelry, I loved her hunger game themed pendant! (don't tell anyone but I read all 3 books ;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghienan/
http://trinkettalesbyghie.blogspot.co.il/2012/03/molding-hunger-games-inspired-pieces-in.html

Polymer Clay Round Mirror

After making my own new mirror, I found another beautiful stylish round mirror project (although from 2008) by The Artful Eye (couldn't find her/his name), The finished piece measures 14" in diameter and clay pieces were adhered with  glue. Most of the clay pieces have been painted with PearlEx powdered pigments.
http://www.artfuleye.com/2008/08/polymer-mosaic-mirror.html

Curtain Pins Display

Not sure it's polymer but take a look at m.misheva's wonderful fabric curtain used as a display for pins.
I think the pins shown here are made of polymer clay although she works with felt as well.
This decoration can be used both to your home curtains and as pins display in your studio.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56085107@N02/7079192491/

Reducing HUGE candy canes!

The next YouTube video was recently posted in the Israeli guild site by polymer artist Efi Warsh after returning from Amsterdam.
The video shows Papabubble Amsterdam creation of their HUGE candy canes. Did I say HUGE? These are gigantic canes! amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFfA6FxrDs0&feature=related

Another video posted in the Israeli site was Lisa Pavelka's YouTube tutorial for using her texture sheets to create reverse impressions. Thank you Liat Ripp for this reminder :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6dCXA0Zd4

Polymer Clay Reverse Impressions

You can also see a design made in this technique by Angela Hickey, she made this barrette by first making a reverse impression using a Lisa's rubber stamp. Next filled in the impression using Kato liquid clay tinted with mica powders.
Her Flickr gallery shows many of her recent creations using this technique -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/polymer_clay_creations/7396625058/

Have a great weekend!

Polymeri Online 17.5.12 | DIY Circles texture sheet, Poppies millefiori cane tutorial, Sunny pictorial tutorial and Copper patina meets polymer clay

Copper Patina meets polymer clay

Art Bliss Marilyn Girling explored many areas of mixed media, acrylics, colored pencil, bead work and more. In this link she is sharing with us the creation of a cigarette card (which I had to google to find out what they are!) using copper acrylic paints, black and patina. she uses tissue paper, sculpey and strong backing for this special effect.
http://lifeartcollide.blogspot.com/2011/06/copper-patina-meets-polymer-clay.html
Don't miss her polymer clay mosaic made in a hot humid day! I will be waiting for a humid day here to discover such an amazing piece on my studio wall :)

DIY Texture Sheets

Do-Yourself-Texture sheets - Italian artist Elisabetta used cut circles from one polymer clay sheet and placed them on a second sheet to create a cool texture sheet, inspired by Diffendaffer ideas.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hetheferes/6169378314
She has several more in this set, I also loved her totem inro
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hetheferes/5904508775

Poppies Millefiori Cane

The Polymer Clay Romania team published poppies cane tutorial in their blog, the original tutorial was published in kalinkapolinka website.
http://polymerclayro.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-cane-mac-intermediate.html
You can find additional tutorials in their blog in this link -
http://polymerclayro.blogspot.com/p/tutoriale-si-cursuri.html

There is a passionate group of polymer clay girls team in Romania, I'd love to see more of their creations!

Ayarina's polymer clay buttons

Here is one I found - Ayarina's Etsy store with cute looking buttons!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ayarina

Advanced Pendant Polymer Clay Tutorial

Another cool tutorial posted in the russian forum by Bobrotermit, photos only but you will see that it requires a lot of carving, back-filling and drilling to remove the un-wanted polymer clay.
A bit advanced but a challenge to understand how it is done using no text at all.
http://polymerclayfimo.livejournal.com/3779534.html 


My foot is healing well, now I can go back dancing in my studio! ;)