Polymeri Online 8.5.10 - Miniature Food #1

The next 2 posts on polymeri online will be about miniature food which becomes very popular, these miniatures from polymer clays or other air dry clays gathers a large group of fans & artists which uses them for decorations in doll houses, collections, jewelry and fun projects with kids.

I found some great artists making amazing miniature art on the web, look at this international collection of artists from all over the world!
I am sure that there are many more, this post is the 1st one and next week i will be posting more links showing these wonderful delights.

RiS_RiStudio / Ri S from Japan started to make miniature items & practicing writing english in her blog. she wishes to open her online shop some day and meanwhile you can enjoy her treats on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ris_ristudio/
http://ristoybox.blogspot.com/

Cookieland / Claudia Martelloni (photo on right) from Italy is also an expert with the little foods, her flickr gallery is not for the hungry ones!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookieland/

Here is a sample of tiny delights made into rings! Tiny delights from Lisbon Portugal, according to her story she like miniatures because her husband one day decided to offer her a dollhouse. As she's always painted and enjoyed crafts, it was easy to get passionate about this hobby.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/watusirv/sets/72157623515611929/
http://tinydelights.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TinyDelights

PetitPlat by sk_ / Stéphanie Kilgast from France is a 24 years old food miniaturist.
She loves doing creative stuff, like miniatures, but also knitting, painting, drawing and well...
Miniatures are her actual passion.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/_sk/
http://www.petitplat.fr/
http://petitplatbysk.blogspot.com/

Miniature-Chef / Hanna Lindroth from Sweden, is a lifelong crafter who always have loved to create art. she loves creating miniature food and tries to give it a realistic look as possible, she makes them thorough research on each piece.
All her creations are handmade in polymer clay as well as artist materials to add extra detail.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/miniature-chef/
http://miniature-chef.blogspot.com/

http://www.miniature-chef.se/

Now you go and have your breakfast/lunch/dinner! :)

Winners...!

Once again the time has come to draw the names!

The first 20 buyers of my newest tutorials (polypediaonline vol 8, 9, 10) got in a raffle and 2 of them are about to win a prize -
one will get a free tutorial of their choice and the other one a set of 4 real canes sent to their home.

I was all smiling with happiness when i got these lovely feedbacks from my customers after they reviewed the new tutorials -

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Hello Iris! I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for your latest tutorial. Butterflies are my favorite thing and I have been wanting to make some for a long time. Your instructions are so clear and so easy to understand. I just downloaded it today and I cannot wait to go home and give it a try. Thank you so much for all you do and for sharing your creativity.

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Hi Iris, Thank you for the link to the videos. They are wonderful as is everything you touch. They are very clear, direct and oh so helpful. The music is very pleasant and they are filmed very well.

I love the three new tutorials and with the videos I can't fail.

Please never stop doing what you do so beautifully!

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thank you every one!

This random name picker site was a great service last time, so instead of cutting all your names up and popping them in a basket i used it again.

http://classtools.net/main_area/template_loader.php/?fruit_machine

Winners are -

Josie - wins a free tutorial!

Jill - wins a set of 4 canes!

Emails will be sent to you!

Enjoy!

How to reduce 3 types of canes - 15 minutes video

If you had'nt had the chance to watch my 15 minutes video on reducing 3 types of canes - triangle, square/rectangle and a round cane, i strongly recommend to watch it.

I got many questions asking to see a live demonstration on how to reduce large size canes in all 3 shapes. Sometimes photos are not enough to show the hands movement and this is why a video is the perfect media.

The canes i am reducing are - rose cane, a butterfly wing cane and my signature name cane.

I uploaded an improved sound video, the last ones didn't upload so well, so these ones has a better quality.

Part 1

Part 2

thank you :)

Polymeri Online 29.4.10

texku_bpr / Britta is taking extruded pieces of polymer clay and stringing them into jewelry. Working with an extruder is probably one of her favorites - pen, bracelets and other creations. She is also a quilt & patch work artist.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/texku/4253858767/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/texku/sets/72157606732730125/

Here is a cool fishbone bangle by Magic Toscana (Ariane) from Germany, i love this cane :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/magic_toscana/3495387002/

fperezajates / Fabi is feeling the spring in the air and created this delightful (looks tasty) bracelet, are they little peppers? or other colorful beads?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajates/4508336945/

krinoline is enjoying her time in creating beautiful art, some inspired creations of big names in polymer clay - Jeff Dever, Ford & Forlando and others. she is also working with other materials and shows a wonderful selection of knitted silver wire in her flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krinolinesjewelry/4440594063/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krinolinesjewelry/sets/72157600761915008/

louanneblue's flickr gallery (belgium) is a pleasure to walk through, colors, fresh designes, so cheerful and professional.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/louanneblue/4517420456/

i am happy to announce 3 new Tutorials :)

For the past few weeks i've been doing some "artistic" thinking. I was reading the survey feedbacks i got from my PolyPediaOnline members, and thought how can I pass my knowledge forward.

Clearly people want to learn! so many questions, queries, so many people wish to improve their skills, upgrade their work and even sell and make a living.

I took my real notebook (not my laptop :) ) and a pen and started listing my next projects.

Some of the projects were very clear to me since i made them so many times, but one of them was a little bit new to me. it was a tutorial on making a butterfly cane which so many of you asked for.

Now, this was a challenge!

would you believe me if i tell you that up until few weeks ago i have never made a butterfly cane? in all my 5 years of working with polymer and making canes i never made one. i don't know why, but this huge looking cane always intimidated me. i was certain that my 1st cane will be a disaster. to my surprise - it wasn't! i managed to go through the whole process without making any (almost) mistakes! i was so proud of myself!

Sometimes we fear the unknown, especially when in comes to artistic skills - "How do i start with such a complex project?", "what if a creation comes out all wrong?", "what will happen to all that clay i wasted? will it go to my scrap again?", - do you ask yourself these questions? I do! Yes, even an experienced clayer like me ask these questions all the time. When you ask the questions - you get answers!

Over the years I found different ways to avoid making mistakes, usually while trial and error, this is why i want to share my knowledge to simplify things - Creating has never been easier - with clear instructions, good photos, some diagrams & planning, everyone can make perfect canes - everyone.

i am happy to announce 3 new Tutorials :)

Let's introduce the new guys on the block -

The first is PolyPediaOnline Vol 8

A Great how-to on creating 3 polymer clay butterflies millefiori canes - 39 pages Step-by-Step Instructions that include both a one set wing butterfly (side view) and a two set wing butterfly plus a bonus of a "petal" butterfly idea with 150+ photos to guide you through.

The second is PolyPediaOnline Vol 9

7 beautiful roses millefiori canes - 97(!) pages Step-by-Step

Instructions, 370+ photos, includes classic rose canes, 3D rose canes, buds, outlined rose cane and more, plus a bonus of a 2 skinnered leaf cane and some cool diagrams for you to work with when building your canes.

This tutorial is so comprehensive and detailed i will be sending it in 2 seperate files.

And the last one is PolyPediaOnline Vol 10

A very useful guide to making your own signature namecane. A signature name cane is a wonderful way to personalize your pieces.

Clear and detailed instructions, 19 pages and about 60 full-color pictures to guide you through.

That's a fresh new resource to your future canes and creations!

But wait! there are more surprizes!

Don't miss my 2 part video on how to reduce all 3 types of canes: round, triangle and a square/rectangle. In this video i will be demonstrating how to reduce one of the rose canes, one butterfly wing and my signature name cane.

If you want to see how live reduction is made - you are welcome to join!

A special offer for all 3 tutorials is offered to you for 1 week only till 2nd of May. After that date price go back to regular.

you can see more details about it in this page

http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/specialpolypedia8-9-10

First 20 buyers will get into a raffle to win a free tutorial!

& one of you will get 4 REAL canes from my personal cane box sent to your home!

you may get lucky! :)

Come and join the fun - http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/specialpolypedia8-9-10

Thank you for your time & Have the best day :)

Polymeri Online 19.4.10

Rings using wire and polymer clay by Elvira López del Prado from Spain, her pieces are based on the creation of unique handmade beads using a variety of materials including polymer clay, wire, felt, resin, paper, textiles.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elviralopezdelprado/page2/

Barbara reid is an illustrator, i found some great tutorials in her site to make plasticine creatures - worth checking!
animals -
http://barbarareid.ca/plasticine/PlasticineProject01.pdf
cat -
http://www.barbarareid.ca/plasticine/PlasticineProject02.pdf
setting a scene -
http://barbarareid.ca/plasticine/PlasticineProject03.pdf
http://barbarareid.ca/makingpictures.html

This is a cute tutorial for making a polymer clay cat on Wikihow site
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Polymer-Clay-Cats

Dave fimo figures from Canada was featured in my blog but in this link you can see the process of his work -
http://www.davesfimofigures.com/How%20To/Rachel.html

New PolyPediaOnlineTV youtube videos

passover holiday was great! and i had time to play with my new camera, and made 2 short videos -

the 1st one is about warming & softening your clay and canes, i have some real old and stiff polymer clay canes and packages in my stock, some of them since 2007 and older, they are HARD!

I heard about all kind of methods to soften the clay - dipping in warm water, covering with liquid clay, warming your canes in the oven to soften them (yes! i heard that one too!), sitting on clay (not canes :) ) and decided to try my herbal microwave pillow as a "warming facility". I warmed the pillow and placed an old cane inside, and - voila! it was warm and soft!

It's really a great way to prepare your clay to work - instead of making your arms and palms do the job - let the warm pillow do it. I warm my pillow for 2 minutes in the microwave and place some packs inside it, wait for few minutes (while i am keeping an eye on what's inside not to heat it too much) and checking to see it they are soft. usually i don't need more than 5 minutes to soften your clay.

If you put raw clay, i would recommend wrapping it with a plastic bag, so the herbal pillow won't get stains, we can't wash in washing machine it if it's dirty. give it a try! it's great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t24vmLQ5WnA

The 2nd video is about making polymer clay letters as decorations to a door or a book. i wanted to decorate my daughters' "heritage" book cover project with her name. Every child in Israel when arrives to the age of 13 has to do some invastigating about his heritage and family, the project is quite big and require some nice decoration to the wood book cover.

This project shows you how to make simple letters using cookie cutters, slices of canes and stripes sheet as a background. I know that the sound is a little bit low, sorry about that, but you can see from what i am doing what are the steps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1NIsetkp3U&feature=related

You can join my Youtube channel for updates on new video's coming up, it's so much fun!

The videos are available in polypediaonline.com site too - http://polypediaonline.com/133688/PolyPediaOnline-TV