More polymer practice

Finally got some creative time yesterday. With camping and yard work I don't get much time in my craft room lately. Good thing it was raining so I didn't have to feel guilty about ignoring the weeds. I really wanted to try more blending and that flower cane again. It still doesn't look like the one in the video but I like it. It kind of looks like a fluffy type of flower. And then of course I turned the scraps into marbleized clay.

Then I wanted to make something but had no idea what to do. So many ideas but when it comes down to doing one of them, I don't know what to choose. I ended up just rolling out some black clay, then using a stamp and embellishing it with more clay and purple pearls. I want to try coating this with resin later and will make it a brooch.

Snakes

When I saw a tutorial on YouTube for making a snake bangle, I right away thought of my mom. She loves snakes and though she doesn't wear much jewelry I wanted to make one for her birthday.

Good thing I started on this early because the first one didn't turn out so well. It was too thin, and then I broke it a couple of times. Since then I have learned that polymer should always be baked for an hour, not just the 15 minutes per 1/4 inch it says on the package.  I tried to re-bake that one, even though I already varnished it with water based Varathane. The varnish held up okay in the heat, but maybe I should have baked it longer yet. I think I put it back in for 20 or 30 minutes but it still broke easily. Or perhaps the problem is that it is Sculpey III and from what I have read, Premo is better.

The second one turned out better and my mom loved it, though she said she probably won't wear it. That one wasn't baked very long either but I let her know that it just has a little flexibility.

First Skinner Blends

Here is my first try at making Skinner blends and trying out a cane tutorial on YouTube. Not exactly perfect but that's what practice is for. I just needed to be more careful while making the blend. And my cane didn't look much like the one in the video, but I still like it.

I tried the cane a second time, using the same blend. I also tried a couple more blends which turned out better.

Then I used what I made to make a pendant. I also have some nice marbled clay made from the scraps.

Here is the video tutorial if you're curious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSG2jg8WxgA