Colouring polymer clay

Yesterday I've seen a wonderful video about the creation of an apple in polymer clay, so I've done some experiments with different kind of powders on rough polymer clay.

I've used powder from low cost and high cost chalks, expired eye shadows and pearl ex.

Colours are red and green, polymer clay is white for the first four couples and black for the last one.

The main tool is... my finger :) for a cleaner work you can use a soft brush or a little sponge.

Tools

Here I've used low cost chalks, the powder is not so soft and the colour on the clay is very light.

Low cost chalks

These are high cost chalks, for artists, the powder is fine and on the clay the colour is rich and velvety. I think these are very natural and great for miniature food.

Chalks for artists

Brioches in miniature

These are eye shadows, the effect is light but a little shining. I think they are great to have a watercolour effect.

Eye shadows

Buttons with watercolour effect

Here we have the pearl ex with their metallic and shining effect, mainly on the black clay. The colour often change when applied on the clay.

Pearl ex

Fall leaves

Here the colours after baking. If you have to colour jewerly it is better to protect the item with transparent varnish.

A little strange experiment in the picture below, I've used a spice, maybe turmeric, on white clay :)

Turmeric

Only for personal use, commercial use is not allowed.

Carnival treats

Every year, on February, I'd like to make Italian traditional Carnival treats in miniature but I cannot find the right dishes for them, so this year here you are some pictures of past works :)

These are the first Carnival treats that I've made on February 2011. A plate with "Castagnole", fried dough balls with sugar on them, and one with "Frappe", fried stripes of dough with icing sugar or honey on them.

This is a custom order that I've made on October 2011. A plate with "Castagnole"and one with "Crostoli", fried rhombuses of dough, and "Frittole" extended balls of fried dough.

Happy Fat Tuesday and bon appetit ;)

Baratto: offro...

I'm taking part to the exchange prganized by Orlosubito on her blog: Orlosubito

Here my earrings, two tiny cows and two tiny sheeps made out of polymer clay

Pasqua 2011

I wonder why the first tought for Holydays goes to food. Maybe because food puts togheter families in a easy way, even if sometimes food can divide.

My mother comes from Perugia (Umbria) so I've made some traditional Easter food from Umbria.



A ring shaped cake called "Ciaramicola". This cake has a heart of soft sponge-cake with Alchermes (a sweet deep pink liqueur) and a coat of meringue with tiny sweet confentioneries in five different colors: red, white, yellow, green and azure.

Red and white are the colors of Perugia. Yellow is the color of the cornfields, green is the colors of the meadows and azure is the color of the Trasimeno lake.



A salty cake, a sort of cheese bread. This cake is often served with a salted and smoked pork meat taken form the neck called "Capocollo".

I know some of my followers are Veg*, I hope one day traditional Easter food will be meat-free!




Eggs! Why eggs? Eggs are symbol of birth and Easter is the day of rebirth. It is Springtime and Spring is the season of birth and life. So eggs!


I wish you a Happy Easter and better, a Happy Rebirth-day ;)

A game of dragons

Last week I've finished the fantasy pc game Dragon Age II. I love this title, really Dragon Age Origins and Dragon age II are two wonderful games. It seems to read a book, a high quality book, the relationship between characters are so strong and stories are rich and well constructed and now I'm wainting for the third chapter of the saga!
Dragon Age and the beautiful Christi Friesen's little book "Dragons" have inspired me to create some dragon pendants.



The first is more a sea-snake than a dragon, I know, but it has a funny face :) In the centre there is a pale pink glass cabochon, the next will have a light blue one.
The eyes are two polymer clay balls coloured with a little amount of mica powder.




On the black throne you can see the real color of the glass.

The second is a real dragon... well, not a classic one, maybe a chinese dragon, but this time it seems more serious and evil :)
In the centre there is a deep red glass cabochon.
The eyes are two deep orange glass beads.




On the black throne you can see the real color of the glass.

I'm so excited for these new pendants! I'd like to create a lot of them, a fleet! :D
News in the next days ;)

Funny bugs

Spring is here and the first insects begin to fly in the garden.

A bee on a wild hyacinth in my garden

Usually there are bees, wasps, bumblebees (both black and black-yellow striped), butterflies, orange ladybugs, beetles and sometimes fireflies, in summertime, and praying mantises.
This give me the inspiration to make three funny insects.


A ladybug on a four-leaf clover. I made the first one on August 2008, when ladybug on a leaf was not a common theme.


A bumblebee on a white flower.


A firelfy on two pebbles and a leaf. The abdomen glows in the night, like the one of a real firefly :)



Ideas for the next ones? ;)