So, you have liquid polymer clay. Now what ?

Liquid polymer clay is more than just a bonding agent for 2 pieces of baked polymer clay or attaching finding. It can be used to do image transfers like I did on this candle screen. I tied for 1st place in a contest hosted by Amaco. 🙂 The pictures I used were taken in my garden. Here is the Candle Screen Project written up on their website.

Here is a short tutorial I wrote many years ago that shows how to do liquid clay transfers.

Here is a video that is great too 🙂 Foolproof Image Transfer by Willowbird Studio

Liquid polymer clay can be tinted with various mediums to be used as glazes or grout in your projects. These mediums include oil paint, mica powder, pastel chalks, powdered pigments, and alcohol ink. Alcohol inks must sit on top o the liquid clay until the alcohol evaporates before you mix the color. You can also mix in glitters, embossing powders, spices, or anything that is oven safe. Just keep in mind you don’t want to mix too much of any medium into your liquid clay, because it can change the basic properties of the clay and may not work as expected. I personally like to keep it to to no more than 3 parts liquid clay to 1 part other medium.

When tinted with opaque mediums like the chalks, alcohol ink or powders pigment you can use liquid clay to do glazing techniques like faux ceramic. This is my favorite tutorial to make Faux Ceramic.

If your glaze seems a little too thick , you can use diluent to thin it to the consistency you need.

This is another example of the same project above created by another artist, Valerie Brincheck.

Liquid polymer clay can be made into a grout for your clay project in 2 ways that I am familiar. First is to mix a thick paste made of regular polymer clay and liquid clay. Keep adding liquid clay to the polymer clay and working them together until the clay turns into a paste. The second is to mix in a powdered medium like pigment powders, mica powders, or pastel chalks. This will thicken the liquid clay, but it will still flow. Squeezing the thickened liquid clay out of a fine tip bottle is the easiest way I have found to use it. Fill the gaps in your mosaic and then wipe away any excess “grout” with a paper towel and bake. This next picture uses the paste method.

 

You can use tinted clay to do faux combed paper. The mica powders are especially nice for this technique!

Here is the tutorial from Fire Mountain Gems

This is a more intricate example of combed liquid clay created by Linda Heins.

Liquid Polymer Clay can be used to make window clings.  I have done this and it is so much fun ! Great project to do with the kids. The key is to bake the liquid clay on a piece of glass or smooth ceramic tile. After baking and it’s cooled off enough to safely handle, peal the clay off the glass or tile then stick it to a window. Many years ago I made some dragonflies for my bathroom window. Wonder what happened to them ?  Hmmmm. Here is the only example I could find online, also made by Linda Heins.

I almost forgot about making Faux Enamel Cloisonne. I tried this technique a few years back, but I no long have the pictures of what I made. A computer crash ate hundreds of pictures. 😦 Back up your important stuff regularly !  But back to the subject. 🙂 I did find some pictures online to show you what I mean.

I found a tutorial by Crafty Goat which may help you get the idea of how it works.

I’m sure I have forgotten some great technique liquid clay can produce. If I have please let me know in a comment and I will add it to the list 🙂

 

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My New Etsy Gallery – Imitation Is The Best Form Of Flattery

Imitation is the best form of flattery
Faux techniques showing off the versatility of polymer clay.

Great List of Faux Links

The links aren’t faux, just the techniques 🙂

http://craftstew.com/polymer-clay/faux-polymer-clay-techniques

Experimenting With Faux Ceramic Look

I have been admiring the work of Françoise Roudaut of Au Fil De Pates (a French blog) for some time now. Her work is so captivating. Françoise’s use of design and color just speaks to me. So I dug out my clay yesterday, mixed some pastel purple and orange to use as a base, and began experimenting. I like the results, but I’m still fine tuning the look. I don’t have any varnish, so I used Liquid Sculpey. After baking, I zapped it with a heat gun so the liquid clay would go clear and have a bit of shine.

Françoise says she originally got her inspiration from Tina Holden over at Polymer Clay Bytes (There is a short How-To tutorial)

Anyway, here are my little beauties 🙂

fauxceramic1

Tile Beads In Cool Colors

Tile Beads In Cool Colors


Tile Beads In Warm Colors

Tile Beads In Warm Colors


Round Pendants

Round Pendants


More Pendants

More Pendants

Ceramic Inspirations & Faux Ceramics

I have been fascinated by the work of a French clay artist lately. She is making the most amazing faux ceramic looking jewelry.

I'm not sure of her name. It's all in French and I had a hard time translating 🙂 *Bettina Welker has told me the artists name is Françoise Roudaut.


But isn’t her work just stunning !!! Here’s another favorite of mine.

I’ve also been looking at real ceramic for inspiration. I found an ceramic bas relief artist on Flickr that I really admire. Not sure how I would reproduce the work in polymer clay, but it won’t stop me from drooling LOL

gryderware - Chris Gryder

gryderware - Chris Gryder

Another real ceramic inspiration

Forbes Farm - Sandy Caufield

Forbes Farm - Sandy Caufield

Okay, just one more 🙂 I swear

raku buttons

raku buttons

I found some other clayers on Flickr that do faux ceramics

MossyOwls  / Michael

MossyOwls / Michael


Chama Navarro

Chama Navarro

Her Blog


Dan Clark

Dan Clark


Barbara Poland-Waters

Barbara Poland-Waters

My Amazon Shop

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