Liquid Polymer Clay
This year’s first polymer clay study is a glass candle holder stained with liquid clay. Liquid clay has a large application area. Most frequent are transfers to paper, polymer clay or fabric. But I enjoy glass staining the most.
First of all, if you wish to color the liquid clay as I did, you need to use oil paints. Paint to liquid clay ratio depends on how translucent you want the final staining to be. Use relatively more liquid clay if you want more translucency.
I used the clay gun to extrude thin black strings of polymer clay which is used for outlining the patterns on the glass. There will be some distortion in the string shape as you apply pressure to stick it to the glass but don’t worry, it won’t look bad after all. So, even if you don’t have a clay gun, hand made strings are going to be just as good.
Using the liquid clay and the paint mix, I stained the spots inside the outlines using a thin brush. After that, I baked the candle holder for 30 minutes in 265 F (~130 C). After baking, it will look a bit dull. Just apply some standard polymer clay varnish to fix it.
Very beautyful things!
Just a note: you can also use alcohol-based inks to tint your liquid clay. Drop in a few drops of ink, let the alcohol evaporater (leave it for an hour, just to be sure!) and then stir in the pigment. It works great.-Jenny at www.CraftTestDummies.com