What is Etsy?
Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. Since their launch in June 2005, over 100,000 sellers from around the world have opened up Etsy shops. Browse by color, geographic location, traveling time, connected hearts, member curated featured items, categories, and more!
Creating a Treasury within Etsy
The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 16 hand-picked items each. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme, or just whoever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. The Administration often chooses an exceptional Treasury list to promote on the home page. Treasury East (beta) is a testing ground for the future of the Treasury. Treasury East never expires.
Beautiful, diverse lists may be featured on Etsy's front page. To see more of our work click here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/
where you can browse treasuries we have been featured in or created ourselves.
What is Polymer Clay? – The Whole Story
Polymer clay is a sculptable material based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It usually contains no clay minerals, and is only called "clay" because its texture and working properties resemble those of mineral clay.
It is sold in craft, hobby, and art stores, and is used by artists and hobbyists. Original formulations of polymer clay remain soft until cured at relatively low temperatures, but air-dry polymer clays have recently been added to the market.
Traditional polymer clay hardens by curing at temperatures created in a typical home oven, generally at 265 to 275 °F (129 to 135 °C), for 15 minutes per 1/4" (6 mm) of thickness, and does not shrink or change texture during the process. When properly conditioned and cured, most clays create items that will not break if dropped or normally stressed.
Cured pieces may have additional layers or enhancements added and can be re-cured with no ill effect. As long as the maximum curing temperature is not exceeded, there is no limit to the number of times a piece can be re-cured.
After it has cured, the clay surface can be left as is, sanded and buffed, or finished with a water-based varnish. Leading brands of polymer clay include Fimo; Sculpey, Premo and Studio by Sculpey, created by Polyform Products; Cernit; Formello; Modello; and Kato Polyclay, formulated for Van Aken by Donna Kato, an early artist for Fimo.
Though the brands differ slightly in properties such as plasticity, translucence, curing temperature, and flexibility when cured, most are suited to a variety of applications.
Specialty formulations include clay that remains permanently flexible when cured, eraser clay, and colorless and tinted liquid "clays" that can be used as slips, glazes, and adhesives.
Polymer clay is available in many colors. "Special-effect" colors such as translucent, fluorescent, phosphorescent, mica-containing "pearls" and "metallics," and variegated "stone" colors containing contrasting fibers are also available. Standard colors, which vary from brand to brand, can be mixed to create a virtually infinite range of custom colors, gradient blends, and other effects.
Judith Skinner is credited with inventing a technique that uses a pasta machine to create consistent gradient-blended sheets of color. This technique has many applications and is one of the basic skills developed by hobbyists or artists in the medium. Polymer clay can be colored with other media. Paint, ink, colored pencil, chalk, metallic or mica-containing powder, metal leaf and foil, glitter, and embossing powder can be applied to the surface. The same materials also can be mixed in as inclusions; this is often done with translucent clay.
When acrylic paint is cured onto the surface, it forms a permanent bond with the surface. Few tools are essential for use with polymer clay, and these can often be found around the house. The most widely used cutting tools are tissue blades, which are extremely thin and sharp, though craft knives and other blades can be used. A pasta machine is often used to create sheets of uniform thickness, to mix colors, to condition the clay, and to create patterned sheets.
A "clay gun" or extruder with interchangeable die plates allows creation of lengths of clay in a variety of uniform sizes and shapes.
Most molding and modeling tools used by traditional sculptors are suitable for polymer clay, but artists often create improvised cutting, piercing, molding, and texturing tools from items used in sewing, cooking, woodworking, and paper crafts.
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So you want to try coating your polymer clay items with resin? There is no more beautiful finish on a polymer clay piece of jewelry than with resin. The glasslike appearance and smooth touch is unmistakable. Can it be that easy - no. There can be a lot of mishaps with the resin.
One of the reasons I researched using a resin on my pendants was I started working with image transfers. I purchased Magic Transfer Paper from Polymerclayproductions and was so satisfied with the image transfers, but the finish with Future left them bubbly and even after many coats, it just was not the finish I wanted.
Researching the internet and asking questions at the Polymer Clay Artists Guild Forum, I decided to try a resin finish on my pendants. The brand I chose was Enviro-Tex Lite. It's a two part epoxy system, mixing the hardener and the resin for two minutes. In small, see-through plastic cups, the hardener is placed in one and the resin in the other. The first time I mixed the two materials, I had mixed so much, it was wasted. Now I only mix about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of each to cover many pendants. Just a little is needed. Usually I do this once a week, having enough pendants ready for the resin process.
Firstly, make sure your item is totally clean. I wipe down my pendants with a bit of alcohol. The directions tell you to combine the two and mix vigorously in one container for one minute and then transfer to a second container for an additional one minute, again vigorously stirring. Scrap the sides and bottoms of the cups. I use a popsickle stick to stir and time it precisely on the clock. After two minutes, I spread the mixed resin on the pendant trying to get as much as possible to the edges as it has a tendency to shrink as it dries. There is an approximately 25 minute time span to coat the items before the resin has thickened. Each coated item needs an additional layer of resin to build up the sides where it has shrunk. After 24 hours, a second layer of resin is applied. The second coat gives a domed effect. This process takes approximately two days so plan for this and know that you cannot touch your items for at least that long. Once the items are coated, sometimes tiny bubbles will rise to the surface and be visible. Within ten minutes of application, most of the bubbles will burst. Should there remain some bubbles, it's possible to remove most of them by HA HAing on them. (Yes, that's a technical term!). In other words, your breath can break the bubbles. I guess exhale is a more accurate word. Also, a cr¸me brulee torch is a tool that some people have found valuable to disperse the surface bubbles. A quick shot with the torch will pop the bubbles. A heat gun also can be used. I have had no success with either of these methods. I purchased the torch, but I am so intimidated that I will burn the piece, I only used it once and there it lays still in its original carton. With the heat gun, I disturbed the resin so much so that I had distorted the resin and made ridges in the finish. That was scrapped.
Lay your resined items on a sheet of waxed paper making sure that the surface is level. Prepare yourself - it can get messy - I don't use gloves as the first time I did, one of the pendants got stuck to the glove and landed on the floor. No, of course it wasn't right side up!
Cover the resin finished items with a gift box top or plastic container. I have an old plastic cake taker that I use to keep out dust particles and....wait. Check the items after an hour to make sure you can see no bubbles. If you do, it might be possible to break the bubble using a toothpick or needle, but not always.
Cover the reverse side with resin? Not possible. Not for me anyway. No matter how careful and neat I tried to be, a tiny amount of resin would appear on the front of the beautifully finished pendant and mar the surface. Now I just sand the back and buff and I am pleased with this result.
There's a great tutorial on Youtube that should be seen.
And a book dedicated to using resin on jewelry by Sherri Haab entitled "The Art of Resin Jewelry."
Should you give a try? Absolutely.
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Ok, so here's the thing. I hate sanding. I want my pieces to be smooth and shiny, but I hate all the time it takes to sand a piece. Of course, I try to make it as smooth as possible to begin with, but you always have to sand if you want that beautiful, smooth finish. It gives a piece a very professional look. As artists, that is what we want. It is what we strive for as PCAGOE members.
Well, I have come up with a way to cheat the sand man - I only sand the back and sides. Heck, sometimes I only need to sand the back! This does require multiple cures in the oven, but to me, it is worth it. My fingernails are starting to grow back.
1. Prepare your piece as normal. It is a good thing to have it as smooth as possible right when you put it in the oven. Bake the piece as you normally would.
2. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Apply a layer of Kato liquid polymer clay.
As you can see, I lay it on fairly thick. I let it level out for 5-10 minutes. While it is doing that, bump your oven temperature up to 325 degrees. You want your oven between 325-350 degrees. Put the piece back in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Repeat 2-3 more times. Once it has cooled the last time, sand the back (and sides, if it has sides) with 400-1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Use your machine buffer to polish to a high shine.
Here are some examples of finished pieces. A few people say that they use a heat gun to shine up a piece when it comes out of the oven. You can try it, but be careful! I have burned several items trying that method. The pictures just don't show the depth and shine. Even the bottom left piece, with all the texture it looks like it has, is smooth as silk!
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