Library Archives - Page 10 of 13 - The Blue Bottle Tree

How to Buy Polymer Clay

How to buy polymer clay? Well, you go to the store, pick it out, pay for it, and then come home and play with it. Right? Yes, but there are

Learn how to use these glues with polymer clay to get the best results for gluing metal and glass to baked polymer clay.

What’s the Best Glue for Polymer Clay?

Sooner or later when working with polymer clay you’ll need to glue things together. You might have already baked something when you want to add more design elements. Or you

Sculpey clays, there is no "t", it's not Sculpty. These are various kinds Sculpey polymer clays.

Sculpey, Sculpty, Fimo, Polymer Clay – Which is it?

When I tell people that I work with polymer clay, they often look at me with sort of a blank expression. They’ve never heard of it. So I start to explain and pretty soon their face lights up and they say, “Oh! You’re talking about fimo!”

Copied polymer clay clock, done as a copy of Irene Semanchuk's tiled clock.

Is this a copy? Or “inspired by”?

Just when the latest brouhaha and accusations about copying and copyright infringement dies down, another one will start up and bad feelings fester. Angry posts and harsh comments get written.

Blue Flowered polymer clay covered pen by Toni Ransfield.

The Pens of Toni Ransfield

Last week I received a gift, a pen, and it impressed me so much that I wanted to introduce you to the artist, Toni Ransfield. When most of us start

How to Bake Polymer Clay: Part 4 – How Long to Bake Polymer Clay?

How long should you bake polymer clay? Baking too long is not a concern and you should always cure long enough for your clay to fuse solid.

PVClay, a polymer clay from Brazil

Did you know that Brazil has its very own brand of polymer clay? PVClay is a high quality clay, comes in a full range of colors and is excellent to work with. Read all about it!

One of my simplest polymer clay tips is that I use a pop-up box of tissues for general cleaning, blotting, and removing of paint from polymer clay projects.

Polymer Clay Tip: Kleenex!

Here’s an example of a polymer clay tip that’s so simple it’s almost not worth mentioning. But on the other hand, sometimes the simplest things are like…well…duh! We all have supplies that

Faux Roman Glass made with the Faux Glass Effects polymer clay tutorial.

Playing with my Pardo Translucent

In the US, there have been some supply issues with Pardo Translucent Art Clay, but I’m happy to say that the ship has come in! Yes, indeed, the wholesale shipment of Pardo

These pendants were made with the Mica Leaf Tutorial by Ginger Davis Allman.

Playing with Mica Leaf Tutorial

It’s fall in the northern hemisphere (and spring in the southern). It’s that magical time when it’s not too hot, not too cold, and the trees are doing their magic.

Copyright Guidelines for Polymer Clay Artists

Copyright is always a confusing, emotional, and controversial issue. Many people are unaware when they violate copyright law (or they don’t seem to care) and others are nearly paralyzed in

The Right Way to Use Polymer Clay

When you were a kid in school, you learned that there was always one correct answer when you added a column of numbers. Two plus four is always six. There

Artist Interview: Wendy Jorre de St Jorre

I’ve got a treat for you today. Wendy Jorre de St Jorre is an Australian polymer clay artist who started a year-long caning project and has now entranced and enthralled

UV Reactive Polymer Clay Designs

A couple of days ago I wrote about optical brighteners, or fluorescent dyes, in polymer clay. Some colors and brands of polymer clay glow brightly under UV light or black light

Some brands of white polymer clay contain a fluorescent dye called an optical brightener to make it appear more white.

Optical Brighteners in Polymer Clay

In all the reading I’ve done about polymer clay, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any mention of optical brighteners in polymer clay. But they’re there, clear as day, and

Using Silicone Molds with Polymer Clay

Earlier this week I wrote about how to make silicone molds from charms. Now it’s time for the next step. How do you fill a silicone mold with polymer clay and

Learn how to use silicone mold putty to make perfect replicas of charms. Read the tutorial at The Blue Bottle Tree.

How to Make Silicone Molds from Charms

It’s no secret that you can use silicone mold putty to create your own molds. But there are a few tricks that I can share which make it a wee

Polymer Clay Tips for Beginners

Polymer clay is an extremely versatile medium which is perfect for beginners and professional artists alike. It can be a challenging and complex medium for those who want to push

Keep polymer clay beads from rolling around during baking by placing them on accordion folded copy paper.

Polymer Clay Tip: Copy Paper

This tip seems like it’s so simple that it’s almost not even worth mentioning. But when I think back to when I started playing with clay, or think of how

Review and tests of metallic acrylic paints on polymer clay.

Testing Metallic Paints on Polymer Clay

One of the things we love to do when working with polymer clay is to add a little bit of shimmer or sparkle, either as an accent or to replicate

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