Monday, February 15, 2016

Doll Size Orange from Polymer Clay Canes


I want to start by stating that if you follow my videos in both this scale and dollhouse miniature scale I really did just one video this week for the two channels. Some parts of the videos are the exact same tracks and I added portions to each video that was specific to that scale. I know both videos are rather long this week but there was so much to say about the topic. It is up to you if you want to watch both videos or not.

I did this for a couple of reasons. First off I felt that the information was important enough that I wanted to share it on both channels. Even if it did mean a lot more time in the editing process for me. And secondly, I am battling a head cold and I just didn't feel up to coming up with two topics for two separate tutorials this week. This one took a lot of time in both the prep and the filming. I don't do this often but from time to time I will.


Now on to our tutorial.



On my dollhouse miniatures channel we have been working with polymer clay canes to make some foods and this is project is part of that series. The orange cane was requested by several people on that channel so that was the topic this week. It is an easy matter to change this same cane to any citrus fruit by changing the color of clay you use. The main thing to remember is to use a lot of translucent clay for the interior parts of your cane. I know I have done a lemon cane on this channel in the past but this one is done a bit differently.

I also show you how to work out the color blending to get the right color. Since I wanted a nice clear orange color and the local Joann's was out of orange clay I mixed my own. I was careful in picking my red and my yellow to make sure they were both from the “warmer” side of their respective colors. That way they would blend to become a nice pretty orange. If my red for example had been a cool red (one with a bluish undertone) my orange would not have been as clear, it would have had a brownish tinge to it.

By understanding how the colors work together and their positions on the color wheel you will be much more successful in mixing colors. This is a topic I love to experiment in and we can cover more of this in future tutorials if there is enough interest.

Once I had my colors close to what I wanted I did bake off a test sample. This is important when working with canes since you are using a lot of clay. It is really sad to make a huge cane and then find out the colors shift when baked and the entire cane is the wrong color. I am especially careful when I use red clay to bake a test since red seems to shift color more than any other. Also you really need to bake the translucent mixture to see how it will look because the that clay is very white in the unbaked state but becomes translucent when baked.

When you are working with canes you need to be careful not to distort all the work you put into the cane. This is done by working carefully and paying attention to how the cane feels. If it starts to become wobbly at the ends stop and cut off the end, this means that the clay is starting to split up the cane. It can actually split all the way to the center if you don't take care of it right away.

The more intricate the cane the more important it is to let the can rest after you work it to the finished diameter. This is because the clay gets warm as you work and becomes soft. By allowing it to set and rest it will firm up again.

I always try to cut my round canes with a rolling motion as I tried to show in the video. This helps to keep them round. If the cane is still getting flat for you pop it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to help it firm up even more.

You don't have to cut the entire cane right away either, it can be stored in a zip locked sandwich type bag for quite some time, just warm it slightly before cutting especially if you need to roll it to a smaller size. I often out the bag of clay inside my clothing and allow it to warm up that way, just don't put it where it will get smashed.

Now about that other second project I was going to do this week.


I had planned to show how to make my very favorite cane, the red onion this week also. However I didn't have any luck with it. I am going to blame it on the fact that I haven't been feeling well (from the head cold I have been battling) and I must have forgotten a step I normally do. I actually made the onion cane twice and messed it up both times. In total I wasted two full blocks of clay and have nothing to show for it other than some additions to my scrap clay bag. So yes it happens to all of us. I have made that cane many times in the past and I have no idea what I am doing wrong this time. I will try to work it into a video later on because I really want to share it with you all. 

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