Tutorial - Extruded Swirl Cane

A couple of weeks ago I was experimenting with my extruder and discovered a fun type cane that has a sort of swirl or yin yang pattern.  I redid my experiment and created this black and white design and put it in the form of a tutorial.

1.  Roll out 2 sheets of clay in contrasting colors on the #2 (second thickest) setting on your pasta machine.  Cut each sheet into a 3" x 3" square.

2.  Stack one sheet on top of the other and cut in half.

3. Stack the 2 pieces, cut in half and then stack again.  There should be 8 layers.

4. Form the stacked clay into a round log.

5. Roll the log and twist each end several times in opposite directions.

6.  If the log becomes too thin, manipulate and roll the log with your hands bringing them closer together so the log is about the same thickness that will fit into your extruder.  Trim each of the ends and cut your log in half.

7.  Insert one of the halves into your extruder with the small square die.

8.  Extrude the entire amount of clay.

9.  Trim each of the ends until you get a nice pattern inside.

10. Use these individually as a small cane or cut into sections and stack to create a larger cane.

11.  Here I sliced my stacked cane to create a veneer sheet.

12.  And here are some fun pieces ready to bake.

Here are a few color variations.  If you click on the photo you can read more about them on our blog:

 

 

Polymer Clay Tutorial - Make Mini Display Stands

Here is a polymer clay tutorial that shows you how to make small effective display stands for your earrings and rings using polymer clay. All measurements are approximate as you can make the bases as big as you like, but should be a minimum of 1 1/4 inches (35mm). You can embellish these further as the instructions are very basic. One should possess basic skills such as conditioning, hand rolling, and texturing. Just click on the photos for larger view and readability.