Re-Introducing the Polymer Chef: In Print Again!
It's been w-a-a-y too long since I've posted anything to this blog! I've been busy writing monthly "Polymer Chef "columns for Polymer Clay Universe and weekly "Just for Fun" posts for HOP! Hooked on Polymer. But I have such exciting news to share that I just had to post it here.
The Polymer Chef is going back into print! The Create Along team is launching a new print magazine, Passion for Polymer, and I'll be continuing my polymer recipe column there. Since Polymer Cafe magazine disappeared, I've really been missing having a real hold-it-in-your-hands publication exclusively devoted to polymer clay! If you're as passionate about polymer as I am, this will be a treat for you, too.
To celebrate the upcoming debut of Passion for Polymer, I'd like to share with you a reprise of the first-ever Polymer Chef article. This was published in February 2012. If you enjoy this recipe, you'll love the new recipes in Passion for Polymer, which will include newly-discovered ingredients.
Blue Corn Recipe and Pendant
Blue Corn is what I call a “fantasy stone” (as opposed to “faux
stone”) creation. Fantasy stones aren't intended to resemble any particular existing
stone but to suggest what some beautiful unknown gemstone might look like. And,
after you concoct the recipes, you can follow step-by-step instructions to make
a simple but dramatic pendant from your fantasy-stone clay.
Ingredients
2 oz. translucent
polymer clay
1/2 oz. white
polymer clay
3 drops alcohol ink,
Adirondack Stream (or any similar blue-green alcohol ink)
1/4 tsp. opaque cobalt
blue embossing powder
1 1/2 tsp. poppy
seeds
1 tsp. dried parsley
flakes
Directions
1. Roll the
white clay at the thickest setting of your pasta machine, and cut out a
rectangle 1 in. x 1 1/2 in. (It may be helpful to to place the white clay on a sheet of graph paper to cut the rectangle.)
Set aside any remaining white clay for
a future project. Roll the rectangle into a ball and press it into a
cube.
2. Bake the cube at the clay manufacturer’s recommended
curing temperature for 5 minutes. Remove it from the oven; while it’s still
warm, grate it with a cheese grater (one used only for clay). Set grated clay
aside to cool completely.
3. Roll 2 oz.
translucent clay at the thickest setting of pasta machine. Place three drops of
alcohol ink on the sheet and allow it to dry. Fold the clay with the ink inside
and blend well.
4. Roll the
blended clay at a medium setting and spread the embossing powder across the
surface. Fold the sheet with the powder inside, and blend thoroughly with pasta
machine.
5. Repeat step 3
with poppy seeds and then with parsley flakes.
6. Mix the
grated white clay into the “dough,” using the pasta machine as in steps 4–5.
You want the grated clay to be fairly evenly distributed, but avoid
overblending. Otherwise, the plasticizer in the uncured clay will soften the
semi-cured clay too much and you’ll lose the visual texture of the blend.
Your
Blue Corn polymer clay is now ready to be used however your creativity suggests.
Cure the final piece(s) at the clay manufacturer’s recommended temperature.
Yield: This recipe
will make about 75 12-mm. round beads.
Serving suggestions:
You can sculpt this dough or shape it with bead rollers. You can cut it into
tiles or create veneers for covering solid objects. Blue Corn combines well
with silver, brass, gunmetal, or copper accents and findings.
Blue Corn Pendant
1. Mix Blue Corn clay according to the recipe, and roll it
out at the thickest setting on your pasta machine. If you want to make only the
pendant and a few accent beads, you can make a half-batch by dividing all the
quantities by two.
2. Roll 1 oz. black clay at the medium setting of your pasta
machine.
Cut a rectangle of each color 1 1/4 in. x 2 in. Stack the
rectangles with the Blue Corn on top. Set aside the remaining black clay to be
used in Step 8.
3. Measure 3/4 in. from each corner on one short side, and
make a small mark on the edge of the clay. Cut the stacked clay from the left
mark to the left corner of the other short side; repeat on the right. With a
circle cutter approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut the bottom edge in an
arc. This will form the shape of your pendant.
4. Place the cut shape on a quarter-bullnose ceramic tile
(available at any home-improvement store), wrapping the narrow end of the clay
around the curved edge of the tile as shown at the right.
5. Press another piece of the Blue Corn clay into a flexible
face mold. I’ve used one of the Art Doll Faces by Sculpey, but you can use any
mold you like. Center the molded face above the curved edge of the pendant, and
press it down firmly without distorting the face.
6. Roll the remaining Blue Corn at the thickest setting, and
cut 3 strips 1/8 in. wide. Curve the strips, place them above and below the
head, and trim them to the width of the pendant, as shown below.
7. Cure the pendant on the bullnose tile at the
manufacturer’s recommended temperature. Cool. Sand the back of the pendant to
remove the shiny patches caused by having cured the clay on a tile.
8. Cut a piece of SoftGlas tubing or similar (pony bead cord
will work) about 3 in. long. Roll the remaining black clay at the medium
setting and cut a 3/4-in.-wide strip. Wrap this strip around the middle of the
tubing and trim off the excess clay.
9. Attach the clay-covered tube to the underside of the
curved edge, as shown at the right , using a small amount of liquid clay or Bake & Bond to make the surfaces adhere well.
10. Place the pendant, black side up, on fiberfill batting,
and cure it again. When the pendant is cool, pull the hollow tubing out of the clay
channel.
11. Rub or brush the front of your pendant with black
acrylic paint and rub off the excess to accentuate the contours of the face and
curved lines. If you want your pendant to be shiny, sand the upper surfaces
lightly with 220-, 400-, and 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper. You may also use a varnish
of your choice. Your
pendant is now finished and ready to string, wear, and enjoy!
The Polymer Chef is going back into print! The Create Along team is launching a new print magazine, Passion for Polymer, and I'll be continuing my polymer recipe column there. Since Polymer Cafe magazine disappeared, I've really been missing having a real hold-it-in-your-hands publication exclusively devoted to polymer clay! If you're as passionate about polymer as I am, this will be a treat for you, too.
4. Place the cut shape on a quarter-bullnose ceramic tile
(available at any home-improvement store), wrapping the narrow end of the clay
around the curved edge of the tile as shown at the right.
9. Attach the clay-covered tube to the underside of the
curved edge, as shown at the right , using a small amount of liquid clay or Bake & Bond to make the surfaces adhere well.
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making the beads in this necklace. They were shaped by using a holiday ornament as a mold (seen below). But you might want to create this wavy-blade surface design even if you don't have the ornament. 
I used a combination of Sculpey III and Premo polymer clay for this project. I liked the softness of the Sculpey for how easily it "smooshed" into the geometric recessed areas of this ornament (which I bought on clearance after Christmas at Lowes).
Note: I've used scrap clay in these step-by-step photos, just for convenience, but your pendant and circles will be made from the veneer you choose.
This cute little round basket found me at the Nassau Humane Society's Second Chance resale shop. I really liked the seeds and stems worked into the weave. So I wanted to embellish it in some way that would highlight the rustic, natural appearance. The leaves are made of bronze-colored Premo! clay and shaped with Polymer Clay TV's Curved Leaf plunger cutters. I accented them with pearlescent acrylic paints and wired them onto the basket, adding a few beads here and there. The acorn caps are black polymer, covered with gold metallic leaf and embossed with PCTV's Round Detailed Floral rubber stamps. The large beads that make up the body of the acorns are carved bone beads that have been stashed away in my cupboard for years, waiting for just this project. 
For this pendant, I incorporated some painted, crackled edge components I had made several years ago. The leaves were shaped with the Falling Leaves silicone mold and embellished with metallic paint and flat-back crystals. The bail is part of a repurposed clip-on earring. To make the stylized gingko leaf beads, I stenciled green clay with copper paint using Punchinella sequin-waste stencils, cut them out, and impressed the veins with a dental tool. To complete the necklace, I raided my stash of various metal and stone beads.
