There is a lot of information on the internet about how to condition polymer clay. There are even people saying that there’s no need to condition clay if it is soft (gasp)! 2013 is going to bring lots of talk of polymer clay and all things sculpting to Kater’s Acres blog, the biggest of which is The Friesen Project. Because of this, all during the month of January, I am going to talk about some of the basics of polymer clay. With so much incorrect information on the web, it’s really hard to know what it correct.
Well, the time you have been waiting for is here. Today Kater’s Acres newest polymer clay character is announced. Parker’s little sister, Lolly has arrived! She goes on sale in my Etsy store tomorrow, Jan. 1st, 2013. Do you want to know more about her? Continue reading Lolly is Here!
If you are wanting to spend the next year working with clay, Christi Friesen, and me as your host … the Friesen Project is just what you’ve been waiting for. Below you will find answers to the most common questions.
The Friesen Project is an opportunity for you (no matter where you are) to spend 52 weeks getting to play with clay and learn some of the basics of the Christi Friesen design and style elements. Here’s what you can expect over the course of the next year with Christi & myself. Continue reading The 2013 Friesen Project Overview
Christmas is almost here…in fact it will be here in just ONE WEEK. Do you know what this means? This means the following:
Your Christmas List better be made
Your Christmas List should be checked twice
Your Christmas shopping should be almost done
Your Christmas meal should be planned
AND…..Your next years blogging, products, website, & Etsy seasonal schedules should be made.
WHAT?! Hold the brakes, you mean that you haven’t even thought about that yet? Well….take a deep breath….now think about it. Did you come up with anything? It’s important that you plan your next year for your Etsy store, product line, & even your blog right now. So today, that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about. How YOU are going to begin TODAY to plan your 2013 for your Etsy store. You are going to do that by creating your very own, 2013 calendar. Yep…your personalized 2013 calendar.
It’s no secret that I love a good DIY project. What’s also no secret is that if I can make it myself better, more simply, and more cost-effective, I’ll likely do it. So for my polymer clay tip today, I have decided to share my recipe for my super-easy hand scrub to keep your hands from becoming clay stained and a super quick washing solution between colors. This recipe using things you likely have already in your kitchen, as well as a recycled baby jar (thank heavens for my friends who keep me supplied with them).
WHY MAKE THIS SALT SCRUB:
Have you ever finished a project and washed your hands with soap and water and gone “ew!” because there was yucky clay scum left behind? Well, I have! And it is because of this that I decided to make my own salt scrub. Please note that this is a super simple version of a fancier version (that calls for scented oils, specialty moisturizing oils, etc). Some versions call for sugar instead of salt, but my studio is downstairs and sugar tends to attract ants, especially when I leave the lid off the jar, which is often … therefore I use salt, which doesn’t attract bugs and in emergencies can be used on slugs … although I’ve never had any of those in my basement … moving on!
For most of my readers, you have already mentally checked these things off in your head because you have them at your house. Please know that you can use any kind of oil [even vegetable oil or coconut oil]; I prefer EVOO because it leaves my hands nice and softie-soft! You can use any kind of dishwashing or hand soap. I prefer Dawn as my choice for dishwashing soap for its awesome cleaning power, but you can use any soap. The reason that there are no added “scents” to my recipe is that my dish soap is already scented … I mean why should I ruin that awesome Thai Dragon Fruit smell that Dawn has given me? PS: If you haven’t tried this scent yet, you should … it’s my favorite.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thai Dragon Fruit Scent has been discontinued as of 2018.
HOW TO DO IT:
Here’s the easy part. This recipe is for a SMALL jar (approximately 2.5 oz), you will need to tailor this recipe to fit your jar.
1 Tbs. EVOO
1 Tbs. Dish Liquid
1/4 cup salt
All you need to do is stir it all together inside your jar! And then wah-lah! You have an awesome homemade, ultra-cheap, DIY salt scrub that you can use to get all those clay bits off of your hands once and for all.
A FEW NOTES:
You want this mixture to be semi-dry. The salt should stick together, but it should be loose, but still able to be packed. If there is oil or soap “floating” in spots in your mixture, keep stirring. If there is still oil or soap in there, add more salt until it is all absorbed. Feel free to keep a spoon next to your mixture, just so that between washings of your hands, you can stir your mix so the oil & soap don’t settle to the bottom. I also tend to “shake” my bottle before I use it. This also helps to keep it nicely mixed.
Sometimes polymer clay inspiration runs out and your creative streak comes to a grinding halt. And personally, I hate it when that happens! I go along for weeks with thousands of ideas swimming around my head and then all of a sudden BAM all those ideas are just … gone! Where did they go? Chances are my inspiration got lost along the road of life and needs a little “revival” in order to come back to me. Delving into different craft mediums can be helpful to find your inspiration once again and art journaling is one of the ways you can find that inspiration again!
(Photo at right is linked to artists profile page here onPinterest)
On today’s Build Your Brand post, we will be talking about whether or not purchase incentives are a good idea for you and your business. Many store owners don’t understand purchase incentives, what they are and how they work, so today, we will delve into your options and opportunities to help you Build Your Brand through incentives that you offer your customers. Continue reading Purchase Incentives are Well Worth It
One of my favorite things about working with polymer clay is that you can reuse everything … or should I say give your old things a new purpose, in other words: repurposed items you’ve already used! What kind of items can you reuse: everything. Well…okay, maybe not everything … but you certainly can reuse a LOT of things that you probably haven’t thought of, or may have thought of but haven’t taken the time to do so.
You can reuse or repurpose items like your shipping label backs, pickle jars, peanut butter jars, Carmex jars, cat food containers, and anything that is glass, metal, or heavy plastic. You probably already know this, but your question now becomes … but what do I do with them? Here’s a few examples & projects that you can do with things you already have in your house.
How to Cover a Bic Round Stic Pen with Polymer Clay
Well, it’s about time…my first ever polymer clay video tutorial! Perhaps I can get one of these made every month for all my wonderful readers and claying friends…but we’ll have to see. Today’s how-to is a polymer clay pen tutorial. Before you begin watching the video there’s a few things you will need.
I absolutely love meeting new polymer clay artists. The first thing they say when I ask if they have made a pen yet is: “You can do that?” I giggle to myself and tell them, yes, you can do that. It’s a simple, easy, & basic project. Even for beginners. This is not the first time that I have written about polymer clay pens, feel free to click the link to see some awesome talent. Tomorrow I am releasing a NEW tutorial on YouTube, just for you wonderful folks on how to cover a polymer clay pen.
There is truly nothing that makes me more sad and angry than spending hours making something gorgeous only for it to burn & or crack. This is horribly frustrating for every polymer clay artist. Today I’m going to give you my best hints, tips, & tricks to preventing this. We’re going to go back to basics and learn how to bake polymer clay.
In my opinion, cracking objects is often worse than burning objects. Objects that are burned can often be covered or disguised by antiquing, covering in a paint medium, using Perfect Pearls, or even Swellegant‘s line of products by Christi Friesen. However, when a project cracks, there is not a lot that you can do.
There aren’t many people who don’t like snowmen…unless you live in the tropics where snowmen do not exist because…well, they melt. But for those of us who live in areas with four seasons, we are blessed to have the ability to make snowmen when those gorgeous white flakes arrive. Every year I anticipate the coming of the snow, making of snow angels, and building the cutest snowmen in our country acre. But there’s always something missing…in my head, a snowman’s eyes tell his story. Well, for clayers and crafters, here’s a great weekend project for you. A DIY Snowman Kit. Perfect for Christmas gift exchanges this year.
I have had several of my teammates and friends on Etsy ask me if a blog is really a necessary aspect to Building Your Brand on Etsy. My answer, is yes. But here’s the catch…it has to be well thought out, well planned, and match the look and feel of the rest of your social media branding. So how do you do it? This week on “Build Your Brand” I am going to walk you through some of the basics of blogging and a reason to have a blog for your Etsy store…from here on out I will refer to this as your Etsy Blog, please do NOT get this confused with Etsy’s self run blog on the Etsy website.
Need a blog for your Etsy store? What should I blog about? ow.ly/fE1zP Build Your Brand Through Your Own Etsy Blog & Promote…
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] have recently been receiving several questions sent to me privately from some of my readers. I try to answer all questions as quickly as they come in. Feel free to ask me a question anytime and I will answer it directly or here on the blog.
Since this is the first time I have reposted an email that has come to me, I thought it best not to use the name of the person who sent the email. For this reason, I have “named” the letter and the person who wrote to me in the letter.
One of the most important things to send with your shipments is your business card. What should be on your card is a hotly debated issue and you will read lots of articles on what should be on it. There’s nothing wrong with doing a little research to see what Etsy recommends and what other people recommend, you certainly don’t have to take my word for it. You can do that easily by performing a basic Google search. But for today, I’m going to tell you why you need a business card for your polymer clay business and what I feel should be on your business card.
Your Christmas List better be made
One of my favorite things about working with polymer clay is that you can reuse everything … or should I say give your old things a new purpose, in other words: repurposed items you’ve already used! What kind of items can you reuse: everything. Well…okay, maybe not everything … but you certainly can reuse a LOT of things that you probably haven’t thought of, or may have thought of but haven’t taken the time to do so.
