Neon Edible Finger Paint!

Looking for a fun and safe art project for you and the kids? Well Jackie Cravener of I heart arts n Crafts shows you how to make edible finger paint that is not only fun for the kids but completely safe for the whole family. (not unless you have an allergy to the ingredients she suggest) You can read more about her cool craft idea here

Happy Crafting

Stacie Laurell Crafts

9 fun polymer clay tutorials from beginners to advanced

Polymer clay is fantastic for making little charms and ornaments, and it’s not as difficult to work with it as it may seem. From earrings to Christmas decorations, there are lots of fun things that can be made from polyclay and we’ve selected some projects from the Guidecentral community and from around the web for you to get started on developing your skills in working with polymer clay. Also keep in mind that these projects can be done with Cold Porcelain Air Dry Clay!  Click here to learn more!

How to Make Dice With Clay!

There’s so much you can do with clay! So much you can learn from it and so much you can make with it. It is a fun material to work with and you can come up with lots of fun projects to do with yourself, your kids, or family. Making your own clay dice to play games with is easy and fun for all ages. All you will need is some clay, the ability to bake the dice, and a tool for making the number holes (dots). Follow these easy instructions to make a quick and fun creation. In this picture tutorial you will learn how to make some really cool dice. The tutorial teaches you how to make dice with oven baked polymer clay but the same can be made with cold porcelain clay as well.  Click Here to view the article.

Happy Crafting!

STACIE LAURELL CRAFTS

The Best Varnish or Gloss to use on your Polymer Clay or Cold Porcelain Clay Work

There are lots of gloss and matte varnishes out there on the market for all of your polymer clay and cold porcelain needs and I always get asked the question which ones are the best? Well here I will tell you the characteristics of a good gloss or matte varnish.  There are several types as stated before. There is the Sculpey brand, Americana, and Deco to name a few. All of them work quite well if you use it properly. However I have used the sculpey brand years ago and found that it peels off over time. So i wouldn’t recommend.

Here are characteristics of a good Varnish – gloss or matte

• The varnish is somewhat thin in consistency– This means that you can apply several coats without worrying about dripping and air bubbles.
• The varnish is water based– On the product label it will tell you if it’s water based or not. Water based means water proof. How can a water based product be water proof you ask? Well i don’t know 🙂 but it is. The ones that are not listed as water based still works fine but keep in mind that because it is not water proof you must avoid getting your piece wet after it’s been dried or it will start to melt.
• Fast drying– This is a great advantage because the faster it dries the more coats you can add. You won’t have to wait hrs to apply the second or third coat of varnish.
• It’s washable and easy to clean up– Have you ever gotten varnish or gloss stuck on your art brushes? Well I have and it’s hell to get it off. I have had to throw out a couple of my best brushes because of the varnish not being “washable”: Washable varnish can be easily dissolved or removed with soap and water.
• High shine or smooth matte finish– I love a high gloss varnish because you can make anything look like glass. I also like a brand to have a good matte varnish so that when dried it has a smooth subtle look low shine look to it.

There is a high gloss varnish called tripple thick! it is super thick so you must use thin coats and add your second or third coat when the top coat has fully dried.  It has such a powerful high shine that you most likely won’t even need a second or third coat. It does not say if it’s water proof but if a little water gets on it, it’s fine and does not melt off immediately. If you submerge it into water and leave it there then you may be in some trouble and it will most likely dissolve. I sure hope these tips was helpful for your craft needs 🙂

Happy crafting

Stacie Laurell Crafts

Cold Porcelain Artist On Etsy – Tathy’s Clay Designs

These gorgeous photos are from a shop on Etsy called Tathy’s Clay designs. As you can see, The possibilities are endless with cold porcelain clay. This shop sells cake toppers made from cold porcelain clay (The clay used in this photo was not from Stacie Laurell Crafts)

To visit this shop you can click Here

Happy Crafting

Stacie Laurell Crafts

Charms made with Cold Porcelain Polymer Clay

I’ve taken a look around youtube and have seen many young adults showing their collection of charms they made with cold porcelain clay. Although there are still many people who are not familiar with cold porcelain clay, many are starting to prefer it over oven baked polymer clay.  It may be because cold porcelain clay air dries where as polymer clay has to be baked.  you will have to wait for your charms to dry when using cold porcelain but the wait time really isn’t that long depending on the size of the piece.  There is a small issue of shrinkage with cold porcelain clay but if you make your craft piece slightly bigger than what you desire it should come out the size you prefer.

If you make your own cold porcelain clay, there is a recipe on the internet that does not require cooking and that formula does not shrink.

One of the reasons some prefer cold porcelain over polymer clay is because you are able to imitate most materials such as glass, plastic, ceramic and more! Also when first dried the clay has a nice smooth porcelain finish. You can paint your charms when they are dried. It can also be sanded and varnished. Make sure your clay is completely dried before adding paint or varnish because if it is not fully dried you can get air bubbles in your paint or gloss.

Handmade beads can also be made with this great clay. As stated before this clay can imitate glass so you can make some gorgeous faux glass beads for jewelry making. IF you are unsure which clay to use I would suggest to try them both so you can do the comparison yourself!

Happy Crafting!

Stacie Laurell Crafts (Stacielaurellcrafts.com)

#charms #coldporcelainclay