New flexible push molds for polymer clay, paperclay, etc.

Hi all, here's a few molds that have been added today:






They can be found at:
Nature Spirit Molds
and
Face Molds


ps. A few months ago I got some kittens to keep me company. I have to admit I've always been more of a dog person, but health wise I didn't think I'd be able to keep up with one. These kittens are cute, love to cuddle (for short periods of time before going to amuse themselves elsewhere) and are generally pretty low maintenance :)
Oh no! Kitten pictures!

News, cling cushion mounting foam, polymer clay push molds tutorial

Hi all, I'm happy to announce that my latest CTscan was all clear - My cancer has been in total remission and remains so! I've had some side effects from treatments, but they are entirely manageable. Everything pales in comparison to cancer, so I'm feeling very positive about it all :)

I've made some improvements to my website this week, including adding new buttons to the main store index along with a new product - cling cushion foam for mounting your unmounted rubber stamps. I put up step by step images on the mounting page.



Updates have been made to the flexible push mold instructions. I can't believe I have forgotten to add this string of images that shows just how easy it is to use polymer clay or paperclay with the molds. There is also a few extra pictures about painting your clay. I'm almost done with the example art for a few new molds, I'll make another post this week with the new designs.



ps. To address a question I received about coloring on Stampbord last week:
I have a random assortment of color pencils including Prismacolor, Crayola, Rose Art, Prang etc. They all seem to work comparably on the Stampbord surface. However, the color intensity is at its best when used on the plain white surface. I also make sure my pencils are well sharpened.



Once you add inks or paints to the Stampbord the color pencils will react differently. For instance, alcohol ink, depending on the color and thickness of application tends to dominate the surface. Any color pencil you use over it will be a few shades away from the base color. In other words, you'll still be able to color over it, but it will be more of a transparent tint. Here are some I did with alcohol ink, stazon then color pencil:





For instance, if the alcohol ink is yellow and your pencil is green, the color you might end up with is a light yellow-green. This is usually enough color for me, but you will never get full color intensity when using them over a colored surface. You may also try using different inks, like dye inks or watercolors to stain the surface, which have less of an impact on the saturation of color pencils.

ATC Stampbord rubber stamped wall art project

I recently discovered Stampbord which is a sturdy board (like compressed wood) with a white clay coating. What's super neat about it is you can stamp on it, use all sorts of ink, paint, pencils, markers etc. on it... Then you can take an etching/engraving/scratch tool and carve away the top layer to expose the white clay underneath. I love how easy it is to make highlights, like the light is shining on your artwork.

Anyway, I ordered some ATC size (2.5" x 3.5") Stampbord pieces online (they also come in domino 1"x2" size.) I covered the surface with alcohol inks, stamped with stazon, colored with color pencils and (optionally) put a thin coat of mod podge to protect the surface.



This board is very sturdy, so a regular hole punch won't work - but I used my Cropidile punch tool. That Cropidile is amazingly strong (can punch through tin, wood, chipboard etc.) The board is too thick to set eyelets in, but I glued them into the holes and added beads for hanging on my wall or door. A couple more images on this project on this rubber stamp sheets page.

I've got so much more to do, I'm a million years behind schedule on making example art for my rubber stamp pages.


--
Medical update:
On a personal note, I had a CT scan on friday and have another test on wednesday to screen for cancer. I should know within the next week or so if I'm still doing ok with the Hodgkins Lymphoma. I found out that the radiation treatment damaged my thyroid worse than I thought, so I've been pretty tired lately while my blood levels got all wonky. My new doctor is really nice though, I think I'm in good hands.