Polymer Clay Bonus Craft
By: Import User
Updated: July 23, 2009
Showing how to make Polymer Clay canes is too involved to show it on GMFS, so I decided to put it on the Web Site instead. I called my niece, and favorite fellow-crafter Olivia, to help me with making canes. We sat down one Saturday morning and had a lot of fun coming up with different designs for canes.
Most of the following information came from my favorite book of all time – The Michaels Book of Arts & Crafts.
A cane is the tube of log of clay that has a pattern running through the length of it. As you slice a piece off, the image is revealed. Cane slices can be used as beads or thinner ones can be used as embellishments for various projects. The pattern can be simple or very intricate.
Jelly-roll Cane – Roll out at least two contrasting rectangular pieces of clay. Layer them, being careful not to trap any air bubbles. Roll the cane from the small end into a tube.
Bulls-eye Cane – Roll one color into a short log. Roll out a sheet of contrasting color and trim edges neatly. Place log on sheet and roll it up. Trim the edges so they butt up against each other when wrapped. Add as many layers as you want.
Striped Cane – Roll two or more contrasting colors into rectangular sheets and stack them. Cut the stack in half and place one on top of the other. Roll over layers as you stack them to press out air bubbles.
Flower Cane – Roll a small piece of yellow into a very thin log. Roll out five or six slightly larger logs in the color you want for the petals. Place them around the yellow flower center. Roll very small pieces of green to fill in between the flower petals logs. Wrap the entire cane with green. Roll very gently to make the various canes stick together.
Slicing Canes – Cut off slices of your cane with a polymer cutting blade or use a very thin piece of plastic. If the cane squishes or the pattern is distorted, the clay may be too warm. Allow it to rest several hours. Rotate the cane each time you slice to keep the pattern even.
Reducing Canes – Simply roll the cane out very slowly moving your hand up and down the cane (just like you made snakes out of “play dough”). You can make a triangular shaped cane by flattening three sides of a round cane.
