LETTERING
Summary
of possibilities
....using guides for non-crooked lettering
Onlaid,
or free-standing
...ropes,
canework ropes, highlighting/antiquing, sculpted, liquid clay
...other materials
to onlay
Cutouts
...cutters... pattern
sheets, etc.
...stencil/freehand w/ Xacto-needle
Stamps
and Molds
Carving,
inscribing, writing
Transfers
Canes
Other ways to make letters + Misc.
INKS
Inks for surface effects
+ for tinting
....basic types
of inks and inkpads, differences
....alcohol-inks
(transparent --Pinata, Adirondack, etc)
.......gen.
info ...brands....application...thinners....make your own
.......uses
.........for
tinting clays (solid & liquid ... in canes, etc)
.........in stacks (mokume,etc)
.........for surface techniques (patterns
on surface, crackling, painting, antiquing, etc)
....pearlescent
inks ....crackling, mokume, etc
....chalk
inks
Other "inks" + Misc.
More
websites
Inks for writing &
drawing on clay
...preparation & sealing
...pens,
markers, etc.
.......pigment pens
.......dip pens/etc for tinted liquids
(acrylics, inks, etc.)
.......markers (alcohol-based, pigment, Sharpies, chalk)
.......gel pens
.......paint markers
...Misc.
drawing, writing, painting on clay
LETTERING & INKS
LETTERING
Condensed
list of some technique Ideas:
....transferring (all
kinds)
...stamping ... molds, carving erasers ....cells
...cutouts
...canes,
and cane work
...carving, backfilling ... etching
...onlaying ropes or
other extrusions
...mosaics, micro-mosaics
..liquid clay (piping,
painting with, filling in, etc.)
..writing/drawing
..wire
The
following pages show or have lessons on many
ways of making letters:
Sculpey website
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestival2.htm
Etsy
guild sites have various examples
http://bp1.blogger.com/_LnD1XmFixc4/Rm2P8WHJNUI/AAAAAAAAAF0/ri1bQqhmgyY/s1600-h/501531532_a49faffdb2.jpg
http://pcagoe.com
Most
of these techniques can also be used to make polymer clay lettering for
name tags ... gift tags... cards...covers for journals,
notebooks, etc.... bookmarks, and more.
Guides for Avoiding Crooked Lettering (or not)
When creating words or any combination of letters, it's sometimes difficult to keep them straight (or curved, or however you want them):
Could
use two parallel lines (straight, curved, or whatever) for placing the
letters *between* to help keep the letters all at the same height, etc.
....perhaps
drawing lightly on the item with something erasable like pencil or chalk
... or using two pieces of tape, rubber bands, etc. to form the
lines
....or write or lightly impress the letters on the raw clay first
with a ball stylus or pin pricks as a guide
....Patti
K's lesson on using ballpoint ink to transfer lettering onto
clay to create lettering guide for a stamp (for a gift tag)
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/gifttag.htm
(gone)
What I do is to deliberately tilt the letters in different directions, move them up and down a bit from the 'line' they should be on, and make it look 'random' but 'arty'. Crafty Owl.
ONLAID + FREE-STANDING lettering
ROPES
(see
Clay Guns for more info on
making even-thickness ropes which are round,
square, rectangular, triangular, etc.)
Karyn's
names on kids' pins (or anything) made with thin ropes of polymer clay)..
simple, sans serif... along with simple flowers,faces,etc.
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/catherinescreations.html
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/karyn.html
various nametags with onlaid ropes from Mile High guild
http://www.mhpcg.org/clayDays/claydays02/sept2002/sept2002.html
Josephine's
onlaid letters with spirals at end of each
...also made from
analogous "blended" colors from clay gun ...(not cursive)
...the initial capital letters have more than one
rope line (sometimes wavy, etc.)
http://www.npcg.org/milehigh/MHPCG%20Images/josephine/jose1.jpg
Jeanne R's lettering with ropes of
colors ...some portions are plain colors which are
joined to areas where 2 colors are twisted together
(cursive)
http://www.heartofclay.com/pc/juggler.htm
Dimples'
lesson on twisted ropes of color to shape individual letters (printed)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_EasyLetters.htm
....Kathy
G' used a rope made from 2 twisted rope
colors to write on her nametag (cursive, etc.) (website
gone)
Dar
first covered metal coffee cans, then "wrote" the content
on the outside with ropes of clay http://www.dar.addr.com/pctools5.jpg
(gone)
Jan Ohio's
polymer names with figures & name on sheriff's badge http://www.jjacksondesigns.homestead.com/Elves.html
(gone)
Marie
S's large freestanding letters, embellished with cutouts, and attached
to a polymer base
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-04/pages/oops.htm
Marie
Segal's (large) polymer names...
letters made with thick, solid-colored ropes,
then pressed together
... tabletop "scenes" with figures
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/oldstuff1.htm
Marie
S's large freestanding letters, on a clay base with sports objects
as a theme
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-04/pages/tyree1.htm
could
place ropes of Balinese Filigree extrusions in letter shape, and bake...
then fill in the lower areas in and around the ropes with another clay
color of clay . .(for more on general BF technique,
see Onlay > Balinese Filigree)
various
kinds of ropes can also be pressed down into a clay sheet or slab
(or other shape?) after onlaying... the letter shapes will still be visible
...Leah's name on a plaque made with pressed-down 2-color twisted
rope (website gone)
...Clayfreak's
lesson on twisted square rope of mica
clay, embedded into sheet of clay, for a letter
"B" (gone) (see
details on techique tho in Mica > Twisted
Ropes)
Evelyn's lettering has unusual
"font" ... each letter composed of several tapered, triangular
pieces (Japanese-look?)...on a clay plaque
http://www.geocities.com/evelynspoly/galleri/juli01/misc01.jpg
more
on ropes:
...I made 40 or so personalized
pens for the teachers at my school -- covered the pens with polyclay and
sanded them, rubbed on a drop of Diluent-Softener with my finger (let sit
a few minutes till tacky), then stuck on the names I formed with raw Premo extruded
string in script. Worked great. LynnDel
....
Draw the size and shape of lettering you want on a
piece of paper, then lay a piece of translucent paper (tracing, patty,
or waxed paper) on top of it. Create the lettering by placing the clay snakes
over the drawn sample. . . . Then either lay the xmas ornament (or other background)
on the clay writing, rolling it over to pick up all the lettering,
or press the writing down a bit then pick up the waxed paper and lay it with the
lettering where you want it to be on the ornament (oops, guess this way would
require the writing to be backwards--in that case, write with dark ink
then trace through on the back side of the paper, or write on waxed paper or a
bit of transparency sheet, etc., then turn over before tracing).
HIGHLIGHTING
& COMPLETE COVERAGE (with powders)
...clay rope lettering can be
highlighted with metallic powder
.....or clay ropes could also
be completely covered with powders (if onlaying onto another clay sheet,
would be best to leave the underside of the rope without powder since it
could act as a release and keep rope from having good contact)
INCLUSIONS
...any
inclusions could be used to make ropes (or cutouts, etc.) for lettering (see Inclusions
and Fauxs for ideas)
Sunni's
free-sculpted letters with inclusions (foil
flakes in translucent clay) + onlaid sculpted
flowers (as necklace)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_jun00.html
.... http://sunnisan.com/crafts/text.html
(see Stamping below for faux stone clay impressed with stamps)
FAUXS
Susan B's faux-ivory woman
and decorative wood rod creating the letter D, with cane slice onlays...
placed onto a background
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalD2.htm
MARBLED CLAY
... marble 2 or more colors, then roll into ropes,
square ropes, etc., and shape as letters
STAMPED, TEXURED
... could stamp
or press a texture sheet on top of already-formed rope letters just to
give texture (could then highlight or antique too)
SCULPTED
+ CANE-SLICE onlays
Debbie's many sculpted onlays on a large letter
W
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalW.htm
Diane
N's cane slice onlays on tree bark made from marbled clay logs
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalA2.htm
COVERED
ARMATURES
...cover a permanent (or temporary) armature --purchased or made--
with cane slice sheets or other pattern sheets, onlays, etc,
Karen P. covered
a wooden letter with onlays, etc.
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalI.htm
syndee
covered an aluminum foil in shape of letter with overlapped, torn
pieces of black clay colored with various mica powder colors (Pearl Ex)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalR2.htm
CANEWORK
ropes, etc.
... can cover logs of clay with cane slices or with
cane sheets, then shape them into letters (for freestanding letters or
for onlaying onto other clay)
SCENES
Sandy
R made a letter as a "scene"... her T became a tree,
with onlays of leaves and little critters... background is a grid of mosaic-tiles
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalT.htm
LIQUID
CLAY (usually tinted) :
create letters by painting or piping liquid
clay onto a sheet of glass in letter shapes, and bake
....... then peel
off the translucent shapes and place them on other clay, or
on a window, etc.
(see Liquid Clay
> Films, Decals for much more on this)
use tinted liquid clay as a regularl
"paint" (maybe for highlighting the tops of rope letters,
or in other ways) by adding mica or real-metal powders, or oil paints, or some
inks, to tint the liquid clay
each section
of Amy K's letter was textured ...then highlighted with stamp pad
ink... then backfilled with black liquid clay (..sections then placed together
on background)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalF.htm
Patty K's tinted liquid clay (with alcohol ink) painted
over baked textured gold clay which has been covered with gold mica powder
and surrounded by gold rope frame
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalO2.htm
Kellie R used purple-inted liquid clay inside
each star-shaped cutout cell of a gold clay sheet which had been
cut in shape of a letter and framed (on top of a base sheet of clay)
...OR
perhaps, the top gold sheet with cutous was placed on top of a solid purple
sheet, so that the purple showed through
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_LetterFestivalE.htm
other materials to onlay ......(dimensional)
acrylic
gel medium (that paste stuff in a container which will become dimensional,...
when dry?)
.... it comes in all sorts
of textures, stiffness, and gloss through flat. . . .You can tint
it with acrylic paint or paint pigments, but, since it looks "milky" before
it dries, it often doesn't appear to be the right tint at first. It dries clear,
though, and the color shines through beautifully . You can use it on paper,
canvas, or (baked) polymer clay . . . You can also run it through just
about any cake-decorating tip to make designs. . . . It is produced by
both "Golden" and "Liquitex" brands and available at art supply
stores, and I know Michael's has it. Barb
.... use
it alone, or as a way to make a stamp or mold:
Quick
Pen....glue pen used with metal leafing
. . . write or fill-in-draw as you would with a marker ...let the glue tack-up
about 2 minutes, then apply leaf. Brush off excess with soft bristle brush...
would also work with foils??
FimoZone
http://store.yahoo.com/fimo/73210.html ... $2.49... # 73210
(see info on hot foiling pens in Leaf > Foils)
cutters
Alphabet
cutters of various kinds and sizes can be purchased
--from less than 1" tall to well over 2"-- as cookie cutters, aspic
cutters, etc ...or you can make your own cutters
(see Cutters
> Sources for suppliers
of various sizes of these alphabet and number cutters
...the smallest are around 1/2"?
....also see "technical details"
on that page for ways to keep clay from sticking in cutters, releases,
techniques, etc.)
(see Cutters
> Making Your Own as well)
Marie S's miniature
toy train, with each car carrying a (cutout) letter (of a child's
name, etc.)
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-02/pages/train1.htm
I
used alphabet cutters (for the letters of my name)... then I
placed the letters right next to each other on the cookie sheet (so they
joined)
....put some flowers on for embellishment... baked ...then
attached the joined letters onto my computer monitor with 3M-putty stuff. Annadara
These
cutters can be used to cut out letter shapes from patterned or from
solid-color clay sheets or slabs
...pattern sheets could have second plain-clay layer underneath for more thickness
if needed
(see Sheets of Pattern for loads
of possibilities)
stencils or freehand ....with Xacto or needle tool
You
can cut your letters out freehand from a patterned or solid-color
sheet of clay, using an Xacto knife or a long pin, etc.
....for
info on how to do that in various ways, see Cutters-Blades
> Cutting Out Freehand and Stencils & Templates
Marie
Browning's lesson making onlaid raised lettering on
"mossy stones"
...she uses 1" alphabet stencil to mark
letters (making letters whole)
....and cuts them out with perpendicular
Xacto knife...then uses them as onlays (to see more, see Outdoor
> Sun > Lessons) http://www.craftsmag.com/projects/project.ihtml?content_id=284&cat_idx=
You can also print your lettering on your printer first
..then
make a clay sheet ...place the printed paper
on the clay
...use a ball stylus or other object to trace
the outline of the number... when you remove the paper, there will be an impression
in the clay of the number
...cut around the shape with a xacto knife...
remove the excess clay...then bake. Diana
stencils
...or masking off
...Get a stenciling
template and cut out your letters from slabs using a fine needle
tool and the stencil for a guideline. Lyrael
...I had a great idea today for doing very small letters on polymer clay.....
I came across a brass laser cut stencil.... straight lines
of letters can be difficult...this would solve that problem. The stencil is quite
small maybe 2 x 3 inches (that fits the entire alphabet upper and lower
case). . . . . There would be a couple of ways to apply the lettering, either
with the stylus . .
..... or you could use something like pearl
ex powders while covering up the unwanted letters.. -NF
...........small
pieces of masking tape would work for covering the other letters while you pearl-ex
the letters. Sally
....you could cut your own letters from waxed paper
(or other paper, plastic film, cardstock), then use those as stencils to apply
metallic powders, etc. . . . or you could use your stencils guides to
emboss or carve the clay
Individual letters or whole words can be created with stamps (and molds) of all kinds.
stamps
On baked
clay, rubberstamps can be used with inks or paints in the same way as one
would stamp anywhere, to put flat stamped lettering on clay.
.......pigment
inks may work best... or seal or bake them to keep from smearing
On
raw clay, stamps can be used to make an impression of the
stamp in the clay, often without ink but could use inked stamps (or metallic powders,
etc.).
This technique is more common in
polymer clay than simply stamping in the normal way.
.....I
tried dipping a letter stamp in some Pearl-Ex ( tamping excess
off), and pressing it onto a sheet of clay. . . if inked impression is
not clean looking
enough, can sand upper surface later
highlighting just the topmost areas of stamped raw clay with metallic powders or other things creates a wonderful look and makes the lettering really stand out
antiquing
or backfilling, or otherwise using coloring only in depressions
of a stamped impression will also make it stand out more :
...impressions
can be made in raw clay with uninked stamps or other implements, then backfilled
after baking with soft/raw clay or acrylic paints, or tinted liquid clay, etc.
...impressions can also be made in raw clay with inked stamps.....ink can
be applied with make-up sponge
.......pigment inks may work best... (or seal
or bake them to keep from smearing)
...I tried
dipping a letter in some Pearl-Ex and pressing it onto a sheet of
clay. . . . may not be very clean looking
though (sand)
(...after any of these techniques, sanding the baked
clay can remove excess color from the upper areas)
...baked clay can also
be carved with various tools, then backfilled (see Carving)
...Jean S's bowls with the word "Dream" or "Galaxy", etc.,
in the inside bottom (stamped with ink?)
http://www.pbase.com/stargazer/bowls
...Marie
S's fun necklace ...faux stone or ivory "tiles" each stamped
with individual letter, then antiqued with brown acrylic paint
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-04/pages/irish.htm
....Denver Guild name tag ...stamped, then possibly covered with gold
powder, baked, and sanded leaving gold only
in depressions ...(top rolled over to accomodate rattail? for neckwear)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/july2001/muse.html
lesson
on stamping a cursive text stamp onto raw clay with pigment ink
(as a background, before adding other stamped images and baking)
to make a pin)... looks like the stamping created isn't very deep
in this case?
http://www.theclaystore.com/pages-tutorials/polymer-clay-project-tutorials.html?action=showTut&tutID=20
Debbie
Anderson's dangled stamped
"Imagine" letters underneath
the frame of a pin ( John
Lennon transfer)
http://www.geocities.com/thousand_canes/full/pins01.jpg
few options for the background
so the stamped letters will show up well
...use a contrasting
color solid clay for the background (or use a metallic powders, leaf, paints,etc.)
...or
create a contrast in the stamped area by antiquing or backfilling
it with a contrasting color of clay, paint, ink, etc.
...marbled
clay, or clay patterns, can make good backgrounds too
.......e.g., Skinner
or other blends....or a pattern made from just any technique (...cane
slices, mokume gane, mica clays, etc.)
After any of these techniques, sanding the baked clay surface can remove excess color from the upper areas.
nowwhatzine
's lesson on making individual-letter tiles
(each tile has a letter stamped into it)
...tiles are cut on a tray with cornstarch
on it to avoid sticking, following the outlines which were impressed by
the edges of the wood mount of the the stamp (can rock stamp in the clay
a bit to get these lines if necessary)
...impressed and baked tiles are then
arranged onto a background, glued on, then framed (cardboard
matte frame)
http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/nowwhatzine/hiddenmessages3.html
http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/nowwhatzine/hiddenmessages.html
(several pgs)
word stones, "touch stones," "worry
stones"... and letters
...Years ago I bought a piece of glass that
had been etched with *words*... the kind that speak to you on many levels. I started
a word list of my own way back then... and thought they'd work up real well in
polymer, but never did it till now. . .
.... I used different faux treatments
than you did... and I used stamp sets to create the words & symbols...I
sanded, buffed & antiqued 'em... It was fun. Joanie
...I gave some word stones to our secretary in a handmade felt pouch,
and she keeps it on her desk... every morning when she comes to work she picks
her word (without looking first) for the day. I do the same thing, but
at home and its amazing how the word seems to be just what's needed for that day.
Joyce
...I was working on some words for sister & my niece who's getting married
soon. I think I'm going to make them a bowl as well to hold them in.
I'll suggest they start their days off that way too & see how it works out for
them, thanks! Joanie
.....would be good for general gifts, AIDS patients,
anyone . . . I agree...it would be a wonderful item to donate to troubled
people. They make a good *focus* point to bring your mind away from
your particular trouble & back to something that's positive, or important, in
your life. Joanie
...some touch stones (made with inclusions)
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/playwithclay.html
...what
about number, letter or shape stones for kids learning to read, math, etc.?
individual
letters can also be stamped onto faux stone
...Cindy's runes
stamped (using metallic powder) onto clay covered with leaf
(variegated gold and copper), then covered with thin translucent
clay
http://www.cindysartandsoul.com/runes.html
...rune
pendants antiqued, and one highlighted with dark gold powder too?
http://www.macphersoncrafts.com/FreeProjects/Fimo_Hobbit_RuneStones_lg.jpg
(for more on impressing words (and letters, runes) into faux stones
, see Gifts > Misc. Ideas --near
bottom)
Tonja's alphabet letter
pins. . . .I stamped each letter using a rubberstamp from an alphabet
set from Rubber Stampede onto the clay (they already have a texture)...
then I just trimmed away the excess clay around the sides,
leaving raised edges (like a raised frame around a depressed interior)
..
. . . I then carefully took small pieces of
foil and gently applied it to the center areas, trying to keep it off the
raised edges (!).... Then I coated the edges with Pearl-X and baked
the letters. ....after they cooled,I applied a very thin coat of liquid clay and
baked again (think it took 3 times to get the area filled) ....Once
all that was done, I used a bit of that scrap clay to hold on the pinback and
baked it one last time.
http://www.tonjastreasures.com/gallery.html
can also make faux "letter beads" like those for newborns... or letter tiles for necklaces like those which have been popular?
(METAL
letter stamps...purchased)
...1/4"
alphabet and number stamps, including "&" and
"." .....plus holder (brass spring-action setter intended for
impressing the letters into metal)
http://www.coilconnection.com/metalstamps.htm
...1/16"
and 1/8" metal alphabet stamps
http://polymerclayexpress.com/creativeclaystamps.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=37154
...Tandy
Leather Company has metal stamps in small sizes designed for
stamping onto leather, including several sizes and styles of alphabets.
They are perfect for what you are describing, and have nice long-ish handles that
screw on so you don't run the risk of damaging your clay by trying to dig out
a flat stamp with your fingertip. I have tried some variations on your idea before,
and all were successful! You can still order from Tandy by going to http://www.TandyLeather.com.
They are strictly mail order now.
...metal dies used for marking tools.
The dies that I found at Harbor Freight (.com) are quite heavy and not
as large as 1" . Karen in NC
... IJS and other jewelry supply houses
carry metal stamps made for working with metals. Meredith
...find
an old typewriter and rip out the keys to use as alphabet and
number stamps?
...I went to a local
antique shop and bought a set of 14pt. Cheltenham (a classic serif face).
Upper and lower case alphabets plus 10 numbers and some punctuation cost
about $15. It did take over an hour to sort through the type tray to find everything
but it was worth it! . . . I tried dipping a letter in some Pearl-Ex and pressing
it onto a sheet of clay. Looked pretty good but the impression of the letter isn't
as deep as a stamp would be and I had to be careful not to get an impression of
the edge of the lead carrier. Experiments continue! --Carolyn
I
made my own tiny letter stamps
.. first I bought a rubberstamp
making kit of individual letters and numbers
($10.99 from office supply department at WalMart)... the kind that you could
make a return address.....
..... I superglued each tiny number to
the unsharpend end of a pencil, and now I have a complete set
of number stamps. Ohio Jan
.....or you could
put the tiny stamps in the holder that comes with them and use that way....
it does have only four lines, but you could also make a larger holder
for the letters out of polymer clay!
I
use alphabet macaroni (lettering and numbers) for little stamps to use
on the backs of some of my stuff.
.......I bake little squares of clay then
superglue the macaroni letters to the clay face down ....one
bag lasts a lifetime!
...see also Marie's lesson on using alphabet macaroni
(and a background strip or clay shape) to make silicone molds of the letters and
shapes (like little plaques) ... just below in "Molds"
...
various shapes of macaroni are also sold for seasonal usages.... violins,
angels, christmas trees, sample houses....they're pretty small though.
....I baked that "texture sheet" with many pieces of alphabet
pasta in it (it worked quite well with the flexible clay & Premo mix...
after baking, it was really easy to bend and kind of flick out the pasta,
especially if you dusted the clay with baby powder or cornstarch). Jainnie
.......(could
also put the letters/shapes in the raw clay sheet, then make a texture sheet
mold)
...Mary Lyons' lesson on creating for a spelling,
etc. game for kids with cubes of clay and a pasta
alphabet letter pressed into each side
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_entertaining_other/article/0,1801,HGTV_3116_1380656,00.html
To make a stamp that produces
raised lettering, use a ballpoint pen to write your name
or logo or initials on a sheet of paper. Place the paper ink side down on a raw
sheet of polymer clay. Press into place and let rest about fifteen-twenty minutes.
Lift off the paper and to reveal the transfered design, a mirror image
of the original. Use a ball stylus or a tapestry needle to engrave along
the ink lines. Gently, very gently, run a roller over the engraved lines
to reduce the burrs or rough edges. Clean up the lines again with your engraving
tool and bake. …. Once baked, the ink will be fixed in the clay and won't transfer
when you use your mold. This method works best if you scribe your design into
a sheet of raw clay that's atop a sheet of baked clay. The baked clay prevents
you from scribing too deeply….You can attach to a polymer handle after baking
if you wish. After baking, the ink residue left on the clay does not seem to transfer.
Katherine
.... to "write" on the clay (to create an impression), I like
to use fine tip ball point pen that has run out of ink. (The
ink dispensers I like are the clear ones so you can see the ink is really out.
I then ( with a syringe), put in some alcohol to clean the cartridge out well.)
The pen nib, being a metal ball, rolls on the clay, thus not scratching it. For
thicker lines, use a medium size pen.. . Beanster
...To
make a stamp that produces recessed lettering, use two-step
mold process. Do this by engraving your design or signature directly into the
raw clay. Again, use a roller to clean up any burrs, and
bake. Make a mold of the recessed image and bake. ....The second mold
will have raised edges and be a mirror image. It will produce a recessed signature
in the clay. This is the technique I use to sign my sculptures. I keep the original
engraved clay master and replace my mold when it begins to show wear. — Katherine
...to
make a stamp that produces a raised lettering, print initials (reverse!)
into raw clay and bake...
........to make a stamp that produces a impressed
or "incised" letterint, .print initials into clay and bake.....then stamp
that baked bit into more raw clay, and bake that. Cathy
To
make a hand-written or hand-drawn mold (for a signature
or other):
... write your name(in cursive, or however you want) or do
other writing or drawing on a piece of paper (I use tissue paper).
....place
the paper on a slab of scrap clay, then trace over it, pressing hard enough
to leave an impression.
....now, carve out the lines, neaten
any rough spots, and bake.
..You will now use this piece as the matrix for
the next step:
. . . . .Using mold release (Armorall, corn starch), press a
ball of raw clay into the carved out section. (I then shape the ball of clay while
it's still pressed in the "mold" to a shape I can easily hold) (...the
stamp will be properly reversed).
........Bake this and voila! you have a
signature stamp! (idea from Tory Hughes' video tape "Molds, Stamps and
Tools" ) karen
...For
large, flat pieces I have used a scrap of super sculpey to make a texture stamp
of my signature, but that doesn't seem to work well on small things. Halla
you
can also create your own letter stamps with clay ropes which are attached
to a sheet of clay (in reverse!) ... bake ...then use as a stamp
... the
same thing can be done with string or other cording glued
onto a block of wood or clay, etc.
you can make your own stamp with clay ...I made the original signature fairly deep, baked it. Dusted it with cornstarch then pressed raw clay into it, peeled that out, then baked it and mounted it on a scrap of wood as a stamper.
see more on making your own stamps-molds below in Molds... the two techniques can overlap
create
your own letter stamps from white plastic erasers
.... http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/316/ltr.html
(see more on eraser carving in Stamping)
Ready Stamps....Draw or
copy on paper whatever you want in the way of lettering, and send it off to Ready
Stamps (see Stamping) .... you will
receive a rubberstamp and a mold (positive and negative) for any
text (or graphics) you've sent http://www.polyclay.com/ready.htm
--or have it done at an office supply or rubberstamp store.
.....If you are getting a logo stamp made at someplace like Office Max,
e.g. , I suggest that you choose print that is very thin and has
large holes in the "a's, e's, etc." In fact, I use the "economy-print"
feature on my printer because it give me the thinnest lines---therefore the
stamp impression is "more crisp" and distinguishable. mamadude
....I used
a script font in my computer and typed out my first name reversed
onto a sheet of paper. I did this in several sizes. . . . then I sent it
to a place (ReadyStamps) and had a matrix and a hard plastic sheet (innie and
outie) made. Dotty
... I use the hard plastic sheet to "print" my signature
onto raw clay. Works great. I use all the sizes, depending on the piece
I'm signing. Dotty in CA
signature
possibilities:
...nowadays
I use a signature stamp. I just press a thin piece of clay into
the stamp ... I put that onto each piece.
...... After baking I sand,
buff, and often antique so the letters show better.
......The stamp
is very small so it can go on most all of the work I do. Dotty
.....I
sometimes forget to put the signature on before baking, so after baking
I put the sig onto a small piece of raw clay, bake that, then glue
it onto the piece. Dotty
....Varda bakes
the impression of her name from a credit card to use as a mold for
imprinting her name on raw clay
...some
people actually "sign" each piece by writing-inscribing in the raw clay.
...I
signed my pieces for a long time by inscribing a dot and a large T into the unbaked
clay.
......others
make signature canes, then cut off a thin slice and put it on their work.
Dotty
....see making a signature stamp with one's own handwriting
or drawing, below in Carving
....see
more in Stamping as well
....see also "molds"
just below
individual
letters can be made from molds (purchased or made )
http://www.sculpey.com/Scrapbook101.htm
Sculpey's Alphabet pushmold ...http://www.sculpey.com/Products/products_eztheme.htm
alphabet
molds (some are intended for use with gum paste)
http://www.sweetc.com/ (Catalog/page 82)
Create any letters or lettering you want with black ink on a piece of paper, then send to Ready Stamps.... they will return a stamp sheet, a mold sheet which can all be used with clay (more details on Ready Stamps in Stamping)
Make a positive of each individual letter
by sculpting or otherwise forming the letters out of raw clay (ropes,
freehand, cut-outs, molded letters, etc.) (draw
or print out the alphabet you want first, if you want). Bake.
....use
these single letters as is,
OR....place baked letters on a background
sheet of raw clay in the position you want for words or other groupings,
then rebake, and make a mold of that (or use as is)
....transfer
the design to baked clay and carve the letter out.
...then take a mold
of the positive you just made, building up the sides for a mold or making
a handle for a stamp.
(for words or inidividual letters)
....I
bought one of those hand label guns (with the tape) for my raised
lettering and made an Alley Goop (silicone) mold from it..... I pressed
out the name I wanted with the gun, made the mold, and then put raw clay
in the mold! It works perfectly! .....now I can use powders or metallic powders
to highlight the lettering! . . . a fast easy way to get your name, or other
words onto your product!
.......one tip: to see if there are any areas
that need to be corrected, first press some clay onto the label you
made...(I noticed that the little hole in the R gets
filled in, and the E needs to be more
distinct...so I used a wax tool to get into those areas (on the label)
and pressed down ...then check it with clay again... when it's right, make
a mold and go from there. Karen (Clay Alley)
Varda bakes the impression of her name from a credit card to use as a mold for imprinting her name on raw clay
Marie's
lesson on using alphabet pasta to make lettering on strip
"banners" or on shaped "plaques"
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_MoldMaking.htm
...place
pasta letters onto #1 sheet of raw clay (facing upward) on a sheet of
glass or ceramic tile however wanted
...press down on all lettering
at one time (not more than 1/2 way through clay sheet) with foam side of foam-backed
stamp (or something else stiff, but with a little give maybe) to make all
letters extend upward ti the same height
...cut a strip or other
shape around each set of letters (or make several strips for rows of
words)... remove all excess clay
...bake, on tile without moving
clay... let cool on tile
...mix 2-part silicone putty (see Molds>Silicone
Putties) --or use flexible clay, regular clay or another
molding material, with a release) but silicone will give the greatest detail
to the molded letters
......press slab of putty (roughly same
shape as clay shape) over baked clay and pasta on tile, pressing down all around
onto tile just past baked clay (don't let putty get too thin)
...let putty
cure 15 min or recommended time for brand... remove from tile, then
remove mold from clay
...use logs, strips, or balls of raw clay to fill
the molded areas (see Molds > Making
Yourself for info on how to use molds, releases, remove clay, etc)
...apply raw clay to an item as embellishment... or bake
clay and glue on later or use singly as spelling tiles, etc.
see more on making your own stamps-molds above in Stamping... the two techniques overlap a lot
liquid clay (tinted or not) can also
be filled into depressions created by a stamped impression
in raw clay, which is baked (...or by carving, as below)
...for
(filling in) impressed lettering, you could tint liquid clay with artists'
oil paint (or Pearl Ex, or a few other things), then flow it into the dents...
then wipe it off the surface, and bake (300, 10 min for greatest clarity)
. Jody B
(... see much more on this technique in Liquid
Clays > Cloisonne > "liquid clay in the cells")
.... or use as a glaze
on molded lettering
CARVING & writing-/inscribing letters
carve
letters into baked clay, then:
....leave as is
...after
baking, backfill with another color of clay , and bake again (excess
may need to be removed from suface by sanding)
........see more
on this in Carving > Backfill
...
backfill the depressed areas with tinted liquid clay, etc.
........see
more on this in Liquid
Clay > Cloisonne > "liquid clay
in cells"
...antique
the depressed areas with acrylic paints
...highlight
the topmost areas with metallic powders, or with liquid clay with
inclusions
.........I used Rub "n Buff metallic wax to color my raised
lettering (...also found out that I could use a tiny bit of Diluent-Softener to
"erase" it)
I often sign my work with a scratch tool after baking ...then you can highlight in scrimshaw fashion by brushing gesso on, letting it dry, and buffing off the excess with a plastic wool scrubber.. . better to do it after you've glazed the item. The paint sticks nicely to the scratches, but buffs off readily from the rest. Halla
For years
I've been trying to find a way to sign my polymer work without using a magic marker
or a stamp. I've finally found what I've been looking for. A small, battery
operated hand engraver.... IT'S FANTASTIC! On my first try on baked
clay I was able to finally sign a piece that didn't look contrived! And because
it's the size of a marker it didn't bother my arthritis, just held it like a pen
and signed!!! . . . my engraver is about 7" long, black and grey and has a small
'diamond' point end. The point is about the size of a pencil tip and
it engraves very tiny words. I've never had a problem controlling it but
everyone is different..... Perfect signature because the pressure is so light
and the clay is so soft after baking. . . . Look around in your home improvement
stores, you might be able to find one there. ...love the fact that I can sign
my work and it doesn't look hokey. Carolyn
http://www.essentialscompany.co.uk/Metal_Labels.html
? http://www.minicrafttools.com/engraver.html
?
... Those are like mine and don't know the name. Think it was one
of those no name brands...think of a big fat magic marker that's a bit longer
and you've got the size and basic shape. Carolyn
Sometimes
I sign with a needle tool before baking. Halla
....Some
people actually "sign" each piece by writing-inscribing in the raw clay....I
signed my pieces for a long time by inscribing a dot and a large T into the unbaked
clay. Dotty
(see technique for making a stamp by drawing or writing on tissue paper, tracing over with a stylus, then baking before carving out the slightly-incised lines more deeply to create a above in Stamping)
(see more in Carving) ......and see other ways to put a signature on pieces in Stamping above
Do
a direct transfer of the letters onto clay .
. . or create a decal
transfer then place wherever needed (see Transfers
for many transfer techniques)
Could you transfer
the lettering (which had been copied in reverse) onto raw clay, then
press in the lettered areas with a tool like I did with an
embossing stencil? Hmmmm. Julia S
...or press around the outside
of the letters, so they'd end up raised?
I created a whole page of my name and logo in reverse on my laser printer (if no laser printer, photocopy reversed lettering instead). I then cut them apart. . . . When I bake, I set the raw clay object on one of these small pieces of paper (normally a flat spot on the back or bottom). this causes the laser ink to transfer to the object and will be proper. . . . If there isn't a flat spot I wet the paper and mold it to an easy curve, then bake.( If the piece is large and I don't want to bake the whole thing, I will tape the piece of paper onto a relatively hidden area like the base and then get out an embossing gun (or hair dryer) and heat up the paper.) Wala transferred ink. ....I tried to scratch off the ink on my test pieces. On those pieces that were baked sitting on the paper, the ink is a part of the object. . . but on pieces where I have added the label after firing, It does SCRAPE off, but still takes some work. Lysle
I do sometimes do transfers of drawings in graphite &/or charcoal. Presumably, calligraphy letters could work too. Just write them on a thin paper (single-sheet printer paper for inkjet printers is good for transparency), flip it over, & trace the letters in graphite, say a 4B pencil (or softer). The letters come out backward. After that, doing the transfer should make the letters show up on the clay, facing the right way. . . . . Tip: If anyone here does transfers regularly & wants to try the technique above, use Mars Lumograph pencils. They're the best! They make really dark grays. Rap
You can also still buy the burnish-on lettering sheets from office supply, some art supply, or drafting stores, and use those on baked clay as you normally would on paper.
Sally J's spirit beads with words and petroglyphs
transferred? onto bead surfaces
http://www.nwpcg.org/ravensdale/rave/rave00/jarlstrom.shtml
Debbie
A's various word transfers (covered with thin translucent?)
http://www.geocities.com/thousand_canes
(click on "Wearable Art" for various
examples)
For using the etching transfer technique to create a stamp or mold of lettering, see above in "Stamps,etc."
Individual letters
or whole words can be created as a cane, or as the primary image
in a cane (with background added).
...If they are individual letters, they
can be pressed together to make a "word" cane
.....or
they can placed separately to make whole words as needed (as thin slices
rolled into a background, or as thick slices used as onlays or for freestanding
letters)
caned alphabet letters, each
with different background... (Sillie Millies)
http://claysquared.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Letters
Cindy
P's caned words ...love, joy, power http://www.cindysartandsoul.com/canes1.html
*Cheryl's
entire caned alphabet http://members.aol.com/cmich80220/index.html
(gone)
Kim's caned initials (website
gone)
Nae's caned initials on an egg(website
gone)
lesson on using
a small cutter (letter or number shaped) to
make a cane
...roll out a small pancake of the background
color which is as thick-tall
as the cutter is
.........and
then roll out an identical pancake of letter color
...then I use a small cookie cutter to cut out the letter from the letter-color
pancake
........then cut a hole of the same shape from the
background-color pancake
... then I place the letter in the
hole (can stretch the hole a bit, or make a cut from the outside of the
pancake, preferably at a corner of the letter, to the
hole and separate the background apart a bit --but carefully
rejoin the cut pieces or there could be a small uneveness in the outside
of the finished letter
...reduce .... very easy, and you'll be surprized how
little distortion there is.
....I make various letters in different
colors... or just different colors for letter or background
...The
same basic idea (two pancakes of color) can sometimes be translated
to making letter canes, by using only paper shapes for the patterns
rather than using a cutter, and doing the cutting with a blade
(see more
details on both the cutter & paper-pattern methods in
Canes-Gen
> Cutters)
(see sources to purchase small alphabet cutters
in Cutters)
I
made a pretty letter cane using the faux.
mosaic "pixel" technique taught by CityZen Cane...turned out so
pretty.
(see Canes-Instr. > Bullseye
> Mosaic for loads of details)
Can
also use a folded cane technique to create letters
(see Canes-Instr.
> Folded for details)
Use
translucent + opaque "floating" canes
. . .
build a cane with your initials in black (or any opaque color) with background
of translucent clay. I made christmas ornaments with the word "Mexmas
97" this way. I pressed the very thin cane slices onto my design so the letters
appeared to float above the other design elements.
... I also made a christmas/palm
tree with black&transparent and they seemed to rise up from the beach
scene.
(see details on this technique in Canes-Instr.
> Translucent+Opaque)
Use noodle attachment of pasta machine, or clay gun extrusions, to make your cane components very even.
It's a good idea
to wrap your letter itself with a sheet of background
color before adding the background, to avoid unevenness
in the letter outline)
... I did some canes
with Chinese words. . . the most important part is to be especially careful about
filling in all the spaces that were not the writing. One way I found to help me
with this was to do the line for the writing as a sandwich of background----"ink"----background.
I
have been working on word canes, too! Mine are also legible, but a little
distorted.
.... I have found that with PLENTY of background on the
outside of the cane, the distortion is less.. . . I put the canes in the
fridge over night (sometimes a little longer). Then I reduce it.
....The
rectangular canes had no distortion at all, round
canes distort a tiny little bit and I think that is just from slightly uneven
pressure on my part when reducing.
....As for cutting, I always put my canes
in the fridge for at least 8 hours before cutting.
I
have reduced an initials cane that was less than 1/2" thick,
1" long by 3" wide to a tiny 1/4"
....lesson: Keep the cane
on a flat surface that is smooth but that it can stick to a little,
but not too much. I used my tissue blade and a piece of plastic on the opposite
side (my cane was shaped like a rectangle), and kept pulling the clay inward,
rotating each side after I pulled it in a small amount. Left+Right inward, then
Top+Bottom inward. Every so often you may want to press the top clay that moves
faster down very little. Once the cane gets tall enough, then you can reduce it
the regular way by pressing in the center, on all sides evenly, and moving outward/upward.
I did have waste, but the image reduced pretty clear. Darlene
(see Canes-Reducing
for many ways to successfully reduce canes with little distortion)
Some people make signature canes... then cut off a thin slice and put it on their work. Dotty
I also do (custom) name canes for sale.... byrd http://www.3wave.com/chhome/cha/byrd.html
OTHER WAYS to make letters ......& Misc.
micro-mosaic technique ....see
more on this technique in Mosaics > Micro
Mosaics
http://www.mdpag.org/maryjo.htm
(click on Coffee & Blue...)
polymerclayhaven's lesson on
making letters with strips of clay, on a sheet of glass with
enlarged printed words underneath
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/fatherframe.htm
OK,
this is pretty old news to most of you who have tried etching with Gwens
wonderful method. But when I tried to develop new ways to use that, I found
a great thing I want to share with you: making stamp sheets for imprinting
my name to beads... . . I made a photocopy page full of my name. (No
reverse printing this time, kids) I then made a polyclay sheet from it by etching
it the Gibson way (see Transfers > Etching). Then I baked it. (This
creates a baked clay tile with indented lettering as well as a paper
with projecting letters.) Now all I have to do is roll my beads
on top of that tile, and voilá: my name is on the beads. (These "name
beads" do not need paint, light is the only paint needed. As the letters are raised
above ground level they catch the light and show the writing. And if the light
is not right, the bead looks like the other ones.)
....This same technique
can be used to make small scale surface decorating for beads. I have made
some tiles for veins, tiled- wall , lace etc. Really easy way to make interesting
beads ! PoRRo?
...To make lettering with
Gwen Gibson's reversed etching technique using the baked clay left on paper
(can paint from behind or back with colored clay, or can use as
a stamp by itself but will need to reverse the image) see Transfers
> Etched
mica clays can also be used
to create "ghost image" lettering using stamps, cutters,
or embossing...(see Mica
>Ghost Images):
. . . . scratch or impress into the top of
a mica sheet with a stylus (or letter stamps or cutters)
and flatten before shaving off the top layer which reveals the impressions
.... I've even used this method to write mica shifted words. . . I put
some clay (in zigzag or letter shapes) on the sheet of gold mica clay, then put
it through the pasta machine. Then I covered (the egg) with the sheet, with the
side I had put the extra clay on against the egg. The design doesn't show
up at this point at all. Only after baking & a pretty heavy sanding
does the mica shift become apparent. ... Claire
Liz's
use of real Scrabble letter tiles on layered polymer pin (to spell
a name)
http://www.libzoid.com/files/Lynnepin603.jpg
Maggie's
lessons on making cursive lettering with wire ...writing
names (could use as "stamp" too?)
http://www.geocities.com/mick62001
Can
use as liquid clay a normal "paint" by adding mica or
real-metal powders, or oil paints, or some inks, to tint the liquid clay,
then could paint or use on a stamp to make lettering
(see much more below
in "Inks for Writing on Clay")
FONT
INSPIRATION for making any kind of lettering
loads
of personal-use alphabets ... fancy font letters and hobbies/themed
alphabets
http://www.rennysniche.com/
loads
of personal-use kid-oriented fonts and dingbats at Heather's site
http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/afonts.htm
INKS
for Surface Effects + Tinting:
Tinting
...Stamping ...Mokume Gane ...Faux Enamel ...Paintings...etc
(...transparent,
alcohol-based, pearlescent, metallic, other inks...)
DB: ADD to STAMPING and/or PAINTING as well
Many inks can be used with clay, though they may need to be treated or applied differently (heat set, sealed, etc).
...the inks in ink pads can
be used to apply ink to stamps, or to pat or swipe directly on clay
...ink
in the "re-inker" bottles (intended to refill ink pads) can be
used as a straight liquids to color clay on the outside or throughout it, etc.
PADS:
...foam
pads are for pigment inks ... and cloth pads are for dye
inks. Ellen
... You can make your own foam-type stamp
pads by buying (white) Cut 'n Dry foam pads, by Ranger, and pigment
ink re-inker bottles.....the foam pad can be cut into smaller pads
with a kitchen shears ....Polymerclayexpress carries both
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/molds5.html
& http://polymerclayexpress.com/inks.html
Ellen
...Don't forget to store any ink pads upside
down so they are ready to use wihout pounding on them with your stamp. Mavis
comparison of inks
It appears
that there is no hard and fast rule stating that dye
inks work one way and pigment inks work another
....(there
is even variation among acrylic inks and paints).
....this is simply because
of the different formulations manufacturers use, and they introduce new
products constantly.
Buying many inks to
test can be costly, so I tend to stick with some
tried 'n true inks, like:
...Jacquard's Lumiere, Dye-na-flow,
textile... Golden's fluid acrylic... alcohol inks (Jacquard's Pinata, and Ranger's
Adirondack)... F&W and Doc Martin's acrylic inks... Stewart Gil's Bryzantia, and
Golden's airbrush colors.... I also like Letraset's Tria or Promarkers. Ellen
M.
....Which type of ink you choose will depend mostly upon what
kinds of techniques you work with the most, and/or what you want
the inks to do.
...the short answer re all inks: TEST THEM FIRST! Laurie D'A
on
the PCE bulletin board, I wrote a comparison to help people understand some of
the basic characteristics of each ink. I still have 6-8 brands to add to it...
Elizabeth
http://polymerclayexpress.com/inks2.html
(dye inks)
http://polymerclayexpress.com/inks.html
(pigment inks )
Kimberly's explanations
re the different kinds of ink
http://www.artwithoutanxiety.com/inkinfo.html
single color, office-type felt inkpads. .
.*raised* ink pads
Sarajane's visuals on different inks and clay
http://www.polyclay.com/inks.htm
Laurie D'A's comparisons
...regular pigment
inks work great ... will heat set during baking ... no sealing necessary
afterward
.......some metallic pigment inks will not set
at all though...you can seal them, but there will be some smudging
...dye
based inks will not cure at all, and will completely come off when you try
to brush sealer on them.
...some hybrid
inks (like chalk finish) will set enough to get a sealer on them (if you
don't seal them, they generally rub off).
......hybrid pigment
inks don't set either.
...alcohol based inks will dry on clay... I
would seal them just to be safe
ALSO:
...acrylic paints can
also be used for stamping on raw clay ...use a makeup sponge to apply the paint
to the stamp.
...pigment powders can also be stamped with, then very
carefully sealed so the design doesn't rub off.
Brilliance
pigment inks dry on unbaked clay.
...Colorbox pigment inks by Clearsnap do
not dry, unless you put an acrylic varnish afterwards; you can also put the varnish
on first let it dry and then stamp.
attempt at a SUMMARY (not sure of accuracy though!)
TYPES
of inks: dye, pigment (all inks fall under those two main categories?)
...
alcohol-based, embossing and fabric inks, chalk
inks ...acrylic inks?, solvent?
washable child-safe inks,
...all
can be purchased in "re-inker" bottles rather than in the pads
diff's
in characteristics
(though re paper)
pigment inks
are thick and opaque (...and the color in the stamp pad will be
similar to the color they actually stamp out)
dye inks are thinner
in consistency and transparent (thinner consistency makes them more concentrated
so they appear darker in the stamp pad and bear no resemblance to the color the
ink will stamp out)
pigments do not dissolve (and
are easier to clean off of hands and stamps)
dyes dissolve
in solution, and blend well
pigments are more light and heat stable than most dyes... so are good choice when finished art will be displayed
pigment Inks take
longer to dry (and are also a good choice to use as an embossing ink)
....water
based, pigment inks do not dry on coated paper or non-porous
surfaces.
dye inks dry quickly on all types of paper making
them easier to work with
(for info on the properties of the pigments that create color in polymer clay, inks, etc., see Color > Helpful Tips > Pigments)
types & some terminology
DYE-based ink is a
fast-drying ink that stamps well on all papers, but is also ideal
for use on glossy and other non-absorbent papers.... clear, crisp
images
...Ancient Page (ClearSnap's ...very saturated)
...Memories
...Kaleidacolor
...Vivid! ... bright, vivid colors, sharp
detail, especially on glossy paper. Dries rapidly, even on coated papers (however,
we recommend Ancient Page permanent dye inks or ColorBox Pigment
Inks, properly heat set or embossed, for most archival projects).
DYE INKS (WATERBASED) (Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink Pads are an example of dye inkpads ~ EXCEPT Black! Marvy Matchables ...inking surfaces-- felt, linen and sponge. ...used on most any type of paper ...very quick drying time... they soak in and stain the fibers of the paper rather than sitting on top of the paper... (so on darker paper, may not show up well) ...may run-bleed if in contact with water or used in conjunction with water based mediums .Many acid-free, but do tend to fade with time and especially sunlight if your stamped item is not treated with a special UV fixative to help impede that process... no metallics or white...cannot emboss with them... stamp pads can dry out
DYE-BASED
...WATERPROOF (Stampin’ Up!’s Black inkpad is an example
of dye-based waterproof ink, so are the Memories inkpads......
Clearsnap's Ancient Page, a line of dye inks that are very saturated.)
...once dry, will not run with water or waterbased markers.
...Some
acid-free ....need one of these pads myself, and it is the black
one....though NOT classified as permanent
Archival
Inks, by Ranger (StampDiva & other
websites carry them) (dye?) can be used on baked or unbaked clay
.
...they are completely waterproof after they quickly dry, so watercolors,
acrylics or water-based sealers will work fine on top of
them.
...the container says they are also fade-resistant. Mavis
PIGMENT
...thicker and slow-drying (which makes them suitable for embossing)...
glycerin-based?
...the ink sits on top of a surface (rather
than soaking in and staining)..available in metallics and white and will show
up on dark papers....fade resistant... most acid free ..
...comes off stamps with water ...permanent when heat set ...can't dry
out; maybe store upside down for best performance
....when used on coated papers,
it does not dry and must be
heat set (can use embossing powder first)
...embossing
powders should not be baked in the oven? (run?),
so save them for the last step (with clay), and use with a heat gun. Sarajane
...(on
regular paper will be brighter since stays on surface... can use watercolors
or water-based materials on top, or color in after waiting to dry thoroughly
or use a heat gun to speed up drying)..
...Paintbox2 (Clearsnap?)
...Colorbox (Clearsnap)
......Colorbox pigment inks do not dry,
unless you put an acrylic varnish afterwards; you can also put the varnish on
first let it dry and then stamp. Ellen
...Brilliance..Fastest-drying
pigment ink ever, ...the ink dries completely on glossy surfaces (including
unbaked clay), it can be used on metals to colour charms or jewellery without
having to use artist fixative. You can either leave it to dry overnight or
speed up the drying process with a heat gun...matte and pearlescent colors
.....use on polymer clay, either before or after baking. ...Use
to stamp or daub on natural items such as seashells, rocks, leaves, wood, or leather
...VersaColor (few metallics as well) ......Stampin’ Up!’s Craft
Ink ... Inkcredible .... Encore
.......EMBOSSING
Inks. . . clear, or lightly tinted so can see easier ...pads,
pens, re-inkers?
.............these are the same as glycerine, or glycerine
& water
............embossing ink recipe: one part glycerine
(at drug stores), two parts distilled water, and one or two drops of watercolor
(so you can see what you are doing!). Calligrafos (...or half and half water &
glycerine depending on the consistency wanted)
...............can use in sponge-top
dauber bottle for wetting envelope adhesive from office supply stores
.....FABRIC
Inks & CRAFT Inks (Stampin’ Up! Craft Inkpads ...
Fabrico ....ColorBox Crafters Ink ... some must be heat set
to become permanent
.....Fluid
Chalk ..dye ink?
...muted, matte, opaque colors unless
applied lightly (then semi-transparent)...inspired by the look of chalk pastels...
very "fluid" look...28 colors ...stamp and blend like dry inks.... special foam
pad allowing selection of the inking intensity ....can stamp lighter colors over
top of darker colors ...shake re-inker bottles well (see more below in "Chalk
Inks")
...these inks were stamped onto raw white
and raw translucent Premo clay... then baked
(colors will be far more noticeable on a white background)
http://www.polyclay.com/inks.htm
....if wanting to add Varathane to give more shine, seal
the ink first with liquid clay or it will dissolve
in the Varathane. Sarajane
...(true
only for Fluid Chalks or all pigment inks?)...the more porous
the surface, the more the color will soak in and fade
over 24–48 hours.
........for more intense
colors, spray the paper surface with a sealant immediately after ink application.
can use matte finish or clear gloss finish
... for a shinier finish,
wait until ink dries slightly, then buff with paper towel to remove
(loose?) chalk for a polished-stone look.
WASHABLE INKS ... usually sold as children's inks... intended to wash out of clothing, etc., and most do but not all (may depend on material)
PERMANENT
INKS (solvent based inks and need a special cleaner. ....
permanent once dry, and do not require a heat setting. ...
will definitely stain your
stamps
...Posh Impressions
inks are solvent-based - they smell like methylated spirits or scale modeler's
paints. ....they form an opaque and waterproof film on the surface
of the clay, as might an acrylic paint....impervious to alcohol when dry... they
are very good for mokume gane, layering and "antiquing," but they
don't mix into the clay worth a darn. Elizabeth
..........the Posh inks
are gorgeous colors - I have 2 sets, the caribbean brights & the french
country colors that I want to play with. Jenn
...Staz-On
... acid free, archival, fast
drying (dries in 3 - 5 minutes on non-porous surfaces) ...designed especially
for use on plastic and acetate, metal, glass, ceramic, laminated
paper, coated paper and leather.
...Zim Ink ... Décor-it .... 123 Ink ....
for ALCOHOL INKS, see just below
(type?).... I tried some Speedball products on polymer clay, but was not happy with them. Could not get them to go on evenly and actually stick well. One of the Speedball inks I had tried appeared to float off the surface even though I had cleaned well with alcohol. Jeanne R.
(.... for writing with metallic inks and acrylic inks, see above in "Dip and Cartridge")
ALCOHOL
inks
(transparent.... intense colors)
...for tinting
& inclusions... + mokume gane, faux enamel, "watercolor"paintings,
etc....
These inks are absolutely
transparent .....and are incredibly intense colors.
........(you
can even see through to mica powders (or metallic leaf)
that are underneath them). Karen
....all the inks
are soluble resin in alcohol. Patti K.
....use on almost any
surface (as long as it's clean and free of oil).... permanent
....bought
in bottles (rather than in pads) ...
like "re-inkers"
...alcohol
based inks also come in several brands of art markers,
such as the Prismacolor. Patti K.
brands +suppliers
PINATA
Inks (by Jacquard) ...... used to be called Fiesta Inks
....colors
are bright and clear (curr. 14 colors + gray, black and white)
....can get these inks individually, or in Jacquard "Exciter Packs"
(assortments). Elizabeth
....your local rubberstamp store
...or maybe fabric or art supply store would have them too
........Pearl's
Arts center has the whole line... Ben Franklin carries a few
......check
out Jacquard's listing of stores where they're availabel http://www.jacquardproducts.com/stores
.........try calling any nearby stamp stores even if they are not
on the list....several stamps stores in Connecticut carry the Pinata Inks that
were not on the list. Libby
...or online: ... http://www.clayfactory.net/jacquard/pinata.html
or http://www.clayalley.com
or http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/inks.html
(assortment, http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/jacquardkits.html
http://www.usartquest.com/products/index.html)
...Dharma Trading also carries them: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/461917-AA.shtml
Elizabeth
(they also come in a carrier as nkpads and re-inker
bottles --permanent, water clean-up, archiva)
Tim Holtz's ADIRONDACK Alcohol Inks (for Ranger Industries)... another
brand of alcohol based inks
....colors are bold, but
more earthtones (toned-down) than clear like Pinatas (curr. 22 colors
+ black and gray)
.......also work exceptionally well when combined with Pinatas.
Libby
work on any non-porous surfaces from dominoes, glass, mica, and metal
– to plastics, foils, and more. This translucent colored ink goes on smooth, dries
quick, and permanent.
.... can combine it with metallic pens for a shimmer
of metallic
http://www.rangerink.com/product_adirdkalcoholinks.html
I've made my own alcohol-based
inks with a square of pre-colored watercolor sheets
(they come in a 2x5" booklet with a yellow cover...)
...and some alcohol
in a film canister.....works pretty well since the watercolor sheets are also
translucent and saturated. Carolyn (not permanent though?)
...
....easiest ink is
tempera powder ... add alcohol or glycerin til you
get the consistency you want....i put mine into plastic containers or bottles....if
they dry out you just reconstitute .....if you use glycerin you can (hot) emboss....
...Once you've chosen the color of fabric dye that
you would like to use, you will need to mix that dye with alcohol to the
consistency of a thin cream... Next you will add glycerin and stir until
it is well blended.... This makes enough ink to replenish an ink pad several times.
Me
...You can also add particulate things into or onto the alcohol inks
... like mica powders or real-metal powders, chalks, etc
(There are also alcohol-based
markers --Prismacolor, Ranger, etc --see below in Markers.).
general info ... application, etc.
alcohol-based
inks are intense, transparent,
acid-free, alcohol-based colorants (dyes)....and
one of my favorite inks for clay
.....clean
up or dilute alcohol inks with either rubbing alcohol or denatured
alcohol (...or see Claro Extender and Clean Up Solution below)
Eliz.
.... can be diluted, pushed
around, and at least partially removed with the use of alcohol
or other solvent
.....they mix well into clay (...liquid clay
or solid). Elizabeth
....to make them like watercolors,
just thin them down with their extender (Claro) or w/ rubbing
alcohol (see more below in "painting")
........to keep the
intensity of the color, while dulling the chroma (color), you add minute
amounts of a complementary color. Elizabeth
...they
dry on the surface of raw clay in just a minute (see possible problems
with liquid clays though, below)
....alcohol ink deposits the pigment particles
on top of the clay as it evaporates, "setting"
the pigment that way, so there is no absorption of water by the
(raw) clay. Patti B.
APPLICATION
....just
a drop or two of the ink goes a long way on non-absorbent surfaces
....the
pads just move the ink around on non-porous surfaces
....can
also dot the pad or intended surface with a metallic Krylon leafing pen
for scattered gold, etc., effects
pads:
can make your own temporary pad of polyester felt (not wool felt)
for applying these inks
........polyester felt isn't
absorbent, so any ink applied to it will just sit on the surface
(don't use wool felt)
........
the pad material from their kit might be non-fusible Thermolam
though
.... hold onto the felt with a a
clip of some sort to keep from staining your skin with those very intense
colors. Kathleen
Tim Holtz makes a holder for his felt pad
with a wood stamp with a handle
... he pulls off the rubber stamp, and
replaces it with a strip of self-adhesive Velcro (the stiffer side)...
then presses a strip of felt to the Velcro surface
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_home_accessories/article/0,1789,HGTV_3255_3148534,00.html
(fig. J )
........ then he applies the inks here and there to the felt ....dabs the
inked felt onto the intended surface (fig. K & L)
.........then
moves the pad around the surface to create patterns in the ink
(may need to
use new felt pads to avoid mixing the colors too much)
....can dry the still-wet
ink with a heat gun (to preserve parts of pattern while working on others?)
esp.
on non-porous surfaces:
....can remove alcohol inks from raised areas
(or other places) of non-porous surfaces by rubbing them with a "permanent
Archival ink pad" (contains a solvent for alcohol inks http://www.rangerink.com/product_archival.html?)...
then wipe off
...we did cards on glossy card-stock ...the
results really impressed me.
...Tim used a metal foil (2" silver foil flashing
tape, from hardware store) in the lesson just above
If you want to make your own stamp pad (for stamps) to use with alcohol inks, make sure to keep them in an air-tight container or just consider them disposable pads because the inks dry very fast. Elizabeth
eyedroppers
& syringes:
You can probably use an eyedropper
(to place the inks) if you can get the tip small enough to fit into the
crevices (for faux amber).
.......maybe wrap a tiny cone of masking tape
around the tip?
....I like the syringes because I don't have to
clean them, but I've had one sitting on my work table full of ink for
weeks, so you don't *have* to toss them. Elizabeth
... could we also
make a thin polymer tip to add to the end of a glass dropper...
or maybe just make the whole thing from polymer and steal the bulb
from a regular dropper?
... . . . If we used translucent clay, we
could still see how much ink was in the dropper I think (I do like the idea of
letting them sit around filled . . . maybe a pencil-box full!). Diane B.
...In
some states you can buy syringes with needles at the drugstore without
a prescription. I use them for refilling my cartridges on my ink jet printer.
So check your pharmacy, the ones I use are very tiny
with tiny needles
and cost me about 13 cents each. Debbie
........I can purchase
syringes in a variety of sizes from the Farm and Feed Store. Sunni
...If you go to a medical supply place you can buy the syringes
in various sizes from very small to huge. ...Now, for the needles, its been a
while since I lived in the South Bay, but if Fry's Electronics is still around
they have needles and syringes available for electronic soldering.
The needles are real handy. They are short, not pointed, and screw right onto
the top of the syringe. They fit the syringes from the med supply. These are
real handy for squeezing "grout" between mini tiles. magicmoira
Pinata's
"Claro" Extender gives you a longer "open" time
for working with the inks, and also dilutes them to make the colors less
saturated & more transparent. Eliz.
...........when you mix
inks with Claro Extender, you get a very shiny surface because of the clear
resins.
....Claro is a clear resin, alcohol, and an ingredient
which slows the evaporation of the alcohol and thus extends the drying
time. Patti K.
......I think it consists mainly of alcohol, water
and glycerine. Elizabeth
.........And wherever you have glycerin,
you have the capacity for water pockets unless the
glycerin is thoroughly dried (for instance, if you've applied the extended
inks in between layers of clay).
...But, you
also have the ability to introduce some strong plaquing
if you mix the extended ink into translucent clay ...if you don't want to get
plaquing or bubbles between layers or in translucents, I'd say to just let the
inks dry to the touch before mixing them into or layering them onto other
sheets of clay.Elizabeth
....if you don't have Claro, you can think with
alcohol. ...denatured works best, but rubbing is okay. Dotty
(here
are some helpful websites) Eliz.
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/syndeeholt_chat_jan03.html
.. http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_FauxCarnivalGlass.htm
http://www.stampstodifor.com/demo_day/demos_oct2002/pinata_inks.html
(gone)
Pinata's Clean Up Solution
is pure alcohol with brush conditioners (to keep brushes soft) added
(think of the wax in hair conditioners
....you can instead use plain 70%
or 99% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol both to thin (extend) the ink and
to clean up your brushes and palette because it will re-dissolve
resins which have hardened. Patti
....when you mix the ink with Clean Up
solution or rubbing alcohol, you get a more
matte surface though. Patti
possible
problems:
If
you're running it through the pasta machine though, the rollers
are going to get colored, but the raw clay
picks the color back up, eventually and any remaining color comes off easily with
alcohol-soaked wipes. . Eliz.
... I've been coloring
the clay by partially conditioning it, then painting a sheet with ink, then allowing
the ink to dry completely and finally completing the conditioning and so thoroughly
mixing the colour at the same time. The various colored clays were then made into
canes of lots of types ...I left the canes for
3-4 weeks and when I came back to use them, I found that large deep fissures
had developed along the length of the canes...these close fairly easily
and so aren't a really great problem. Alan
.....The other more troublesome
effect was more noticable with some of the more vivid ink colours. The
colours had begun to bleed into adjacent
areas - in quite a pleasing way, but not what I was aiming for ...as
soon as the stained clay is baked, it becomes as stable as any normally coloured
clay. I think the main thing I've learned is that it's wise to make small canes
using the stained clay and to try not to leave them for long before using
them.. Alan
......when things like this happen... I took my wavy blade
and sliced through it and placed it between sheets of translucent
with some glitter or bits of silver leaf.... Or dropped it into the pasta
machine with some preconditioned trans.... Makes interesting cover
sheets for other projects. Kim
...I actually had a similar problem when
using the pinata inks for a mokume gane block. It sat around for a while
before I was ready to use it, and it was quite crumbly.Lenora
...if
using more than one color and you don't want them to mix together
into a new color (or muddy), let the first ink dry before applying the
next ink
Pinatas don't seem to come in a lot of colors,
(but) you can mix absolutely any color under the sun (more
now?)
...as with artists' oil colors, there are cool and warm shades
of each color
......I would recommend these primaries to begin
with:
.........JFC1002 (bright yellow) JFC1011 (magenta)
JFC1013 (cobalt blue) (those names are just guesses
based on experience with pigments). Tinidril
.........to get a true red,
mix a little yellow with the magenta ...for a brilliant purple, mix magenta
with cobalt....a bright, clear orange and green can be made with
these "primaries". Tinidril
...to make pastels of any
of the colors, you add the white (opaque) ink ... Kat?
Tim
Holtz's Adirondacks have more colors (but earthtone)
tinting + tinted clays
tinting
solid clays (& inclusions)
...to
mix these inks into clay for tinting.... rub them onto a
raw sheet... let them dry to
the touch to avoid later plaquing ...
then start mixing the color in.
Elizabeth
...some
of the colors will dissolve completely
...but some of the (darker?)
colors will remain in tiny dark flecks if
you let the inks get completely dry on the clay before mixing it in.
(Rainforest green, Sapphire blue and the brown colors will fleck, that I can remember)
so that could give you some neat intentional effects. Elizabeth
...Yes,
this can be messy... I usually have wonderfully
rainbow colored hands for a couple of days, but I guess gloves can be worn.
Valerie
.......they
are a little less messy if you let some of the alcohol evaporate
off before using.. Eliz.
.......when
you do get it on your hands, you can get most of it off with rubbing
alcohol and the rest comes off with a heavy-duty hand lotion. Eliz.
........if
you put clear nail polish on your nails, they won't stain if you've
got your fingers directly in the ink.
...clay
that has been colored with these inks seems to buff much better,
for some reason...maybe
it is just the translucency. Valerie
Use
alcohol-based inks to tint translucent clay especially
.... for vibrant, very translucent results similar to FimoSoft's
"Transparent" tinted clays, but differ in the huge
palette of colors you can mix, and in the intensity of color... Elizabeth
(see also Translucents > Making your own)
...I
also mix the extended ink into translucent clay as a beautiful addition to faux
stones. . . . Elizabeth
...I
have mixed the Pinata inks into translucent clay for mokume gane... it's
subtle but effective. (I do like using Lumiere paints better for
that.)
...could mix into Glow-in-the-Dark
clays since the alcohol inks are so transparent, and require very
little to tint? ...but if you mix darker
colors, might it affect the clarity?
fauxs
...for opals, I'm trying the Pinata inks to
lightly tint the Premo translucent with bleach
clay, then adding the flakes. And of course a good sanding and then buffing
should make it look pretty good. Patty
....see
lesson on making faux amber stones with alcohol inks (with
cracks, into which more ink is put) in Faux-Many
> Amber
....you
can get good results for faux turquoise with translucent watercolors
mixed with rubbing alcohol.
tinting
liquid clays . .
(Pinata/Adirondack alcohol inks, Vivid, and
Color Box inks can all be used to tint liquid clay)
.....my favorite inks
are the alcohol ones though bec. it takes very little ink to strongly tint
the liquid clay
.... ( Pinata & Adirondack alcohol inks are alcohol-based...
the Vivid inks appear to be water-based, and the Color Box seem
to be mineral-based.)
...Vivid
Inks ....these don't seem to
have the tinting
strength of the Pinata Inks though, and some of the
colors change in curing.
Elizabeth
....alcohol
can cause bubbling and
frothing in liquid clay if there's too
much of it
........so I've been dropping
the ink onto the surface... and letting it sit for a while
in hopes that the alcohol will evaporate off
....... then I mix
the color into the liquid clay...sSo far, no problems even when I didn't
wait to let the alcohol evaporate. Elizabeth)
...Elizabeth's
photos at PCE on mixing Pinata's with LS http://polymerclayexpress.com/octo2002.html
.......(colors
will appear lighter and more opaque than will eventually be after
drying)
....Jean S's fish "stained glass" made with black
clay and Kato liquid clay tinted with Pinata Inks
http://www.pbase.com/stargazer/fiesta_ink
....would
Pinatas work in glow-in-the-dark liquid clays? since they are so
transparent, and require very little to tint?...but if you mix darker colors,
might it affect the clarity?
...lesson
on using liquid clay tinted with alcohol inks on textured-stamped
clay (cut out into a shape)
...... color is left on upper surfaces a bit
too ("staining")...a gloss finish can be added for a "ceramic"
or enamel look
http://www.polymerclayweb.com/ceramics.asp
coloring
clear embossing powders .... Tim Holtz adds sev.
drops of alcohol ink & stirs with popscicle stick quickly until
alcohol evaporates
...can use more than one color ink in mix... use
more ink for lighter colors, less for darker
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_accessories_jewelry/article/0,1789,HGTV_3225_3857589,00.html
(fig. A)
coloring metallic leaf.... yes, Pinata ink will stick to metal leaf ...put the leaf on the clay, then drop inks onto the leaf ....let it dry really well...(can also then stretch the clay, and new "color" of leaf will crackle). syndee
canes
& Skinner blend:
...Eliz. applied various Pinata
inks in stripes (but could also use other inks) onto translucent clay
...allowed inks to dry, dabbed off excess... then made into a Skinner blend
in the pasta machine...
...... she then made the sheet into a jellyroll
cane by rolling up with sheet of white
http://polymerclayexpress.com/octo2002.html
...translucent-and-opaque
canes (aka
"floating canes")
can also be made with
translucent clays tinted with regular clays
(see Canes-Instr.>Translucent
Canes)
in stacks
mokume
gane. . .you can stamp ..or brush
or dab... the inks (pure or diluted) on very thin sheets
of translucent clay, layer with leafing foil and treat like any
other mokume gane stack. Eliz.
...I have mixed the Pinata inks into translucent
clay for mokume gane... it's subtle but effective. (I do like using
Lumiere paints better for that.)
... leftovers from a stack using the pinatas
I squished together and came up with really neat faux cinnabar.
Jeanette
...Jean's examples of mokume gane with Pinatas http://www.pbase.com/stargazer/fiesta_ink
(see
more in Mokume Gane
and also in Texturing)
stacks
....Tess' lesson on using 8 small clay rectangles of diff. colors, on which
she puts various Lumiere paints and Pinata inks (allowing
them to sit no longer than 30 min)
.... adding metallic leaf here and
there before stacking, cutting and restacking sev. times (she presses down pretty
hard in between re-stacks to create waviness)
... then cuts down her stack
with a wavy blade
http://pages.ivillage.com/tesselenetdkg/garnetpomegranate/id15.html
(re
stacks & mokume gane) You need to be careful controlling
the amount of ink you layer on the clay though since
the inked surface tends to dry very non-sticky
...this makes covering an inked surface with more
clay a bit of a challenge because any top clay layer(s)
won't easily stick to the inked clay layer. Desiree
...try
rolling the slabs from toward the back side so the inks will separate
some.... Lysle
...would using a fine spray of Diluent, liquid clay, or glycerin
from a little spray bottle work? Diane B.
...I think I'll try spraying
on some watered down Sobo glue. Desiree
...can
drip or draw alcohol inks (or thinned inks) to clay in patterns
with eye droppers and syringes, etc (see also above under Application
& Gen. Info)
...or apply with brushes, sponges, toothpicks to
drag, etc., etc.
...can apply over or under other materials or over
itself (sometimes while wet, sometimes when dry)
salt effects
...I used the Pinata
ink on the polymer ...and then decided last minute to add salt.
......upon
drying, and after the salt residue was brushed off, the clay was left with
shiny spots much
like those transparent sparkles that are used on christmas cards to denote
snow. (how would you rid yourself of those anyway, if you wanted to, without washing
away the ink?) Jacqui
...to achieve the best effect (with salt),
the surface needs to be really wet
...various salts can be used: rock
salt will give big starbursts and table salt smaller ones. You can
combine the two salts for a great look.
......."exploded salt"
(Silk Salt) is used by the silk painters ...is really like pretzel salt
--it's been puffed and air in it ...sprinkle puffed crystal salt on wet
dyed fabric... salt absorbs the dye as it dries, leaving textured,
halo effects....... works best on medium to dark shades
...once
your salt has absorbed the moisture and the piece dried, you can shake the salt
off, completely dry it, store it in an airtight container and reuse
it. I'm still using the same rock salt (on fabrics) I started with 3 years ago.
...should
work on baked clay as well. Nina O
...drop dry salt (Kosher
type which has flat & large grains) on clay that's wet with ink,
and watch what happens! It is kind of serendipitous but with a little practice
you can get desired effects. Trina
alcohol + dried
alcohol ink
...wet alcohol removes the
shine where it touches dried alcohol ink (drop on, brush on, etc.)
wet
alcohol ink over wet alcohol ink ... each layer will push aside
the under layers (spritz on, brush in layers, etc.), and be visible if different
colors are used
...Jacquard's Claro dropped or brushed on top of
dry alcohol ink will make it spread, creating rings of marble
or stone-like texture... slight dulling
(here and there?)
...when doing the marbling on paper (glossy,
non-absorbent paper) with alcohol inks, the best way to get the
inks to marble is to coat a piece of polyester felt with alcohol
and ink, then pat it onto the paper... after that you can still spray the
"design" with alcohol to fan out the ink more (rubbing alcohol works
just fine).
......It might be worth a try to do this on a plastic/foam
plate, then press the clay on there, right after you mist
it with alcohol. Laurie D.
......the felt really doesn't suck up
the ink as much as just moves it around because polyester felt isn't absorbent
--felt is a man-made fiber (polyester --don't get wool
felt btw because natural fibers are too porous) and not very absorbent
at all
......a drop or two of the ink goes a long way on non-absorbent
surfaces. (I though the one from the kit might be non-fusible Thermolam).
......the
results really impressed me. We did cards on glossy card-stock (porous paper)
would have ended up with quickly-absorbed ink, too.... (hold onto the felt with
a a clip of some sort to keep from staining
your skin with those very intense colors). Kathleen
alcohol
ink + plain alcohol
...use plain alcohol in same ways as alcohol ink
...if
alcohol is sponged on (wet alcohol ink), the mix will create tiny
bubble-like textures (good for backgrounds and visual texture) papers and
other interesting textural faux effects
...(can also thin alcohol inks
with alcohol just to get lighter colors)
alcohol inks + non-alcohol
inks..... dripped, etc.
...Jeanne R. dripped various kinds
of inks (alcohol-based and not alcohol) of various viscosities on top
of baked clay, and on top of each other (after drying previous layer
so colors wouldn't mix) to get various "bubble" and other effects...
some were thinned to decrease viscosity http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/05/polymer-clay-atcs-with-faux-watercolor.html
...
For the pieces that are sort of starburst or tie-dye effect, first
bake your light-colored clay (if not smooth, sand and buff it...any scratches
will mess up the flow of the inks).
....I used a layer of Pantone Tria
inks on cured clay...it is sort of setting on top of the clay, but not too thick
and it is still damp.
....I squeeze out just a bit of Staz-on reinkers
and touch it to the surface of the Pantone Tria ink with the tiny ball of a ball
stylus ... I do this as fast as I can to cover the area before the Pantone ink
dries out.(if it dries out too much, then the Staz-on will sit in
more of a round circle....It takes teeny tiny drops
or it will then all go together and will be an even different effect.
....If
you use a layer of Pantone and then use an acohol ink, you will
more than likely get circles. This depends on how dry the first layer of
Pantone is. If you use a light Pantone color and then use a few shades darker
of the other inks, if you do not like how it looks you can use alcohol and scrub
off and even re-sand and try again. When I get time, I will put a tute up as I
have already taken the photos.
...Drying doesn't take a long time unless
you have them on thick--and thick is hard with alcohol inks as they would be running
all over the place. I think 30 minutes should work most of the time. ...I like
to use a quick blow with a heat gun or put into the oven on 150
or so for just a few minutes. This seems to set them well.
...I would not
leave (alcohol inks) without a glaze or finish though (if anyone
with alcohol fingers ever touches them, it could mess them up---even if they had
set for six months). ...With alcohol though, they will have a duller look that
if you used the Claro-extender that Pinata sells with their inks. Jeanne R.
If you think working with alcohol inks are fun, quadruple the fun and get the Pantone Tria inks and Staz-On reinkers .... oh, yes throw in the Krylon metallic pens with them as well! Jeanne R.
ink "inclusions"
...can
also try moving other things around in the alcohol or alcohol inks, like
various powders (mica, real-metal, embossing, chalks, etc.), by spritzing
or dropping on or brushing with more alcohol or alcohol ink, as above
...other
lightweight things not soluble in alcohol could be fun to try too
metallic
powders like Pearl Ex
.....can apply them underor
over alcohol inks
....add
gold Pearl Ex to Pinata ink (or other alcohol-based inks) to get
a really metallic looking gold ink. syndee
....coat
the outside of a cane with Pearl Ex, then seal it with Pinata
ink - gorgeous. syndee
....you
can really metallic looking gold Pinata ink by adding Pearl Ex to it. syndee
"painting"
...I’m enjoying "watercolor painting"
on pc with (alcohol-based inks) Pinata Inks.
..............to
make them like watercolors, you just dilute them with their extender, or
with rubbing alcohol
............to make pastels of any of
the Pinata colors, you add the white (opaque) ink. Kat's CreationsKat's
Creations
...I use the inks as a watercolorist would to do paintings,
onto raw clay ...(landscapes and florals)
.....washed colors,
color bleeding, and color layering with alcohol inks ..these techniques
are in my book Polymer Clay Inspirations ...Patricia
Kimle .
http://tinyurl.com/7ljd6
....(some of this info will differ,
or not apply, when using the inks to tint
regular clay, or for use on cured clay.)
......When I do my paintings on raw clay, I use 70% alcohol
to do wash areas such as the sky in a landscape
.........when using
70% alcohol, the color washes more quickly across the clay surface
and dries slower, but the resins will fall out of solution more
quickly because the other 30% is water.
........then I switch to Claro
(extender), or 99% alcohol for detail work.
..........when
you mix inks with Extender, you get a very shiny surface because
of the clear resins.
...........when you mix ink with Clean Up solution or
rubbing alcohol, you get a matte surface.
...certain
colors, like the emerald green in particular, become grainy
on the surface, and will clump in your brush with
water (but remember, water is a resist on raw clay, so it
spreads.)
... I have painted raw translucent clays with extended
inks for applying to glass votives - it's a very pretty look, but if I'd
tried to put the clay onto the glass before the inks were completely dry,
they'd have smeared and probably in the heat, they'd have bubbled outward, maybe
even breaking the clay away from the glass. JMO...Elizabeth
...syndee holt's
demo on painting with alcohol inks on a transfer?, coloring book style
http://www.sdpcg.org/sc8album22.html
(click on each)
Kim Cavender's partial masks painted with alcohol inks
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimcavender/2473466555
(click also on other 2 photos in photostream, top
right)
resists &
masking
... liquids can be applied to stamps or
drawn with... or sponged on, etc.
.......then apply inks
or ink wash ..(leave resist or in place, or gently wash away or melt)
...crayons
and wax (melted or paraffin), gum arabic (mix with water to
heavy cream)
..."embossing inks"--or glycerin?
(which dry slowly) can be a resist for alcohol and some other dye inks
.....first
stamp main image (& background designs) with a clear or a
pigment ink
.....add clear embossing powder over it, and melt
...then wash and/or paint surface with inks (the clear embossed lines will
resist the inks and remain their original color, but the rest of the background
or unembossed areas will absorb the inks)
..... or can leave cured embossing
powder on surface to show through color underneath or to show the colored ink
used)
Elizabeth's lesson http://polymerclayexpress.com/octo2002.html
(....see more on ways to "mask" and materials to use in Cutters-Blades
> Stencils, Masking)
Tonja's lesson re "layered inks"
--5 colors, 3 layers (of chalkpad ink)... first layer uses vellum masks, second
without.. third layer black text or other graphic stamp
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/article.php?id=pdctl02
antiquing...
& staining-glazes ... I have applied the ink.
full strength to textured clay... and let it dry
....then
I wipe the upper surface of the textured clay with alcohol
to reduce the amount of ink that remains on the surface (staining)
.......this
keeps the full strength staining in the lower areas. Desiree
....or
use liquid clay tinted with alcohol inks to antique lower areas
of textured clay... or allow to remain on upper areas too for "staining"
(see Paints > Oil Paints)
.........because
liquid clay and alcohol inks are translucent, they can resemble kiln-fired
glazes on ceramic pieces, especially if gloss finish is applied afterward
lesson
on using liquid clay tinted with alcohol inks on textured clay (cut
out into a shape)... color is left on upper surfaces a bit too ("staining")...
gloss finish can be added for a "ceramic" or enamel look
http://www.polymerclayweb.com/ceramics.asp
coloring
in impressions:
....You
can stamp one side of a very
thin sheet of raw clay with a design, and color in the design with
pure inks or with diluted inks.
........when the ink is dry,
you can handle the sheet.... wrap it around a silver-leafed
tube bead... or cover a votive, or whatever you want to do with
it. Eliz.
.......(for alcohol-based markers like Prismacolor which work the same way, see above in Markers)......
Inks (as well as paints
and clear mediums) will crackle on raw clay
...use
pearlescent inks. ...paint onto raw clay... allow to dry... run
through pasta machine or manually stretch
...the thicker the ink you put on, the larger the cracks ...and of course, how much you stretch the clay.
You can even crackle
a "painting" (....or a colored pattern)....
....paint
a scene or whatever you want on the clay...then crackle it (once
each direction?)... as long as you don’t keep passing it thru the
pasta machine, you’ll get what you painted but in a crackle effect... It’s cool!
Mary V.
Posh Rainbow inks will fracture,
as will the Daler-Rowney Pearlescents ...most acrylics will fracture.
Valerie
...... it is probably more economical to use the Rembrandt Inks,
but the D-R's give you a more shimmery look.Trina
Pearlescent
Liquid Acrylic Colours, by Daler-Rowney
....http://www.daler-rowney.co.uk/cat/index.html
(click on "Lost?Index" at bottom
right, then and scroll to Pearlescent --"pgs 4.4
& 4.5")
....Dick Blick:....
http://www.dickblick.com/zz211/11/products.asp?param=0&ig_id=1464
..
...I get mine at a local art supply store, they have a large variety
of the colors, and sell them one bottle at a time...kellie
...Michaels
also carries these, but in a 3 pack back by the calligraphy supplies.
........one
of their 3-packs has the birdwing copper, mazuma gold and silver pearl, the colors
I use most heavily.Lisa
...I've seen the individual bottles at Joanns
for $4.99 . . . Blick's lists them at $3.39/ea
When
I took Elise Winters class some of us used the Daler-Rowney inks.
I have the whole set from Michaels.
....she suggested that we NOT
shake them up...
instead
scrape the gooey stuff from the bottom and use
that. ...worked pretty well (because otherwise they're kind of thin). Carolyn
The DR inks are thinner (than acrylic metallic paints).
I don't shake these up but carefully dip down to the bottom to get
the thicker colored fluid
.....then let my brush drain slightly
before applying these to the pc. Carolyn
are the Pearl Ex
Inkpad bottles of liquid re-inker basically the same
as these ??
http://www.clayfactory.net/jacquard/Prlxsp.html
Once
acrylics are dry, they don't bond
well to raw polymer clay before baking -- but they can stick
to clay just like plastic food wrap can.
....baking is what
actually bonds the two chemically disparate products (acyrlics are
water based, polymer clay is oil/grease based). Desiree
I also played rolling up a thin sheet of clay coated with inks, then cutting some football beads from the resulting cane. Desiree
I put
quite a bit of ink on the unbaked clay...then I blow through a
straw to get sunburst shapes
...or blow to move colors in
directions I want, etc ...getting great results using Pearlescent inks!
...I
also got some eye droppers so I can put down dots of color... or
just more ink in one spot for the straw technique. LuvPat
....Slow-drying
inks could be used to create patterns on clay surfaces with combs,
brushes, or special wood graining tools (see Faux
Turquoise/Wood > Wood > Surface Techniques for
details)
Emma
R's illuminare beads ...suface of the "base" clay (possibly marbled clays)
colored randomly with pearlescent inks or paints (thin-bodied ones like
Daler-Rowney's Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic Colours, or heat set Lumieres) or mica
powders, etc.
... onlays of various types are then added and rolled
down into the surface (cane slices, curving ribbons of watercolor sheets, etc.)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2004sept/emma.html
inks also crackle
Elise Winters finely
crackled acrylic inks (strips, interesting areas of crackling, inlay
or onlay) for jewelery?
http://www.elisewinters.com/work/work.html
***for all info about crackling inks (and paints, etc.), go to Paints > Acrylics > Crackling ***
(...
for crackling with clear liquids, see
Finishes > Crackling)
(....for
info on crackled metallic leaf and foils, see Leaf)
Colorbox's
Fluid Chalk inkpads ...by Color Box/Clearsnap ....water-based
... acid-free
http://www.stampstruck.com/mall/cbchalk.asp
...can
heat set these chalk pastel "inks" ...need to be baked
when on clay though? because clay is not absorbent
.........
(but even when air-dried only, still resist smearing, bleeding or fading)
...produce
a flat & muted surface finish (unless gloss sealed)
... opaque (unless applied lightly, then semi-transparent
...can stamp lighter colors over top of darker
colors) & resilient like
pigment ink
....stamp and blend like dye inks on most absorbent surfaces
...38 soft, subtle colors (including Autumn, with browns,
charcoal, etc.)
... sold as individual pads (or cat-eye pads), or
in palettes with removable single pads, or in refill bottles
(...shake re-inker bottles
well)
Donna
Kato used these fluid chalk pads to highlight some textured surfaces
(around transfers, etc.)
...gave a beautiful "carved" look
...
effect was subtle on lighter colors of clay, but darkened and popped
when gloss finish added (was it liquid clay?)
Tonja's
lesson re "layered inks" (5 colors, 3 layers) of chalkpad
ink
...she lightly brayers vellum cutouts onto raw clay to act as
masks for first layer... then presses 3 colors of chalk ink pad over clay
randomly (removes vallum with tip of Xacto blade)
...lightly stamps onto surface
2 more colors of chalk inkpad
...stamps (text) onto surface over all
colors with permanent black or dye ink
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/article.php?id=pdctl02
Liquid
Chalk markers .....(water-resistant and non-water-resistant
versions)
http://www.dickblick.com/zz212/42/products.asp?param=0&ig_id=5791
....creates a smooth and opaque layer of brilliant color
....water-based formula made with real chalk
...come in two versions:
.......Dry Wipe not water-resistant ... will wipe off of slick,
non-porous surfaces (so need to seal) ...semi-fluorescent colors, which
glow under UV light
.......Wet Wipe ....water-resistant
....both
come in sets of 3 colors (red,blue,yellow)...... and Wet Wipe also
comes in metallic (gold,silver,metallic red)
....... also come with
choice of tips...16 mm wedge or 6 mm bullet
(for
Decorating Chalks ...... cakes of concentrated chalk
color, see Paints > Chalks)
(see Stamping for other ink pad inks)
You can use a thin layer of liquid clay as a sealer on inked pieces which need protection...Linda H.
rubber stamp inks:
--Color
Box bottled inks (mineral based) can be used to tint liquid clay...
fine to mix with the clay too . . . but they're not transparent,
so they can affect the clarity of the clay. Elizabeth
...You can use heat
set rubber stamp ink to tint clay! You've got to work in a few
drops at a time though. I usually make a pouch of clay and drop in a drop,
mix, repeat until desired shade is reached. The Heat Set inks I use are from Ranger
Industries. You might do a net search for them, but I know they work and very
well.. . . Be aware, however, you can't make layered mokume
gane pads with them and let them sit. From
experience I have found they will bleed into one
another. But if you're using within 24 hours go ahead and do MG or jelly rolls
and then BAKE to set the colors -- Carolyn
I went to
Lemon Tree and found this: Powdered Pearls, Accessories - Fine Line
Painting Pen writing tool ... I think I just discovered a way to make those
fine, delicate lines with metallic powders that have always eluded
me! Laura
(looks a bit like a tjanting pen used for psyanky/batik, etc.)
http://www.powderedpearls.com/accessories/fine-line-painting-pen.htm
Pearl
Ex Inkpad ink bottles of re-inker
http://www.clayfactory.net/jacquard/Prlxsp.html
use Future floor polish, and while still wet sprinkle it with embossing powders or micro glitters. Then let dry.
embossing
inks come in pens of various widths, as well as in stamp pads.
What you want is the CLEAR. This ink holds the embossing powders
to either the stamped image, or wherever you’ve drawn/written with the pens. Glycerin
works just as well as the special embossing inks though (maybe it's actually
the same thing --thank you, Jody Tice!), so maybe you could dip your pen or
brush (or letter stamp) into glycerin, write, add embossing powder and tap/blow
off excess, then bake to melt it on the lines??
....there are also embossing
pens of various widths which allow you to draw the clear embossing powder
onto a surface before pouring on the embossing powders. DB
...on (my lentil
bead),... I used an embossing pen on the bead, and sprinkled clear powder
with sparkles and melted it. Worked fantastic !!!! Might have to try writing
a word next time. Tonja
... If you don't want embossing powder to
stick anywhere but on your ink lines, do this:
......bake
the clay... stamp onto it with Sculpey Diluent.... Put the powder on the Diluent.
Bake again.
ball point pen ink also works as (embossing
ink), since its ink is kind of gooey till it dries.
I've made my own alcohol-based inks with a square of pre-colored watercolor sheets (come in a 2 x 5 inch booklet with a yellow color cover) and some alcohol in a film canister. Works pretty well as the watercolor sheets are translucent and saturated. Caroly
(see also using a glue pen to adhere metal leafing for lettering above in Other Ways to Make Letters)
(to see much more on all these techniques, look in: Texturing > Texture Sheets, Carving > Etching,
( for making carved and/or impressed clay plates (for printing on paper with etching ... or other clay, etc), see Carving > Etching, and also Texturing > Texture Plates ...plus Stamping, Molds, Transfers )
Other WEBSITES
your name (or any letters/words
in cunneiform letters)
http://home.korax.net/~websiter/cgi-bin/cuneiform.cgi
your name (or any letters) in runes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/runes.html
"hidden" link with lots
of great wallpapers (hard to find?) and your name in chinese! Gorgeous.
JAN
http://www.goodorient.com/
(window will pop up to allow you to dowload 1200 Western names; see your name
in Chinese)
Inks for WRITING & DRAWING on clay
Preparation
& Sealing
Before
doing the writing, prepare the clay by wiping it with denatured
alcohol to remove any oil or dirt which might act as a resist.
If
sealing, applying a coat of clear acrylic finish, clear gesso, white gesso,
or even acrylic paint will act as a barrier for the clay underneath
any inks that may bleed immediately, or may bleed later.
To avoid the bleeding
created when bleedable inks are in contact with brushed-on liquid finishes,
a couple of light coats of acrylic spray can seal the top
of the ink... and/or the ink can be baked briefly to try and set it quicker/better.
At least with gel pens, preheating
the clay surface for a few sec. with a heat gun, etc., seems to help the
ink flow well.
........can preheat even metallic waxy rub-on surfaces
(like Gilder's Paste or Rub 'N Buff... or clear paste waxes like
carnauba wax?)
Pigment Pens
Uniball pens work for me --only the micro ones (they are silver)
I've
been using Pigma Micron pens with no bleeding problems
...I've found
that Pigma Micron markers work better if I swab the baked clay with alcohol
first. Otherwise the pen starts to clog and I have
to throw it out. Louise
If you just want
something to sign your work with, you might try Sakura Micron pens...
. I've used these and haven't had any problems.
...they come in various widths
(you can find them at Michael's)
Oborochann
dips her small baked clay figures into diluted acrylic paint to give an
even overall covering and avoid brushmarks (using a wire through
the top loop in the item).... pops any bubbles she sees ... then hangs them to
drip dry, removing with a brush the drip that forms initially ... could also be
used for priming
....the also then adds details with a pigment pen or
or dots of acrylic paint stamped on (for more on this, see
Letters-Inks > Inks for Drawing & Writing)
....and
also then dips the item in clear gloss finish the same way
as into the paint --see more on that technique in
Finishes
> Dipping, under Varathane)
http://oborochann.deviantart.com/art/Octopus-Charm-Tutorial-45828570
(photos in middle of page)
I saw a videotape with Tory Hughes in which she said to use just a plain ballpoint pen. ....I know that it works on clay with no finish over it because I used it on the backs of pins I made for the Christmas swap last year and it's still clear as a bell…
also see Markers below
(thinner-line pens--metallics are mixed in various categories below)
Gel pens
Marie O'dell told us a gel pen
she uses at ravensdale...... I couldn't contain my excitement at these things
.....
they write in relief on polymer, in all sorts of bright colours.
. . the pens are by Sakura and cost me $1.09 each.
some
Jel-Rollers do not dry on the clay until
they have been baked. So either handle your shapes carefully
or test on a scrap peice of clay before you smear your project. (this was before
baking!??) Otterfire
....Lynn Krucke... mentioned was
that to use the Gel pens (in all their wonderful colors and metallics)
on polymer clay, you need to set them by popping the piece back into the
oven for approx. ten minutes, then they won't smear even
under Future or Varathane. .. . when I went to try it for the first time,
I forgot to sign the pieces until they were past the point where they could be
rebaked. So I decided to try my embossing heat gun. YEAHH! In only 12
to 20 seconds of heat (2-3 inches from surface) the writing was permanently
set..
......Mari O'Dell said that baking
the (Sakura) gels would set them, but she was using a different kind. ....
but I've found that some of them (brands?) burn out when you bake them
and the reds pretty much faded on me. Maybe I should try another brand.
Dotty
the Milky gel writers are
not waterproof; need to seal them???
....I thought that baking was supposed
to set the gel rollers (rather than needing to seal them)...or are the milky ones
different than the others? DB
...I set my Milky Gels this way, but must admit
that I usually seal too with Future.…I just love the smooth clear finish
that Future gives...now if I want a satiny look then I go for Varathane matte.
Dianne C.
I despise the Marvy gel
markers, too. The ones I bought skip and blob and
dry out after one letter so you have to tap and scribble start them on a scrap
all over again. Sakura gel markers work a bit better. Halla
...Try gel
pens by Sakura, they seem to be the best. sandie
...I use Sakura
metallic gelly rolls and they work great. After writing on clay, you might want
to use an embossing heat gun on...to dry the ink quickly. I also wait
24 hours before putting my finish over the top of the ink. Works better that
way. Dianne C.
I have used both Hybrid pens from Pentel and Hi-Tec-C from Pilot. They're the ones with a gel-like ink and they come in lots of bright colors and several point sizes.
Donna introduced me to the use of the Pentel Milky markers on the raw clay. You have to be careful not to push and make indentations, you just sort of drag the pen around. I also use the Sakura metallic gel markers. I found some cheap ones at the dollar store too that work pretty good. I'm not real fond of all the plaque that happens with the use of the markers,,so I've been experimenting. If I let them dry a bit longer, then cover with clay,,that seems to help. Sometimes I think the plaque happens because I may have made indents, which I think are air pockets really. I usually do the chalking then doodle with the markers. Geo
Sometimes the gel pens won't
mark well on the clay surface, even after wiping down with alcohol
....but
when I tried to write on a just- heated clay piece, the pens flowed beautifully.....
In playing around I discovered that hitting the polymer clay writing surface with
only 3-4 seconds of the embossing gun makes
the writing smooth and effortless every time.
..... I was even
able to write over a clay surface that had one of those waxy rub-ons like Rub
and Buff, simply by heating for 3 seconds first. Sara Jane in NC
Before using gel pens on clay, I find that a few strokes with a medium grade emery (sandpaper?) or glasspaper (about 220 or 400) provides a reasonable surface tooth for the pens' inks. Alan
When your gel pens have "dried
out" or won't write well, you can try heating the tips or using
(soaking?) vinegar...
.....or use Perfect Ink refresher
marketed by Ranger products.. put a few drops in the barrel of your marker
and they will work like new. sandie
...I have dipped them in some
water and put the cover on again. After a few minutes, they will work
again but it is a termporary fix. intgrtyhon
...somewhere I read that
if you put the gel pens in the freezer for a few minutes,
they work better (????).... mykittykat88
...pens do get
old quickly!.... I am especially leary of
pens on sale because they are often old stock
that the stores are trying to get rid of.
...I find most of those kinds of
pens have to be kept really airtight to work for very long.... think
they recommend storing them on their sides too??
smearing
experiment with both Sculpey III and Premo
....the
pens tested were Hybrid, Pentel milky jel,marvy, Y & C jel extreme.
....after i wrote on all 4 samples, i tried to smear with my finger on one
sculpy and one premo at that time. and again this evening (24 hours later) before
baking.
None of the samples smeared after curing (air drying?)
for 24 hours.
.....The pens that faired best with less smear were
the Marvy and Pentel (Milky Jel) , the others had
varying results
.......and this is the interesting part..... the pens on raw
premo smeared worse than pens on sculpy in the first few minutes,
but there was no difference after baking.
... and none of my samples incured
additional smearing once Future was applied.
....the only thing i
adjusted from what i did the previous time was kicked up the temp
at the end.. otterfire
I personally
prefer to use the gel pens on raw clay and then bake them
in, I think they write better. I have used them to sign pieces without
any problems either. Brands that I used, I think it was the Marvey gel
pens… Pauline
.....I tested my gel pens
on raw clay. I used a sheet of Premo Black rolled out to #4. I wrote on
the sheet with all my markers.
....... Some didn't want to write at all,
which then caused me to press into the clay, which of course left ugly depressions
in the clay.
.......Some of the ink did flow out nicely onto the clay.
...
I waited about 10 minutes, and tried to smear them.
......the gold
Marvy and one of the Sakura's smeared a bit, but they were also the
ones that flowed out nicely, so there was more ink there.
... I baked
the piece and none of the inks smeared after baking. Heather
I tried making impressions in raw clay with letter stamps, then filling the impressions in with the gel pens before baking .... that worked quite well, and next time I make some conversation hearts, I will certainly put the ink on raw clay and then bake. Heather
I
dusted colored chalk on my raw clay shape with a good soft brush, then
I drew designs with Milky markers and metallic gel markers.
....
I then covered it with a very thin #6 sheet of translucent clay.
... (Donn'a s encased transfer technique using chalk is a bit different.) Geo
(are
these gels or fiber tips?) I recently bought some fineline metallic markers
from Walmart. The brand name is Sanford and they come in a double
pack, Gold and Silver. Has anyone tried these on clay? Byrd
I have
Byrd. They worked fine. I've used them on both baked and unbaked clay with good
results. As far as I know there's no problem with any reactions to the clay --
JAN
~ I need to do (some special) lettering. I would do photo transfers with words, but some of the colors of the clay will be dark, and won't show up at all. Therefore, gell pens...?? I need the lettering in specific fonts though, so my own writing wouldn't cut it. There is a slight *sheen* to the photo transfer words so I'm hoping to do a transfer, and then just go over the words with a gel pen? The sheen should let me see it ok, even if the clay is black. ( and then I can do any color I choose! Jeanette
Markers
Prismacolor
markers are
alcohol based
(not water-based).
....stay
colorfast on baked clay ....do not bleed like Sharpies
can (even with time). Sarajane
...Ranger's Adirondack
line also offers alcohol-based markers (earthy tones?)
...they can be used
on on polymer clay just like you would use the bottles of Pinata
(or Adirondack) alcohol inks in some very interesting
ways, since they are both alcohol based
.......(see above in "Alcohol
Inks" for details on those).
...alcohol-based markers shouldn't
be used directly on
rubber stamps though
just because they dry too quickly to stamp with (water-based
markers are ok). Margaret D.
alcohol inks can be used to draw, paint or write on polymer clay too ...for those see, above under Alcohol Inks
Adirondack's
Pigment Markers ...these are a water?-based
pigment ink (not glycerin-based ink like used in most pigment
pads)
... can permanently color and write on slick surfaces
....also
works on fabric if heat set (iron) ...then permanent and washable
....can
achieve the blends that cannot with other "permanent" markers
Sharpie markers
(usually black ones) are used by some to sign their work, but the ink will turn
purple over time (or
brownish)
....... and also
bleeds slightly into the surrounding clay.
Sarajane
...Sharpies can work fine though AS LONG
AS you bake the ink (on the piece)
...I
think the problem with the Sharpie pens is
that the ink is acetone-based. If you
notice that it smells like finger nail polish romover (it has the same 'bleeding'
effect on other plastics like Tupperware after a while)
... I tried to apply
Future to the dried Sharpie ink, but the Future
removed the ink.
.......to avoid that, I had to seal with Future
first, and THEN draw with my marker...... or could seal with liquid
clay (and bake) before writing
....I seal the pieces before I mark
them, and I also put a finish over the ink after I've signed the
piece. ...the ink will tend to bleed though unless the finish is applied with
a quick hand.
(see more on ways to deal with this just above
in Preparation & Sealing)
Liquid
Chalk markers come in waterproof and non-waterproof versions (as well
as in stamp pads)
http://www.dickblick.com/zz212/42/products.asp?param=0&ig_id=5791
...
(see below under "Chalk Inks" for details about these
markers and all liquid chalks)
(for metallic markers, see see just
below in Paint Pens)
(for most pearlescent "markers,"
see below in Inks for Tinting > Pearlescents)
(....also see
other "markers" and "pens" below in Other Inks & Misc.)
Dip
& cartridge pens & other implements, etc
.... used with various
colored liquids, for writing/drawing
Various kinds of inks as well as diluted acrylic paints can be used with dip or cartridge pens and even with the eye end of a needle, etc., to draw or writing on clay.
The
india ink is a permanant (see Lysle's posts below) pigment made from
lampblack. It might not be as easy to use as a Sharpie, but the india ink won't
react with the polymer clay.
....I have
found that a dip pen and Indian ink is my most long-term, bomb proof
ink for polyclay. I did a series of Morris dancer pins for a morris team about
15 years ago - they are still wearing those pins to dance in! I did the faces
with a dip pen and Indian ink and they are fine after all the dancing and knocking
about they have had. Sue
…I switched to using Indian Ink (hope
you call it that in the States - black permanent ink) using a simple dip pen
and after 12 years it is still fine.
....I
find the (India) ink dries in a minute or two - I usually brush the surface
of the clay with a bit of meths (alcohol) first to de-grease (otherwise
the ink can bead). Then, for extra permanency, I coat all with either
matt or gloss varnish.
When I make little English cottage fridge magnets in
the shape of pubs, I use this method to write the name of the pub - e.g. "King's
Head" etc on the sign- the letters need to be about 3 mm high - but also use it
for doll pin faces and loads of other uses like miniature tiles.
Sue?
....If you are going to india ink-type
inks, you might try the type of india ink for use on acetate sheets.
It doesn't bead up on plastic.
...there
are three types (of India inks?): washable, permanate, and view graph. The feature
about the viewgraph ink is that it contains a 'cleaner' that cleans and
slightly sofens the film thus allows it to adhear to the view graphic film.
A good "Crow's foot" Cartogaphers dip pen with the viewgraph india ink
sounds like the way to go to me. Lysle
acrylic
paint. . . . I also use a dip pen loaded with dilute
acrylic paint for fine detail in colour on polymer clay - far more long
lasting than any of the ephemeral coloured inks. I cover this technique in detail
in my just-published book on miniatures . . Sue Heaser
Dip pens are very versatile
to use on polyclay - you can mix up thin acrylic paint of any colour you like
and drop it onto the back of the nib with a brush - and draw or write in
any colour - even fading into a new colour. Sue
....It
seems that someone said those metallic markers never really hardened properly
on the clay, but you could use gold acrylic paint or maybe there's such
a thing as gold ink in a bottle. Either of these could be used with a dip
pen (water the acrylic down?)
...see
also alcohol-based inks above
...see also the pre-thinned
acrylic paints that look like bottles of ink in Paints
> Acrylics >> Thin Bodied Acrylics, some of which need to be heated
to cure)
....for info on making a "paint"
from tinted liquid clay or from clear acrylic mediums with
"inclusions" such as mica powders
to create metallic
paints, see Liquid Clay >
Inclusions.... and Powders >
As Paints
brushes, pens, tools
I
think Sue Heaser or some others talked about using watered-down acrylics or india-type
inks with a dip pen or fine paintbrush, but don't remember details.
...the large-round
tipped #13 tapestry needle ...the eye ends of those big needles also make
great dip pens for TLS, frisket and paints. Halla
...A tiny, fine brush and acrylic paint works great too. ...it stays fairly
well if unbaked, but can also be baked for even more staying power.
...an
Extra Fine Line Painting Pen lets you write a fine line with thinned acrylic
paint
........ mine says on the package that it's Distributed by Loew-Cornell,
Inc., Teaneck NJ, but when I went looking for it at Pearl I was directed to the
sculpting tools since they get it from Kemper tools.
........ It's about
$3, all metal, and comes with a cleaning tool. Looks like a tiny pipe with a brass
handle and a technical point coming out of the bottom of the pipe bowl. Use a
brush or a dropper to fill the bowl and off you go. Just clean it the instant
you're done. Halla
..........like a tjanting pen used
for psyanky/batik, etc?, which is a small container on a rod, with a hole in the
bottom for liquid get out
The eye ends of those big needles also make great "dip pens" for liquid clay, paints and frisket. Halla
Rapidograph
pens (non-dip) work fine if you find dip pens hard to use…Sue
....I
use Rapidograph pens, aka "technical pens". They come in very fine points
and use a waterproof ink. I use the heavy black "India" type ink, but permanent
inks are also available in white, carmine (pink), red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, violet and brown. I've never had bleeding into clay over
a 20 year period. These pens average $14. (mail order) to about $20. at Michaels.
...
Much cheaper technical pens are available as disposable ($5.49 for
3) models. Michael's also carries Rotring Rapidoliner for around
$12. They have a refill cartridge with tip, only in black. I have just started
using these cheaper ones as they do away with the messy job of refilling and
cleaning out the pens.
(Regular Rapidographs MUST be cleaned out after
every use, or the tips will be permanently clogged…)
....I use a .18 disposable
Rapidoliner by Rotring. You can also use the .25 disposable Rapidoliner.
It's a very fine point , dries fast and is permanent. It has to be the disposable
kind!!! . . .The nibs on the regular Rapidographs
tend to scratch into the clay for some reason, and
if the clay gets caught up in there, it's expensive to replace the nib. The
disposable one.. once you buy the whole thing, all you have to do is replace the
ink cartridge, which is much cheaper than the nibs. The barrel holds all the different
point sizes. You can find the .25 at Michaels in the fine art section. The .18
is harder to come by. That you'll need to go to an art store. Anita
"Paint" Pens, markers--thicker ...(metallics & non-metallics)
Paint markers use opaque inks... but, they don't contain actual paint (some are solvent-based, others water-based).
Krylon Leafing
Pens
....Michaels has them, as do many other places ...give
great results
....the pens are soluble copper so the
metal particles just sit on the surface (bec. there is no latex, acrylic
or resin binder in them)
....the Silver (a good shiny sterling silver
look) and 18K Gold are excellent. Jan ... Copper?
........new
colors --a bright coppery red (great color for holiday projects) ,&
a pale reddish gold (betw. the gold & copper).Patti
....the tip
is chisel shaped, so one corner of it can also be used for a fine line.
I've used
Krylon pens (all 3 colors) on everything (clay, mat board, glass,
paper, plastic) for years
.... they just take a while to
dry (esp. on nonporous surfaces?)...
I usually don't touch
it for about a 1/2 hour or
so.Robin
sealing...
if the Krylon ink will be exposed to friction
or banging against objects, such as with a pendant or bracelet, then it needs
to be protected with glaze. Elizabeth
......on an edge or surface that
will get wear, I seal them with Varathane... but I in recessed
areas they don't need sealing. Patti
.......some glazes may
smear or remove the
ink though. Dotty in CA (so don't apply heavily? or rub around, for first coat
anyway)
...... If I feel a need to coat them, I wait several days till
well dried, and then use Varathane or Fimo Mineral glaze
.DottyinCA
These
inks can be re-baked, but they tend to darken
a little when you do (the copper is oxidizing
in that case. Patti
...I like using the Krylon gold & silver pens to get a
metallic look, but the finish
seems to get dull
very easily. Is it advisable seal it afterward? Mavis
.....they
hold up pretty well, but if handled a lot they sometimes
darken and look like old gold (if not sealed). Dotty
....... if the
ink is going to be in a recessed area where it will not receive wear, then
you can get away without glazing it, though the metallic look may dim. Elizabeth
prep:
I did sand and buff
(first) and found the gold (or silver or copper) flowed on nice
and smooth
...... I just had to be careful not to get any oil
from my hands or other sources on the clay
as that caused the ink to
bead up. Dotty in CA
I have also used the leafing pen on top of Future (or other acrylic finishes). Catherien
USES:
....
highlight the tops of textured surfaces
.........I am making some big
"silver"polymer clay beads to go on a "turquoise" necklace ....they
are every bit as convincing as the turquoise....really rich looking!
............firstI
formed the bead, carved it , use teeny rope overlays, teeny balls, etc from
a darkish silver and hit the highlights with the silver leaf pen.
Jan Clausen
.....antiquing...Patricia
Kimle used a for the gold infill in her carving... and on the trim
of her leaf beads
draw
or paint with them ... or whatever you can dream up!
...Eberhard
Faber's lesson on drawing on baked clay stoppers with a metallic
marker (+rhinestones)
http://www.eberhardfaber.com/Deco_Bottle_Corks.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=17212
...paint
or markers? http://www.eberhardfaber.de/FIMO_classic.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=8556
...Eberhard
Faber's drawing on (baked) translucent clay-covered? glass candleholders
with squiggles using marker?
http://www.eberhardfaber.de/Windlichter_transparent.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=8913
I
use a gold Krylon leafing pen for coloring the edge of
CD's. Sputnik
...good for coloring the edges of a flat
pendant or other clay where the sides show (looks more finished,
framed)
Jean-stargazer used metallic
pens (or metalic acrylic paint, I forget).... she puddled it...
then swirled on a sheet of clay
.... she let it dry ....THEN she stretched
the clay sheet to get this crackle finish ...Nora Jean
OTHER
BRANDS:
The other brand I bought at Michaels doesn’t
get sticky either.
it was actually the Marvy Metallic Calligraphy pen that I had stickiness problems with. Lib
I have tried UNI paint markers without success...... the paint did bleed into the clay over time... got a chuckle too -- UNI paint markers are made by Sanford (distributed by our friends at Eberhard Faber) --but they sell other markers too.
I
used a Deco
paint pen on some baked clay because it is advertised as being waterproof
and that is what I needed. However, the painted cat is now sticky.
....try
baking again to set the ink. (The rebaking did not help,so I painted over
the cat with another paint.)
I went to Lemon Tree and
found a Fine Line Painting Pen writing tool to use
with mica powders (under Powdered Pearls, Accessories)
...I
think I just discovered a way to make those fine, delicate lines with metallic
powders that have always eluded me! Laura
.....(looks a bit
like a tjanting pen used for psyanky/batik, etc., which is a small
container on a rod, with a hole in the bottom for liquid get out)
http://www.powderedpearls.com/accessories/fine-line-painting-pen.htm
(info on the ArtZArt Hot Foil Pen is in Leafing > Hot Foil Pen, for applying foils to many surfaces...battery operated)
(also see other
"markers" and "pens" above in Other Inks & Misc.)
Miscellaneous
...writing, drawing, painting
Many
things can be used for drawing or painting on polymer clay so some of those could
be used for writing too.
...see Paints
for using colored pencils and pastels and chalks (pastes),
as well as all kinds of acrylic and oil paints and painting with
polymer clay
...see above
on this page for Alcohol Inks and Chalk Inks
...see
Powders for drawing/lettering with metallic or other powders
mixed into clear mediums to use as "paint"
...see
Transfers for transferring
scanned photos or computer-generated letters/images to polymer clay
misc, lettering: .. . the old tole-painting lettering --i.e., having a big dot at the each intersection and at the ends of each letter-- helps with making the letters all look uniform.
(see
Stamping for stamp pad inks,
etc.)
(see also: Canes,
Molds, Powders, Transfers, Liquid Sculpey, ClayGun/Extruders, . . . .)
