FREE Video | How to Create Polymer Clay Halloween Mummy Face Millefiori Cane

Free polymer clay video!
Mummy face millefiori cane

Purim (a similar jewish version for Halloween) was the holiday I loved the most as a child. I remember I used to wait for the day my mother asks me "who do you want to be" this year?
I was a ballerina, little red riding hood, a hippie, a rabbit, a traditional Japanese dressed lady, and even a kitty (it's me age 4 in the photo!).
All these special costumes were handmade by my mother and I can not thank her enough for being so cooperative with our childhood desires.

Purim is due in 6 months but Halloween is only 60 days away!
Have you planned your polymer clay projects? gifts? treats?

Me as a kitty!

You are most welcome to join me in a new FREE 29 minutes video tutorial, teaching you all how to create this spooky (spooky? I think it's cute!) millefiori mummy face cane, made of only 3 clay colors - white, grey and black.
Skinner blend, stitched lips, black eyeballs and nose - and you have a super cool cane to add to your Halloween gift collection!

Lot's of useful tips are included in this video, including my way of creating a skinner blend, inserting details inside a round cane, accurate slicing of a plug, stripy finish wrap around the cane, and many more!

and...

Don't miss the special giveaway! SORRY! Giveaway closed!

I am giving away 3 canes of this cutie!

Post a comment under this post with your answer -
=> What was your favorite costume on Halloween as a child?
OR
=> Post a link to one of your polymer clay Halloween themed creations!

Post your comments below along with your email address so I can contact you if you win -
In my next PolymeriOnline blog post, 3 of you will be drawn out from all the comments and WIN A CANE - FREE!

Good luck and have fun!

How a walk on 5th Av. ended up with a changeable polymer clay earring set - FREE video

My best PR comes from my close friends :)

Free tutorial!
Polymer clay loop earrings with flower decorations

While visiting US with my family, I took a day off to take a walk on Manhattan streets.
5th & 6th Av. were my natural choice with endless findings stores, jewelry, beads and many more.

One of my purchases were huge loop earrings I saw many of the women wear.

I had to make an earring set to myself just to see how they look on me.
Then, I went to see a close friend, have a cup of coffee and she said immediately - "PLEASE, can you make one for me too?" (plus a big please smile)

I couldn't refuse her request and knew she is my best PR friend, so I went to create several sets for her (and myself) taking the opportunity to video the project as a free tutorial to you.

B&W Flowers on earring loops

Stripy flower earrings!
This 18 minutes earrings project is very easy to create and you can use any color, pattern, shape or technique when creating your polymer clay decoration to match any outfit you wear.
Stripes are only one option! you can use your millefiori flower canes, kaleidoscope canes, stamps, texture - anything will fit this design.

Go ahead and give it a try!

P.S - In a week or so I will be posting my new & extensive tutorial class, celebrating my 40th one.
Many weeks of preparations and investigation - materials and techniques were a part of this journey to bring you the best tutorials.

See you in a just a bit!

Here is the video link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKUYRKfgj60&feature=youtu.be

Have fun!

Packing and Packing...

The past days were a total (good!) madness both in the business and personal point of view, we are getting ready for the 3 weeks family trip and with all that, I found myself packing and more packing - both tutorials kits and my suitcases!

The Skyscraper tutorial is turning to be a great hit, with 48 kits are already on their way to locations all over the globe :) thank you!

I have added a bonus video on the creation of an easy solution for your flat bead stringing.

If you are still interested, the complete "pack" is offered for a special price until Sunday, my last day at the post for the next 3 weeks :)

Here is what some of my customers think about this new tutorial -

"Exciting, imaginative, jam-packed with information, unlimited! Thank you Iris!"

Carla, Australia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I agree with you totally that liquid polymer is an over-looked gem. I love your "skyscraper" design!"

K.F, CT, U.S.A

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just bought the new tutorial by Mishly Iris and I must say that it has piqued my curiosity. There is also a great video to accompany the PDF and it's done very well for me that I know very little English.

Anne M., Italy (posted in an italian forum)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The new Skyscraper techniques uses liquid polymer clay along with simple materials you have at home, and combine them into a single piece in the most un-traditional ways!

Create a dazzling necklace, earring set, brooches, bracelet - all included PLUS 10(!) DiscChic blanks sent to your home - shipping is FREE!

All the details - here.

I will be posting another PolymeriOnline just before I go and meanwhile have a great weekend!

Win a FREE copy of my new tutorial - Guessing game!

Yesterday I promised to play a new guessing game with you guys, in regards to my new upcoming tutorial.

This new tutorial (actually there are two of them, in similar techniques) was something I always thought about but couldn't find any leads how to transform it into a polymer clay design, so I sat in my studio and started playing!

Eventually, after I have completed the design and came to my dear husband to show him, he said - Hey! this looks like...!
You can see the photo.

Some of you may visited this place but me, I haven't been there before.
Actually, in 2 weeks we are celebrating my son's Bar-Mitzva and all of us are doing a wonderful family trip abroad. One of the locations is this place, we are about to see it in real.

Not that I meant it, the tutorial is published so close to our trip and you are all invited to play a guessing game to win a free copy of it!

==========================

Try guessing where is this place (I know this one will quickly found out), what is my new tutorial about, materials, design, technique - anything you have in mind - just post in your comments along with your email address!

You don't have to be right - every comment is "right" in this game!

In 24 hours (or as soon as I finish working on the new tutorial and publish it), One of you will be drawn out from all the comments and WIN IT - FREE!

Thank you! the drawing is closed! winners announced here

=============================

Give it a try!
What have you got to lose? Only winning! :)

If you want to double your chances - Share this on Facebook and Twitter and come back and let me know where you published it.

Waiting to hear your comments!

Good luck :)

Polymer clay crocheted heart/flower decor - Free video tutorial for Valentine!

In our family, a fridge is not just a place to put your groceries. It's a photo album+.

Photos, magnets, memos, test schedule, special announcements, calendars, bills - thank god that fridges are so big you can place items on all 3 sides of it ;)

Anyway, it's a while now that my mother asked me for REAL photos of my kids. Not digital photos - real ones.

In the digital age we hardly make photo copies any more, almost all of us have gazillion photos in our hard drive and almost none in our albums and guess what - although this happen we keep buying the newest camera on the market.

So I decided, it's a good time to make 3 special photo decorations for my mom's fridge with all 6 grandchildren photos - mine and my 2 sisters.

For a while now I wanted to combine my basic crochet skills in a polymer clay piece so this was a fun project that can be a last minute gift for your loved ones, Valentine or any occasion, this decoration can be used as a big magnet on a fridge, a wall hanging ornament, a key-chain, bag charm, beads for a necklace or even part of a gift wrap!

The great thing about doing this project with polymer clay is that you can apply any technique you like on it and you'll get an original design. Of course it can be done with paper, air dry clay and many other materials as well, just keep in mind the holes and the hook size.

Basic crochet knowledge is recommended but if you do not know how to crochet you will get the idea by watching me work plus a recommended YouTube channel for many crochet tutorials. This channel taught me so much! I really recommend it.

So mom, even though Valentine is a holiday you mostly celebrate with your other half (mine is going to be abroad) - this one is for you :)

Getting Ready to Halloween! 2 FREE Videos!

Although Halloween isn't a holiday we celebrate here (In Israel we celebrate a similar holiday on February - "Purim"), it's always fun to think of new tutorials and videos for it.

All the things I don't consider doing as a full tutorial over the year, pop up in my brain when it comes to a fun holiday like Halloween.

At our home, every year on December (2 months ahead), we start our family brain-storming on "What will be my costume this year?" As for my DH, every year he puts a blue wig and decide it's THE MOST ORIGINAL costume in the world, I try to be more artistic and original, I am frequently asked by neighbors, friends and family to help them with the makeup (hey, what do we have a makeup artist neighbor for?) and sometimes I even do my own (see the tiger? That's me! LOL)

Any way, this year I chose 2 creepy dark & fun projects for you - an eyeball ring/bowl/magnet/anything and a chopped finger (human/witch?) both of them as videos on YouTube.

I hope you'll have fun and will be happy to hear your comments!

Check them out on PolyPediaOnline Channel -

http://www.youtube.com/user/polypediaonlineTV

Playing with Cubes!

Several weeks ago I was walking at a fair and saw this guy creating wood mind games, one of them was a 3*3 cube challenge. I was immediately hooked and couldn't rest until I solved the whole cube. THEN I figured I must create one with polymer clay!

My cube is just one option among many!

Now you can play with your jewelry while you're waiting at the dentist's reception :)

Here is a free video tutorial - How to Create Polymer Clay Cube Puzzle Necklace including a diagram for stringing and it's solution!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIZrSHxFv9k

Have fun! :)

Polymeri Online 19.7.11 | Walk on Clay, Talking Faces, Hibiscus Flower Tut and Graphic Necklace Design

Violette Laporte from Canada has a great tip for softening very very old clay.

Even after you roll it in the pasta machine, If it is still crumbly, we are moving to the heavy artillery ;) take your clay, place it in a plastic bag with all the crumbs and pieces, form a ball inside the bag, take a good pair of shoes and yourself in the shoes (the heavier the better!) and squish the ball to flat! after several times (from ball to flat) you are done with your daily exercise and the clay is ready to be inserted in the pasta machine! how about that?!

http://violette-laporte.blogspot.com/2009/11/tip-11.html

Violette has some other interesting experimental designs in her blog, take a half of hour (or more) to browse it.

If you are looking for more tips for rolling stiff clay, you can see my tip as well in PolyPediaOnline TV in YouTube.

A mans face appears out of the tile; A face emerging from a leaf; Face Pendant - ReedDesigns Etsy's gallery is "telling us something", the faces expression, colors, eyes shape - talking faces.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReedDesigns

ZudaGay posted a tutorial on how to create a hibiscus flower using main polymer core and petals around it, Thank you Tonja for this link!

http://clayinthehands.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-hibiscus.html

Polyette's graphic necklace has beautiful color combination, dots and shapes. I can imagine how stylish it will look on a white dress!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/polyette/5574017229/

Animal Farm, A peek behind the curtain

It's been a while that i was waiting for an opportunity to create my own animal collection of charms, ever since i saw felt and fabric folks do it, I wanted to make some from polymer clay.

A week ago I got a phone call from a lady, she is a director in one of the collages here in Israel, theater department. The lady asked me if I can create animal keychains, she said that they are doing a play called "Animal Farm" based on a novel by George Orwell, each actor will receive a special gift at the "finale'" of the play featuring his own character.
What a great idea!
Exactly what I was waiting for.

I made about 25 charms, some not even in the play (penguin? polar bear?)

I had so much fun creating them I couldn't stop :)

You can see how 4 of them were made in 2 videos - The pig, the sheep, the horse and the chicken.
It's really all about working with cookie cutters and creating a flat, 2D design, playing with colors, shapes and having fun.

Let the show begin!

Part 1 - Pig and sheep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ9AfsMZy_w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Part 2 - Chicken and horse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anBSGS034cc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Want to guess what these are?

Quiz!

here is a little teaser to my new upcoming tutorial :)

want to guess what they are planned to be?

They are part of a final piece.

The correct answer will WIN my new tutorial for FREE!

let's "hear" your comments and don't forget to leave your email or contact info!

Quiz ended! - thank you!

Here is the winner announcement

Polymeri Online 31.12.10

Alice (from wonderland) is a designer from St-Petersburg, Russia, she has a wonderful sense of color and her jewelry made me smile, their color combination is beautiful.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicefromwonderland/sets/72157625560567887/

DeliciousHobo is addicted to crafting. She (i'm guessing) makes wearable art and her passion for painting, sculpting, and accessories has given birth to her one-of-a-kind jewelry. Many of her pieces are made over the course of several days – clay molding, baking, sometimes sanding and/or painting, sealing, and assembling.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeliciousHobo?ref=seller_info

Check out these cool colorful millefiori frogs by Nancy Welch, and her Picassa is full of goodies as well!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15239491@N00/

http://picasaweb.google.com/crazynancy91/

creastefy / stefania published a sweet tort cake tutorial, she works with various materials and polymer clay is one of them :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/creastefy/4691141374/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/creastefy/sets/72157611517782606/

Last day of 2010 - wishing every one a happy (and healthy) new year!

A quick holidays freebie! make your own polymer clay tree decoration :)

Even though it's still hot & dry in Israel, i am joining the festive atmosphere of upcoming Christmas.

Snow? i don't think I'll see any where i live, but the weather man promised rain this weekend! let's hope for some showers :)

Enjoy this free video on making a Christmas tree decoration using a snowman figure, tree cutter and holiday colors!

Raffle Winners and birthday day :)

I had a great day yesterday!

Started my birthday day at home wishing "happy birthday"wishes to my 14 yrs old daughter, we celebrate our birthdays on the same date :) with all the kissing and hugging i headed to the the train station just to see that i missed the train by 1 minute (!) but nothing will upset me, waited to the next one!

The day was full of fun and productive stuff, i was invited to a very interesting workshop (non polymer) and after that joined a friend to a 6 hours -restaurant-coffee-shopping tour, and when logged into my facebook account, saw hundreds of wishes - this is really heart warming! thank you all!

It's only the start! Next month is the PolyPediaOnline 1st anniversary birthday!! Time really does fly by. Does not feel like it’s been a year! i am planning a wonderful celebration - stay tuned! lot's of FREEBIES and GIFTS right on time for Christmas!

As promised i am posting the raffle winners for my latest PolyPediaOnline tutorial # 17 - Paint on Clay", this is one of my intermediate-advanced tutorials and got wonderful feedbacks on it! all the people who purchased it till my birthday date entered a raffle to win 3 free tutorials!

I used the random name picker.

Here are the winners!

Silke, Starrglow and Nancy!

emails will be sent to you to claim your free prizes :)

Enjoy!

4th of July (cane) parade :)

2 years ago i was celebrating my daughter bat-mitzvah in Manhattan, we landed at the airport on 4th of July and ran straight to the shore line to see NYC fireworks, it was wonderful!! a sight to remember! although it was so rainy and we ran with umbrellas everyone was happy and the celebration was everywhere!

i wish i could come every 4th of july!

for me, America is fun, vacation and joy, when i come to that country i walk along the streets, all smiles. (let's forget all politics etc)

For this occasion i would like to make a special gift celebration! a blog candy!

for those that do not know what blog candy is - you can't eat it, or unwrap it, but - YOU can win it!

I am giving away 3 freebies - one of them is for everyone, and 2 of them are only for ones leaving a comment in my blog.

1. for everyone! A free tutorial for making a USA flag in my PolyPediaOnline site, just join the mailing list if you haven't yet done so and an email with instructions how to download the file will be sent to you. already joined? an email will be waiting for you in your mailbox.

2. Two beautiful patriotic keychains with stars, flags and a puffy heart bead from my personal stash - 2 of you can win it!

3. A raw USA millefiori flag cane sent to your home address, you can create anything you have in mind!

So here’s the deal. Blog Candy is now open and will close on 4th of July at midnight with a winner being announced on Monday, July 5th. once the winners are picked, i will post it here and they need to reach out to me through my email within 48 hours or another winner is picked.

Leave a comment on this post to enter the raffle.

About the content of your comment - i want to know more about the place you live in! wheather it's america or another place on the planet - maybe, someday, i will be able to tour the world, and this is your way of giving out personal tips :)

please tell me something about your home town, a special place you have visited, a tourism attraction - anything!

In less than 2 weeks i am visiting Paris and London with my family, we love to travel and it's so fun to do it together as a family.

so... what are you waiting for? add your comment and you may win a flag cane/a patriotic keychain!

Happy 4th of July!

Winners...!

Once again the time has come to draw the names!

The first 20 buyers of my newest tutorials (polypediaonline vol 8, 9, 10) got in a raffle and 2 of them are about to win a prize -
one will get a free tutorial of their choice and the other one a set of 4 real canes sent to their home.

I was all smiling with happiness when i got these lovely feedbacks from my customers after they reviewed the new tutorials -

***************************

Hello Iris! I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for your latest tutorial. Butterflies are my favorite thing and I have been wanting to make some for a long time. Your instructions are so clear and so easy to understand. I just downloaded it today and I cannot wait to go home and give it a try. Thank you so much for all you do and for sharing your creativity.

***************************

Hi Iris, Thank you for the link to the videos. They are wonderful as is everything you touch. They are very clear, direct and oh so helpful. The music is very pleasant and they are filmed very well.

I love the three new tutorials and with the videos I can't fail.

Please never stop doing what you do so beautifully!

***************************

thank you every one!

This random name picker site was a great service last time, so instead of cutting all your names up and popping them in a basket i used it again.

http://classtools.net/main_area/template_loader.php/?fruit_machine

Winners are -

Josie - wins a free tutorial!

Jill - wins a set of 4 canes!

Emails will be sent to you!

Enjoy!

i am happy to announce 3 new Tutorials :)

For the past few weeks i've been doing some "artistic" thinking. I was reading the survey feedbacks i got from my PolyPediaOnline members, and thought how can I pass my knowledge forward.

Clearly people want to learn! so many questions, queries, so many people wish to improve their skills, upgrade their work and even sell and make a living.

I took my real notebook (not my laptop :) ) and a pen and started listing my next projects.

Some of the projects were very clear to me since i made them so many times, but one of them was a little bit new to me. it was a tutorial on making a butterfly cane which so many of you asked for.

Now, this was a challenge!

would you believe me if i tell you that up until few weeks ago i have never made a butterfly cane? in all my 5 years of working with polymer and making canes i never made one. i don't know why, but this huge looking cane always intimidated me. i was certain that my 1st cane will be a disaster. to my surprise - it wasn't! i managed to go through the whole process without making any (almost) mistakes! i was so proud of myself!

Sometimes we fear the unknown, especially when in comes to artistic skills - "How do i start with such a complex project?", "what if a creation comes out all wrong?", "what will happen to all that clay i wasted? will it go to my scrap again?", - do you ask yourself these questions? I do! Yes, even an experienced clayer like me ask these questions all the time. When you ask the questions - you get answers!

Over the years I found different ways to avoid making mistakes, usually while trial and error, this is why i want to share my knowledge to simplify things - Creating has never been easier - with clear instructions, good photos, some diagrams & planning, everyone can make perfect canes - everyone.

i am happy to announce 3 new Tutorials :)

Let's introduce the new guys on the block -

The first is PolyPediaOnline Vol 8

A Great how-to on creating 3 polymer clay butterflies millefiori canes - 39 pages Step-by-Step Instructions that include both a one set wing butterfly (side view) and a two set wing butterfly plus a bonus of a "petal" butterfly idea with 150+ photos to guide you through.

The second is PolyPediaOnline Vol 9

7 beautiful roses millefiori canes - 97(!) pages Step-by-Step

Instructions, 370+ photos, includes classic rose canes, 3D rose canes, buds, outlined rose cane and more, plus a bonus of a 2 skinnered leaf cane and some cool diagrams for you to work with when building your canes.

This tutorial is so comprehensive and detailed i will be sending it in 2 seperate files.

And the last one is PolyPediaOnline Vol 10

A very useful guide to making your own signature namecane. A signature name cane is a wonderful way to personalize your pieces.

Clear and detailed instructions, 19 pages and about 60 full-color pictures to guide you through.

That's a fresh new resource to your future canes and creations!

But wait! there are more surprizes!

Don't miss my 2 part video on how to reduce all 3 types of canes: round, triangle and a square/rectangle. In this video i will be demonstrating how to reduce one of the rose canes, one butterfly wing and my signature name cane.

If you want to see how live reduction is made - you are welcome to join!

A special offer for all 3 tutorials is offered to you for 1 week only till 2nd of May. After that date price go back to regular.

you can see more details about it in this page

http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/specialpolypedia8-9-10

First 20 buyers will get into a raffle to win a free tutorial!

& one of you will get 4 REAL canes from my personal cane box sent to your home!

you may get lucky! :)

Come and join the fun - http://www.polypediaonline.com/133688/specialpolypedia8-9-10

Thank you for your time & Have the best day :)

New PolyPedia #7 Tutorial and New FREE Tutorial

A new great tutorial has joined my free PolyPediaOnline tutorials -
Natasha Beads: Make your own beads and needle tool decoration

and... A New E-book is Coming - #7!

I've been working all week, and my new E-book is almost ready!
This one is all about Making Geometric Canes, and the ETA is February 1st, 2010!

This E-book focuses on Geometric Millefiori Canes - How to make 9 (+ 1 Bonus) geometric canes - stripes, squares, rounds, dots, triangles and more. You can make new canes by variations and additions to the canes offered in this tutorial, providing you lots of new and exciting possibilities.

Join the PolyPediaOnline mailing list to get the free tutorial and read about the pre-order sale i am doing and if you are already a subscriber, an email is waiting in your mailbox :)

FREE - New Speedy Square Heart Millefiori Cane Tutorial

Valentine Project!

Today i took a day off from making heart pillow beads and wrote a new tutorial.

This tutorials is a quick square heart millefiori cane decorated with stripes - so easy to make!

If you want to get access to the tutorial and you haven't yet joined my PolyPediaOnline mailing list, Now it the time! Lot's of surprises to come only for you subscribers!

http://www.polypediaonline.com

:)