Inks and Foil Leaf - A Big Mess For A Few Gems

I think I now own every color of alcohol ink currently offered, and I have practically cornered the market on gold, silver and copper leaf foil. I have had a lot of fun in the last two weeks, but made a huge mess, too. I think I've exorcised my bright, shiny, glittery gene, and after this week, I can mark off one more "basic" polymer clay technique that I had never really done before now. Oh, sorry, we aren't supposed to say Polymer Clay any more, but that's a whole nother post.



I made a few pieces on my own and then purchased Christi Uliczny's tutorial and made a few more pieces and then went back to my own cauldron for even more, with mixed results. Here are a few of the finished pieces. The red and gold pieces are my favorite.



The aqua pebbled ones and the ones which look like crop circles were made based on Christi's tutorial. I think I did something wrong, though, because the alcohol baked a lot lighter than the colors which were applied.



I did discover a cool new tool in this process: White alcohol ink, which looks great crackled on a black background. Now I can get that "eggshell" look in polymer clay without the expense of buying resin eggshell jewelry components.



I am not sure what technique I will try next on my journey to keep the shadow muse close by, but ol' Tink is getting the wandering eye again, so I better think of something quick. I know it won't be canework. I am no caner. I have never been a caner, will never be a caner, and do not want to be a caner, not unless I can magically wake up tomorrow morning blessed with Julie Eakes' talent. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.



I have a bunch of image transfer orders to create, and I just purchased two tons of digital images I haven't even printed out yet, including lots of new vintage florals and some gorgeous alphabet images I'm dying to try! Monograms, anyone?



And okay, one little comment about the polymer clay vs. polymer debate. If we elevate the level of our work, we will elevate the medium, no matter what it is called. Okay, I only put one toe on the soapbox, two toes at most.