Creating a Colorful Liquid Polyclay™ Sheet
by Tammy Honaman, Author, Jewelry-Making Expert and Educator, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
Liquid Polyclay is transparent liquid polymer in a bottle. Once cured, the liquid turns to a solid. In its liquid state, Liquid Polyclay can be used to adhere raw clay together, help bond raw clay to cured clay and create decorative dimensional sheets, which once cured, can be used in mixed-media designs. The liquid is available in clear and eight vibrant, transparent colors.
Instructions
Step 1
Make sure your work surface and oven are level. Place a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom of your oven--just in case you need to catch any drips.
Open the bottle of clear liquid, and using a stir stick, blend the contents of the liquid well. Repeat for each liquid you will be using. With an awl or toothpick, pierce the tip of each bottle.
Step 2
Pour a small amount of the clear Liquid Polyclay onto a ceramic tile. Tilt the tile to spread the liquid out in an even layer. This will be the base of your sheet so work the liquid until it is as large as you would like your finished sheet to be; add more liquid if needed.
If bubbles appear, pierce them with a fine-tipped awl or toothpick.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 300-degrees Fahrenheit. Place the ceramic tile into the oven and bake for at least 5 minutes or until the liquid is clear. Carefully remove the tile and allow the tile and the liquid to cool completely before proceeding.
Step 4
Once cooled, squeeze lines of colored liquid onto your sheet of clear.
For a lighter, brighter pattern, consider adding in fine lines of white.
Carefully place into the oven for 1-1/2 minutes.
Step 5
After 1-1/2 minutes, open the oven door then carefully, drag the comb or an awl through the surface of the liquid, dragging the colors into the pattern of your choice.
Note: The oven will be hot, so please use care when working with the liquid for combing and when removing the tile from the oven.
It is best to work with the liquid while the tile remains in the oven as any tipping will cause the colors to shift more than you may like. If you are uncomfortable working within the oven, transfer the tile very carefully. Keep the oven at temperature as best you can while working with the liquid. Begin the timer after the oven has come back up to 300-degrees.
In this example, the metal-tined comb was dragged through in one direction then done again in the reverse.
A metal-tined comb will space the lines in your pattern far apart; a rubber comb will blend the colors as well as leave a fine-line pattern.
Close the door and cure for about 15 minutes. Once complete, allow the contents to cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, carefully peel the sheet from the tile then use in a design of your choice.
Additional Tips:
I had a lot of fun working out designs and patterns with the colors--here are a few things I learned along the way:
- Make sure your work surface is level.
- Make sure your oven is level.
- Line the bottom of your oven with foil--just in case your work surface is not as level as you thought.
- Do not overfill the tiles--no matter how level your surface is, liquid still likes to move and do its own thing.
- Place an oven thermometer in the oven--no ifs, ands, or buts!--there is nothing pretty about toasty polymer and without the thermometer, I know I would've had a mess on my hands.
- When in doubt, add white Liquid Polyclay--it really helps brighten the patterns as well as helps when you put colors next to each other that you really shouldn't have!
- Have a color wheel handy--putting purple and green next to each other really will make mud.
- Have fun with the color blending. I believe I've only touched the surface of the patterns I will create.
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