Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sanding and Finishing

Once again, it's been awhile since I've updated anything here. It seemed that every time I would go to make something, there was an item I needed that I didn't have or it had to be sanded and that was getting tedious.  Also, the results were not as consistent as I would like.  So, I have been collecting supplies and looking for better and easier ways to sand... and learning more cool techniques in the mean time! 

I finally found what promises to be a great way to sand using my Dremel. I think I have everything I need now.  I just need to get it all put together.  I couldn't seem to find quite the same things that others had used, but I improvised and, and after a test run before running out to buy a bunch of stuff, I think it's going to work!  I plan to really put it to the test tomorrow.  I still need a rock tumbler for sanding round or odd-shaped beads, but I will be getting that soon. I've been looking at them and pricing them.

Another thing on my list is a UV oven and the UV resin to go with it.  Some items just require that kind of finish, like my parrot earrings. 

Parrots, using mica shift technique,
unfinished right out of the oven.
One of the parrots, sanded, buffed, and a glaze added.
If you look closely, you can see bubbles in the glaze.
These were just an experiment to try out a technique that I thought might work for them and I liked the way they turned out… except for the finishing!  Oh, and the fact that they are a bit long.  I had adjusted the pattern size, but it seems to have disappeared when I moved everything into my studio which I am still trying to get organized in between flurries of creativity, doctor appointments, and the everyday hustle and bustle of life.  Hopefully, I will have located the pattern by the time I get the UV oven!  

Who knew that there was so much involved in making quality polymer clay jewelry!?!  Well, obviously, some people did, but, equally obviously, I wasn’t among them!  I’ve learned an awful lot from following Cindy Lietz, the Polymer Clay Tutor, and proper sanding and finishing is one of the things I have learned.  More than once, she has shown the difference between an unsanded item and one that has been properly sanded and finished.  It is amazing!  I definitely want to turn out quality work and I think I’m about to the point that I can consistently do that.


Stay tuned…