Transferring Photos onto Polymer Clay Tutorial

Transferring photos onto polymer clay is really easy! I'll show you here how to do it. I did a bit of an experiment, so you can see the outcomes of 3 different papers and inks.

I first tried transferring images a few years ago, using transfer paper. Here are some of the things I made:

They turned out well, but transfer paper is expensive. I liked the sharpness of the images, but for my current projects, I was after something less... perfect. So, I've done some research and experimentation and here are the results...

You'll need:

Essential:

• White or light-coloured polymer clay
• Rolling pin
• Images
• Cold water

Optional:

• Pasta machine
• Tile
• Tissue blade
• Liquid polymer clay
• Varnish

The first paper I used was Kodak photo paper, using a black and white image (beach, see below) printed on my inkjet. Second, I used a colour inkjet image (cupcake) on ordinary copier paper and thirdly, I used a colour laserjet image (flower). OK, so it's not an entirely fair test for all you scientists who might be reading. I know I should have used the same image each time! But I was still able to get a good idea of how well the images transfer.

Step 1

Roll out some white or light-coloured polymer clay. I use Fimo. You can use your pasta machine for this (please don't use it for food afterwards!) or just roll it out with a rolling pin.

Step 2
If you're using photo paper, take a tile, place the clay (cut to the size and shape you require) on top and spread out liquid clay on top of that:

 

Place the image face down.

For laserjet and inkjet images, just place the images face down on the rolled out clay; no need for the liquid clay.

Left to right above: laserjet, inkjet.

Step 3
For the photo paper, rub the back gently. Don't remove the image for this one.

For the inkjet and laserjet images, press down firmly but not too hard, otherwise you'll distort the clay, then wet your finger with cold water and rub the backs of the images.

For the laserjet image, I found the paper rubbed away in little bits and left a colour image behind (see top flower pic below). For the inkjet image, the paper lifted off in one piece and just left black outlines, as you can see below:

Step 4
With a tissue blade you can then trim around the image to the exact shape and size you want.


Step 5
Place the tiles in the oven and bake according to the manufacturer's instructions. Tiles aren't essential, but they do keep the clay flat.

Step 6
After baking, you can now peel off the photo paper. This one didn't quite work, as you can see (far left):

I've since read that Kodak paper doesn't work, which is what I used. It's worth trying the same method with other photo papers though, as these may give really great results.

As it is, I'm really pleased with the way the others turned out. The laserjet is in colour and quite rough, not smooth like the images I first did on transfer paper a few years ago. The inkjet images I'm also really pleased with, even though they're just black outlines. This is exactly what I wanted for my current projects.

Once your projects are finished, I recommend varnishing them to prevent the images wearing off.

So there you have it - a very simple way to transfer images onto polymer clay. No need for expensive papers or liquid clays either:)

To summarise:

Transfer paper - gives a sharp, colour image, but is a little expensive.
Photo paper - Kodak paper doesn't work, but others might. Need liquid clay for this however.
Laserjet copies - full colour transfer, a little rough.
Inkjet copies - only the black transfers.

Hope you enjoyed reading. Please take a look at some of my work with photo transfers, here in my Etsy shop and here in my Folksy shop. These have all been made using laserjet copies. I altered my photos to black outlines before transferring. I like the black for these particular projects, although you can see one colour image as well...

 

 
I've got another polymer clay tutorial lined up - Mokume Gane - coming soon!

Altered Photography and Coptic Bound Books

I logged on to the PC today to find I'd had 7 sales! Think that must be an online record for me!

This week I've relaunched my Folksy shop. I said a few weeks ago that I was going to concentrate on handbound books and while they will be a lot of what I sell, I realised that I didn't want to be restricted, so I'm branding myself as mixed media art and gifts. I hope this combines the type of things I like to make. I want to make sure I can include altered imagery, polymer clay, glass paints, fabric and watercolour (they're the main materials I like to use!).

So, here are some of the books I've made:


I love the Coptic stitching! On the fronts are some of my altered photos. At the moment I've just used a distressing technique on two of them and two others are my glass painted photos. The fifth book has no photo - just pretty paper!

And here's an ACEO I listed today:

Again, I've used one of my photos and altered it (digitally this time) to create a unique image. The pink swirls are actually a photo of a colourful glass exhibit I saw at Kew Gardens a few years ago.

I've got many more images that I'm having lots of fun altering. I'm thinking of selling these images as sheets of paper for people's crafty needs.

Here's another ACEO I made with one of the butterfly images I took last week:

The only thing I'm not sure about now is the banner. I wanted something that covers everything, but also wanted to include Frederick Frog as he's my avatar and I didn't want to change him... But the white background, whilst it looks OK on Folksy, it doesn't look right here! I wonder how people manage to get their branding right so it fits everywhere?! I guess I could change the blog background, but I like it as it is... Then there's the shop name... I want to change it, but then I can't change my blog or Facebook... and on Folksy people will still see me as Careford Creations as that's my username. Aaaarrghh!

Some fab Folksy Sellers!

I thought it was about time I featured some of the wonderful Folksy sellers who have included me (either Careford Creations or Folk of the Forest) in their blogs this year, some several times!

This cute strawberry notepad from Debbie of Crafty Mushroom is one of a set of 3, including an umbrella and a bird:



Next up is a lovely spring bag from Lynda of SimJaTa:



This beautiful heart suncatcher from Maria at PrettyBeautifulDesigns, would look perfect in a sunny window:


Next is one of the most stunning hairclips I've seen! Gorgeous dragonfly from Mirjam of Mirribeads:


I love things set in resin, like this pretty buttercup in a pendant from Gemma of DamselflyGemma:


And last but certainly not least is Linda from Uniquely Yours. Linda's featured my items a number of times - thanks again Linda! This is an ACEO of Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. I went there when I was 12 so had to pick it for my blog! What an amazing painting!



Make sure you click on the pictures and take a look at all the sellers' other lovely items. You're bound to find something you want or need!

Folksy March Hares

This is the first month I've decided to join a daily listing club on Folksy. It's just a personal challenge to try and list something every day. Three days into March and I've listed three items, so I'm doing well!

This is today's item:


A vintage-style ACEO.

Here are some other wonderful listings from the March Hares. Bit of an animal theme:

Owl ACEO from Dottery Doo Dahs:


Perfect for a young child is this tooth fairy pillow from Cottons and Dreams:


Vintage-style chick brooch from Silkpursesowsear:



Very lovely chick mini canvas from Sketchstitch:



Cute owl gift tags from Swirlyarts:


Decorate your home with these wonderful Easter egg decorations from Court & Spark:



Go and take a look at all the other fab items in their shops! You won't be disappointed...

Folksy ATC Swap

Dottery Pottery over at fabulous handmade site Folksy, organised an ATC swap recently. ATC stands for Artist Trading Cards. These are the same as ACEOs but you swap rather than sell them.

My swap partner was Janice from Wellydog Gallery, which I was delighted about. Her paintings are just beautiful. Here's the ATC Janice painted for me:



This is exactly the sort of scene I would choose if someone asked me what I would like them to paint. There's something about trees and water that I just love. In fact, many of my photos are of trees and water! This is a gorgeous miniature work of art. I particularly love the sand; I'm not sure why exactly!

ATCs and ACEOs can me made in any medium and I've made a few ACEOs now in polymer clay, as was this ATC too.

Apart from knowing what to make it out of, I really wasn't sure what to do at first, but I had a read of Janice's blog and discovered that she mentioned two things I could work on - Eau de Nile - a lovely green/turquoise colour and Art Deco. So I started making an abstract Art Deco design using the green/turquoise as a background.

However, when it was nearly finished, I turned it upside-down and thought it looked quite like an ice-cream... and it turns out this is something Janice enjoys making! So, there we have it - an 'Eau de Nile Art Deco Ice-Cream' ATC!




I'm not sure if there's going to be a gallery of all the swaps. If there is, I'll come back and post the link.

Fun swap, thanks Janice and thanks Dottery Pottery for organising it.

ACEOs

I first heard of ACEOs a couple of years ago but just hadn't got around to ever having a go.

ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions Originals. You can use any medium you like to create these miniature works of art, but they have to be 2.5" x 3.5".

As there's a recent trend on Folksy with lots of artists giving it a go, I thought I'd show you my first attempts:


Wonky Alphabet. I messed a couple of the letters up a bit.


Wobbly Orange Jelly. This was inspired by my wobbly jelly glass painted photo.



Flowers at Sunset.

Cupcakes

I did make several polymer clay ones but they didn't turn out too well. I've got a couple more planned which I'll try to do tonight.

Did well at the craft fair weekend before last. Made a profit anyway! My polymer clay bookmarks and earrings seemed to be most popular. Sold some buttons and bag charms too.

Went to visit Father Christmas at the weekemd. The miniature train ride through the forest was nice, especially as there was still snow on the ground, but the 'grotto' was more like a fairground stall! Oh well, Little W enjoyed it!