POLYMER CLAY ADVENTURE: More Puffy Hearts Using Mokume-Gane Technique

ready to be glazed....

Hope everyone is having a great week! I am still working on finishing my puffy heart pendants and charms. This week I have been glazing them using a thinned out triple thick glaze.
TIPS ON GLAZING
1. Air bubbles are easily produced when painting on glaze with a soft bristle brush. I discovered that they tend to lessen with gentle single strokes. Moving the brush around too much incorporates air. The air bubbles dry and then my pieces are "un-sellable" - is that a word? So gentle stroke on the glaze, ideally in a single stroke. If bubbles appear, pop them with the brush, gently.

2. Thinning out some glazes. 
I am using Triple Thick glaze. I tried it as a thick product and I found it was too thick and sticky. So it seems far better to add some water and gently mix, (remember those air bubbles we want to avoid!)

3. Varathane Be Warned: 
Well, I was going to use my Min Was Polyurethane Varathane to glaze everything. But, guess what? My little can had not been opened in about seven  months and after about 20 minutes of prying, hammering and prying again, my husband got the tin lid off (it is the same as a paint can lid) and lo and behold, it had all dried out! A basically full and new can, hardened, unusable. Why? It isn't the first time for me, so I think hopefully, it was my fault for not making sure the lid was hammered on tight. Also make sure to clean off the groove where the lid goes into so it won't dry solid and be easier to open! Should have took a picture. It looked like yellowed, clear caramel. Not tasty!

4. Suspending your dangles or charms or pendants to dry.
Since my clay journey began I have been learning megatons! One thing I did this week, thanks to watching all those YouTube tutorials, was to cut about 3 centimetre or 1/25 inch wire pieces and make "S" hooks. Then, as you can see here, because my dangly pieces have jump rings (eye screws work too) embedded in the clay, I coated both sides with glaze and then suspended them on an earring rack I got on sale at Michaels.

5. Or Coat one side, Dry, Then Coat the Other Side:
I did that as well and laid them on wax paper.
6. Waiting Before Storing: Make sure you wait a full 24 hours for any glazes to fully cure or dry before putting them in storage or you may end up with a lump of pieces!!

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Please comment below. Like and Share and don't forget to Subscribe if you liked this article!!

HeArtfully Creating,
Anita