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First, I learned that transparent polymer clay really isn't a good substitute for white on its own. The mugs of java didn't turn out well because I had to paint them white with acrylics, because using transparent instead of white, they came out of the oven looking like this:

Not great! But they weren't something I spent a lot of time on anyway. I want a delightful old fashioned tea set and this is just practice. ;)
I also learned it's a really spiffy idea to search ebay for miniatures on sale, and use the images that look simple enough to knock out a quick copy of, for practice, as I did with this teapot:

I used that metal lid/part/whatever-it-is (I collect "things" and love odd bits of metal) to bake the teapot around, and size the lid and spacer part, and glued it together afterward. Superglue is superb on polymer clay and makes a very strong bond.
I use FIMO soft, though, and when sculpting tiny things, it warms up so quickly it can be difficult to preserve details as you turn things around in your hand to do the other side. Things lose texture and shape. So this is stage one of some strawberries:

And stage two will follow soon, resulting in a nice big punnet of doll house deliciousness, with some left over for cake toppings.
Someone recently PM'd me asking to be taken off my friends list. They said they had no interest in FIMO. The only reason I added everyone on here is because you listed fimo, polymer clay, and/or miniatures as an interest. I had absorbed the idea from various places that Dreamwidth is more open than Livejournal, being that it defines our flist as a "reading page" and we have a "circle" to control access to as we wish. I don't see why that person couldn't just restrict access, but apparently they wanted to be removed from my circle also. If anyone else feels the same way, I certainly don't mind removing you from my circle, because my intention is not to force you to read what you're not interested in or annoy people. This blog is my way of keeping in touch with my family and avoiding the 200 picture limit on flickr, which still shows blogged pictures even when they're hidden on flickr because you don't want to pay annual fees (which I'm too broke to do, and a commitment-phobe besides.) I realize I may not read and comment as much here as would warrant lots of comments in return, so I don't expect it of anyone. Really though, how hard is it to just scroll...? :-P
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 12:27 am (UTC)2. How do you do your finishes? I've got a dremel with a buffer wheel, and some crazy high grit sandpaper. I get a nice matte finish when I do that, but I was wondering how you get some of your shinier finishes?
3. I'm kind of glad you found me. I've really enjoyed watching you create things. I don't comment on them all, but I certainly read them.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 01:46 am (UTC)At the moment I'm using two products to get shine:
Liquid fimo on the right, and on the left a UK-based varnish called "polyvine". I'm going to change polyvine though, because I only got it due to money constraints and being in a rush to get something other than fimo's own brand of gloss. Liquid fimo is a really, really good product. If you haven't got some, get some! It does a million things, and bakes shinier than regular polyclay. It's also known as "TLS" (translucent liquid sculpey). It's a really good glue between baked and unbaked clay, as well, and quickly becomes indispensible in your work.
Adding any varnish on top of TLS gives you shine like the white of the egg:
But the very best glossy finish of all comes from using epoxy resin, which dries clear like glass. It can take up to a day to harden if you use some products, but there's a new product out called "magic glos" which doesn't require any mixing, is ready to use as squeezed from the tube, and dries more quickly, albeit needing UV light. Resin will give you an ultra shiny finish, if that's what you're after. Otherwise I've heard good things about "future floor wax" and "varathane" and will try those too. That's what the pros are using.
And thank you. I'm glad I found you too. :) I do click my reading page often, and read more than I comment. I like your posts. Rock on my dear.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 01:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 09:45 pm (UTC)BUT as I love looking at your beautiful creations, and I am very craftily minded, I was more than happy not to mention it, and I look forward to seeing your posts when I read x
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 10:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-11 11:37 pm (UTC)Oh lordy.
Well.. thank you. At least it's a happy accident. :) :) :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-12 07:27 am (UTC)Might be interesting only in passing, but have you seen this stuff? I love it! http://sugru.com/
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Date: 2011-02-12 04:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 12:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 08:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-02-13 08:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-03 07:51 pm (UTC)*blink*
That's...weird. I think whoever PMd you must not be at all clear on how this works, because basically what they said was "Hi! I'm not interested in what you're posting, so could you stop reading me please?"
You taking them off your reading list will in no way affect whether they see your posts on their Reading page. And you removing access from them won't affect it either unless you post everything locked, which clearly you don't!
Strange.
ANYway. My real point here is that THESE ARE THE CUTEST TINY THINGS OMG. Tiny strawberries! Bitty coffee cups! Wee eggs! Teeny egg on toast! TINY TINY TEAPOT! I'm very impressed.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-03-04 07:22 am (UTC)Thanks for the encouragement. :) :) :) Makes me wanna go make more stuff!