Experimenting with Alcohol Inks on Raw Polymer Clay with Debbie Crothers 

thanks so much Cynthia, my absolutely pleasure.

oh thanks Caroline, what a lovely thing to say x

Awww thanks so much Tracy. x

What a great comment, huge thanks for getting in touch. So glad you're able to achieve that glossy finish - it's a game changer hey!! Thanks again x

it's such a cool effect heyDana, and this stuff never dulls - it's brilliant. Huge thanks. x

What foil brand works this way??

So happy to hear you say that Jennifer, huge thanks

aww thanks Angela, so good to hear from you xx

it's a great little finishing touch hey Katy, thanks heaps

aww you're gorgeous Sharon, thanks honey

thanks so much, really glad you like it.

my absolute pleasure Karen

Thanks so much

Thanks so much Jane

My absolute pleasure sweet. x

thanks heaps Debi

huge thanks, sending big hugs x

Thanks so much Debra, what a lovely message. x

Hey Laurie, thanks so much for your lovely comment and really happy you like this one. xx

oh you are just gorgeous....what an awesome message to receive today. I can't thank you enough - it's just perfect. You are more than welcome to pick my brain honey - anything I can do just call out. Have a beautiful day x

so glad you like this one - I do love these colours too I must admit. Alcohol ink and clay are a match made in heaven xx

Life would be a little dull and boring for me if I couldn't do a bit of experimenting every now and then. Thanks Ludmila. x

Hey Christy, so good to hear from you...thanks for getting in touch. Alcohol inks are such a great medium aren't they. Polymer clay and alcohol inks are a great combination and there are many processes which work really well.

What a lovely comment, thanks so much

Thanks so much Maggie

awww thanks heaps....that's so kind of you to say. Hope you have fun experimenting too. xx

thanks so much Claudia x

thanks so much :)

It's so funny how we're all drawn to different things isn't it. I tried caning but found it's just not for me - I didn't have much in the way of natural ability with it. But give me some chalk and ink and paint and I just love it and get so very excited. Hope you have fun in your studio this weekend.

thanks so much Linda, I really appreciate your lovely comment

hey Jocelyn, thanks so much. The big circle cutter is 7cm. xx

Huge thanks x

aww thanks Lorrene, big hug x

Thank you so much Estelle xx

hey Kathy, so sorry for the delayed reply. I'm actually using Lisa Pavelka foils and they work just beautifully. Yes there are lots of foils on the market and some don't work so just keep that in mind and thanks for your lovely comment by the way x

Thank you, Debbie

oh my gosh yes Shirley. Chalk pastels and inks are amazing with polymer clay - so much you can do with them too. So glad you like this one. x

thanks Gail, alcohol inks are such fun aren't they?? You know if you have a look at the other video I've done with alcohol inks and raw polymer clay (it's the blown flower) that shows how I've domed the piece on a light globe and cured in the oven. The liquid clay finish is covered in a tutorial which is available for sale on my website. Many thanks again Gail.

H Dawn, so sorry for the delay in reply - I've been away. Blending solution is a Ranger product and I normally use it for easier application of inks to clay. So glad you enjoyed the tutorials - huge thanks. x

Hi Maria, thanks so much for your lovely comment. I'm pretty hopeless at creating finished pieces too and in fact I think these experimental pieces were all sold as individual components.

Hey Gloria, the liquid clay is the sealer - that's what creates the shine plus it's a must if you're creating anything with a surface treatment. The clay is cured first then the two coats of liquid clay.....and you are more than welcome. xx

Hi AR, so glad to hear you found the tutorial helpful - huge thanks for your comment. Instead of using kato liquid clay you could simply substitute with a polymer compatible sealer. There are quite a few around that people use. I guess I like the ultra shine kato liquid clay gives so that's my normal go-to sealer. It also makes those foils pop an seals everything beautifully. Hope that helps.

Hey Mary, thanks heaps - I really appreciate it. Yes I add kato liquid with brush then cure completely with my heat gun.

Thanks so much Gayle. The amount used is minimal and I haven't had any issues so I would say yes, it's fine.

Thanks so much. x

thanks so much, I really appreciate it x

Hey Joyce, thanks so much. You know I haven't tried this with fimo clay but I can't see why it wouldn't work. Best to give it a quick test and see. :)

oops so sorry for the late reply here...I used Ranger blending solution

thanks so much Tanya, that means the world. I do have a tutorial about applying and curing Kato Liquid Clay but it's a paid tutorial on my website not a freebie. You can find it here if you're interested: www.debbiecrothers.com/product/curing-kato-liquid-clay-and-so-much-more-with-debbie-crothers

@@debbiecrothers1 Thanks so much! 💖

thanks heaps Kimberly

xxxx

Hi Betsi, so good to hear from you - thanks for getting in touch. I love using alcohol inks with polymer clay and there are so many different ways you can use them. In this case I used the inks on raw clay, cured the piece and then added liquid clay as the final step. Thanks again for your awesome comment. x

@@debbiecrothers1 Wow, thanks for the quick reply! Now I'm off to order clay. ;)

@@betsinewbury4670 my absolute pleasure Betsi. Call out if you need anything okay x

Thanks so much.

My absolute pleasure...so happy you like it. I've used Lisa Pavelka foils on this piece - they work beautifully. :)

hmmm Anastasia, I'm not sure about your question to be honest. I think something has gone astray with the translation. You can do this in translucent clay, it will just be a slightly different look to using white clay. Unfortunately I'm not sure what the second part of your question means. I'm so sorry I couldn't answer properly. Love Deb

@@debbiecrothers1 thank you very much, I am from Greece and I am doing translation.

Hi Anastasia, yes I assumed you were having your words translated. Perhaps if you worded your question differently the translation might work better. Hope life is great in Greece xx

Hey Sue, unfortunately I can't answer that one as I've never tried this on air dried clay. You could always give it a try yourself and see what the outcome is. Sorry I can't help more. x

thanks so much...I can tell you I purchased these cutters from 2Wards Polymer Clay here in Australia.

could they be order from there

I'm sure they could but if you're not in Australia I'm sure they could be ordered from the US - they're the seamless cutters. This is the link to the shop in Australia www.2wardspolymerclay.com.au/shop/acrylic-cutter-set-square/

Hi SG, again sorry for the delay in reply. In this piece the alcohol ink is left to dry on the surface of the raw clay and then cured. I then add a coat of kato liquid clay and cure with a heat gun. I popped the link to my website on my other message to you as I have a tutorial on curing kato liquid clay on a cured surface. Kato liquid clay can stand temps much hotter than the clay itself so I'm not sure what you mean when you say you burnt your first two pieces during the baking liquid clay phase? Perhaps you could explain.

Hey Treezza, yes the finished piece is concave and I did that simply by popping my raw clay circle onto a light globe and cured this way. There are other ways you can do it to achieve this domed effect but this is just the way I like to do it. Hope that helps.

Yes, thanks!

Hey there, no I popped it into a small bench top oven to cure.

Do you see the little button on the bottom right in the controls, with the CC? That turns on closed captions, so you can read as she speaks. She said she used Sunshine, Mermaid and Citrus. The alcohol she used is a product called blending solution, but she said you could use plain isopropyl alcohol as well. If you're talking about that deep blue she used at the end, after the copper leaf, those were drawing chalks. Hope this helps!

Hi Francoise, yes the darkest blue is an alcohol ink - in fact I've only used alcohol ink on this piece. You can use either Ranger Blending Solution or Isopropyl alcohol. So glad you like the experiment. x

What, you say those are chalk pastels on the edges....? And I see them used with a dark blue chalk at the very end.

thanks Barb xx

yes just some simple chalks on the very edges of a piece can really add to the finished look (in my opinion anyway). Thanks for help here too Barb x

Hi there, I mostly work with Pinata and Ranger alcohol inks. There are many more on the market now but because I have a good supply of the two mentioned, I haven't purchased any more. These work fine for the project I create. Thanks for asking.

@@debbiecrothers1 thanks so much for your reply and so quickly too! So glad I stumbled upon you

my absolute pleasure @@kithevronmahoney7092 Thanks for stumbling upon me, that's awesome! I haven't done much here for a while and I'm not monetized. For me it's all about sharing my love and knowledge of this beautiful medium xx

The liquid clay is actually cured with a heat gun Alison because I'm working on a curved piece. Just the job beautifully

Debbie Crothers I would have loved to see those last steps with the heat gun and stuff. Like what you used to bake on that gave a curve to it. And would love to see what was this made into? Was it jewellery? A bowl? It is beautiful nonetheless. Thank you

Thanks Alison, I'm so glad you like it. You know I actually have a paid tutorial on my website that runs through the entire liquid clay process and many more tips and techniques which is why, of course, I didn't run through the process here. I thought I had mentioned it though - perhaps not! I used a light globe to bake it on and it ended up being a domed pendant. Not sure I can add photos here sorry.

oh I actually did post a link to the liquid clay tutorial in the description. :)

Debbie Crothers perfect...thanks Debbie! 😊

yes they are indeed :)

Hey Karin, blending solution is a product similar to alcohol but not as strong. It's created by Ranger. Hope that helps.

xx

Thanks so much Honey Bunny :) You know the only way I use kato liquid clay is to cure with a heat gun. I seldom put it in the oven to cure. I actually have a tutorial out on how to cure kato liquid clay with a heat gun which is essential if you're wanting to create 3dimensional pieces. You can find the tutorial on my website here: www.debbiecrothers.com/tutorials

awww thanks Gabriella, sending lots of love back to you x

♥♥

hahaha oh yes it could be dangerous....thanks honey