The Value of Tutorials




One of the best things about Facebook is being in a special interest group.  I belong to a polymer clay group and a metal clay group.  The polymer clay tutorials are listed and I always look.  So when Emma Ralph’s (EJR Beads) tutorial was recommended, I looked at it on her etsy site.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/113890791/polymer-clay-tutorial-by-emma-ralph
I thought it was expensive and so I looked several times before I decided to buy it.  Wow! Was it worth the money.  It was well written and documented with many interesting pictures, techniques and tips!  In this blog, I want to show you some of what I learned and the ‘Illuminare’ beads I made.

I followed her directions and took a couple of side trips!  The Thistle Medallion was one of the side trips. http://www.lindabrittdesign.blogspot.com/2013/02/thistle-medallion.html   This bracelet was another.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/124530104/dragonfly-bracelet

I made the flat clay sheets and embellished them as she suggested.  It was so much fun to layer with the foil.   I placed the flat clay sheets around a log of scrap clay and cut the log into sections.  Before this project was over, I was pretty good at forming consistent beads.
After the beads were baked on my bead rack, I tumbled them with sandpaper and then buffed them.  Next was the dipping and drying.  Emma’s book gives extremely detailed directions about this process.  I found that placing the beads on toothpicks and drying them in Styrofoam or the edges of cardboard boxes worked well. 
 
Arranging and stringing the beads with tiny striped glass beads as spacers was so much fun!  Thank you Emma Ralph for sharing your knowledge!


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Location: Prescott, AZ, USA

Comments

  1. Monique (A Half-Baked Notion)March 23, 2013 at 8:19 AM

    I've also looked at Emma's tutorial many times, Linda. I haven't purchased it YET, but not out of the belief that it isn't money well spent! You have certainly done a fabulous job of making the method your own. What type of tumbler do you like for PC bead sanding?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Emma RalphMarch 24, 2013 at 6:32 AM

    Thanks for your review of my e-book Linda - so glad you found it worthwhile. I'm glad to say the feedback I have had has been so positive, its very heartening after all the hard work!

    People can also find the tutorial for sale in my webstore at www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop and its worth checking there first as I often run special offers and flash sales on my site that I cannot offer on the Etsy store.

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