Making Transfers in Polymer Clay

Lace transfer in center of ornament
I did it!  I finally got the transfers to work!  Last Friday, I told you about the class I was taking on line (Heather Campbell and ‘Lady Luck Pendants’) and how I did not have the clay softener for the transfers.  If you missed that, please go back and read about how I decided to do Christmas Ornaments my way instead of making the ‘Lady Luck’ Pendants.  Also check out the other classes on this site: www.craftartedu.com  
Lace Photos Transfered to Unbaked Polymer Clay
 There doesn’t seem to be much sense in taking a class unless you try all the techniques.  This week I have all the ingredients and decided to follow the instructions for transfers!  Yes, putting the clay softener on the rolled out clay and placing the toner based lace designs face down on the clay with the softener between generally worked.  I had to really burnish the back of each design and as you can see from the photos some worked better than others.  I was able to go back over the images and burnish them several times before I removed the paper.  Sometimes the ink did not release no matter how long I left the image on the clay.  It’s good to gently lift the paper to see if the ink has transferred.  If not, lay it back down and burnish.
 Heather suggested using the combination of white and Sahara Fimo polymer clay.  Of course, last week I only had white so I used it.  The creamier blend looks a lot better especially when antiqued.   “Listen to the teacher” should become my mantra!  I need to try it her way and then go off on my own.  
Now that I know how to do these transfers, I have several ideas of how I can use the photos I’ve taken as a centerpieces for polymer jewelry.  So next Friday I will share my ‘raven in flight’! 
I’d love to hear about your experiences when making transfers in polymer clay.  Don’t hesitate to leave a comment.  That way we will all learn more!







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