Meet the newest addition to my polymer clay family, Amethyst or Amelia for short. She’s Jasper’s big sister.
(Click on any photo to see her larger than life.)
It’s funny, but Jasper was fairly easy and fun to make. Amelia was only completed after much weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Remember last Wednesday when I showed her wings ripped off? Yeah, I was frustrated.)
You see, I was all done and really happy with her when I carelessly picked up the bottle of gloss finish instead of the satin to give her the final coat. Gloss just makes these things look like plastic toys.
===sigh===
I went over that gloss with satin finish – still glossy. I went over it with Matte Multi Medium and it was matte – but I wanted a slight sheen, so I went over the matte with satin. Guess what? It was glossy! (Yes, I had the right bottle. Those bottles are very clearly labeled as of now.) I repeated the matte medium and again, it was matte. Did the satin and again, it was glossy. Argh.
Weird, eh? I asked hubby, who knows a lot about finishes and he was stumped as to why the glossy kept coming back to the surface.
Any ideas?
At this point she had so many coats of finish on her that all detail was lost. Sadly, the original Amelia (who had a much cuter face) ended up being trashed, wings and all. I did manage to rescue the rock she’s holding.
Like I said on Wednesday, I’ll chalk it up to practice and experience. Plus, it’s a mistake I’m not likely to ever make again. 🙂
Anyhow, I’m somewhat pleased with her second incarnation and am now ready to move on to a blue dragon. Wonder who he’ll turn out to be?
If you want to see something amazing, I came across this fantastic group of videos of a guy making a much larger dragon out of polymer clay. Enjoy and happy creating!
Oh, well done! She’s so sweet! Experience is a hard teacher, true, but look what you made!
Aw, thanks. Just gotta keep practicing.
Just a thought…did you stir the satin medium? My satin Varathane is really just gloss Varathane with some “matte stuff” in it. If you let it sit a long time the matte stuff settles on the bottom, so I need to stir it all back up when I use it.
I’ve been looking for a good matte sealer for a long time. I just got some of the Genesis Heat Set Matte Varnish and will check it out soon. Like you, I’m not a fan of glossy. Polymer plus glossy equals toys. Exactly.
Hi Ginger,
Yes, the need to stir the satin was a lesson I learned some time ago after finishing yet another favorite project in gloss from the bottom of the satin bottle.
Let me know how the Genesis works out. I’d love to find something that gives a bit less shine than satin but just a tad more of a finish than matte, like eggshell.
Happy creating!
Well I think she’s stunning! Her wings look almost translucent ! Really cool piece!
Thanks so much, Nan. Yes, I seem to have figured out the wings pretty well. 🙂