My Experiences and Tips on Working with Panpastels on Polymer Clay

A unique feature with polymer clay is how it can take on so many forms and textures.  Various types of color such as mica powders can then be applied to bring out the pattern and I love the metallic and rich deep jewel-tone shades they give.

The other day we were making up some of our posie flower snaps and wanted to make them in brighter colors.  We pulled out the Panpastels and decided to experiment and we immediately loved the results!

I was wondering what else we could create and tested them out even more so made some scarf rings.

I really like the vivid and rich shades that the panpastels produce and I call them my happy colors!  After working with them for a bit I realized that they are a little different to work with compared to the mica powders and thought I would share some of the tips I learned with you.

I first purchased several sets of the Panpastels from Shades of Clay (see disclaimer below) which came in this clear palette along with several sponge type applicators.

My latest set came in a stack that all unscrew.  The bottom container held several more applicators.  I quite like storing them this way as they take up less space.

The first thing I discovered about the Panpastels is how they create rich colors on white or light colored clay.  They do not show up much, however on black clay which is the opposite to the mica powders.

I tried using my finger and found that it worked okay but the applicators work even better as they prevent loose powders from falling onto your piece where you do not want them.

Some applicators for the Panpastels

I found some eye shadow applicators at the dollar store and found they work as well and the foam ends felt like the same type of material.  They work really well when applying the pastels to smaller areas.

Eye Shadow Applicators

I first learned of Panpastels from Helen Breil who shares a video on how to work with them and use the applicator.  I didn't have the same success at first and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong so I did a little more research.  I have posted several other videos on my pinterest board if you would like to check them out.

One mistake I had made was loading too much pastel color on my foam applicator creating excess powder and resulting in it falling on my clay in areas I did not want.  I later learned that you load your applicator by lightly rubbing on the color by swiping back and forth only once or twice!

Clean applicator by wiping a few times on clean paper towel

Believe it or not, the applicator can be easily cleaned between colors by simply wiping it on a clean piece of paper towel.  Even if the applicator may appear to have a lot of color on it, you can load it in another color and it will not cross contaminate!  I could hardly believe it until I actually tested it out myself.  Just do not rub too hard or it will actually wear the foam part out.  You only need to swipe lightly a couple of times and you are good to go!

One other thing I really like about the Panpastels is unlike mica powders, the colors can mix and blend on the clay.  They work in the same way as if you were working with actual paint but in a creamy powder like form.

Here I am using an eye shadow applicator to apply some white Panpastels to a textured snowflake snap.  I used the Sculpey Soufle clay for these and even with the clay being so soft, the applicators are gentle enough to not mess up the texture.  

Adding white Panpastel color to textured Sculpey Soufle clay

Another tip when working with any type of powder, is if you are adding any (hot fix) crystals, be sure to add them first.  Any powder between the clay and crystal could interfere and prevent the glue from adhering to the clay.

Adding crystals to the clay before applying any powders

Check out my blog posts here and here for more tips on adding crystals to your clay designs.

My main concern with working with Panpastels was sealing them properly.  The first few pieces I made, I sprayed several times with the PYM11 (Preserve Your Memories 11).  I wasn't sure if that would be enough to seal them and it didn't matter to me if they were matte or glossy so I tried adding several types of glazes over top but found they all beaded up.  I decided to test the PYM11 out a little more and had noticed that the color was wearing off which obviously was not good.

Helen Breil recommends a glaze for the Panpastels -- Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS.  I am happy to say that Shades of Clay now has it in stock as well.  It does work really well and is very easy to apply.  It is quite thick and they recommend thinning with water.  I do this by pouring a small amount into a little bowl and then spritz it a bit with my water spray bottle.  I add just enough water so it spreads easily but isn't too runny.

The Golden Polymer Varnish is also available in Gloss which can give almost a ceramic-like appearance.

I prefer the matte finish on certain items such as flowers and the snowflake designs.

Snowflake snaps and bracelet

Snowflake snaps in a necklace and earrings

I hope these tips will help you in working with the Panpastels and you have positive results.  If you have any questions or more tips to share, please feel free to comment.

Disclaimer:  (We are not benefiting from the mention or links to Shades of Clay.  We are only a regular and happy customer.)

Major Studio Overhaul and Tour

When we moved to our new home nine years ago we made plans to include a complete studio for our clay.  It has been really good having a separate room in the house just for this with lots of work space and storage.  Over the years, however, we started to outgrow it resulting in some reorganizing to create more room.  Eventually it just wasn't working as well for us anymore and we decided a total overhaul and move to a different room in our home would be the best plan.  Even though this room isn't much bigger than the previous, the space within is more functional.

In the photo below you will see our main clay area all across the back wall which is more than 11 feet long.  We broke up the area so we would have two working heights.  On the right is counter height for standing and on the left is for sitting. 

2 Good Claymates - Overview of studio - front is jewelry making storage

2 Good Claymates - Studio Space - sitting area

At the one end and center of the room is the Ikea glass top table.  I positioned it there so it would be directly across from our lower/sitting counter top.  Since we do a lot of work with messy materials such as mica powders, inks and paints, we prefer to keep them away from the raw clay and a glass work surface is easier for clean-up. 

2 Good Claymates - Sit down area for working

Between the two sitting down areas is my favorite old but super heavy duty file cabinet.  This is such a useful item that we picked up a while ago from a used office furniture store.  I painted it black to give it a more modern look.  It makes the perfect base for one of our work counter tops (1).  Besides the large file drawer at the bottom (2), it has several other drawers that provide easy access to items we use on a regular basis.  The next lower drawer holds all our inks, glazes and specialty paints and tools (4).  The drawer above that shows all our mica and embossing powders for quick and easy color selection (5).  Above that is an additional work space that pulls out (6).  This is so handy when I need a little more work area.

  

Finally, at the bottom (3) is an extra storage drawer unit for storing solvents, glazes, glues, and pan pastels.

Our standing area is where we do all of our clay conditioning and mixing of colors.  The counter tops are a type of Formica and extremely durable so we can work with the clay right on it. 

2 Good Claymates - Standing Counter Height

I reorganized some of the drawers in the Ikea unit in the middle.  All our shape cutters fit in the top for easy access.

Our newest addition for the studio is the heavy duty drawer unit that Dave purchased for my birthday gift.  It is one of those pieces that is for organizing heavy tools in a garage and can hold a lot of weight like 800 pounds.  I needed something to hold the heavy counter top plus better storage for all our clay and this one does it all!  I also love the stainless steel front.  

It has 4 drawers that pull out all the way with a super smooth glide.  The bottom 2 drawers are very deep and hold our entire clay stock.  One drawer is for all the Premo and Souffle and the other holds all the large blocks of Kato and now extra space for our new Fimo Professional.  There isn't much black clay at the moment as more should be arriving from Shades of Clay any day.

The top 2 drawers are not as deep but I love how they keep all my clay color recipes organized.

And finally, in the opposite corner of the room, is our large rack for keeping our snap jewelry supplies organized and a new photo booth area with more storage.

We do have a large patio door that steps out onto our covered deck.  This is handy when I need to step outside to spray our work with the PYM11.

The hot tub is especially nice after a long hard day of claying.

Q-Tip of the Day

We love adding crystal rhinestones to some of our work to give it some sparkle or bling.  We only use the genuine Swarovski crystals from Austria as they are the best quality with perfect cuts and sparkle.  

I recently came across a simple tool for picking up and positioning these crystals that works like a charm and is in the form of a pencil.

Use a regular pencil sharpener to give it a point.

Then pick the rhinestone crystal up by applying just a little bit of pressure to the center.

It will stay on the tool while you position it on the clay design.  

If your clay is really soft, you can even use the pencil to gently push the rhinestone in to set it.  We use Kato clay, however, which is much firmer so we use an empty tip from a pen as a tool to set them in.

I was working with some smaller 4mm size rhinestones the other day and the pen blank was just a little too large so I was looking around the studio for something that was smaller and a better fit.   I then noticed our little jar of Q-tips on the table and there it was!

The Q-tips are handy for so many things and I like to cut them in half and store them this way.

I remembered that some of the plastic type Q-tips are hollow inside and the ones we had were that type.  When I tested one out on the smaller rhinestones, I discovered they were a perfect fit!

If you are looking for some genuine Swarovski crystals to use with your clay, we purchase large amounts in bulk and have them for sale in our online store.  We even found these cute little containers for storing and keeping them handy and with the purchase of a variety mix or minimum 5 packages in colors of your choice, you will receive a Rhinestone Pick-up Pencil as a bonus gift.

Tips on Selling and Displaying Your Art Bead "Snaps"

I thought I would share how we displayed and organized our "snaps" in our latest art show to give you some ideas.  Christmas shows are just around the corner and I know some of you are already thinking about that so I hope this will make it a bit easier for you.  We had quite a range of items to sell and so it took a bit more organizing.  For instance we had bracelets that took one "snap" and other bracelets that took 2, 3 or even 5.

For the single snap designs we found they sit very nicely into ordinary pegboard.  Dave cut pieces to fit into our various jewelry trays and we painted them with black chalk paint.  A while ago I came across this beautiful silverware cutlery case made from cherry wood for only $5.  It was empty inside and had a nice spacious drawer in the bottom half.  I instantly knew what I was going to do with it. Dave cut a piece of pegboard to fit in the top and I upholstered some black fabric for the lid to hang our pendants.  We use the drawer for more display and holding our "over-stock".  When we do a show, everything opens up for display and then packs away again nicely.

For items that took multiple snaps such as necklaces, bracelets or even cuff links (shown below) we organized and displayed them differently.  During a show, the customers do not have a lot of time to coordinate their snaps for their jewelry pieces so to make it easier for them, we organized the snaps in groupings onto trays.  We found these plastic cards and cut some of them down to hold the coordinating snaps in groups of 2's or 3's.  We have more of these cards on order and will have some for sale soon on our website in case anyone is interested. They are available in black or white.

We found these racks (in the kitchen gadget area at the dollar store) that worked really well for arranging the snaps but they could also be placed in trays or directly on the table shown above.

We also had a bin full of our "Jewelry Pick & Nail Savers" handy and sold them to customers who needed one but were also a bonus gift with a minimum purchase.  These are really handy for removing the "snaps" from the snap findings and preventing your nice nail manicure from getting ruined.  These are for sale in our online store and I show how to cover these with the clay in part 1 of my "Snap Decisions" tutorial.

Another thing we discovered is that these jewelry picks also work on helping to release those "Pandora" style bracelet clasps.  One customer told us she was tired of chipping her thumb nail when opening the clasp.  She not only bought one for herself but more as gifts for those who also had the Pandora bracelets

And my last tip is how we provided little shopping bins for our customers to use.  These came in so handy and made it easier to manage all the items they were choosing.  When you get several people shopping at once, these are almost necessary.  They are cute little bins we picked up at the dollar store that take up very little space when stacked and not in use.  They were also easy for the customers to hold on to and nice and deep to prevent spilling out if tipped.

So I hope this inspires you with ideas on preparing for those coming shows.  We really had fun with it and are looking forward to the two other shows we will be doing this year.

If you are working with polymer clay and looking for a new idea to sell at craft shows, the interchangeable snap pieces is an exciting new concept.  My tutorial is available in 2 parts and for a limited time only, (until end of September) you can purchase the two together at a reduced price. You can purchase it as an instant download in our Etsy shop or if you are from Europe and would like to avoid paying the extra 15% VAT tax, it is also available in our Artfire Studio and we will e-mail it directly to you.

We have a wide arrangement of "snap" supplies for sale in our new online store which you will find here.  And for those of you looking for the "snap" supplies to use for your craft (polymer clay or other) we have the basic DIY findings for sale as singles or in bulk at a reduced cost.

I am happy to announce that Shades of Clay now also has some of the "snap" bases and findings for sale on their site making it more convenient to add to your order from there.  You will find them all listed here  (or click on their photo below).  We have been working together on this to find the most suitable and best products for you.  We do not benefit in anyway from Shades of Clay but are just very happy customers and they are our main supplier where we get our clay products from.