I am not one for making large canes and prefer making smaller ones. I know there is a saying that you can never have enough of a good cane but I would rather have lots of new designs than a ton of the same pattern to use over a long time. It keeps things fresh and new as well as making each pattern a "limited edition original". To make our kaleidoscopes, I like to use left over cane pieces and color blends from my bargello and quilt patterns and coordinate them in a selected color scheme.
There was a lot of discussion lately on a polymer clay forum about how to slice canes that are straight and not wonky. Like with any polymer clay technique I have developed or learned, I have discovered that to improve your skill it takes practice. I messed up quite a bit at first trying to slice my canes and today I do most of it free hand without the use of any tool other than my tissue blade. I just had to practice -- a lot.
Carolyn and Dave. I agree on your philosophy of making many small canes rather than a few huge ones that hang around forever. And I like to have the variety to work with as well. And I often use most of my scraps from making canes to make more canes lol, so the whole batch matches. Your idea for buttons is great. I might have to give some a try. Ive never made them before. But it would be neat to match buttons to my jewelry!
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