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KRISTAL: Hi, Kristal Wick here with Artbeads Café, where we have all things caffeinated
and Cynthia.
CYNTHIA: Hi, Kristal.
KRISTAL: My old partner in crime. Thanks for being here again, Cynthia. Do we not have
fun, or what?
CYNTHIA: We do.
KRISTAL: Today I think it’s really exciting that we’re talking about something near
and dear to our heart, and actually a little on the personal side. Would you agree?
CYNTHIA: Yes.
KRISTAL: Squishers. We thought we’d discuss a new topic that all of you need to bring
to the forefront in your jewelry design: Clay Squishers, right?
CYNTHIA: They’re really fun.
KRISTAL: They are.
CYNTHIA: They’re really fun to play with.
KRISTAL: And you can use them with metal clay or polymer clay or epoxy clay, which is what
we’re going to talk about today. So Cynthia, let’s dive in and show me what you did.
This is so much fun.
CYNTHIA: Okay. I’ll show you first what is a Squisher. So we have some templates here.
So you have some different patterns, and what you do, you press your clay on the pattern,
and then you print on the clay. And here there are two beautiful bracelets that Teri made.
KRISTAL: Beautiful.
CYNTHIA: Very easy to do. She has some little tips that she told me. First you put the clay,
and she waited about an hour to cure, because the clay was really sticky. So she didn’t
want to first do on the Squisher before it’s a little cured. And then on the Squisher,
put a little baby powder.
KRISTAL: That’s like the #1 tip for these, guys: dab a little – or spread it with a
brush, so it’s really thin, a baby powder on the Clay Squisher. Do that while your clay
is waiting for about an hour. And then you press.
CYNTHIA: And then she pressed, yes.
KRISTAL: Your Squisher into the clay, and it’s a beautiful piece, isn’t it?
CYNTHIA: It is.
KRISTAL: Really easy.
CYNTHIA: And she said if you make some mistakes, just rub the clay; the pattern will disappear,
and do it again.
KRISTAL: Do it again. I love that.
CYNTHIA: It’s really, really easy.
KRISTAL: Yeah, this is a very forgiving type of technique, because if you mess up, take
your finger and smooth it out. Very easy.
CYNTHIA: Exactly. And here, Cheri made another one, too, with a Squisher, and she added some
Gilders Paste to pop out the pattern. And Teri put also some Gilders Paste here. And
they both put a sealer at the end.
KRISTAL: Oh, so they sealed it once everything is cured, according to manufacturer’s directions.
Good to know, because you don’t want anything coming off or rubbing off on your clothes
or your skin.
CYNTHIA: Exactly.
KRISTAL: Nice.
CYNTHIA: So that looks really nice. I mean, I love the way how the pattern is on the pieces.
But I wanted to show also, I played with my daughter with the clay, and she used the template
completely differently. What she did is she loved that flowery pattern, and she put some
crystals on it to see if it will work. And then she pressed on the clay and added a crystal.
So she used that as a support, if I can say, like a design.
KRISTAL: Like a design, yeah. If you like a design on one of the patterns, just use
that and then fill in with your crystals or other – that’s a great idea. And you don’t
have to draw or even have a great sense of design, because these Squishers are adorable.
They have some really nice designs on them. Isn’t she clever?
CYNTHIA: I was really surprised. I wanted to show that, because it was really neat.
KRISTAL: Oh, I love it.
CYNTHIA: And then what I did, I didn’t use a Squisher, but I used Gilders Paste. I wanted
to play with that. The first one that I did is this one here, and I used the Gilders Paste
in the middle, and then on the outside. You can see I used this bezel, so the clay – I
put tons of clay, and I put my pendant on a piece of tape, like that. The clay doesn’t
stick on your table.
KRISTAL: Very good.
CYNTHIA: And then when it was dry, I dabbed some Gilders Paste.
KRISTAL: Ah, so you wait for it to dry and then you do your Gilders Paste applications
afterwards. That’s really pretty. It looks very old.
CYNTHIA: It does.
KRISTAL: Yeah, you did a nice vintage effect to that. Oh, pretty.
CYNTHIA: I made this one also – not super happy about it, and I wanted to talk about
this one. What happened is sometimes the Gilders Paste dries, and you can liquefy it a little
with mineral spirits.
KRISTAL: Yes, mineral spirits.
CYNTHIA: And I put too much.
KRISTAL: Oh, so you had a little puddle.
CYNTHIA: Yes. So then it was kind of liquid, and then it was like I was painting in the
clay.
KRISTAL: And that’s an interesting effect, too, because I know a lot of people like to
do a watercolor effect, and that’s how that would come across, is if you had puddles of
it, then you’d paint it on and kind of blend it together.
CYNTHIA: Yes.
KRISTAL: So even though you didn’t like it, Cynthia, other people would. I do. It
looks really interesting. That’s good.
CYNTHIA: And then finally, this piece, and I need to say that I was really inspired by
your book.
KRISTAL: Oh, great.
CYNTHIA: And there is a design in it that you made with a Swarovski crystal from clay,
and also your friend Deb Saucier made also a piece like that. And I was so inspired that
I really wanted to do something like that.
KRISTAL: Oh, that’s wonderful. Cynthia, thanks. And it turned out beautifully.
CYNTHIA: Thank you.
KRISTAL: Oh my gosh. One of the things I love about the large Swarovski pendants is that
some people feel – I don’t know, a little intimidated to wear them because they’re
really big, and so when you pull in some of the epoxy clay and some of the elements like
you did with the crystals or the steampunk look, it’s a whole different piece.
CYNTHIA: It does, yes. It is. And what I did, when everything was dry, I put some Gilders
Paste.
KRISTAL: Ah, okay. Good to know.
CYNTHIA: So you have a different color.
KRISTAL: Again, and the colors blend in so well. That looks gorgeous. Oh, so nice. Ooh,
I just love all these. Okay, now we have some other things. One of the things that I love
to talk about, of course, is using chatons and wire in our epoxy clay, and we have the
epoxy clay – this is my favorite. It has a lot of different colors in it. Look at all
the colors that come. Because I know a lot of people don’t know, especially if you’re
starting out, you don’t know what colors you’re going to like. Also, for mixing your
own custom colors, you need a lot of colors.
So here we put smaller segments of them together in one package so you can mix them up yourself,
and you don’t have to buy every single package separately. All of these come in there, and
then you can fall in love with your favorite colors and buy them. So I like to start with
that and start doing all kinds of wonderful crystal applications.
Again, you can just squish crystals in – that’s one of my favorite things in the whole wide
world, is to squish crystals and wire pieces into the clay, and then let it dry, let it
completely cure. It’s usually overnight. Read the manufacturer’s instructions.
And then – mica powder. Oh my goodness, this is one of my favorite things. Okay, so
you love your Gilders Paste; I love my mica powder. What you do with the mica powder,
it’s a real sparkly, shimmery sheen, and what I’ve used here is makeup.
CYNTHIA: I can’t believe that.
KRISTAL: Okay, if you have your old eye shadow in the drawer, way back in the drawer, that
you haven’t tossed out yet – because I know you all do. Or am I the only one? No,
I know I’m not the only one. You take a brush, and you just very carefully brush on
the mica powder or the makeup onto your clay when it’s still wet. And make sure you get
it in all the crevices and all the creases. Just kind of use a soft brush and brush it
in. And then just let it dry. Let it cure completely. But you’ve got to do it when
it’s wet, or it won’t stick.
CYNTHIA: Oh, I see.
KRISTAL: So with the Gilders Paste, you wait till it’s dry and then you use your Gilders
Paste. With the mica powder or the makeup, you do it when it’s wet. Let it dry, let
it cure overnight, and then brush away the excess, and you have all these beautiful colors.
So as you can see, a lot of these and a lot of the rings, I use white. I just use white
clay, and then I only have to buy one package of white. And then I change the colors by
using the different makeup or mica powders, and just brush it on. Like this one here.
So that’s another technique that’s really fun to talk about mixing and matching colors.
CYNTHIA: I’m going to check my makeup drawer now.
KRISTAL: Exactly. Because we all have really vibrant, bright blue that we used in the ’60s
or – oh, I’m so dating myself. But you know, those things. Or we got them and we
thought it would work, and it didn’t end up working because it’s too bright or glittery.
Especially the glittery and the things that you can get now. Perfect. So pull out your
old makeup and have a good makeup party with your girlfriends.
CYNTHIA: That’s great.
KRISTAL: I know, right? Oh, this is fun. Well gosh, Cynthia, thanks for joining me on this
wonderful episode of epoxy clay, Squishers, and everything I guess shiny and blingy, which
is what we like. Feel free to sign up for our newsletter and our YouTube channel, and
don’t forget, happy beading!