Now for the scrap clay.......
After I set the cane aside to rest, I remembered an article in one of the recent PolymerCafe magazines about using fishing lures (spinners) as a backing. I also remembered that I had bought some to try this method with after reading the article. Since I had recently spent some time actually cleaning and "organizing" my studio, I was even able to find them! So, I took the end pieces of the petal canes and mashed them all into a muttled ball, then flattened it enough to run through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Nice, but let's try it again. Fold, and run through again and some pretty cool patterns begin to appear. One more time, fold, run though and it's just right! I then followed the directions in the magazine (I'll look when I get home tonight and add the name of the designer – I believe in giving credit where credit is due.) Made earrings and a pendant. I used a texture plate to add the finishing touch. The spinners were made of stainless steel so they should hold up beautifully.
P.S. That organizing pays off again! I found the magazine with the article! It was the April 2009 edition of PolymerCafe and the article is "Catching Compliments" by Lela (Lee Ann) Armstrong. I just love the way she thinks outside the box!
Then, as I generally do when I'm working with a nice blend, I made a reel cover with matching beads for the badge-type scan card that I wear at work. We have to have them to get in every door in the offices so it's very necessary to have them handy, but the plain reel on a woven cord that we were given when we moved into the building was just too blah for me!
So from the end pieces of the petal canes, I made a pendant, matching earrings, a reel cover and matching beads. None of these projects takes very much clay but now I have a pendant and earrings I can wear anywhere or a Reel Jewelry set with matching earrings to wear to work! And all from scrap clay! Don't you just LOVE polymer clay???