Artful Polymer Clay: Techniques for Stylish Jewelry and Decor [Paperback]

Gail Ritchey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Gail Ritchey is known for her innovative uses of polymer clay in home decor items, jewelry, and miniatures. She brings a wealth of experience to this collection of 23 fun and beautiful projects that require no special skills or classes. Chapters are divided by techniques such as molding, rolling, shaping, marbling, cutting, punching, stamping, chatoyant, extruding, and mokume gane. Beginner and intermediate artisans can quickly start making elegant cameos, vases, frames, containers, and other attractive and useful objects by following Ritchey's simple, step-by-step techniques.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Gail Ritchey is known for her innovative uses of polymer clay in home décor items, jewelry, miniatures, and more. She teaches her techniques, demonstrates at national trade shows, and tests new polymer clay products for manufacturers. Her first book, Making Miniature Villages in Polymer Clay, was published in 2000, and her designs have appeared in many leading craft magazines. Gail has been featured on The Carol Duvall Show and Hands On Crafts for Kids. She is a member of the International Polymer Clay Association and the Craft & Hobby Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Kalmbach Books (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871162822
• ISBN-13: 978-0871162823
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource 4 Polymer Clay Enthusiasts, October 20, 2009

By 

Maria DelPinto "Collecting Tea N Books" (Huntington Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artful Polymer Clay: Techniques for Stylish Jewelry and Decor (Paperback)

I have been waiting for a long time for Gail to write another book. I am one of those people who do not hesitate to contact my favorite authors (via their websites) and check out their various blogs. I kept bugging her to write a book for those of us who do not have a lot of free time to devote to time-consuming projects. I have kids, school, and work. I want instant gratification. And she has done it with this book. I love the layout of this book. The step-by-step photography is great. The projects are written in Gail's straightforward no nonsense manner. For someone beginning their polymer clay experience, this book offers a very handy information and tip area, like how to condition clay, bake-it, safety, etc. The projects include some home decorating pieces, gift pieces, as well as my personal favorite...jewelry.

I love that she took out time to explain Mokume Gane and some of the variations of it (yes...there is more than one way to do it). If you are new to using the "Makin's Clay" extruder, this book has some great projects that will help you master its use quickly. As a seasoned, jewelry artist, I still have problems remembering how to use it so that the polymer pieces come out looking good. She also has a great project using rubber stamps on a tin. Yes, it has been done before, the difference is that she used parts of the stamp to create a cool look that is not only applicable to the tin gift box but can be used to create fun earrings and pendants. The most important part is that she encourages the reader to use their own imagination and put their own flair to their projects. This is a great book for beginners to intermediate. It is a great resource for clay guilds, schools and anyone who needs a quick refresher on the different polymer clay techniques. I am giving this book 5 stars for clear instructions and the large variety of projects that she offers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good beginner's book, October 3, 2009

By 

glaslady (MA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Artful Polymer Clay: Techniques for Stylish Jewelry and Decor (Paperback)

I expected a lot from Gail with this book, given her earlier published work. I think that if I were a polymer clay novice , I would find it very helpful. Gail quickly walks through the basics, then dives into liquid clay, texturing, cutters, molds, extruding, mokune gane, mosaics and extruders.
however, some steps that would have ensured success seem to be missing (she says she uses only Kato,but doesn't discuss the issues around conditioning it, which will surely lead to frustrations for the beginner) and the photography includes things that I would not have expected to see from a publisher of this caliber( bubbles, nail marks, finger prints, cracked clay).
Setting that aside, she gives lots on ideas in 1 book -enough to keep the beginner busy for quite a while, producing pretty polymer clay designs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good new stuff, March 8, 2010

By 

Charity Lund "Charity's Creations" (Logan, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Artful Polymer Clay: Techniques for Stylish Jewelry and Decor (Paperback)

I bought this book because it seemed to have ideas for more than just jewelry, which is what most polymer clay books focus on. It does have some good ideas, and the layout of the book is beautiful and easy to read. She uses molds for most of the projects, though, and while I don't think there's anything at all wrong with that, I would have preferred to learn how to sculpt some of it on my own instead. Also, at least three of the "different" techniques are just different ways of accomplishing the same thing -- chatoyant effects or mokume gane for example. Other than that, I am glad I bought it, and have already used some of the ideas -- on jewelry, ironically.