"Shaving Gel Can!"
Oh and before saids anything this is a brand new shaving gel can, has never been used, and has been wiped down with cleaning wipes on the outside. It is important to not mix polymer clay with shaving gel, as I highly doubt the chemicals are safe when combined in an oven. ;)
Why A Shaving Gel Can?
I know at this point many of you are thinking about not reading the rest of this, I mean of all tools out there why pick a shaving gel can? I have found that the most versatile of polymer clay tools are not usually found in a craft store. This can has a few uses when it comes to polymer clay.
How Can I Use A Shaving Gel Can?
1) The first thing to do with nearly any object and polymer clay is to use it as a texture tool. This particular shaving gel can has large grooves around the lid.
One can press these grooves into clay and get the result as shown below.
Here is another picture of the grooves in the clay at a different angle. The shiny spots on the clay are the raised areas.
You can also use these grooves as accents on a pendant, or as a mold for future projects. Then the grooves can be antiqued (see post about antiquing here) to make a bold statement.
The other special quality about this shaving gel can is on the top there is a small flower design.
This can be stamped into clay.
One could also use inks (like stamp inks) to leave a more stamped effect onto the surface of the polymer clay.
Here is another picture of the stamped flower on the clay's surface. The flower design would probably come out better after is has been antiqued, or stamped on with ink.
2) Another use for this shaving gel can is as a template. One can use the bottom of the can to get a perfectly large round circle. You can do this either by putting the can face down on the clay and then cutting around it as shown.
You can also stamp the bottom of the can until it makes a small imprint of the bottom's circle and then cut around it. You shouldn't press to hard, just hard enough to make an impression as shown below.
This template is perfect for larger projects such as making lids for containers, or making the background for a door handle decoration.
My Final Words
With a little bit of creativity and imagination you can make almost anything a polymer clay tool. Thats one reason why I love working with polymer clay, it doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars to make beautiful pieces and one can be very open minded with how to create that piece. ;)
Question for you to answer in comments: What unique tool(s) have you used in your craft?
4 comments:
wayell arent you clever! I am all for using what you already have in an imaginative way. Great job.
Thanks amber dawn. :) Lately whenever I see something in the store I can't help but think of some way to use it with my clay :P
Good ideas! When I first saw the can, I have to admit I thought "What the...." But now I totally see it!
I'm trying to think of my most interesting tool. I have found some interesting things in the fishing department. Line for cutting clay, those swivel things as connectors...I'll have to think of some others.
Thanks for the well wishes on my sale!
Actually CB there are some cool techniques you can do with the shaving cream inside the can too. If you mix some of the shaving cream with some alcohol ink, dab the cream onto a polymer clay bead and heat it with your heat gun. The foam will melt off and the ink leaves a cool mottled look on the beads. Bake them as normal and you have what is called a shaving cream bead!
I love all your ideas for using the can itself... very creative! ~Cindy Lietz
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