Millefiori is Italian for "Thousand Flowers." Originally a technique used for making decorative glass works, a similar process can be used to make designs in polymer clays, such as Fimo and Sculpey. These materials are perfect for beads, earrings and other jewelry, as well as for adorning pretty much any object that can be put through the oven at 265 degrees.
Using the Millefiori technique, a long tube of polymer clay is created. Each slice of this tube is a copy of the original design. In keeping with the Thousand Flowers translation, I will show you how to make one of the most basic Millefiori designs, a flower pattern.
***UPDATE 5/4/10: If you make this project, post some pictures in the comments below. I'll send you a patch!***
Using the Millefiori technique, a long tube of polymer clay is created. Each slice of this tube is a copy of the original design. In keeping with the Thousand Flowers translation, I will show you how to make one of the most basic Millefiori designs, a flower pattern.
***UPDATE 5/4/10: If you make this project, post some pictures in the comments below. I'll send you a patch!***
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Signing UpStep 1: Choose your clay and colors
I like Fimo Classic. A lot of people like Sculpey (which is much easier to find at brick and mortar stores, and usually cheaper) or Fimo Soft, as these clays are much easier to work with in the short term. Fimo classic really has to be worked a lot with your hands to get it to a malleable state. However, I find that the softer clays, especially Sculpey, smear when you cut them--even after being refrigerated. Also, the more vibrant colors have a tendancy to rub off onto your hands and contaminate the paler shades. This is still a problem with Fimo Classic, but much less so. I also think the colors are better overall with Fimo, even Fimo Soft, but that's just a subjective opinion.
A good craft store will have a lot of different shades to choose from. I prefer to buy primary shades and lots of black and white and mix my own. That provides a smoother color gradient and greater control over the end result. Also, it's way cheaper that way, and mixing the colors gets the clay worked to a usable consistency.
For this flower, I've chosen a green center with blue petals on a white background. It's a good idea to pick a high-contrast background or it will be hard to see the boundaries of the petals.
A good craft store will have a lot of different shades to choose from. I prefer to buy primary shades and lots of black and white and mix my own. That provides a smoother color gradient and greater control over the end result. Also, it's way cheaper that way, and mixing the colors gets the clay worked to a usable consistency.
For this flower, I've chosen a green center with blue petals on a white background. It's a good idea to pick a high-contrast background or it will be hard to see the boundaries of the petals.
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If you make something, please post a picture here for us to see!
I will definetly try this sometime, when I find the clay, and the time.
The only thing I'm not sure about is: How do you know how much to make of each color, so you don't end up having way to much of one color/shade and not enough of another?
Do you just do it by eyemeasure?
But again, really great 'ible and great beads :D
Regarding mixture for color and shade, it's really a matter of trial and error. The important thing to remember is that dark colors will affect the outcome a LOT more than light colors. If you're unsure about yourself, just start with a small amount and add little bits of each color until you have the desired shade.
Make sure to subscribe to me, I've got a couple more polymer clay 'ibles in the works!
I'll be sure to post pics if and when I get to trying this out!
Thanks in advance ^_^
I'm a big fan of fimo, though I've heard good things about Premo and Promat as well. I really think sculpey is no good for canes, it smears really bad when you cut it.
Good luck, and post some pictures of your work, I'd like to see!
last 2 - "Beads" put in a strip and rolled out to make a book mark.
Is this your first time doing this? You did a great job!
Lovely tut and thanks for sharing
Oh, and thanks for the complement, I'm always happy to share. I'm thinking about putting some more of these millefiori tutorials up, so stay tuned!
Choosing a design is just a matter of seeing something I like and then deciding I want to do it . . . it depends on how ambitious I'm feeling, really. I'm sure with enough clay I could do pretty much any pattern, but obviously some would be more difficult than others.
As to the how, that varies from pattern to pattern. I'm thinking of doing more instructables along these lines, so stay tuned. Is there any particular pattern you'd like to see me make?
Oh, hey, that's cool! I don't have a past roller though, and I don't make enough of this stuff any more to justify the expense. Maybe I can do without? Next time I'll try this skinner blend and see if I can do it without the roller.
If anyone's interested, here's a link to what a skinner blend is: http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/poleigh/skinner.html