Donna Kato visited our booth at CHA last week to share some tips on millefiori technique (check back for pictures in next month’s issue). We had such a great time learning about polymer clay that we wanted to share some more of Donna’s wisdom with CrafterNews readers—like this tutorial from her book The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects: how to transfer printed images onto polymer clay, including a step-by-step slideshow.

Once you master the simple technique of toner copy transfers, you will be able to infuse your polymer clay work with amazing images, text, and even your own photography! Before you get started, here are some tips to keep in mind:

•    Color toner copies need to be made on a toner-based copier, like the one at your local copy store, not printed on your inkjet printer at home. (Relatively inexpensive black-and-white and color toner copiers have been introduced into the home marketplace, but be sure to check.)
•    Before printing many pages, print one and test it. If the transfer is successful, you will know that the toner in that particular machine is suitable for polymer clay.
•    Keep in mind that for an image to read correctly, it must be reversed. This is especially important for images that include text.
•    These transfers are not opaque, so the best results are achieved by transferring onto light-colored clay.

Directions
1)    Copy an image on plain copy paper on a toner-based printer. I used a black-and-white image, but the process is the same for color images. Cut and trim the paper image, leaving a narrow border. Roll a sheet of light-colored clay and place it on a tile. Lay the image on the clay face-down and burnish with a bone folder or the back of a spoon.
2)    Lightly spray the back of the paper with water and gently rub the paper to remove it from the clay. Continue wetting and rubbing the paper until all traces of it have been removed, leaving the image on the clay. There should be no traces of paper on the ink. As you get close to the ink, use a lighter touch.
3)    This photo shows the completed toner copy transfer. To remove the clay from the tile, spray a polymer clay blade with water and slide the blade beneath the clay. The toner ink will become sticky over time, so use the transferred pieces quickly.

TIP: If there are areas on your transfer that have rubbed off, it may be caused by insufficient burnishing before spraying with water or rubbing too vigorously to remove the paper backing. These imperfections are not necessarily undesirable. You may feel they add character to the piece.

Categories: Polymer Clay |

Tags: donna kato, how to, Jewelry, Polymer Clay, technique

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