Skinner Blend Steps

In our Spring 2012 issue we have a great necklace project made from polymer clay cabochons. As in many clay projects, the Skinner Blend technique is part of the process. This technique, created by Judith Skinner, is a way to combine two colors of clay with a perfectly smooth, graduated blend from one color to the other. Thanks to our friends at Polyform/Sculpey, we can provide these basic steps for a lovely Skinner Blend which has infinite applications in polymer clay projects.

Here we use green and turquoise clay colors. The method works for any two colors you wish to use. You will also need a clay blade and clay-dedicated pasta machine (or clay conditioning machine).

1 Roll Green clay through machine on #1 (thickest) setting and trim to create the largest rectangle you can from your sheet of clay. Likewise, roll a sheet of Turquoise clay, place Green rectangle on Turquoise sheet, and trim Turquoise to same size as Green. Immediately separate the two rectangles.

2 Place Turquoise rectangle on a sheet of paper and use blade to cut from bottom right corner to center top of the rectangle to create two triangles.

Rotate the small triangle counter-clockwise and place on larger one to create a 90 degree triangle.

3 Repeat step 2 with green rectangle. Align the pieces as shown to create a large square. Press seams together just enough to keep everything connected.

Fold top portion down at the center cut to create a double layered rectangle as shown.

Roll this doubled rectangle through the machine, on #1 (thickest) setting with the folded edge down so it is first to go through the machine.

Fold the sheet of clay from bottom to top, but do NOT rotate the sheet left or right. Continue to fold and roll the sheet of clay until the blend from one color to the next is smooth (at least 6-10 times through the machine). Always place the folded edge first into the machine.

4 Retrim blended sheet to a rectangle and position with lighter colored end first into machine. Roll through progressively thinner settings to create a long thin sheet of clay. Take care to keep the sheet of clay from sticking to itself.

Tip: bake a trimmed portion of the blend and save it for reference so you can create a matching blend in the future.

To see how to complete the necklace shown above, get the Spring 2012 issue of Craft & Home Projects, available at the App Store.

Subscribe to Craft & Home projects quarterly magazine at http://grassrootsmag.com/crhoprin1.html.