Cane Challenge: Note Holder

“A cane is a log or cylinder of clay that has a design running through it, so each slice of the cane - the cross-section - contains the design. You can make a large design that’s easy to handle, and then reduce the size of the cane by pressing or rolling it so the cane becomes longer and thinner and the design becomes tiny and delicate.”

For the month of February we, CFSPh, had "I CANE do it" for our monthly challenge. 

The challenge is about creating our own polymer clay canes and turning it into one gorgeous project.

What made the challenge more challenging for me is other than the fact that it's caning and I haven't ever tried making one, I could hardly use my right hand to do anything! And since caning entails a lot of hand pinching for reduction, I had to ask Jein for an extension just so I can submit my entry.  Luckily she said yes.

I had a lot of ideas in mind... Cane projects I'd love to do. But since I know that I can't put so much stress on my right hand while I am having my work-ups to determine how bad my carpal tunnel syndrome problem is, I decided to do something cute but less complicated. 

Below is a step by step photo tutorial in case there's someone like me -- a newbie on caning, who'd like to try it out ☺But first let me show you the black and white canes that I first made but wasn't so happy about plus the crappy projects I made out of it.

At first I thought of following a Retro Flower tutorial through YouTube until I realized just how much black and white clays I've wasted cos I won't be able to use my right hand to reduce it. Instead I tried to make a leaf out of it. It sure looked terrible but I had fun making it, haha!

And then the bull's eye cane technique. I didn't really know what to make of it at first but since it is one of the easiest, I know I had to make it.

Here are the projects I made out of the black and white canes:

A locket

A charm

A label

I posted the three projects on Path and I am happy to see people I barely know liked them. Personally, I wasn't happy about the projects at all. I guess this is why I never really finished assembling them. They're just crappy, lol.

So I decided to make something different... something cuter... something brighter!

What you'll need: 

Clay - white, pink and purple

Cutter

Roll your white clay into a log

Flatten out your pink clay

Wrap around the white clay log with your pink clay

Flatten a thin strip of pink clay just as long as your white log

Cut the log in the middle as shown, be careful not to cut it all the way through

Insert all the way in the middle the thin strip of pink clay, cut the excess

Now for your purple clay, roll it into a log

The pink/white cane will serve as your flower's petals. 

You may opt to make 5 more of the petal cane or just cut it into small equal parts.

Place the petal canes around the purple clay, which serves as your bud, and wrap it with a thin sheet of clay to reduce.

But for this project I decided to do it differently. 

And made a simple flower note/photo holder! 

Since I super love M&Ms, I made a bag of it at the bottom. :-) 

Gorgeous? Nah. I don't think it would fit into that category cos it's really a very simple project but I think it falls under the cutey section! I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out -- I love the colors, I love the design, and I'm happy with its purpose.  

Check out our group's page HERE to see all the other wonderful creations of my guild mates. 

I think my very talented friend Jein of HushPotato will be posting it there this weekend. So feel free to drop by whenever you can. I assure you you'll see lots of amazing projects submitted for the challenge.

PS: Sorry for the crappy pictures. 

I promise to improve. :-)