plastic industry india » Friendly Plastic Tips and Techniques

FRIENDLY PLASTIC TV PRESENTS – Aged Copper Embellishments with Friendly Plastic

Linda Peterson Designs — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:22:00 +0000

How many times are you deep into a project only to realize you dont have the charm or embellishment you want...or you have them but....not enough?

I've helped to solve that problem by making molds of those embellishments that I want to use over and over again. It takes only a few minutes to re-create the look of aged copper using my Friendly Plastic scraps.

Hope you enjoy this brand new episode!

I use Rangers Mold N Pour to create my molds. I have featured Krafty Lady molds in this episode too. You can get more information about Krafty Lady by visiting their website at www.kraftylady.com or visiting their US distributor at: www.aftermidnightstamps.com

Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.

Simple Photography Tips for Friendly Plastic

Linda Peterson Designs — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:48:00 +0000

By now, you've probably been reading our daily posts and have created a mountain of Friendly Plastic projects - Right???? I sure hope so!! Now it's time to share them with the rest of the world. But how do you photograph them so that they will stand out in the photo?

Here are a few of my favorite tips if you are just beginning:

Select a camera that will do nice close up (macro) shots. This is very important.
Hold the camera steady - if you can't, consider using a tripod and the timer button on the camera
Use a simple background. A light grey, black or light blue works well. As an option you could use a pretty piece of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper with a gentle pattern. Stay away from pure white as this tends to confuse the camera and sends the white balance in a tizzy.
Use natural lighting if at all possible. Shoot by a window, but not in direct sunlight. You can also take your project outside and choose a nice shady spot. This helps avoid shadows. Lighting is so important - so give attention to this particular tip!
For nice detail shoot the photo in as high of resolution that your camera will allow. Mine is 8mp. The higher the megapixel the more detail in your photo when enlarged.
Here's an important one.....if emailing your photo to your Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook or to me to share, please resize the photo down to an "email version". Most photo editing programs will allow you to resize these photos to send quickly over the internet. If you are using Photoshop, simply click on FILE then SAVE FOR THE WEB and this will do the trick!!

The photo below is a good example of simple photography.

I photographed this on a patterned piece of scrapbook paper. While the paper has a light pattern to it, it doesn't detract from the Friendly Plastic pendant.

You can see that the patterned background that I used above would not be a good choice for displaying a variety of beads, such as these beads created by Liz Welch. She effectively used a lighter grey background to highlight each and every bead.

This is an example of a close up photo. Liz used a black background to make the individual bead stand out. The photo is clear. Just a word of caution, be careful using black backgrounds, since they could come off as greys, blues or purples.

Have fun with the photography and stay tuned tomorrow as I give some more advanced tips!

Email me your photos!!

Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.

FRIENDLY PLASTIC PELLETS – Top 10 Uses!

Linda Peterson Designs — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0000

FRIENDLY PLASTIC^Â® PELLETS â€“ TOP TEN USES

Friendly Plastic^Â® in pellet form takes on delicate impressions when used in a mold. Silicone based and flexible molds work the best. Use a release agent for other types of molds.
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be colored using a variety of mediums such as; alcohol based inks, acrylic paint, glitter, mica powders, embossing powders and Rub-N-Buff^Â®. Custom blend your own colors!
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be painted after cooling with acrylic paint. Apply a coat of clear sealer to protect painted design.
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be used to create sculptures. Use a heat gun to spot heat specific areas when attaching pieces together or to create a smooth surface for painting later.
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be rolled thru a pasta machine when heated using the water method.
Emboss them! Place a water softened Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets thru the pasta machine on a #2 (thin) setting. Allow to cool. Afterwards, place the sheet into an embossing folder and run back thru pasta machine on a #6 (thicker) setting. Remove from folder to reveal texture. Apply colors to highlight as desired.
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets create wonderful base beads. Use one of the coloring techniques to create fabulous marbled beads or create your own base bead shapes; allow them to cool and paint with desired pattern
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be used in conjunction with Amacoâ€™s bead rollers
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be recycled and reused for other projects â€“ no waste!
Friendly Plastic^Â® pellets can be die cut using Sizzix^â„¢ dies. Create a thin sheet of Friendly Plastic^Â® by softening them in hot water and rolling thru the pasta machine on a #2 setting. Thin sheets can also be cut with a Cricut^Â® machine using a deep cutting blade

Linda Peterson is compensated and endorsed by AMACO. The guests features may or may not have any affiliation with AMACO.