For quite sometime, I've wanted to make beads in Friendly Plastic. I've made a few and they were okay...but, they were very time consuming and somewhat frustrating to make because you had to get the temperature just right so that you could create the hole thru the center.
I knew there had to be a better way!! I'm also a spokesperson for Cloud Clay - a new air dry clay from AMACO. It's primarily geared towards kids, but I'm determined to make it much more than a kid clay.
When experimenting with textural effects on the Friendly Plastic sticks, it occurred to me that the Cloud Clay would be the perfect core for the inside of the beads. While it takes a full 24 hours to "cure", the beads can be used as soon as the Friendly Plastic cools. This is instant gratification and just my style since I happen to be somewhat impatient and don't like to wait for the final results.
This video is part one in a two part series. I split it into two because you will need some practice in wrapping and shaping the beads. This technique works great for plain strips as well as those you've patterned using the Fracture and Fusion technique.
To help you source the Friendly Plastic and the Cloud Clay together, I've put together this kit
Plastics News published our annual ranking of North American recyclers in yesterday's print issue, so let's take the opportunity to look at the numbers behind the ranking. In print, we rank the top 25, but online we've got data for...
It's class field trip time, so since the Plastics Blog recently featured some items on pupils visiting plastics plants, I thought I'd share some more today, along with some cool photos of the trips. First up, from Bristol, Va., 60...
My colleagues at Waste & Recycling News have been having fun reporting on a study that says consumers may use blue recycling bins as a rationale to use more resources. The latest story, by correspondent Chris Gigley, is headlined "Update:...
3M Co. is working on streamlining its supply chain, and the effort is featured on WSJ.com this week -- with a plastics-specific example. The story, "3M Begins Untangling Its 'Hairballs'," goes into detail about the company's efforts to simplify its...
How is the plastics industry recovering from the Great Recession? Pretty well, according to Troy Nix, executive director of the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors. Craig Carrell from Team 1 Plastics in Albion, Mich., today posted a video interview with...
Rhoda Miel, our Detroit-based staff reporter, recently sat in on a Q&A event with General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. The video below includes one of the highlights -- it's Akerson talking about the problem of insular thinking....
How often do you see polyurethane foam as the cover story in a business weekly like Barron's? Today's issue has the story -- although the subject matter may seem more appropriate for Cosmopolitan! The story, "Sex or Sleep?", looks at...
Plastics News featured the one-cup coffee maker trend a few weeks ago, highlighting the rapid growth in the segment -- and how plastics were benefitting. Readers of that story, "Brewing up market share, 1 cup at a time," may be...
The Chicago Tribune is in the middle of publishing an investigative series on the safety and effectiveness of chemical flame retardants -- which are used widely in plastic foam upholstery. The first two stories in the series, "Playing with fire,"...
