Tuesday, October 11, 2011

More About Polymer Clay Canes For Nail Art

Here are a few examples of the canes I've made for nails and how I have used them. There are two cane tutorials linked from the archives. I have made a tutorial for the citrus canes and another for the basic skull cane.


Day of he dead sugar skull cane is rimmed in translucent clay so you can't see the background as easily on the nail.



The flowers are rimmed in translucent but the leaves were shaped in triangles so there would be no background. I thin these ones are my favorite.



The red roses are rimmed in black clay that matches the coil detail inside the cane. It looks best on a black nail base.



Hearts with a translucent wrap.







The bats and jack o lanterns are very basic and were some of my very first canes. The bats were wrapped in glow in the dark.




A tutorial for making the skull cane

Any requests for new cane tutorials?

10 comments:

AmyC ~ said...

how do you make them? I mean - you make the clay and have to back them off. I guess the nails can go in the oven?

Kellie Mowat said...

Hello AmyC!
I make the clay canes and bake them. After they are baked I can slice them very thinly with a razor. Then I can add them to the acrylic nail and top coat over them with either UV set gel or acrylic liquid and powder. If you don't have, or know how to apply nail extensions, these thin slices can be applied with clear nail polish. They just won't last as long with a polish application as they will as embedded nail art on an extension. The nails never go in the oven. :D

Marlene Brady said...

Wow, great looking canes on those nails! Thanks for the skull cane tutorial. Love your blog.

Kellie Mowat said...

Thanks bunches!
I'm always looking for new ways to wear my polymer clay. I think the polymer clay nail accents are my favorite so far. Thanks again for the kind words. Keep watching for a Make It With Me giveaway...... It's coming VERY SOON!!!!!

Unknown said...

Can you use fimo canes with natural nails. I sculpt in polymer clay so I can't or want to wear acrylics. I'd probably hurt myself with those long pointy ones

Kellie Mowat said...

There are loads of nail artists who apply fimo cane slices to natural nails. It means applying the cane directly to your nail with an adhesive that is nail safe.

I have used clear nail polish to apply the cane slices and then I layer a few more coats over top of the nails to protect them.

They stick up a bit and you can feel them on your natural nails. If your a polish picker, it will drive you crazy to have a bump on your nail.
Give it a try with clear polish but resist the urge to pick them off. Picking damages your nail bed and can cause deformation, so use nail polish remover to get them off.

Let me know if you try it. I'm curious if you can keep them on or not.

Unknown said...

I know how to make the canes, but how long do you bake them for. Every time I slice them they are to hard. What am I doing wrong?

Kellie Mowat said...

Hi Emily!
You are probably not doing anything wrong at all.
Just make sure the canes are still warm from the oven when you slice them.
I will also rewarm cane for slicing by placing it in hot tap water for a bit. I tape the cane to the work surface with plain old gift wrapping tape to keep it still. I make sure my blade is new and sharp. And off I go!
Good luck!

LindsPossible said...

How did you make the flowers on your nails that's in the pic with the skulls?! What did you use? I've been wanting to do this for awhile ! Please help!

Kellie Mowat said...

Hello Linds baby,
Thanks for asking. I'm goingto send you over to my you tube channel so you can watch a video of how I make the 3D flowers from acrylic liquid and powder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMSwaodFJbU You can also check out my nail art page for more instructions here on the BLOG.