Friendly Plastic Masks by Adrienne Goodenough

A little papermache mask form and a little friendly plastic is all you need to create beautiful masks. Adrienne Goodenough share's her technique:

My step daughter asked me if I could make a mask similar to the one I had made for my daughter:

but in greens.

A mask takes between 3 and 4 sticks of Friendly Plastic, so I checked my stash and found 2 iridescent green sticks and 2 gold. I cut one of the gold sticks in half and then cut each half lengthwise into 7 strips. I did the same with one of the green strips.


I have a paper mache mask form, which I covered in aluminium foil, so that the Friendly Plastic wouldn't stick to it.


I then set my melting pot to 140 degrees and filled it with water. I dropped a gold strip into the water, coloured side down, and after about 10 seconds I fished it out (using a wooden handled pointy tool), and laid it onto the mask form. I repeated with all my gold strips, until I had my mask base. I pressed the pointy tool into each joint as I worked, the joints are what holds the mask together and I wanted them to be as strong as possible.


I topped up the water, and repeated the process using the green strips, overlapping and joining onto the gold strips as I went.


Next, I put a green strip onto a piece of non stick craft sheet and heated it with my craft gun until soft. I pushed a cutter into the Friendly Plastic then dropped the craft sheet, plastic and cutter into a bowl of cold water. After 10 seconds I took it all out, removed the cutter, peeled the plastic off the craft sheet and used sharp scissors to separate the shape I had cut out from the plastic. I repeated with the green and gold until I had 6-8 shapes of each colour.


I heated the centre of the mask with my heat gun, just enough to make it tacky, then laid a shape at top centre, and continued heating until I could see the shape was soft. I pushed into the shape with the end of the pointy tool - this gave a 'crease' down the 'petal' and also pushed the shape firmly into the layer below, making a strong joint.

I repeated with more heat and more shapes until the mask was finished. You need to be careful not to apply too much heat at once, or the mask will melt so much that it loses definition and oozes off the foil...


Once happy with the mask, I left it to cool on the mask form for an hour or so, then just popped it off.


All it needs now is elastic!

Visit Adrienne's blog at www.adriennegoodenough.blogspot.com

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

When Pigs Fly! - Patchwork People Art

I heard people say...."I'll do that as soon as I see pig's fly!".....well....Now you have it....The Pig's have flown! No more excuses in waiting to try Friendly Plastic this amazing art medium.

So...If you are one of those "Pigs Fly People"....you'll have to come up with another excuse...

And..if you dont want to MAKE things in Friendly Plastic...at least BUY things made with Friendly Plastic!

Visit Patchwork People Arts etsy site by clicking here

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

Vintage Friendly Plastic Designs by Jana Ewy

Jana's designs are simply elegant and beautiful. I love all the little bits and pieces that she adds to create interest in her pieces...

Jana's vintage style and attention to detail reminds me of watching a favorite movie over and over again....you just can't get enough and every time you watch it you find something new.

If you'd like something new to add to your jewelry collection - check out Jana's etsy site!










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

More Viewer Mail! A Friendly Plastic shout out to Molly Fischer

I love checking my email everyday to find viewer email! Really...it makes my day! So today's SHOUT OUT goes to Molly Fischer.

I'd like to share the email that I received yesterday from her- she writes:


Hi Linda:

I am a newbie at friendly plastic and I've been trying to create jewelry.

Attached is an earring and necklace set that I made for a co-worker for Christmas. I check the blog everyday for any and all inspiration and instruction. I am a web learner. Because of my husband's work I've had to leave my create friends in Reno, NV and Fremont, CA (stamping groups) so I am stuck here in Milford MASS. - not much in the way of creative groups near by.

Thank you so much for your web site and the Friendly Plastic Blog - my salvation to creative road blocks and great inspiration and education.

Best to you in the New year

Molly J Fischer

Molly, thank you sooooo much for sharing your work! We're so glad that you were willing to try Friendly Plastic too!

Let's all show Molly that she's not alone and email her what a great job she did - just click on her name above! And if you're an FP Artist living MA...well...I think you've found a creative friend nearby! Missy...maybe your husbands next job can bring you to Missouri?

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

Friendly Plastic TV - Handmade Gift Cards

Gift giving doesn't have to be a chore....or a "have to" thing. Think of how warm you feel when you open a card from a special person who says...."Just because..." or "thinking of you". Makes you feel good doesn't it????

In this video, I've combined that warm fuzzy feeling with a card that is truely a gift in itself. So hope you enjoy this month's program......

Roll 'em!




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

Girlfriends! LETS GO SHOPPING!!! Handmade cards with Friendly Plastic

Well here it is....the day after Christmas and that means... SALES!!! What a day to go shopping!!! Mariah and I are heading out to do just that later on this afternoon, but before we go, we took some time to make some fun "GIRLFRIEND" cards with Friendly Plastic dolls. These dolls were a combination of my polymer clay experience and the inspiration I took from Lizzie Dolls by Liz Welch.

In our next FPTV video, I'll show you how to create a snowman card.....that's a little gift in itself! But for now, LETS GO SHOPPING!!! Who's with me???

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

Not your Usual Friendly Plastic by Artist Phyll Beach

I sent out a call for Friendly Plastic submissions and WOW!!! Look what I got in my email box today from Phyll Beach!

Linda,

This multi media shallow shadow box is 8 x 10
inches before it went into it's antique frame. I created it last
month, the sea turtle (other than the center agate) is FP, in fact it
was my very first effort with FP. I am absolutely sure I will be using it a lot
in the future in many wildly varied pieces. Much of the rest of this piece
is melted Tyvek. Thanks for your blog, I read it every day but took
several months before I ordered a slew of the stuff and decided to try it.

This piece was for a secret winter swap. The challenge was to
incorporate the likes of the person for whom you were to make a gift. My person
liked the colors violet and blue, she liked fantasy, preferred a combination of
old and new in one piece, loved anything from nature, and her most
favorite thing is sea turtles. So though not my usual style at all, it was
fun to make. Probably because it was NOT my style!



I spent today with my teenage grandchildren making FP ladies
with curled wire limbs inspired by the work of an artist you featured a few days
ago. I'm sure their mother will love their creations which she will get for
Christmas. Thanks for inspiring me to try this.

Im sure their mother will love and cherish this gift for years to come! Handmade gifts are PRICELESS!

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

Warm thoughts on a COLD DAY! Friendly Plastic by Pinderella

This is a photo that I took a few weeks back while Mariah and I cruised the Mexican Riveria aboard Holland America's Ms. Oosterdam along with our family. While it was only 23 degree's at home....in Mexico it was a WARM 82! This picture was taken in Cabo San Lucas where the Pacific ocean meets the Sea of Cortez! It's simply beautiful and inspiring!




While I was "surfing the web" I went thru my ever growing list of favorite plastic artists and sites. Among them is PINDERELLA's etsy shop. The photo below took me back to this picture of Mexico....a welcome thought on such a cold snowy day like today.



Pinderella's shop offers whimsical jewelry to fit almost any theme. If you are need of something special for someone special....take a trip to her shop! www.pinderella.etsy.com

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

A quick CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS in Friendly Plastic

This month.....this YEAR has flown by!!!! While Im in the middle of putting the finishing touches on the next FPTV segment...Im sending out this call to you for submissions!!

Be featured on the blog and get recognized! All you have to do is send me some photos of your original work - published or not along with your contact information. I will feature you as a guest artist on the blog and link to your contact info. It's that simple! I have a couple more spaces to fill for next week so send them in!!!!

Thanks ya'll for your help!!!!

email me - click here

send me your suggestions too!!!!


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

Friendly Plastic - Hope on a canvas by Jen Lowe

Today's blog is a reflection....and how artist Jen Lowe uses her convictions as portrayed in her artwork. This also goes along with the Butterfly Project sponsored by AMACO with regard to the holocaust.

Here are Jen's thoughts:

Tonight's topic is Penance - thinking reflectively about your life's path--and what changes you might want to enact.

Penance is defined as a feeling of regret for one's wrongdoings. Last year,I talked about making penance art. But it was penance for what happened to the Jewish children killed in the Holocaust. My feelings of regret for what someone else did that was wrong.

Several months ago, I started tonight's project. There's over 80 hours tied up into the making of it. Not something you can do in a day. But I think huge, time-consuming pieces of art are necessary every now and then in order to make us stop and give thought to what we are trying to accomplish.

Notes of Hope - my gift to Amaco because of their generosity in supporting the Holocaust Museum in Houston. If you read my blog, you know that they have sponsored a contest for the second year - making butterflies, 1.5 million of them, one for each child who died in the Holocaust.





Notes of Hope - is a collaborative piece. While the design and majority of it was completed by myself, I have contributions from Linda Peterson, Jana Ewy and Liz Welch. And we all 4 have signed the canvas. It's big. 20" x 16". Considering that strips of Friendly Plastic are only available in 1" widths.....just imagine how much product was used to create this!!! And in the process of making it, I've spent many hours thinking about the art the world has lost in the death of all the children...and the children's children that they might have had.








Notes of hope - I have a lot of them!

This canvas represents just about every technique imaginable in Friendly Plastic. It is a labor of love!



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

First day of Winter and Jumping for JOY!!!

Today is the first day of winter for the northern hemisphere....that means its the shortest day of the year....but it also means that from now till summer the days will get warmer! Makes me want to jump for joy!



That's what I thought of when I looked at this beautiful piece by Karine Collignon of Bijouxartcreation. Karine says Liz Welch was a big inspiration in helping her create this piece.

So jump for joy....winter is here....but that means we're one day closer to warmer weather....

What will inspire you to create today?







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

Let it Snow! Warm Winter Wishes in Friendly Plastic

Here's wishing you warm winter wishes!! Pinderella's Etsy store offers an array of Whimsical Friendly Plastic Pins. Isn't this snowman just adorable?

Im constantly amazed at the talent and possibilities of this product.

Visit Pinderella's Etsy Store - in fact you might just want to "heart" it. www.pinderella.etsy.com








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

Rare Friendly Plastic book on Ebay

This rare and very hard to find book featuring Friendly Plastic is for sale on ebay - click on this link to find out more information. Personally, Ive never seen this book before....so it would be a great addition to your collection.

Click here!

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

Funny Faces and Funny Story in Friendly Plastic

Jen Lowe is creating up a storm and in this video she shows you how to use whimsical images to create fun faces in Friendly Plastic that just make you smile! She also shares a funny - yet life lesson on her blog so go there and check that out! Click here!




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

Patchwork People Pins as seen in People Magazine

Thanks to google alerts, I've "discovered" yet another Friendly Plastic artist creating some amazing Friendly Plastic artwork.

These are called Patchwork People Pins and as the artist states they can be created to represent your family. Particularly this time of year, brooches are popular items with which to accessorize your wearables.

She travels to art shows in the Cincinatti area...so if you're close, stop by and see them in person!

There's sooooo much more to see in her etsy store...so click here!

Great job!!!

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

A poor mans dichroic glass - Friendly Plastic

Im happy to offer a new artist.....okay...not a "NEW" new artist...but one who is new to Friendly Plastic. Artist Eve Lynch of Kraken Mosaics is a mixed media artist, working primarily with glass. BUT....she happened to stumble across some Friendly Plastic on Etsy and knew she just had to try it.

Here she shares her story:

I discovered Friendly Plastic a few months ago when I was hell bent on making mosaic jewelry like I found in a book. After reading the artist's directions, I searched the internet for WAY too long looking for some type of magical material that would allow me to embed glass and gems into it in order to make small mosaic brooches. The book's recommended product was referred to as "plastic cement" but I seriously think it was included to send the reader on a wild goose chase because I couldn't find anything of the sort. My exhaustive search ended when I gave up but did result in me finding this really interesting product.

Apparently, Friendly Plastic was all the rage in summer camp circles but I had never heard of it before. I found a Friendly Plastic shop on Etsy and bought a few sticks in a bunch of yummy colors. The product has endless possibilities but as far as adding it to mosaic work, I think the closest thing it resembles is dichroic glass. It is finicky to work with - I suffered through a good bit of trial and error - but ultimately it is easiest to work with if you use a heat gun. I created a few little inclusions for my Dark Side of the Moon set using it.



The shiny turquoise circle with the black and silver spot on the top is FP. I was really intrigued by the product's metallic colors. It is sort of like poor man's dichroic glass and it is much easier to cut and meld to your will. I cut the pieces for this with scissors! Something I wish I could do with glass!!

Friendly Plastic artist Jana Ewy really has the material down to a science. She has mastered using this stuff and she sells some of her jewelry in her Etsy shop. Can you believe this gorgeous bracelet that looks like glass is really made from plastic sticks that cost under $2 each? WOW.



And this cute little tea cup pin found on Etsy in Pinderella's shop is also made with Friendly Plastic, although the seller lists the materials used to create it as "acrylic". That metallic pink finish is fantastic! See why I fell in love with this stuff?!



I still have quite a bit of FP left and I'm not sure I have the time to master another craft but I'm going to keep the wheels turning and maybe I'll find some way to include this stuff in my mosaic work. It is worth experimenting with.

You can view more of her artwork in her web gallery by clicking here.

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

Friendly Plastic Flair - WRITE NOW!

Mylene has really been on a creative spree lately and her blog is ooozing with all sorts of luscious creative goodness.

If you find that your Friendly Plastic is in need of a little flair....well get busy! WRITE NOW!!

Mylene shares:

Since I first started making these delectable Friendly Plastic pens, I'd been promising myself I'd find some nicer pens for the base.

There was nothing wrong with the pens I was using. In fact they are great for the budget end of my line of pens (check them out in the Friendly Plastic Gallery page at Mill Lane Studio). But I really wanted to also have a more upmarket end to the range and so I'm now introducing pens made with beautiful metallic nibs and ends. The ones below are all slimline pens but there will also be some wider barrelled pens too. These new additions will be available for purchase from my website in the next few days, just in time for a last minute Christmas gift purchase for that special person on your Christmas list.

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

Friendly Plastic Artist Liz Welch creates Tubeads

What are "tubeads" you ask? Read on as Liz Welch explains how she created these beads and was inspired by the Glisten and Shine technique:

Well I didn’t fib; in my post of the 26th November I showed some of the effects I had achieved using Linda Peterson’s Glisten and Shine technique, and a quick (and fuzzy) example of a tubular bead that I had made. I mentioned that I hoped to be able to show you more of these beads and now I can. I call them “Tubeads”, and I can also tell you that I have little packs for sale of the equipment I use to make the beads, but I am getting ahead of myself; here are some of the pendants and things I have made so far (and there are loads still in the pipeline – no pun intended).

A small selection of the beads I have been making. Some of these are simple unadulterated Friendly Plastic in the colours it comes in, but most of them have been recoloured in some way. I have used transfer foils, metal flake, Pigment Powders, Glisten And Shine (Linda’s technique), embossing powders, and glitter as well as pens and alcohol inks. You can see two different sizes of bead with correspondingly different hole sizes, and there are some beads that gently curve (or could be straight if you wanted to make them so), some that curve sharply, some that make circles and some that form curlicues. All possible because of the cord that you make the beads around (more later).

For those that know me, I am useless at straight lines, give me curves any day!

I was a little slow bending this one, and it wrinkled a little, but I liked it anyway.

I like a little bit of glitter now and then

The top Tubead was scrap FP recoloured using cream transfer foil from the Earthtones Pack which I added extra colour to using a variety of methods including scratching, refoiling, and metal flakes.

A simple piece of Royal Blue FP with wire wrapping and some rubber donut beads.

This one is a mixture of plain Teal FP and some of my Glisten and Shine coloured FP. If you look closely I had not perfected my seams, but now I have the equipment I can do them sooo much better than that.

Tubeads combined with fabric beads gives a lovely contrast in mat and gently shinty finishes. Fancy headpins finish the look

A closer look at the earrings.

And the secret to these fun Tubeads is silicone cords which stretch. FP is wrapped around the cord, shaped and cooled, then the cord is stretched and this action releases it from the bead which can be pulled off with ease. Clever eh? Now I can’t claim this basic technique as my own because Jana Ewy showed it to us all at The Starving Artists Playground in Colorado at Jen Lowe’s place. Jana was using tubing, and I had never seen such stuff before in the UK. On returning home I searched and searched, tried out a number of different materials and eventually settled on silicone cord which is stronger (lasts longer) and I could get different diameters more easily. It is non stick, good and stretchy, robust, and tolerant of heat.

The second part of the process is in getting the rolling right, and my solution to this was to use some fine silicone sheet (not the thick stuff you occasionally find in cook shops, nor the teflon sheet either). It is beautifully silky smooth and rolls a perfect tubular bead.

The other great thing about the silicone is that it will withstand heat from either the heat gun or hot water so if the FP is not soft enough then it is really simple to reheat it by whichever method you choose.

For the kit and full instructions including how to achieve a really good seam, visit my web site http://www.rarebird.ltd.uk/Kits_Packs.html at only £3.50 it is a bargain! (you can tell I am excited can’t you!)

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• A Bit On The Bold Side
• Just Jewellery
• Lots of Lovely New Things

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

Simply the best by Mylene Hillam - Friendly Plastic

Mylene is an expert in working with resin. Her combination of Friendly Plastic and colored resin really makes my head spin with ideas! Thanks Mylene for sharing this wonderful inspiration!

She writes:
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best!

Take these striking pendants - Friendly Plastic strips marbled together and cut with cookie cutters. A very simple idea and lovely all on it's own. But when it's placed on a black resin base and topped up with clear resin, it just pops off the background.

They don't need much else to finish them off..... just a few flat backed crystals and a silver bail and they're ready to thread on a silver chain and wear.I've used a Krafty Lady art mould (AM245 X4Lge 5 Dominoes) as the base for these pieces. They're nicely proportioned for my rectangular cutter set (Makins).

When making these, begin at the bottom with the black and work your way up so that you can see what you're doing. Allow the black resin to cure before placing the Friendly Plastic onto it so that it doesn't sink into the resin and disappear!

If you start with the clear resin in the base of the mould and work your way down to the black then you risk the possibility of the black resin working it's way underneath the front of the Friendly Plastic, as resin will always find the lowest point. Just take care not to overfill the mould when you top up with clear resin so that you don't have any major trimming to do. Once your pendant is cured, attach a fused glass bail with a little bit of Epoxy adhesive (Araldite) or resin, and once dry thread on a chain and wear your beautiful pendant.

Visit Mylene's blog at: www.milllanestudio.blogspot.com

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

Glisten and Shine Inspiration in Friendly Plastic

I believe one of the greatest compliments you can receive as an artist is to be inspiring to others and for them to take your technique and expand on it in ways you may not have dreamed of. That is exactly what Liz Welch did with my Glisten and Shine technique....she took my simple technique one step further and did amazing things with it!

Look in as she shares her story:

Well you did not have to wait long: Following my last post showing you the two pendants made using an idea developed by Linda Peterson, where I said that you would have to wait for Linda to reveal exactly how we achieved the patterns; well, she has done a little video short on Friendly Plastic TV so go and check it out right now! She calls the technique Glisten and Shine.

I have been itching to show you this stuff since October, but I really did not want to jump Linda’s gun, it was her original idea, and I just played with it to develop the texture and a few other things besides. Linda’s video demonstration gives me the excuse to show you some of the effects I have achieved using variations on her clever idea.

The basic idea is that you apply a fairly light coating of Genesis paints using your finger, blending colours as you go. Then yo utake a stamp (foam, rubber, clear) and stamp into the paint to remove some colour and reveal the FP underneath. Details can be added using a wooden cocktail stick or something similar. If it does not work out like you want, then simply wipe the paint away and start again. Nothing is permanent until you heat set it. When the plastic is warm you can add texture – I do this using both ends of my embossing tool.

The image above is of a piece of Rainbow Friendly Plastic underneath the Genesis paints, and I used both ends of my embossing tool to give variety to the texture. I love the contrast between the matt paint and the almost iridescent FP underneath

Foam stamps lift off the most paint.

Silver Spectra is the underlying colour here

I adore the way the colours worked out in this one. I have not textured it yet.

A red rubber lettering stamp did the trick here. The underlying FP colour was Burnt Orange

I added alcohol inks to this one as I really liked the way the surface puckered up and became all wrinkly (except for the colour, it looks a bit like the back of my hands without hand cream!). This was heat set using the heat gun.

I have since added some extra gold to this stick of FP. I used a mixture of stamps on this one, and I love it so much I don’t want to do anything with it just yet, except leave it on the side to look at.

This potential pendant was made from the brown strip (3rd image down), but with added colour in between the layers of Envirotex Lite. Choose carefully what you want to cover with Envirotex as it does not always enhance the design, but this one is successful. You may not think so from the image, but it does look good in real life!

Genesis paints are synthetic oil paints and are not in the least bit smelly when you heat them. In the past I have tired using real oil paints and Markal Sticks, but heating those up gives off horrible smells and I have no idea whether they are toxic or not. However Genesis paints are designed to be completely safe when heated, as that is the only way to make them dry out.

If you take the plunge and buy a few pots, do not have heart failure at the price, the paints last for ever, and a tiny bit goes a very long way indeed. You may want to share your purchase with a friend and decant some into another pot. Because they require heat to set, you should be able to keep them fresh for years and years.

You do not have to use the griddle to heat set them, but it does give a very nice finish. Why not try the oven on it’s lowest setting instead. The heat gun will also set the paints, but it tends to wrinkle the surface (see wrinkly image above). Also take care to heat it for long enough with the heat gun, it is tempting to stop too soon.

What are you still reading this blog for? why are you not rushing out to buy some Genesis paints and try it out for yourself?! Honestly, the pictures cannot really do the effects justice, they really are gorgeous.

As a finale, here is a slightly out of focus image of a bead I made using some FP I had coloured in this way. I hope to have more on this method of bead making in the not too distant future.

See our lastest FPTV video on this technique on youtube: username - friendlyplastictv or click here.

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