Polymer Clay Covered Fun
In the late 1990’s, I had the privilege of becoming acquainted with Patti Kimle—a perfect kindred spirit to my creative psyche. I aspired to attain just a fraction of her knowledge and education on her varied craft interests. In particular, I was fascinated with the colors and designs of her polymer clay innovations.
Some 27 years later, I’m finally dabbling in that wonderful world of polymer clay and loving it!
The unlimited combinations of swirled cane never cease to amaze me. After applying several dime-sized, one-eighth inch thick, multi-colored clay pieces to the barrel of a Bic pen and rolling it smooth, I can’t wait to make another one just to see how it turns out!
One person can only have and use just so many pens at a time—my mother excluded, who collected more writing instruments and stationery than one person could use in several lifetimes. And since I was turning the polymer clay covered pens out faster than a bullet leaving a gun, I decided to start selling them to the masses.
My daughter, who was starting to hand-paint and draw her own original designs on denim jackets and t-shirts also wanted to begin selling her specialty items. So together, our unique Etsy shop was formed.
As Mary wrote in the first journal posting here,
“On Christmas Day when our family gathers to recap the year and talk about goals going forward, the idea of a collaboration was born. No matter how this story progresses, working together as a mom and daughter creative team is a dream come true, and we are having a blast sharing our wares and our story!”
While Etsy is a great place for a budding entrepreneurship, we decided we wanted a little more flexibility as well as visibility. Typing “polymer clay pens” in the Etsy search bar yields over 1,940 results! And it’s virtually impossible to find any of my daughter’s one-of-a-kind creations searching through the vast array of apparel selections, unless specifically knowing our link.
We started exploring the possibility of designing our own ecommerce website and landed on Squarespace. It has all the attributes we desired and is easy to use.
Back to my polymer clay cane creations…sometimes after I have folded and rolled and added and smushed the clay, I end up with some pleasing, happy accidents. Not only do I cover the pens with the clay, but I fashion beads out of the same cane to make matching key rings.
Quite unintentionally, I come up with designs that I will assign a name. For instance, I call this one, “birds in the trees.” It reminds me of the Exotic Green Parrots that I saw while strolling in the garden park of Athens Greece last year.
This pen and key ring set I titled “camo” since I think it has a camouflaged appearance from a distance.
I must have been hungry for a burger when I dubbed this set “ketchup and mustard.” [AUTHOR’S NOTE: I USED TO INTENTIALLY MIX MY MUSTARD AND KETCHUP TOGETHER TO DIP MY FRIES IN WHEN I ATE MY SCHOOL LUNCHES].
What I love about the versatility of the various clay colors and combinations is that I can welcome custom orders, so that I can try out new ideas. The possibilities are endless! A person’s favorite color is great for personalized gift giving; business logo colors for that hard-to-buy-for boss; sports’ teams colors for teachers, students, and game day enthusiasts on your Christmas list; you name it!
Are you hosting a bridal shower? Using the bride's colors, I can create whatever number of pens you need for your party so the guests will not only have pens to play the games, but they will also be able to take them home as keepsake party favors. Each pen will be unique, but will include the same colors specified.
Is there a gender reveal party in your future? I can doll up the fun with pink and blue pens for all the invitees!
Send us a message with your idea and the number of polymer clay covered pens you need, colors, and date you need them by, and I will create a customized order just for you.
