question about canes

Well, actually two questions. One, How do you store them? Do you wrap them
in waxed paper or some other sort of paper and store them or do you do
something else all together.

And two, how do you slice them? I have seen people talk about freezing them
and then slicing. If I were to use this method, how long do you freeze
before slicing? What would I use to slice the cane? And, does this change
baking any? Do I have to wait for it to thaw or do you bake it frozen?

Ok, so it turned out to be more than 2 questions...They all just came to me
as I was sitting here writing...

Thanks in advance,
---------------------------
Marissa Undercofler -- Marissa's Creations
To see finished pieces:
http://www.mlux2.com/phpbb2/othercrafts

First, my disclaimer - I am not a professional clay artist

I don't freeze my canes, but I do refrigerate them for awhile; probably
no more than ten minutes or so, while I work on something else. Just
that little bit of time makes them easier to slice. I use a tissue
blade, available from craft stores or http://www.polymerclayexpress.com
(which has recently become one of my all-time favorite sites).

For storage, I just lay them in a compartment of my tackle box. Since
I've been using a worm-proof tackle box, I almost never wrap my raw clay
anymore.

Cheers,
Carla

Marissa Undercofler wrote:
Well, actually two questions. One, How do you store them? Do you wrap them
in waxed paper or some other sort of paper and store them or do you do
something else all together.

And two, how do you slice them? I have seen people talk about freezing them
and then slicing. If I were to use this method, how long do you freeze
before slicing? What would I use to slice the cane? And, does this change
baking any? Do I have to wait for it to thaw or do you bake it frozen?

Ok, so it turned out to be more than 2 questions...They all just came to me
as I was sitting here writing...

Thanks in advance,
---------------------------
Marissa Undercofler -- Marissa's Creations
To see finished pieces:
http://www.mlux2.com/phpbb2/othercrafts

Hi Marissa!
I found that if you freeze your canes, they "weep" plasticiser and water
condensation when they warm back up, and become brittle if you leave them there
too long. Its ok to cool some clay down quickly on the outsides for reduction
by this method, but its only for short times, not for storage. The best way to
store canes for long periods of time (I have a few that are 7 yrs old and still
usable) is to wrap them individually in Saran with Cling (it doesnt react over
time) or other plastic wrap. Wax paper soaks up the plasticiser after a few
weeks/months but is ok for short term/couple day storage. Some people use deli
paper too, its coated. Once my canes are rolled in a strip of Saran With Cling,
I stick em all in a shoe box or plastic basket and keep them in the dark.

Sarajane

Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery
http://www.polyclay.com

Thanks for this posting Sarajane - I still have some canes from my B&B Show
class in waxed paper. Off to rewrap them with Clingwrap...

Barbara


"Sjpolyclay" wrote in message
...
Hi Marissa!
I found that if you freeze your canes, they "weep" plasticiser and water
condensation when they warm back up, and become brittle if you leave them
there
too long. Its ok to cool some clay down quickly on the outsides for
reduction
by this method, but its only for short times, not for storage. The best
way to
store canes for long periods of time (I have a few that are 7 yrs old and
still
usable) is to wrap them individually in Saran with Cling (it doesnt react
over
time) or other plastic wrap. Wax paper soaks up the plasticiser after a
few
weeks/months but is ok for short term/couple day storage. Some people use
deli
paper too, its coated. Once my canes are rolled in a strip of Saran With
Cling,
I stick em all in a shoe box or plastic basket and keep them in the dark.

Sarajane

Sarajane's Polymer Clay Gallery
http://www.polyclay.com