The Glazes:
We introduced our High Desert PolyGlazes almost five years ago and those of you who go way back will remember exciting projects like the Mystery Messages and Two-Tiered Tile projects published in early editions of our Now What? magazine.

We haven’t talked about the glazes for awhile, but they are still very popular with polymer clay artists and they are the perfect solution for this project, because, although waterbased and non-toxic, they are waterproof when dry.
High Desert PolyGlazes come in four muted colors which give polymer clay a cameo, matte porcelain finish.
Like all of our product line here at Cre8it, our glazes are unlike anything else, and were developed to solve a problem in our studio - how to make soft, inexpensive Sculpey look expensive so we could use it to produce our line of Southwestern decorator tiles for our gallery.

We always listen to and try to solve customer’s problems as well and we’ve been asked many times whether we could create a clear version of the glaze that could be brightly colored. But, transparency was out of the question since real clay and marble dust are two of our ingredients - and they are not transparent!
But one day, while watching Carol Duvall, we saw an artist creating a white wash effect on terra cotta colored Sculpey with liquid polymer clay and oil paint. Wouldn’t a glaze be easier? we thought. So we developed High Desert PolyGlaze White Wash.

And in the way that these things always happen, we discovered, after the fact, that our White Wash could be tinted in brighter colors - thus answering the cry for an expanded and brighter palette.

While doing this project, you will see (or be reminded) how both the original Glazes and the new White Wash can expand your polymer possibilities.

Other Tools Needed:
Rubber Stamps
We used Ancient Frames sets and the Small Grunge Red Letter Alphabet by Cre8it (make sure to check the Subscriber Specials this time). The alphabet stamps must be small (1/4" Cap height approx).

Pasta Machine or roller for clay, cookie cutters for clay or decorative edge scissors

Large mop type Paintbrush and Water

Golden Fluid Acrylics

Styro plates and waxed paper

Heavy gauge wire for hooks
This tag combines the soft finish of the Chamisa Sage Glaze with the more brightly tinted White Wash used to paint the flower which was stamped after the first glaze dried.
Step 1.
Begin by rolling conditioned white clay through the largest setting on the pasta machine and folding the clay over on itself to double the thickness - to about 1/8" approx.

If you do not have a pasta machine, use a glass or roller to get your clay to that thickness.

The clay should measure at least 2.5" -3" in width.
Note:
When impressing clay tiles, we recommend working on a tray which has been coated with corn starch baby powder, so the back of the clay will not stick to the working surface. Do not use talcum powder since it is dangerous to breath.

We use a fingernail brush to spread the powder evenly over the tray and leave the excess in a corner to tap our stamp into before stamping into the clay. This way, the stamp doesn’t stick to the clay either.