Polymer Clay Landscape Cane Tutorial

Step 1:
Start with the sunset color blend or any color you would like for the canyon walls.

Step 2:
Divide the blend into two parts.

Step 3:

Stack the smaller part like this.

Step 4:

Mix a very, very light yellow. You may be able to use a tiny bit of the lightest part of your cane mixed with white. Flatten and stretch the light clay so thin that in begins to tear. Slice into the block and add little pieces of the light clay.

Step 5:

Keep going until you get close to the top. For the last three sections cut a little off the ends and re-attach it. Then slice another section a little higher from what is left and cut even more from the ends. Finally there will be a stair-step line for the water. Cover each layer with light clay. These are the sparkles of light on the water.

Step 6:

Now for the canyon walls! The idea is to show the layers of sandstone with slight variation within each layer. Cut the remaining blend into four parts and roll them into balls.

Step 7:

Roll the balls into logs and flatten them into fat ribbons. Slice up the ribbons and stack them into blocks.

Step 8:

Cut the darkest block into two pieces. These are the canyon walls in the foreground. The light in coming in from the background, so each part of the canyon gets lighter as you more into the canyon.

Step 9:

I chose to show only one wall with the light colored block. The very last of the light in the background is the rest of the light color that I used as sparkles on the water. 

 This could also be done with blue to make sky instead of pure light. It can also look good to cover the cane in sheets of clay as a border.

This cane was inspired by this painting lesson, but wow there are some gorgeous pictures of slot canyons online if you just do an image search. Now that you know how to make the variegated lines, imagine the beautiful variations!

Polymer Clay Kawaii Animal Canes

Wow!  Picture canes are hard! I tried this little fox and gave up on the rest.  Still, just in case you might want to use these, here are some patterns for cute little animal canes.  Good luck!

Kawaii monkey, elephant, fox, owl, panda, bunny, kitten, koala and penguin!

How to cover a glass ball ornament with square cane slices

Using polymer clay millefiori cane slices to cover a round surface seems daunting.  However, it's not quite as hard as it may look.
There are endless ways to cover an ornament.  This is one that works well for me.  You could use any square cane.  This one is a quatrefoil cane.  There are lots more intriguing cane tutorials in my etsy shop.

 Covering the bottom like this provides a guide for the rest of the slices.  Because this is an octagon, each row will have eight slices.  By slightly squishing the triangle, you could use a shape with 6-10 sides depending on what size you want each slice to be.

Look at the sides of each cane slice as you add them to the ornament.  They should make a straight line from the middle of the bottom to the middle of the top.  This is all you have to do to ensure that everything fits.

Some times I very carefully slice off uneven seams.  This is a dangerous and unnecessary step, but I thought I'd show you.

Remember, you are in charge of the clay.  Squish and stretch it any way you need to to make it fit.  Try not to be a perfectionist.  I think you'll be happy with the results no matter what.  Truly, a little practice goes a long way.  Don't expect your first ornament to be a master piece.  I think you'll e surprised by how fast you learn if you keep practicing.  Each ornament I make gets easier.

Polymer Clay Canework Seahorse and Lizard

These seahorses and lizards can be made with any square cane.  This one is made with a gemstone cane

To make a lizard, follow the same steps and them form this lizards body according to this post.
This lizard was made with a fractal cane.