These are absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to try it. I'm not sure about what you are using to color with though. Alcohol base inks I got, but what is that other little brush you were using? You are very good, don't be afraid to take your time with these videos. You don't have to hurry. We love watching. Thank you very much.
I originally viewed this video a few years ago. I have enjoyed using your technique many times. I always mail my Christmas cards the weekend before Thanksgiving. Since discovering this video I include a bookmark/ornament with each card. Last year an envelope was torn in transit, the bookmark/ornament did not reach it's destination. My friend called and casually mentioned she would appreciate a replacement! (I use a metallic marker to add the year to each one, she said she 'wanted to maintain a full set'.) Patricia, you inspired a tradition I plan to continue for as long as I possibly can and I thank you for that.
These are beautiful. I just got back into polymer clay and I will be making these as Christmas gifts for the English teachers I work with. They will love them!
I know this is an older tutorial, but from my decoupage experience with separating napkins, slightly moisten your thumb and index finger and then just pinch the napkin between your moistened thumb and index finger by simply closing your fingers together and when you pul your fingers apart, the napkin layers will stick to your fingers thus separating the layers!
If that doesn't work, it can do but doesn't always, take a sewing needle, pin or toothpick/cocktail stick and put it up from the edge between the MIDDLE folds and gently pry apart. I've found the middle folds yo be much more giving!
I SO rarely subscribe to anything on youtube but as soon as you said you saw a pretty napkin and thought you could transfer it to polymer clay... *SUBSCRIBE* clearly a genius, I adore you!
Thanks Chris, I was amazed too- most other methods I was doing, I'd rub the ink off as I removed the paper- never had such a great transfer before I played with this idea!
Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. My project for today was testing it. A HUGE plus over laser transfers: No sticky toner baking because you bake the image on the clay. I tested Sculpey III and Cernit, also mixed them. My brain is spinning with the possibilities. It's all good. goo.gl/VYrgaR
I just love that. I miss clay work so much. I did it for quite a while until I developed tennis elbow from all the kneading and I couldn't do it any more. Then I see something so pretty and so easy like this and I want to go run buy a new pasta machine and crank out a bunch. So very pretty.
You are activating my creative mind, once again. The last person to do that was my first year dressmaking lecturer, many years ago. So hanks for that. This process can be used to make so many other various items. I'm simply love it. My mind is ticking over as these would make wonderful little Christmas gifts for the staff at my mother's nursing home. Again thank you.
In case anyone is interested lol- l found out that u can photocopy coloured pictures on white toilet paper ( I used my 3in 1 Photo copier) - they look just like the napkins!!
okay now you did it first you got me on a t-shirt hunt looking into all my children's clothes looking to make t-shirt yarn and now you got me on a napkin hunt looking for beautiful napkins thank you for the inspiration love your videos
My brother-in-law (as a child) used to collect paper napkins with unusual patterns on them and he built up quite a collection over the years. I am definitely going to go through them and try out this technique with some of them! This is a brilliant idea!
Who knew?! Napkins on polymer clay! Genius indeed. I worked with PC years ago and have come back to it and found it has evolved so beautifully! You have a great talent! TFS!
I appreciate you sharing your findings and process with us. I just wanted to share this little hack to make things easier: If you iron the napkin with steam (briefly) the layers will come apart very easily.
I wanted to come back and leave you a thank you. Following your tutorial I made myself some coasters and a tissue box cover with some beautiful napkins I found. Love the result, thank you!
This would be great if you could get a set of napkins to be used in a wedding to make for wedding favors! Would also be cool to make a necklace and earrings or bracelet for the bridesmaids and even the bride for a keepsake! 😊
You know, you could do this with the super hero napkins you find at your local Walmart party section, and make up some bookmarks for kids. Great video, Patricia.
I love this technique, it is so easy to do. I got my flower napkins at Tuesday Morning’s. They had a big selection of decorative napkins. Thank You for sharing your wonderful talent and video to all of us.
I love this look. I have done this on wicker baskets and almost everything else that I could think of but not clay. I have a collection of about 300 napkins so I know what my next project is going to be. They are lovely. For napkins, I find Bed Bath and Beyond usually has some unique ones.
Omg! How fun! I am ready now to go and get a pasta machine roller and Premo and napkins, lol! Such inspiration! Thank you again Patricia for your generosity in sharing your techniques ☺️
what a lovely idea!! I'm surprised because I've casually found napkins like yours! but I have a lot of time to work on my creations, you are the top! so thank you
These are gorgeous! I have to say I love both the more saturated ones with marker colored as well as the lighter transfers. They are very shabby chic looking with the watercolor look I think it works wonderfully both ways. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Patricia :) Just came across your channel for the first time today and immediately hit the subscribe button. When I was a girl my mother used napkins for decoupage and other items and she taught me an extremely easy trick for separating the layers of the napkins... Turn the napkin right side down on the table. Cut a 2 inch piece of scotch tape. Hold one end between your thumb and index finger. In the center of the napkin firmly press approximately a fingers-width of the other edge down on the back of the napkin then pull it up while holding the napkin down. This will rip at least part of the back layer off. repeat on the middle layer that is now showing with the next portion of the tape. Then gently pull both the back and middle layers away from the front. Hope this helps you... no more fussing with your little craft knife and taking the chance of cutting yourself. Happy crafting!
These are lovely. Thanks. I think I saw on another video they used sticky tape to lift the 2 pieces of white napkin but I can't recall who it was. It didn't tear the patterned piece & was so quick.
great idea, beautiful art napkins.I did this with some cards but I could not SELL them without the artist's OK but still make beautiful gifts. Thanks for sharing Patricia.
Love this idea my grand daughters are getting these for christmas to go with the books they asked for.. When using the napkins if you use a little piece of tape and put it on the back and your finger you can pull napkins apart easily.. Thank you for another Awesome tutorial
Here’s a report on my first attempt, which used napkins from the Dollar Tree. Folks oughtta read this so they can avoid my experience. ☺️ Was at the Dollar Tree, which was closing, so in my haste, I grabbed the nearest package of napkins. They had a black and white zebra pattern with a border of hot pink with white bubbles. They were fun-looking. (Black and hot pink I see still my favorite color combo; I loved it during the New Wave era, and never got over it. So how lucky was I to find hot pink and black napkins? Not very, as it turns out!) Followed your instructions, Patricia, and burnished like crazy. Because the napkins were cheap quality, I didn’t exactly have high hopes, and my expectations were met, but in a funny way. After putting the test piece in the water, I noticed it didn’t take long for the napkin to peel off in one piece. Huh. Here are my results: The pretty hot pink came out a bubble gum pink (rats!), and had odd blank areas as if the napkin hadn’t made contact at all, which is strange because I burnished it so much, I wondered whether I mightta baked the clay a little bit. (I was almost overzealous in my burnishing.) But that wasn’t even the worst part: that would be where the back zebra stripes were. They came out a pale peach. Yes, you read the right: the black zebra stripes came out peach. There were also quite a few tiny black fibers in the peach, which made it look as if I’d used old, dirty, linty clay, and not Fimo Professional straight out of a new package. So my experiment went hilariously wrong. My suggestion, about which I’m gonna be strident: USE GOOD-QUALITY NAPKINS! A package of 20 from the dollar store won’t give satisfactory results. Yet again, the adage “You get what you pay for” is proven. But now that I know that it works in theory, I can’t wait to try it with “real” napkins, good napkins, with quality dyes. Since I see that it works with crappy napkins, I expect the result to be beautiful with beautiful napkins. This is why I’m cheerful about it: I learned something new, and got to test a new technique, which works!
Oh, for pete’s sake! I coulda saved myself the trouble had I read all the comments, as I see that Day already posted about her experience with dollar-store napkins. Rats. I was too eager to try the technique to finish reading, and this is what I get for it. 😆
Lol! You can never really tell about a napkin's ability to transfer well, some of my dollar store ones really transferred beautifully, some, not at all. I guess I's suggest doing a small test first. I had a beautiful blue flowered napkin that only transferred pinks!
Lemme get this straight: all I need to do is to find gorgeous printed paper napkins? That’s it? No printer, no pens, no pencils, no liquid polymer, just paper napkins? Really? I feel a little bit like crying; I had a package of napkins with a 50s-style fabulous lady holding up her martini, and it sat on top of my fridge for about a decade because “out of sight, out of mind.” Just last week, after an accident with a bottle of olive oil, the unopened, unused, soaked-in-oil package went into the trash. I coulda had gorgeous, funky polymer design of a fabulous 50s-style lady had I seen this toute a week earlier! (waaaah! sob!) Well, now I know zactly what to do the next time I’m in a Kate Spade store looking for things I can afford again. Thanks ever so much for sharing this with us, Patricia! I have three non-working printers sitting here, and people in NYC charge stupidly, absurdly high prices simply to print a page for us, so this is zactly what I need. (And lucky me, I live next to a dollar store. Am crossing my fingers they have some lovely and funky patterns!)
Came across your tutorial on RUclips And as I have never used polymer clay I was so impressed with your book markers and napkins That I had to have a go myself And I love it will be making more for gifts
Thank you so much for sharing.. Such a great idea. I can't wait to try it. My mind is spinning with ideas on how to use this technique. You are so inspiring.
Patricia I watched your tutorial again from the beginning & you've answered my questions on there so ignore my earlier comments. I can't wait to try this. Thank you.
Thanks Andi, since I made the video, I have discovered not all napkins transfer as well as the one I used- many do, but some don't- so always do a small test piece first to save your clay
I tried this with two different napkins from the same store. On one of the pieces the colors came out really vibrant, on another no so much. I don't have any alcohol markers so I thought, leave it and I'll try this again once I figure out what to do. Then today I came across a post from Polymer Clay Daily where one artist uses colored pencils on baked clay. Now that's a thought for those pieces whose colors didn't turn out vibrant. I did a search on PInterest and apparently many artists use colored pencils. Can't wait to try.
I have used coloured pencils too- especially nice on the napkin transfers because they leave a nice texture (tooth) behind. I like Mont Marte pencils but any good quality crayon should work.
HI, love this! Thanks so much for sharing. Quick tip, take a small piece of tape and tack to the corner to pull the layers apart. Use two pieces of tape if needed, one on the front corner and one on the back to pull the layers apart.
Oooh, such a pretty effect! I've been slowly collecting gorgeous, good quality (i.e., Caspari) napkins for a while...they're a decadent splurge for someone on a tiny budget. Mainly, I've decoupaged them onto rocks. But lately, I am very passionate about claying, and cannot wait to try this! Thanks for your excellent tutorial and inspiration, Patricia!
A tip to get the edges to conform to the curve on pendant is to cut small slits all way around the edge of paper...I have never worked with any kind of clay so, I made some homemade cold porcelain & made a few small rose/flower decals for fingernails (im a nail artist) and, allowed it to air dry & put a coat of clear gel topcoat on it and...THEY'RE GORGEOUS! My clay turned out great & i happened across this video so now...I have a million ideas going through my head on what I could do on nails with clay.
Oh, I did that as a kid while wrapping a can of cashews as a gift for my grandfather for Christmas! My parents didn’t think I could wrap it nicely, but I showed them. I just wrapped it in a tube, cut slits in both ends all the way around, and folded the paper at slight angles, taping each one down as I went. Everyone at Christmas kept bragging on my wrapping work. I was only around ten years old and I felt so proud. 😊
Fabulous idea! I have hundreds of napkins (seriously - bins and bins of them) I've used for years to apply to tile coasters and am always on the lookout for more. Never thought of using them with clay! Now, I can maybe use some of my stash. Totally love these napkins too and will be skulking around Costco looking for some. Off to get white Primo. Brilliant idea and thank you for sharing.
Oh, this is just wonderful, Patricia! How beautiful and easy! I can't wait to try this! I may need to run to Costco to see if they have them here in Kansas! Your videos are always great! Thank you so much for sharing!
Fabulous, thank you for sharing it with us. I might have missed the Paloma Clay kind you’ve used. I’ve never tried it before, I like to learn more about it
Pat, I thought maybe your subscribers would like to combine 2 of your videos and use one of your sofa can bottoms to burnish your napkins on to clay. Works great!
What an awesome idea and talent you have! I have many readers in my family and friends and this will make beautiful stuff for gifts. Thanks you for sharing.
Lovely indeed!! Yet another project added to my list. I am also thinking Christmas napkins could easily and affordably lead to inexpensive gift ornaments - in various shapes via cookie cutters. And of course one-of-a-kind earrings to match the pendant aka ornament. And bracelets and switchplate covers and bag tags for luggage and . . . . . Now see how you impact my To Do List! Love it. TFS
faye austin This sounds like me. I start with one project and my mind starts to thinking of different ideas to use technique on other projects and before I know it I have come up with too many ideas!
I just LOVE this idea. . I feel like I'm absolutely gushing 😍😍😍💞💕 The napkin you chose is beyond gorgeous I can't wait to try. Thank you for the inspiration
I am enjoying this technique. NOW I know what else I can do with my scrap clay. I KNOW there is some really good napkins at goodwill, dollar stores, etc
Thank you! for answering my question. I hope to find it. I'm in Orlando Forida on Vacation. I don't live in the state. I live on a tropical Island and i don't think they sell it there!
Gayle Thompson well I'm a big fan of you and now her. she does some great things. will the both of you do. I seem to be spending my time as of late going through your playlist. ;) I can't wait till you throw your twist in this project for us 😁
I had seen the finished product on a FB group and was immediately captivated by it. For some strange reason, I had never seen your RUclips channel, but so happy I found it on the FB site. I'm now subscribed and seen several of your videos. It's 5:31 in the morning, unable to sleep, and want to run to the area set aside for poly clay work, but it will have to wait until later in the day. Fabulous tutorial! Thanks again.
Beautiful and simple idea. How many decrees celcius do you have to put the oven, to bake the bookmarks? And how thick are the bookmarks? Thank you for explaining this simple techniek. Josien
I was shopping today and saw some really gorgeous paper napkins, and remembered your video. I got them and will try this later today. Can't wait to try it Thank you for posting this!
Important note for people trying this. Burnish, but don't go overboard. I burnished that napkin paper to the point that it got embedded almost in the clay. I spent half an hour scrubbing with a stiff bristles brush, soaking again, scrubbing again, until I managed to get all the paper off the clay. Yep. That's me. Patricia says "make sure you burnish well" and I make sure I burnish the heck out of it.
Ok just wanted to post an update. One thing that is very important is to get good quality print paper napkins. The ones I got at the dollar store were gorgeous but the print was very "dotty" and on a small surface like a pendant did not look good. On bigger pieces looked just fine. Better print quality paper napkins I got from Hobby Lobby gave great results on smaller pieces. So that is an important thing to take into consideration when you pick your napkin. Wonderful technique, thank you for sharing it.
Thank you, The dotted section can be ironed before using, it yields pretty good results- better than the dots I got when first trying. I've also burnished the section with a metal tool ( like a spoon ) and got good results too. So there is a fix for that.
I loved your video and what beautiful napkins. I work with dried flowers but thinking napkins are looking really nice and less the mess. I really like the colour of the real napkin finished then the prismacoloured one with alcohol added. I think their is a real prettiness to the natural colours of the faded napkin. It is a natural subtle and calming beauty. I also understand that is just my option ion. I would have loved to see you finish off the pendent.....with varnish, resin, or what you used. Again.....amazed with your video and SO LOVED IT😁
I absolutelly love it!!! So many options of beautiful napkins that won´t go to waste any more!!! Do you think it would work faster if soaked in hot water? THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
Thank you! Do you mean faster to remove the paper? I have done it in warm water, as it's easier on my hands, but I didn't really notice a difference. A rough terry towel, though really does help!
Soooo gorgeous!!! 👏👏👏I am going to do this!!!😊 I looked in your description and couldn't find a direction on what temp to use and how long. You stated to cover. But not clear on what that meant. Cover while baking/ curing? Cover with what? Do you use a craft baking oven or appliance oven? You know.....details. 😊😊 Thank You🤗
Thanks Jeannie, You bake it at 275F if you are using Premo, I like to cover mine with an aluminum baking pan, and I usually bake everything for an hour.
thank you so much for sharing this. I am in love with this process. I was doubtful at first but it works wonderfully. Can't wait to find more beautiful napkins to make more. Thank you again. Love your ideas and videos. Thank you for sharing your wonderful talents!
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BRILLIANT! Another hit out of the ballpark, Patricia! You are well on the way to becoming one of my gurus for polymer clay! So creative and original!
Aww, thanks Nan, I am surprising myself too- Good to use that brain! ;)
Thanks for your inf. Haven't worked with poly out clay in while. Really like your class. Elsie
The shiny finish on the pendant is liquid polymer clay?
These are absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to try it. I'm not sure about what you are using to color with though. Alcohol base inks I got, but what is that other little brush you were using? You are very good, don't be afraid to take your time with these videos. You don't have to hurry. We love watching. Thank you very much.
Patricia Roberts-Thompson what is the alcohol ink brand with whcih you fill your brush tool?
I originally viewed this video a few years ago. I have enjoyed using your technique many times. I always mail my Christmas cards the weekend before Thanksgiving. Since discovering this video I include a bookmark/ornament with each card. Last year an envelope was torn in transit, the bookmark/ornament did not reach it's destination. My friend called and casually mentioned she would appreciate a replacement! (I use a metallic marker to add the year to each one, she said she 'wanted to maintain a full set'.) Patricia, you inspired a tradition I plan to continue for as long as I possibly can and I thank you for that.
Do you put clay in oven?
Try sending your cards non machinable it's about 44 cents more but they won't get damaged by the machines
These are beautiful. I just got back into polymer clay and I will be making these as Christmas gifts for the English teachers I work with. They will love them!
I know this is an older tutorial, but from my decoupage experience with separating napkins, slightly moisten your thumb and index finger and then just pinch the napkin between your moistened thumb and index finger by simply closing your fingers together and when you pul your fingers apart, the napkin layers will stick to your fingers thus separating the layers!
If that doesn't work, it can do but doesn't always, take a sewing needle, pin or toothpick/cocktail stick and put it up from the edge between the MIDDLE folds and gently pry apart.
I've found the middle folds yo be much more giving!
Great idea!
I SO rarely subscribe to anything on youtube but as soon as you said you saw a pretty napkin and thought you could transfer it to polymer clay... *SUBSCRIBE* clearly a genius, I adore you!
Thanks Cassandra, you are so kind!!
Unbelievable. With all the struggles we face getting good transfers, the right paper ... even humidity can affect them ... this is amazing.
Thanks Chris, I was amazed too- most other methods I was doing, I'd rub the ink off as I removed the paper- never had such a great transfer before I played with this idea!
Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. My project for today was testing it. A HUGE plus over laser transfers: No sticky toner baking because you bake the image on the clay. I tested Sculpey III and Cernit, also mixed them. My brain is spinning with the possibilities. It's all good. goo.gl/VYrgaR
Thanks Chris, glad you liked it! Great results BTW!
I just love that. I miss clay work so much. I did it for quite a while until I developed tennis elbow from all the kneading and I couldn't do it any more. Then I see something so pretty and so easy like this and I want to go run buy a new pasta machine and crank out a bunch. So very pretty.
Thanks Lori, yes a pasta machine can help with the conditioning, especially if you have a motor. I find Premo pretty easy to condition
You are activating my creative mind, once again. The last person to do that was my first year dressmaking lecturer, many years ago. So hanks for that. This process can be used to make so many other various items. I'm simply love it. My mind is ticking over as these would make wonderful little Christmas gifts for the staff at my mother's nursing home. Again thank you.
Thanks Lyn, yes, you could make some really nice gifts with a napkin transfer!
Patricia, please accept my sincere note of gratitude for your tutelage. You are such a talented artist, and always a most caring soul! Thank you.
Thanks Laurie, you're very kind!
In case anyone is interested lol- l found out that u can photocopy coloured pictures on white toilet paper ( I used my 3in 1 Photo copier) - they look just like the napkins!!
2ply?? Lol
How were you able to do that?
Jen S. I got my own photocopy machine
Queen ME I never separated the paper just broke the sheets along the dotted lines
OMG I am very interested! Thanks for the tip.
okay now you did it first you got me on a t-shirt hunt looking into all my children's clothes looking to make t-shirt yarn and now you got me on a napkin hunt looking for beautiful napkins thank you for the inspiration love your videos
Thanks Debora, happy to inspire!
My brother-in-law (as a child) used to collect paper napkins with unusual patterns on them and he built up quite a collection over the years. I am definitely going to go through them and try out this technique with some of them! This is a brilliant idea!
Thank you Anusha, be sure to do a small test, as some napkins don't work as well as others. Have fun!
This looks like sooooo much fun….gotta try! Thanks for the lesson!
Who knew?! Napkins on polymer clay! Genius indeed. I worked with PC years ago and have come back to it and found it has evolved so beautifully! You have a great talent! TFS!
I appreciate you sharing your findings and process with us. I just wanted to share this little hack to make things easier: If you iron the napkin with steam (briefly) the layers will come apart very easily.
Another awesome tip~
TIL.....Napkins are our friends. Not just for wiping your mouth any more. This is an amazing tutorial, and Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea!!
I've been saving decorative napkins for years, now I need some energy! thanks Patricia!
Thanks Donna
I wanted to come back and leave you a thank you. Following your tutorial I made myself some coasters and a tissue box cover with some beautiful napkins I found. Love the result, thank you!
This would be great if you could get a set of napkins to be used in a wedding to make for wedding favors! Would also be cool to make a necklace and earrings or bracelet for the bridesmaids and even the bride for a keepsake! 😊
The napkins that have the bride and the groom's name and wedding date would be awesome.
I love the napkin designs, now it can use this technique to preserve them. Thanks for another great tutorial!
Thanks Patricia
You know, you could do this with the super hero napkins you find at your local Walmart party section, and make up some bookmarks for kids. Great video, Patricia.
Wouldn't that be cute?! Thanks Ellen
I love this technique, it is so easy to do. I got my flower napkins at Tuesday Morning’s. They had a big selection of decorative napkins. Thank You for sharing your wonderful talent and video to all of us.
I love this look. I have done this on wicker baskets and almost everything else that I could think of but not clay. I have a collection of about 300 napkins so I know what my next project is going to be. They are lovely. For napkins, I find Bed Bath and Beyond usually has some unique ones.
Thanks Carol
Tuesday Morning has a wonderful selection of paper napkins.
Exactly what I was thinking! Guess it's time for a quick trip to Tuesdays. :)
Omg! How fun! I am ready now to go and get a pasta machine roller and Premo and napkins, lol! Such inspiration! Thank you again Patricia for your generosity in sharing your techniques ☺️
Thanks so much- I'm so glad you liked it, and I hope you get to try it!
Thank for your tutorial. So fun to watch and there are beautiful napkins at our Tuesday morning store. Can' wait to try this.
Thanks Karen, test your napkins with a small bit of clay- not all napkins work as well as this one did
These are just beautiful! I never have seen clay that is bendable after being baked. Thanks for sharing
Hallmark stores has a beautiful variety of napkins in northern lower Michigan. Love these so beautiful!
I did a similar technique with just a laser copy of my own artwork. l love this idea with the napkins! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you, My laser copy attempts have been hit or miss. But I guess so is this one, if you have the wrong napkin
I’d love to be able to use my own artwork. Could you explain how this is done please?
what a lovely idea!! I'm surprised because I've casually found napkins like yours! but I have a lot of time to work on my creations, you are the top! so thank you
Thanks so much Silvana
These are gorgeous! I have to say I love both the more saturated ones with marker colored as well as the lighter transfers. They are very shabby chic looking with the watercolor look I think it works wonderfully both ways. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!
Hi Patricia :) Just came across your channel for the first time today and immediately hit the subscribe button. When I was a girl my mother used napkins for decoupage and other items and she taught me an extremely easy trick for separating the layers of the napkins... Turn the napkin right side down on the table. Cut a 2 inch piece of scotch tape. Hold one end between your thumb and index finger. In the center of the napkin firmly press approximately a fingers-width of the other edge down on the back of the napkin then pull it up while holding the napkin down. This will rip at least part of the back layer off. repeat on the middle layer that is now showing with the next portion of the tape. Then gently pull both the back and middle layers away from the front. Hope this helps you... no more fussing with your little craft knife and taking the chance of cutting yourself. Happy crafting!
Now I have another project🥰 My mind is racing with ideas!!!!!! Thank you❤️❤️❤️
Where is the 'love' button! This is awesome, I love the way you teach! Thanks for sharing your expertise!
These are lovely. Thanks. I think I saw on another video they used sticky tape to lift the 2 pieces of white napkin but I can't recall who it was. It didn't tear the patterned piece & was so quick.
Thanks Leanda, Good tip!
Thanks,Patricia, I will try this again. I just love this. Thank you so much for getting back so soon.
great idea, beautiful art napkins.I did this with some cards but I could not SELL them without the artist's OK but still make beautiful gifts. Thanks for sharing Patricia.
Love this idea my grand daughters are getting these for christmas to go with the books they asked for..
When using the napkins if you use a little piece of tape and put it on the back and your finger you can pull napkins apart easily.. Thank you for another Awesome tutorial
Thank you for the tip!
The 'finger tip ' 😂🤣😁
I just am astounded with all the different products you can work into your designs... love these!!!
Hello, I've tried this with fimo liquid and it worked also very nice! Really transparent transfer! Great! Thank you for your ideas!
That's great! Thanks for the information :)
I've been working with polymer clay for years and had no idea about this technique. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Lynn
Here’s a report on my first attempt, which used napkins from the Dollar Tree. Folks oughtta read this so they can avoid my experience. ☺️
Was at the Dollar Tree, which was closing, so in my haste, I grabbed the nearest package of napkins. They had a black and white zebra pattern with a border of hot pink with white bubbles. They were fun-looking. (Black and hot pink I see still my favorite color combo; I loved it during the New Wave era, and never got over it. So how lucky was I to find hot pink and black napkins? Not very, as it turns out!)
Followed your instructions, Patricia, and burnished like crazy. Because the napkins were cheap quality, I didn’t exactly have high hopes, and my expectations were met, but in a funny way.
After putting the test piece in the water, I noticed it didn’t take long for the napkin to peel off in one piece. Huh. Here are my results:
The pretty hot pink came out a bubble gum pink (rats!), and had odd blank areas as if the napkin hadn’t made contact at all, which is strange because I burnished it so much, I wondered whether I mightta baked the clay a little bit. (I was almost overzealous in my burnishing.)
But that wasn’t even the worst part: that would be where the back zebra stripes were. They came out a pale peach. Yes, you read the right: the black zebra stripes came out peach. There were also quite a few tiny black fibers in the peach, which made it look as if I’d used old, dirty, linty clay, and not Fimo Professional straight out of a new package.
So my experiment went hilariously wrong. My suggestion, about which I’m gonna be strident: USE GOOD-QUALITY NAPKINS! A package of 20 from the dollar store won’t give satisfactory results. Yet again, the adage “You get what you pay for” is proven.
But now that I know that it works in theory, I can’t wait to try it with “real” napkins, good napkins, with quality dyes. Since I see that it works with crappy napkins, I expect the result to be beautiful with beautiful napkins. This is why I’m cheerful about it: I learned something new, and got to test a new technique, which works!
Oh, for pete’s sake! I coulda saved myself the trouble had I read all the comments, as I see that Day already posted about her experience with dollar-store napkins. Rats.
I was too eager to try the technique to finish reading, and this is what I get for it. 😆
Lol! You can never really tell about a napkin's ability to transfer well, some of my dollar store ones really transferred beautifully, some, not at all. I guess I's suggest doing a small test first. I had a beautiful blue flowered napkin that only transferred pinks!
This is a super fun idea. It helps my addiction to bookmark and tag making!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Lemme get this straight: all I need to do is to find gorgeous printed paper napkins? That’s it? No printer, no pens, no pencils, no liquid polymer, just paper napkins? Really?
I feel a little bit like crying; I had a package of napkins with a 50s-style fabulous lady holding up her martini, and it sat on top of my fridge for about a decade because “out of sight, out of mind.” Just last week, after an accident with a bottle of olive oil, the unopened, unused, soaked-in-oil package went into the trash. I coulda had gorgeous, funky polymer design of a fabulous 50s-style lady had I seen this toute a week earlier! (waaaah! sob!)
Well, now I know zactly what to do the next time I’m in a Kate Spade store looking for things I can afford again. Thanks ever so much for sharing this with us, Patricia! I have three non-working printers sitting here, and people in NYC charge stupidly, absurdly high prices simply to print a page for us, so this is zactly what I need. (And lucky me, I live next to a dollar store. Am crossing my fingers they have some lovely and funky patterns!)
Thanks Binky, good luck with your napkin hunt, and have fun!
Let that be a lesson to clean more often!
Oh Patricia! This is fabulous! I have a pretty napkin stash! Definitely going to try this. Thank you!
Thank you!
Came across your tutorial on RUclips
And as I have never used polymer clay I was so impressed with your book markers and napkins
That I had to have a go myself
And I love it will be making more for gifts
Thank you, so glad you are having fun with it!
This is quite an unusual item. I love the use of those beautiful napkins.
Thank you Diana
Thank you so much for sharing.. Such a great idea. I can't wait to try it. My mind is spinning with ideas on how to use this technique. You are so inspiring.
Thank you- Glad you liked it!
Yet again Patricia a fabulous tutorial.
Thanks Karen
Patricia I watched your tutorial again from the beginning & you've answered my questions on there so ignore my earlier comments. I can't wait to try this. Thank you.
I love your projects, the green bangle you’re wearing in this video, it’s georgous, do you have video on how to make it, I love the gold leaf
I will be on a napkin hunt too, I love this technique Patricia, I can see some nice pieces of jewelry. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Thanks Dorothy
I feel like the one that showed the perforation looked a bit mixed media-ish love that!
I agree! It was still cool
Really love your style Patricia. Thank you for helping us.
Just beautiful! Thank you for your detailed tutorial. I want to go and find some pretty napkins right now so I can try your technique!
Thanks Andi, since I made the video, I have discovered not all napkins transfer as well as the one I used- many do, but some don't- so always do a small test piece first to save your clay
Thank you Patricia, I'll do that!
I tried this with two different napkins from the same store. On one of the pieces the colors came out really vibrant, on another no so much. I don't have any alcohol markers so I thought, leave it and I'll try this again once I figure out what to do. Then today I came across a post from Polymer Clay Daily where one artist uses colored pencils on baked clay. Now that's a thought for those pieces whose colors didn't turn out vibrant. I did a search on PInterest and apparently many artists use colored pencils. Can't wait to try.
I have used coloured pencils too- especially nice on the napkin transfers because they leave a nice texture (tooth) behind. I like Mont Marte pencils but any good quality crayon should work.
HI, love this! Thanks so much for sharing. Quick tip, take a small piece of tape and tack to the corner to pull the layers apart. Use two pieces of tape if needed, one on the front corner and one on the back to pull the layers apart.
Thanks Rochelle. great tip!
I love this Patricia! Very inspiring idea. I'm gonna make a run to the dollar store for napkins
Thanks Karen, have fun, and try a small test first with the napkin, some transfer better than others
This is one of the most beautiful things I've seen!! Great art!!
Beautiful ideas with napkins and polymer clay, very creative, thank you for sharing.
Oooh, such a pretty effect! I've been slowly collecting gorgeous, good quality (i.e., Caspari) napkins for a while...they're a decadent splurge for someone on a tiny budget. Mainly, I've decoupaged them onto rocks. But lately, I am very passionate about claying, and cannot wait to try this! Thanks for your excellent tutorial and inspiration, Patricia!
A tip to get the edges to conform to the curve on pendant is to cut small slits all way around the edge of paper...I have never worked with any kind of clay so, I made some homemade cold porcelain & made a few small rose/flower decals for fingernails (im a nail artist) and, allowed it to air dry & put a coat of clear gel topcoat on it and...THEY'RE GORGEOUS! My clay turned out great & i happened across this video so now...I have a million ideas going through my head on what I could do on nails with clay.
I love it when one medium works with another! Thanks for the tip, that's what I did for a bowl that I made :)
Oh, I did that as a kid while wrapping a can of cashews as a gift for my grandfather for Christmas! My parents didn’t think I could wrap it nicely, but I showed them. I just wrapped it in a tube, cut slits in both ends all the way around, and folded the paper at slight angles, taping each one down as I went. Everyone at Christmas kept bragging on my wrapping work. I was only around ten years old and I felt so proud. 😊
These are so cool! I love experimenting with transfers onto polymer clay, but I never considered using patterned napkins! I can't wait to try this!
Thank you! Have fun!
love this tutorial Patricia. Your method is easy to follow and your descriptions very clear. I look forward to giving this a try!
Thanks Beth, have fun, I'm suggesting a small test piece, as some napkins don't transfer as well as others
Fabulous idea! I have hundreds of napkins (seriously - bins and bins of them) I've used for years to apply to tile coasters and am always on the lookout for more. Never thought of using them with clay! Now, I can maybe use some of my stash. Totally love these napkins too and will be skulking around Costco looking for some. Off to get white Primo. Brilliant idea and thank you for sharing.
Thanks Jamie, I didn't know you worked with clay!!
To coin a phrase, "AWESOME"! THESE ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for sharing your creation. 😊💕💜
Oh, this is just wonderful, Patricia! How beautiful and easy! I can't wait to try this! I may need to run to Costco to see if they have them here in Kansas! Your videos are always great! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you!
Fabulous, thank you for sharing it with us. I might have missed the Paloma Clay kind you’ve used. I’ve never tried it before, I like to learn more about it
What temperature
These came out absolutely gorgeous! Brilliant idea, I must say, I'll be making some for Mother's Day!
Thanks Rachel, do a small test of your napkin first, some don't come out with true colours. Be sure to burnish (rub) them well. :)
Patricia Roberts-Thompson Alright, thank you for the extra tips! They look really nice!
Thank you. I will post my results after I try my new napkins. I think I will let the pieces set for a bit before curing as well to see if that helps.
Pat, I thought maybe your subscribers would like to combine 2 of your videos and use one of your sofa can bottoms to burnish your napkins on to clay. Works great!
Yes it does, thanks Peg
What an awesome idea and talent you have! I have many readers in my family and friends and this will make beautiful stuff for gifts. Thanks you for sharing.
Lovely indeed!! Yet another project added to my list. I am also thinking Christmas napkins could easily and affordably lead to inexpensive gift ornaments - in various shapes via cookie cutters. And of course one-of-a-kind earrings to match the pendant aka ornament. And bracelets and switchplate covers and bag tags for luggage and . . . . . Now see how you impact my To Do List! Love it. TFS
Oooh, you'll be busy!! Thanks Faye
faye austin I
faye austin This sounds like me. I start with one project and my mind starts to thinking of different ideas to use technique on other projects and before I know it I have come up with too many ideas!
Sounds like me! I'm always thinking of different ways to use a single technique.
so happy I came across your video. I love napkin transfers, never tried on clay, but I will now. Beautiful, I loved it.
Thank you!
I just LOVE this idea. . I feel like I'm absolutely gushing 😍😍😍💞💕
The napkin you chose is beyond gorgeous
I can't wait to try. Thank you for the inspiration
I am enjoying this technique. NOW I know what else I can do with my scrap clay. I KNOW there is some really good napkins at goodwill, dollar stores, etc
Thanks Angel
Thank you! for answering my question. I hope to find it. I'm in Orlando Forida on Vacation. I don't live in the state. I live on a tropical Island and i don't think they sell it there!
Omg... i tried it today....sooopr awsm... i made few magnets nd bookmarks... trial ones became magnets.... thanku for the wndrful idea...
Loved, loved, loved, loved.... How genius is that!! Thank you much.
Thanks so much Lee!
Beautiful! Always wondered what I could do with those great napkins. Hated to throw them away. Thank you so much. Can't wait to try this.
Thanks Patricia
Fantastic! I have some napkins left from some paper crafting I was going to try. I never thought to put them on clay! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Gayle
Gayle Thompson lol hi hun. I just watched your vid. fancy seeing you here. :D
I'm a big fan of Patricia Roberts-Thompson! We share the same passion!
Gayle Thompson well I'm a big fan of you and now her. she does some great things. will the both of you do. I seem to be spending my time as of late going through your playlist. ;)
I can't wait till you throw your twist in this project for us 😁
Really lovely! I wasn't even looking for polymer clay projects but my eyes settled on the fabulous, soft colors and here I am, a fan!!
Thanks so much Dixie
Thank you very much for this video Patricia, fantastic idea, I will be definitely shopping for some napkins very soon.
Thank you!
I'm going on a napkin hunt tomorrow. Thanks for another great tutorial.
Thanks Peg
very beautiful project, thanks for sharing, I am going to try tonight, hope I can do the rubbing part ok !
Thanks Ginger, I always suggest doing a small piece first to test it out. The burnishing is not hard, just make sure it's well stuck to the clay
I had seen the finished product on a FB group and was immediately captivated by it. For some strange reason, I had never seen your RUclips channel, but so happy I found it on the FB site. I'm now subscribed and seen several of your videos. It's 5:31 in the morning, unable to sleep, and want to run to the area set aside for poly clay work, but it will have to wait until later in the day. Fabulous tutorial! Thanks again.
Thank you Gloria, I just started doing videos, this past January- You can tell how nervous I was. Just starting to get comfortable now!
Beautiful and simple idea. How many decrees celcius do you have to put the oven, to bake the bookmarks? And how thick are the bookmarks? Thank you for explaining this simple techniek. Josien
I really enjoyed your instruction Patricia. Thank you so much for sharing this! Your green bracelet was really cute too! x
Thanks Sandy, I'm glad you liked it!
I was shopping today and saw some really gorgeous paper napkins, and remembered your video. I got them and will try this later today. Can't wait to try it Thank you for posting this!
Thanks Kalyana. have fun!
Important note for people trying this. Burnish, but don't go overboard. I burnished that napkin paper to the point that it got embedded almost in the clay. I spent half an hour scrubbing with a stiff bristles brush, soaking again, scrubbing again, until I managed to get all the paper off the clay. Yep. That's me. Patricia says "make sure you burnish well" and I make sure I burnish the heck out of it.
Yes, there's a bit of a learning curve to it! Glad you got the paper off- :)
Ok just wanted to post an update. One thing that is very important is to get good quality print paper napkins. The ones I got at the dollar store were gorgeous but the print was very "dotty" and on a small surface like a pendant did not look good. On bigger pieces looked just fine. Better print quality paper napkins I got from Hobby Lobby gave great results on smaller pieces. So that is an important thing to take into consideration when you pick your napkin. Wonderful technique, thank you for sharing it.
Thank you, The dotted section can be ironed before using, it yields pretty good results- better than the dots I got when first trying. I've also burnished the section with a metal tool ( like a spoon ) and got good results too. So there is a fix for that.
I loved your video and what beautiful napkins. I work with dried flowers but thinking napkins are looking really nice and less the mess. I really like the colour of the real napkin finished then the prismacoloured one with alcohol added. I think their is a real prettiness to the natural colours of the faded napkin. It is a natural subtle and calming beauty. I also understand that is just my option ion.
I would have loved to see you finish off the pendent.....with varnish, resin, or what you used.
Again.....amazed with your video and SO LOVED IT😁
Thanks Karen, I like the look of the napkins as it transfer too, just sometimes, you get a poor transfer and may want to save it. Just an idea how
So Beautiful, Thank you, I Love your Tutorials!
Thanks Debi
I just stumbled upon your channel and I love this idea..my daughter's birthday coming up so I will definitely make this..thankyou for sharing..
Your such a sweetie and I love this idea!!! Very creative, it puts me back in the mode!!!
Fantastic idea! Those would make gorgeous Christmas ornaments!
This is amazing! I love how beautiful your projects turned out.
Thank you Lueanna
Thanks so much for a wonderful tutorial Patricia
You're very welcome, thanks Joyce!
I absolutelly love it!!! So many options of beautiful napkins that won´t go to waste any more!!!
Do you think it would work faster if soaked in hot water?
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
Thank you! Do you mean faster to remove the paper? I have done it in warm water, as it's easier on my hands, but I didn't really notice a difference. A rough terry towel, though really does help!
I so enjoyed this wonderful tutorial. I will be trying this technique for sure.
This is amazing! The colours are beautiful! 💐🌸🏵🌹
Thank you!
I tried this today on a switch plate. Turned out great. I used fimo effect with lots of glitter and it looks fabulous
whitesand soap, that’s a great idea, so happy you liked the video!
Soooo gorgeous!!! 👏👏👏I am going to do this!!!😊 I looked in your description and couldn't find a direction on what temp to use and how long. You stated to cover. But not clear on what that meant. Cover while baking/ curing? Cover with what? Do you use a craft baking oven or appliance oven?
You know.....details. 😊😊 Thank You🤗
Thanks Jeannie, You bake it at 275F if you are using Premo, I like to cover mine with an aluminum baking pan, and I usually bake everything for an hour.
Thank you so much, i had the same question too :)
thank you so much for sharing this. I am in love with this process. I was doubtful at first but it works wonderfully. Can't wait to find more beautiful napkins to make more. Thank you again. Love your ideas and videos. Thank you for sharing your wonderful talents!
Thanks so much Bonnie