Product Review – Lumiere Lusters and Polymer Clay

I’ve been playing around with some very awesome little flakes lately (Lumiere Lusters) and just wanted to share a few pics of what they are and what they do.  I have to let you know, I’m in the very early stages of playing with this product and I’m sure the more I work with them, the more I’ll find they can do.

Ok let’s have a look at them first.  Renee Wiggins sells these from her website www.jetagestudio.com.  Renee is primarily a glass artist and uses these flakes and powders in her glass art.  I have to say, as soon as I opened the little container I was hooked.  The flakes are definitely my favourite – they are simply stunning.  You’ll see from the pictures there is a powder (the copper one), fine flakes (the coloured ones) and super flakes (the white ones).  They arrived choc-o-block full of product.  I’ve used them heaps already and the jars still look full.  They are incredibly “floaty” and the smallest bit of wind or air or whatever will send them flying (yup found out from experience).  The beauty of this product is that they change colour – yes chameleon powders and flakes – you have to see them to believe them.  Both the powders and the flakes change colour on polymer clay and I’ve found they look the best on black clay (a bit like mica powder).  Renee has so many stunning colours on her website – the problem is working out which colours to get!!

They adhere to polymer clay sooooo easily – just a little dab and you’re done.  I found there’s no need to burnish them well onto the clay – they pretty much stick as soon as you pop them on.  So I guess that’s the first basic technique – simply apply to raw polymer clay which is exactly what I did in these two pieces.  The flakes were simply dabbed onto a black clay veneer and this was then used in the tube bead and the pendant piece.

You can also apply these powders and flakes to surface treated polymer clay.  I’ve used a variety of different products on these pieces and the flakes and powder simply stick onto the surface and stay there.  I have to say the copper powder is quite luscious and only took a small dab which was then brushed over the surface (the organic orange bead – powder one side and flakes the other).  These pieces cured beautifully and I didn’t notice any colour change or flaking etc.

I think my favourite way of using these flakes so far was in the crackle.  I used two different flakes and blended them together, created the crackle veneer and then used the crackle to create some pendants and feature band on a pod bead.  If you’re interested to know how I create my crackle I have a tutorial available on my website which you can find here:  CRACKLE VENEER.  Now I wondered about the durability of these flakes on the surface after curing so sanded one of these pieces.  They will sand off so I would anticipate you would need to seal these with a polymer compatible sealer if they will be worn.

Creating a liquid clay coating resulted in a beautiful effect which is so hard to try and capture in a picture.  I took these beads into the sunshine and they are drop-dead gorgeous – glistening, shimmering lusciousness!  The lusters look like they’re suspended on the surface of the bead in resin – just beautiful.  Imagine putting different liquid clay coatings on top of each other – wow I must try that!!  I find a liquid clay coating on anything metallic just shimmers so much more and looks amazing.  If you want to know how to cure kato liquid clay and create this effect you can check out this tutorial which is available on my website:  CURING KATO LIQUID CLAY

The last specific “play” I wanted to try and re-create a small glass cabochon.  I simply added the flakes to a small circle of black clay, cured and then added multiple layers of kato liquid clay for shine.  You could use a UV doming resin product to achieve a similar effect but I just love liquid clay so that’s what I used.  I think I’ll be making quite a few of these in different colours they were that easy.

As I mentioned before, I’ve only just touched the surface with this product (and I haven’t even tried the super flakes yet).  There is so much more to explore but that’s going to take time.

I must say a huge thanks to Renee for getting in touch about her product Lumiere Lusters.  Renee also has a stunning range of Texture Embossing Sheets – one can never have enough texture in their life!!  These texture sheets are laser engraved and have been tested on a range of products and yes, they’ll work with polymer clay – woohoo!!  I think the Batik is my fave but so many to choose from.

So my journey with Lumiere Lusters has only just started and I’m excited to see what else can be done with them.

Have a great day everyone.

Debbie Crothers

I love working with polymer clay and I love to teach others my techniques for working with polymer clay. Thank you for stopping in to read my blog - I hope you have found the information valuable. Be sure to join my Newsletter to receive regular updates directly to your inbox!