Alcohol Ink Tinted Skinner Blend Mica Shift Tutorial

polymer clay skinner blend mica shift
polymer clay skinner blend mica shift

In this tutorial I'll show you how to create a beautiful Skinner Blend Mica Shift and a Mica Smash using alcohol ink tinted polymer clay.

Tinting your metallic clays with alcohol inks opens up a huge range of vibrant color options for your mica shifts, without reducing the mica content of the clay. It's a simple technique that can be used to add your own favorite color combinations to any project.


You will need the following supplies:

  • Pearl white and silver Premo polymer clay
  • Alcohol ink (I’m using Adirondack Sailboat Blue and Amethyst)
  • A large square cutter
  • A texture (I’m using a Square Rhythms Kor roller)
  • A tissue blade
  • A pasta machine
  • An acrylic roller
  • A cutter (I'm using the Boho Shield from Createalong.com)
  • Wet/dry sandpaper / polishing papers
  • An oven
  • Renaissance wax

How to Do An Alcohol Ink Tinted Skinner Blend Mica Shift Step by Step

  • To start with you’ll need to tint your clay. Roll out two sheets of Premo Pearl White polymer clay on the thickest setting of your pasta machine.
  • Spread one of each of your alcohol ink colors over each sheet and allow to dry for about ten minutes. I'm using Adirondack Amethyst and Sailboat Blue.
  • Once dry, knead the ink into the clay to give a beautiful tinted color.
  • Roll out a sheet of Silver Premo on the thickest setting of your pasta machine.
  • Using a large square cutter, cut a square from each of your sheets. You should have two colors and one silver.
  • Fold each square in half.
  • Line the three resulting triangles up, and create a three part Skinner blend.

    See my three part Skinner Blend tutorial for detailed instructions.

  • Trim the edges of your Skinner blend.
  • Use your chosen texture sheet, or in my case, Kor roller to texture your Skinner blend.
  • Use a flexible tissue blade to shave off the raised areas of your sheet to make a mica shift.

    See my Mica Shift tutorial for detailed instructions.

  • Gently roll in all directions with your acrylic roller to flatten your sheet.
Using up the scraps
  • Arrange your shavings in a pile and gently squish them together.
  • Roll flat with your acrylic roller to create a mica smash.
In the video tutorial, I show a finished, sanded and buffed cabachon, so be sure to have a look at that.


Alcohol Ink Tinted Skinner Blend Mica Shift Tutorial

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