Black and White Polymer Clay Flower Cane Tutorial

Black and white polymer clay flower canes

Learn how to make a simple, but beautiful black and white polymer clay flower cane that can be used alone, or in many different projects, either as part of a more complex cane, or as an accent paired with other polymer clay techniques.

We’ll use this flower cane in the desert flower project tutorial, where we’ll pair the flower cane with the dragon scale mica shift technique, to create a simple, but elegant pendant.

If you haven't made a Skinner Blend, Skinner Blend Plug, Basic Bulls Eye Cane or a Lace Cane before, watch the tutorials listed in the suggested links box below the video before you watch this one.

You will need the following supplies:

White translucent, black and white polymer clay (I’m using Premo)
A tissue blade
A pasta machine
An acrylic roller
A Skewer

How to Make a Black and White Polymer Clay Flower Cane

The Petals

To start you’ll need a black and white Skinner Blend Plug. You’ll also need a narrow black and white Skinner Blend.

See my Skinner Blend and Skinner Blend Plug tutorials for instructions if you haven't made these before.
On the white side of your Skinner Blend Plug cut three lines through the plug. The first should be in the middle, and extend to around the middle of the plug. The other two should be half way between the edges of the plug and the middle cut, angling out slightly away from the center. See the video for details.
Insert a piece of the black and white Skinner Blend, white side first, into each of the cuts. The Skinner Blend needs to be narrow enough that you can insert it into the cuts, white first and have the black in the cut as well. See the video for more detail.
Trim up the edges.
Squish it back together into a square shape and reduce to a long rectangle using your acrylic rod.
Reduce until you can cut out six pieces.
Trim off the ends.
Cut into six equal pieces and put to the side.

The Middle of the Flower

Take a black and white bulls eye cane (white in the center) and create a lace cane by cutting the bulls eye cane into pieces and placing all those pieces together into a cane.

See detailed instructions on how to Make a Bulls Eye Cane and a Lace Cane.
Reduce it down to a diameter of about 1cm.
Trim off the ends.

Putting the Cane Together

Using your fingers, round off the black side of one of the plug pieces, then pinch the white side of the square into a point so that you form a petal shape. Repeat for all six pieces. See the video for the correct procedure.
Take three of your pieces and place them together to form a half round. Mold them together so that they sit flat. Do the same for the other three.
Using a skewer, create a groove in the middle of each half flower. This is where the center lace cane will fit.
Reduce the lace cane until it is the right size to fit inside the groove you have made.
Cut off a piece of the lace cane, and insert it into the groove on one of the half flowers.
Add the second half of the flower.
Gently press the cane together.
You now have a flower, but you need to be able to reduce it without distortion. To do this pack white translucent into the spaces left beside each petal until you have a nice round cane. See the video for the correct procedure.
Wrap the entire flower cane with a layer of thin translucent.
Reduce down to the desired size.
Slice and you should have a black and white flower image cane.

On the video I show the process in much more detail, so be sure to check that out.