simple polymer clay leaf canes
BySandra Callander Cane Tutorials, Tutorials
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Three Simple Polymer Clay Leaf Canes from One Blend

Learn how to create three simple polymer clay leaf canes from a single skinner blend with this beginner friendly tutorial.

Add a touch of green to your creations with one (or all!) of these simple polymer clay leaf canes. They’re uncomplicated enough for someone new to polymer clay canes to try and the results will have you looking like a seasoned pro.

This simple polymer clay leaf canes tutorial makes the assumption that you have some experience with canes and skinner blends but if you need a little brush up see the links below.

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These leaf canes are great for scrap busting. I went through my box of green scraps to create my skinner blend but don’t feel you need to limit yourself to shades of green. Get creative. Look to nature for inspiration as foliage can come in a wide variety of colors other than green. Or go wild and dream up a fantasy foliage palette!

three simple polymer clay leaf canes made from a single skinner blend

These leaf canes are perfect for if you have a project in mind but they’re also nice to have on hand for impromptu making sessions. Whenever I’m in a creative rut making skinner blends in one of my favorite things to do to jumpstart my creative mojo. These simple canes cane put some of those blends into use.

So, let’s dive in and bring some greenery to life with these three simple polymer clay leaf canes.

Tools & Materials

  • Non-porous work surface—I work on either glazed tile or glass
  • Pasta machine dedicated to polymer clay use—I use an Atlas 180 and will refer to the settings I use on my machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine an acrylic roller and some playing cards will do in a pinch, it’ll just take a little more work
  • Polymer clay—in this example I used three shades of green I mixed up from my green scraps
  • Polymer clay blade—use your sharpest blade for clean slices
  • Acrylic rod

Directions for Simple Polymer Clay Leaf Canes

Start by making your skinner blend. Use a blend of greens for more traditional leaves or get creative and use colors not typically seen in nature. 

Remember, a little clay can go a long way, depending on how small you reduce your cane. If you are trying all three leaves, use a larger blend. To make a smaller blend place one or two packages of unwrapped clay on the rollers of the pasta machine to keep it from spreading too wide.

If you are trying all three leaf versions cut your blend into three strips before proceeding, one for each cane. 

dividing the skinner blend for the polymer clay leaf canes

Leaf One

Fold the blend, if necessary, to make a strip that is 1”- 2” wide. Pass it through the pasta machine on progressively thinner settings until you reach the thinnest setting you can go without tearing your clay. Depending on how warm it is that could be setting no.7, 8, or 9 for me.

Make a plug by folding the clay back and forth in an accordion fold, taking care to trap as little air as possible.

Shape the plug into a neat rectangle and stretch it out to about 2” in length.

making the first of the polymer clay leaf canes

Cut the plug in half and place the two halves side by side with the darker side of one piece against the lighter side of the other piece, as shown.

Form the block into a leaf shape by bringing the outer corners together to form a point. Reduce the leaf down to your desired size.

Leaf Two

This leaf starts off the same as the first leaf. Make a thin ribbon of clay and make a plug by folding the ribbon back and forth in an accordion fold.

making a simple polymer clay leaf cane from a skinner blend

This time, shape the plug into a square about 1” tall. Cut the square in half on the diagonal into two triangles.

Flip one of the triangles over and reassemble the square.

Press in the two outside corners, opposite the seam, rounding the square into a leaf shape. 

Reduce the leaf down to your desired size.

Rolling a skinner blend into a cylinder and stretching it out

Leaf Three

For this leaf cane make a thin ribbon as outlined above. Rather than an accordion fold, shape with ribbon into a cylinder with the lightest color on the inside.

Squeeze, stretch, and roll the cylinder into a tapered rope just shy of 9” long.

Using an acrylic rod, flatten the rope. Trim the distorted ends and measure. If you need a little more length to reach 9” stretch the clay to reach that measurement.

building the polymer clay leaf cane

Cut the flattened rope into nine 1” pieces. 

Starting with the narrowest piece build the leaf by adding pieces on one side and then the other, staggering them slightly.

When you’ve added the last piece smooth the sides and reduce the cane down to your desired size.

There you have it! Three simple polymer clay leaf canes from a single skinner blend. Which will you try first?

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I’m happy to hear from you.