Kawaii Charms in Polymer Clay
by Thompson, Ruth · Published by Search Press
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Meet the Author
Hey there, can you introduce yourself?
Hi I'm Ruth Thompson, I'm 25 and I live in London. I've been crafting and making my whole life and I love sharing what I create with others. I started a YouTube channel called Kawaii Studios where I have taught people how to make polymer clay charms and other crafty items for over 8 years. This also led to me starting an Etsy shop (also called Kawaii Studios) where I sell my pieces and have also branched out into acrylic laser cut jewellery and stationery items like stickers.
Tell us a bit about the book?
Kawaii Charms in Polymer Clay is fun book full of 20 kawaii polymer clay projects you can make. The projects range from making jewellery to bookmarks all featuring super kawaii charms. There are projects to make food charms, animal charms and lots more, there's something for everyone!
What was the inspiration behind it?
I've been working with polymer clay for over 10 years, since I was 15 and in that time I started a YouTube channel where I teach people how to make kawaii charms and share tips and tricks for using clay. I had connected with Search Press (publishers) before and when the opportunity came up to make my own book I was ecstatic!
Which is your favourite project?
That is such a hard question!! I think I would probably say the kawaii cat ring project because it is so customisable. I love the idea of people making their own fur babies out of clay using the techniques from that project. It's also a great gift idea for someone else and it doesn't have to be a ring, you can turn that into anything if you add an eye pin instead of a ring back!
What is your craft space like?
Messy... always messy! I'm very untidy and I'm always working on a million things at once so my craft space is never clear but somehow it works. I know where everything is, so it's fine!
Have you always been creative?
Yes I've always been in to crafting and creating, I use to have craft birthday parties as a child and it's just snowballed from there.
When did you first start crafting?
I've been crafting my whole life but I specifically remember making my first polymer clay pieces when I was around 11 years old with my best friend Hannah. We both made very strange looking hamsters and made little houses and water bowls for them. I still have those pieces!
Who are your crafty heroes?
(feel free to edit this a little if the lack of books isn't what you wanted from this answer) I mostly get my crafting fix online via social media, I follow so many incredible crafters and artists. I honestly couldn't pick just one but the amazing diverse crafters on TikTok have inspired me SO MUCH recently!
Where do you find inspiration?
As I follow so many amazing crafters and artists online my inspiration mostly comes from watching other people create things, but sometimes it's as simple as getting a new jumper. I got a new jumper two years ago and it inspired a whole range of new jewellery! I'm also always getting inspired by food because it's my favourite thing to make out of food.
What's next for you?
I'm getting ready to launch my Spring collection on my Etsy shop Kawaii Studios, which makes me very happy. Most of the pieces feature sakura/cherry blossoms and I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so I can see more in real life again! I'm also going to be expanding my stationery products to include paper to do pads featuring my kawaii designs so I'm very excited about that!
