A new batch of tear-aways brewing

I've been working on some new tear aways.  No pictures yet.  Katie clued me in about the recent discussion on the Yahoo Group about Sculpey Studio being discontinued.  HA......I didn't even know the preferred clay switched from Sculpey III to Sculpey Studio.  I've been using III all along.

I wondered why I was having problems.  I've still been able to make tear aways with Sculpey III but it wasn't as easy as it used to be.  Sometimes small clumps of clay came away, sometimes the paper stuck to the clay and ripped in half.  Now considering the fact that I like ancient grainy images, it hasn't been such a bad thing.   And when a sheet rips...that's actually an advantage for me since the rip forms a design element....as in the pendant below.  The bottom part of this is where the tear away ripped in half.

But back to the Sculpey.  Apparently what makes it work for tear aways is the inclusion of phthalates.  Phthalates are plasticizers....they make plastic flexible and give it durability.  But there are health concerns about phthalates.  Sculpey III no longer includes them and Sculpey Studio will be discontinued in December.  I'm not sure this is going to be a loss for me since I haven't even tried it yet. 

But just to cover my bases.....I jumped on-line with Dick Blick and bought a bunch of Studio....like enough to last the next decade...LOL.  When I burn through that....well there's always III and if that proves to be a problem then maybe it's time to start etching my designs on copper sheets.  The texture would still be shallow and it's a permanent texture tool.
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