Every custom blend is weighed to your recipe and packed ready to use. This guide covers what you get and how to mix it into glaze, slip, clay, or ink.
What arrives
Dissolving pouches (4 g to 50 g). Small orders come in a sealed pouch made of water-soluble film. Don't cut it open. Drop the whole pouch into your water or wet mix and stir; the film dissolves in a minute or two and the stain disperses with no dust. Handle pouches with dry hands and keep them sealed in their outer bag until you use them, since humidity makes the film soft and sticky.
Bulk bags (1/4 lb and 1/2 lb). Larger orders ship in a regular resealable bag. Weigh out what you need, wear a dust mask while you work with the dry powder, and reseal.
Sizes and what they mix into
Each pouch is sized for a standard glaze batch at about 5% stain. Your order page shows the exact amounts for your blend.
| Stain | Dry glaze base | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Test pouch, 4 g | 100 g | Test tiles, a few small pieces |
| 12 g pouch | 250 g | About a half pint of glaze |
| 25 g pouch | 500 g | About a quart of glaze |
| 50 g pouch | 1 kg | Larger batches, slip, or colored clay |
| 1/4 lb bag | 2.25 kg | About a gallon of glaze |
| 1/2 lb bag | 4.5 kg | Studio and classroom batches |
Stain strength varies by color. Glazes usually take 5 to 10% stain, slips 10 to 15%, and clay bodies 5 to 10% of the dry clay weight. Start in the middle and test.
Into glaze
- Weigh the dry glaze base listed for your size.
- Add the stain (drop in the pouch whole), then about 90 g of water for every 100 g of base.
- Mix well, let it slake for 10 minutes, mix again, and sieve through an 80 mesh screen.
- Dip a test tile and fire it before glazing a full piece.
Into slip
- Start with white slip at about yogurt thickness.
- Drop the pouch into a small splash of warm water (about a teaspoon per 10 g of stain) and stir to a smooth paste.
- Stir the paste into the slip and sieve through an 80 mesh screen for even color.
- If the slip gets too thin, let it stand uncovered, or thicken with a few drops of Whips. To thin it without adding water, use a drop or two of Liquid Glass at a time.
Into clay
- Weigh your wet clay. A 50 g pouch colors roughly 1 to 1.5 lb of wet clay at a medium strength.
- Dissolve the pouch in a little warm water to make a thick paste.
- Flatten the clay, spread the paste over it, fold it up, and wedge until there are no streaks. Cut through the ball to check.
- Wrap it and let it rest overnight before throwing or rolling.
Into ink for screen printing and stamping
- Dissolve the pouch in the smallest amount of warm water you can, about 1/2 teaspoon per 10 g.
- Stir in the Ink Medium (glycerin) a little at a time until it reaches a smooth, paint-like consistency. Glycerin keeps the ink from drying on the screen or stamp.
- Print or stamp onto leather-hard clay or onto a rice paper transfer.
- Store leftover ink in a sealed jar and stir before use.
Add-ons
Whips is an epsom salt solution that thickens slip into an icing-like consistency for piping decorations with an icing bag. Add a few drops at a time.
Magic Water is for joining and attaching. Brush it on both scored surfaces in place of slip or water.
Liquid Glass (sodium silicate) thins slip without adding water. Use a drop or two at a time, since too much makes slip gel up.
Rice paper and gel plates are for underglaze transfers. Print or paint your design onto the rice paper, lay it face down on leather-hard clay, and burnish it on.
Ink pads come blank. Load one with your ink and use it with custom stamps.
Safety
Wear a dust mask when working with dry stain, don't eat or drink while mixing, and wash up afterward. Some colors contain metals. Leach-test functional ware before using it with food.