Stroppel Cane

I think everyone in the polymer clay world has tried this technique, developed by Alice Stroppel for using up bits of scrap and canes. I have been looking at all the beautiful examples people have been posting (just go to Google Images and type in "stroppel cane" and you'll see what I mean. )I have tried it a couple of times, and not been happy with the results. I figured out that my scrap was too dark and close in colour to the black banding between layers. So I went with lighter pieces, and the resulting cane is below. I love it, although I am amazed at how different it turned out than I had expected, based on the cane pieces I used. Obviously, in my hands at least, results are very unpredictable. Here is my cane, and a veneer I made with thin slices placed on a black background.

And here is what I have done with it so far:

I have lots of other ideas, too. If you want to give this fun technique a try, click here!