Transfers, decals, rubber stamps, tray molds, and silk screen stencils....those
are some of the fabulous embellishment tools that can be made with the
often under-valued "dingbat".
If you use any computer word processing functions, you
probably know about "fonts". 
Different styles of typefaces, or fonts, have been used by printers
for centuries. "Dingbats" are also known as printer's ornaments,
and are decorative symbols or glyphs that are used to adorn pages in many
ways, often at the beginnings or ends of chapters.
Each set of designs that make up a font are assigned a letter or character
on the keyboard, and may include upper and lower case too.
Below left you see the characters "A B C" in three dingbat
fonts called called "Symmetry Square", "Vintage", and
"Printers Ornament".
The thousands of varieties that are now available can open up a whole
new world of applied design. Think of them as a "font" from which
many decorative ideas can flow! Many of them are free to use--"freeware"--or
are available at a small cost for commercial use.
Dingbats fonts can be downloaded to your computer and used in a graphics
program to create patterns. For more information about how to find and
use fonts with your computer, visit http://polyclay.com/dingbats.htm
I use Adobe Photoshop to create designs and find that the final print
quality is better from there than if I use word processing programs to
create them.
I also like the ability to use "Layers" to move parts around.
Many fonts interconnect to form very intricate designs. You can also mix
fonts in a single design. Here you see an example using a font called "Edgers"
designed by Gabrielle Gaither, using the upper case "E" five
times. This is one of the designs on the Ready Stamps set shown here in
this article. Another example uses "E"s and "I's",
and has been Inverted in Photoshop to a negative version of the design--yet
another option!
Images created in color can be printed onto Tshirt transfer paper or
glossy photo quality paper, and then used with liquid polymer clays to
transfer to polymer clay backings. These images can be further embellished
and rebaked. The black and white images created from dingbats can also
be used as transfer sources, and the results carved away, or colored in
with inks such as Prismacolor markers. There are books, tutorials and articles
available about the many ways to do transfers.
One of my very favorite thing to do with black and white images is
to send them to Ready Stamps.
They are a workshop division of the Cerebral Palsy Association that create
the most amazing tools for artists! I collect enough of my favorites to
fill a 7 inch by 9 inch rectangle shaped space, and print them out onto
bristol paper, which gives a sharp print crisp image. For $37.00, including
postage, they will turn your black and white artwork into a sheet of uncut
rubber stamps. As an incredible bonus, and IF you specifically request
it, they will also send you the negative transparency of the art as well
as the acrylic sheet and matrix tray used in creating the rubber. Together
these tools are my absolute favorites for many uses with polymer clay,
paper and fabric. They are a company that not only deserves support, but
gives great quality in return. To read all about Ready Stamps and to access
a printable order form, visit http://polyclay.com/ready.htm
The black and clear transparency sheet can be used to create silkscreen
stencils with a product called Photo-EZ.
The matrix tray is a polymer tray mold into which the rubber has been poured.
Its a wonderful tool for use in making 
polymer clay beads,
buttons, and more. The rubber stamps, and to a limited degree the yellow
acrylic, are tools that have the black portions of the original design
raised up above the surface. The matrix tray is a mold, and the black portions
of the originals are in relief, below the surface.
Beads can be impressed into these molds, or into the stamps, and then
baked and stained for a carved effect.
Indentations can be filled with acrylic paint or with tiny beads or
more raw clay, either before or after baking.
Dye inks such as Clearsnap's Ancient Pages are
among my favorites for use with polymer clay when used as a surface print.
both the stamps and the matrix can be used in mokume gane effects, as is
seen with the red and black bead at right, or with mica shift techniques.
They are extremely useful in many ways.
The beads shown here were all made using dingbat
art!
