Cake Decorating with Makin's Clay® Extruder

This past Wednesday we shared a video we found on YouTube showing how easy it is to use the Makin's Clay® Extruder for cake decorating and here is another video which shows you how to use the extruder for cake decorating.  Enjoy!

Makin's Clay® Extruder for Cake Decorating

Did you know that the Makin's Clay® Extruder can be used for Cake Decorating?  Of course you would want a dedicated extruder for cake decorating and another one for clay.....here is a video we found on YouTube showing how easy it is to use with fondant!

Makin's Clay® Groovy Flower Earrings

Whenever I’m working with Makin’s Clay® and have leftover clay after I finish my project, I either use that clay with a Makin’s Brand® push mold to make flowers or other pieces for use later, or I roll it to at least a #7 setting on my Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine (I roll some to a #8, some to a #9 - so I will have random thicknesses to work with) and let it dry to be die cut or punched for later use.    I love having a stash of pre-prepared Makin’s Clay® goodies ready for use for projects at any time. - Cindi

Materials: 

Makin’s Clay® - Natural 

Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine 

Flower punch 

Small hole punch 

Beacon Adhesives 527 Multi-Use Glue
Connie Crystal - 8 yellow, 4 green crystals

Earth Safe Finishes Iridescents by Ann Butler Designs - Sunshine, Limelight, Tangelo, Lilac, Berry

Instructions: 

Punch out several (at least 6) flowers from sheet of dry Makin’s Clay® (any light color - Natural clay rolled to a #7 for these flowers). 

Place onto scrap paper, use fingers to apply Earth Safe Finishes Iridescents by Ann Butler Designs randomly onto front and back of each flower.  I wanted to achieve a bit of a “tie dyed” effect so I let my shades overlap and blend into each other somewhat.  Let dry. 

Punch small hole in end of one petal of each flower.  Add silver jump ring. 

Use Beacon Adhesives 527 Multi-Purpose Glue to add a yellow or green Connie Crystal to the center of each side of each flower.  Let dry. 

Cut two pieces of three links from silver chain.   Add one flower to each link.  Add silver french wires.  

OZZY Makin's Brand® Memory Frame

Makin's Brand® Memory Frame Kits are a great way to create a custom keepsake for anyone for any occasion.  Pets, weddings, babies, or just a special moment can be memorialized with these kits.  Included are the frame (in a variety if sizes and styles) and Makin's Clay® for making imprints, or otherwise embellishing your photo.    For this project I added scrapbook paper, leather trim with rivets and chipboard letters to the photo side.  On the reverse I used more scrapbook paper and the same leather trim, and an impression of Ozzy's paw set into the clay, as well as bones made from the clay. - Cindi

Makin's Clay® Embellishments

You can use Makin's Clay® to create unique one of a kind embellishments for all of your project.

Connie Hall created this beautiful framed photo using Butterfly accents created with Makin's Clay® and stamped with Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilting Stamps for a very cool effect.  Check out the details of how Connie created this Awesome Frame in this blog post!

Faux Hammered Metal with Makin's Clay®

Achieving the look of hammered metal with Makin's Clay® is simple - for this keepsake box I simply used my hands to apply clay directly to the wooden box, rubbing it in different areas to create indentations and eliminate a smooth finish, and allowed it to dry. I then painted it with metallic paint.  The embellishments for the top were made with Makin's® push molds - the borders and the flowers.  - Cindi

Sealants with Makin's Clay®

When making jewelry, home dec and other projects with Makin's Clay® there are times you might want to use a sealant...here are some tips:

Makin's Clay is water based, if the piece to be sealed is completely dry, the liquid in the sealer would have no effect on the clay. The product used will dry long before it would have a negative effect on the clay.  There are many different products that can be usedto seal beads made with Makin's Clay®.

Here is a small list of products that have been tested:

Plaid Indoor/Outdoor Varnish

Golden Polymer Varnish

Beacon Liquid Laminate

Plaid Mod Podge

USArt Quest Perfect Paper Adhesive 

Earth Safe Finishes Varnishes

Earth Safe Finishes Decoupage

Earth Safe Finishes EcoEpoxy

EnviroTex 2 part epoxy

Multiple coats of the finish would be recommended.The product you use will depend on the look you want to achieve.  We recommend you test several products to find the product and the technique done that will

work best for you.

Stunning Sculpture from Lex Sorrentino

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/94083079690198422/

We at Makin's Clay® are continually awed by the creative abilities of artist Lex Sorrentino - and this piece from our Pinterest Board is just one example of why - Cindi

Reconstituting Makin’s Clay®

Did you know that you could reconstitute Makin's Clay?  It is simply amazing here are the instructions:

Begin with a fully dried sheet of Makin’s Clay®.

Cut the sheet into small pieces approximately ¾ inches or smaller.

Place the pieces in a mini-chopper to make smaller pieces of clay.

Follow directions below to continue reconstituting process.

Begin with leftover pieces of fully dried Makin’s Clay®.

Cut clay into small pieces approximately ¾ inches or smaller.

For larger pieces of clay, wrap in a brown paper bag or other sturdy paper and break into smaller pieces using a hammer or heavy object. 

Remove clay pieces from bag or paper and place in a mini-chopper to make smaller pieces of clay. 

Follow directions below to continue reconstituting process. 

Using a ratio of approximately four parts dried clay to one part water, put water in the mini-chopper and blend on high. 

Don’t be concerned if there are larger chunks of dried clay in the mixture. 

Pour mixture into an appropriately sized bowl and allow to sit. 

Periodically stir the mixture, mashing larger pieces until reaching a pasty consistency. Note: This process may take a full day or more. 

You can use the clay mixture as is for a variety of applications or you can work it in your hands until some of the water evaporates, bringing the clay back to the original pre-drying consistency.

Makin's Clay® Nautical Frame

Makin's Clay® can be used in so many ways....when checking the projects on the Makin's Clay® Web Site we found all sorts of cute projects with full step by step instructions.....

 

This cute photo frame was created by Dorothy Chan and you can find the full instructions here!

Bluebird of Happiness Baby Shower Video - Part 2

In this second part of the Bluebird of Happiness Baby Shower episode of When Creativity Knocks All-Star Designers Spring Series, Ana Araujo and Jonathan Fong share more great ideas for the shower.  Ana's mason jar drinking glasses have these fabulous birds nests made from Makin's Clay®!

 http://whencreativityknocks.com/mycraftspace/m/videos/view/All-Star-Bluebird-of-Happiness-Part-2

Get Textured with Makin's Clay®

Did you know Makin's Clay® has a wide variety of texture sheets?  Flexible and lightweight, yet sturdy enough to withstand continual use, these are a must have for your clay tool supply cabinet.

Here's a set perfect for summer projects -