Memorial Poppy Votive by Cindi McGee

Memorial Poppy Votive

Designed by Cindi McGee

Remember all those who have served our country with this memorial poppy votive.  The candle that was originally in this glass votive was burned away, but the glass is given new life thanks to etchall® and transformed into a perfect holder for a tea light.  A realistic poppy hand-made with Makin's Clay®  is a beautiful dimensional accent and adds to the "memorial" feel of the finished votive.

Materials: 

Makin's Clay® - Red, Green, Black 
                         - Ultimate Clay Extruder™
                         - Ultimate Clay Machine™
                         - Professionnal® Clay Tool Kit
                         - Circle Cutters - 4 Piece Set 
                         - Cutting Mat 
Glass votive 
Etchall® -  Etching Cream 
               - Resist Gel 
DecoArt® Americana® Stick On Stencil & Mask - Knock Out Alpha 
Palette Inkpad - Moss Green 

Instructions:

Roll ball of black clay about 1.5cm and a ball of green clay about 1cm.   Blend two shades together to create a slightly variated back ball (some green with show for a very subtle shading).  

Use point tool to draw lines from outside edges to almost center of ball (leave small area in very center unlined). 

Use Ultimate Clay Extruder™ and multi-hole disc #7 to extrude black clay.  Cut into pieces about 1/2” long and mount in clusters around outside of detailed ball.  
Always clean your extruder and remove all clay after use. 

Roll red Makin’s Clay® in Ultimate Clay Machine™ to setting #8 (begin at setting #1 and increase one setting at a time until desired thinness is achieved). 

Place onto cutting mat.  Use 60mm (smallest) circle cutter in 4 piece cutter set to cut 4 circles from red clay.

Press large sphere tip around entire outside edge of each circle to create petal effect.  

Use lined shading tip to create very light lines in each petal. 

Use cutting wheel tip to cut each petal into shape shown in diagram (cut to a point on one side of circle).

Lay two petals point to point and use Beacon® 3-in-1 Adhesive to mount black center of flower in middle.  

Mount remaining two petals beneath first two, on opposite sides.  

Place flower into a small bowl, cup or muffin tin to dry.  This will help form the flower into the desire shape.   Let dry 24 hours. 

Roll green clay in Ultimate Clay Machine™ to setting #6.   Use fine tip tool to cut out 4 leaf shapes (I referred to a photo of a poppy leaf to create my shapes).   

Use shading tip on all edges of leaves, and to create lines in leaves.  Place over clay tools, or a pencil, etc. to dry (this will give some dimension and shape).  Let dry 24 hours.  

Use fingertip to add a bit of dark green ink over surface of each leaf to highlight the texture. 

Clean glass votive.  Spell out REMEMBER on glass votive with DecoArt® stencils.

Use etchall® resist gel to fill in each letter.  Important:  Remove each stencil while gel is still wet or gel will come off when you remove the stencils to etch.   

Let resist gel dry until clear.  

Apply etchall® cream to entire surface of votive.  Let set 15 minutes.  Return cream to bottle.  Rinse to remove remaining cream.  Let dry. 

Use 3-in-1 Adhesive to mount leaves and poppy to bottom of votive beneath REMEMBER. 

Add a tea light to illuminate your votive to honor and remember those who have served this Veterans Day, on Memorial Day, or any day of the year.