Miniature Bud Vases

When I go for walks to the park with my children, we collect leaves, flowers and all sorts of things. My children are collectors…A single daisy or an autumn leaf picked along the way can be placed in these bud vases, which I made especially for these natural treasures.

Materials:

Makin’s Clay®- White, a tiny bit of yellow, and grape leaf

Makin's® Clay Roller or clay machine

Makin’s Professional® Cutting Mat

Makin's® Push Molds - Floral Item #39005, Leaves #39001

Makin's® Texture Sheet - Set A - Sand

Makin's® Clay Tool Set - Chisel

Dusting powder like cornstarch

Soft small tip paint brushes

Alcohol Inks (I used different shades of green, blue and a touch of pink/red. Jim Holtz Alcohol Ink)

Lumiere by Jacquard 554 Sunset Gold

3 Approx. 4cm tall x 1.5cm wide glass cylinder (like a Fairy dust bottles)

Aluminium Foil

Paper Tape

Instructions:

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Roll out your white clay to the thickest setting on your pasta/clay machine, then wrap the clay tightly around the glass cylinder, making sure there are no air pockets. There is no need to use adhesive to attach the clay to the glass. Ensure the top lip and bottom of the cylinder is covered too. Smooth over by rolling the cylinder along your cutting mat and flatten the base on the cylinder, ensuring the bottle is sitting straight and upright.

Lightly dust, dusting powder (cornstarch) over the clay bottles. Place the Makin's® Texture Sheet Set A - Sand on top of the clay, using your fingers press and roll over the texture sheet, pressing the impression into the clay. Does not have to be a perfect impression right around, it is to give an organic feel.

Repeat this process twice to make 2 little bottles and set aside.

To add a different shape to your third cylinder. Add aluminum foil crumpled around the base of the cylinder, adding layers tightly around, until you are happy with the shape of the bottle.

Use paper tape or masking tape to secure the aluminium foil, wrapping it around the bottle, keeping the shape in place.

Use the same technique, previously on the other bottles, to this bottle. Wrap the clay around the cylinder, ensuring the there are no air pockets and that it is secured tightly. Flatten the clay with a damp fingertip, smoothing it down onto the bottle. Flatten the base of the bottle onto the mat to ensure the bottle is steady and not going to tumble.

I rolled a thin snake of clay and attached it to the top lip of the bottle, I used a little bit of spray of water, to ensure it attached and then smoothed it down, blending it into the other clay.

Again, lightly dust, dusting powder (cornstarch) over the clay bottles. Place the texture sheet on top of the clay, using your fingers press and roll over the texture sheet, pressing the impression into the clay. This does not have to be a perfect impression right around, it is to give an organic feel.

Set bottles aside to make the daisy and leaf embellishments for the bud vases.

For the bud vases, I used the daisy mold from the Makin's Clay® Clay Push Molds - Floral Item #39005 and the two single leaves from Makin's Clay® Clay Push Molds - Leaves Item #39001

To use the molds lightly dust the push molds with cornstarch, shaking the excess off. This will help to keep the clay from sticking to the mold. For the daisy flower, roll a tiny bit of yellow clay and press it into the centre of the flower mold. Then using the white clay, roll into a smaller size ball than the mold. Press the clay into the mold starting in the centre and working towards the edges.

Tip - the clear view mold can be turned over and checked if the centre yellow clay is still in position and for any air bubbles that need to be pressed out and to make sure that the areas are all filled.

Remove excess clay that overlaps the edges of the mold. Remove the moulded daisy flower gently by pressing the mold from the front side or use the clay chisel to help lift the mold out. You clean up the edges using your fingertips and a soft pointed tip sculpting tool.

Make the leaves using this technique, but use Makin's Clay® - Grape Leaf.

Attach the daisy flower and Leaves to the base of the bud vases, with a light spray of water or tacky glue (if the bud vases are too dry) onto the base, then press the daisy/leaf into the vase. Using the soft tip sculpting tool light reshape if needed. I used a small balling tool to add texture in the centre of the daisy flower.

Allow to dry for 24 hours.

After the clay has cured, I start the painting process. Using assorted colour alcohol inks, I layered lightest to darkest in the colours.

For the daisy bud vase, I used Tim Holtz alcohol ink - Cloudy Blue first just drabbing it randomly over the base. Allow the ink to dry before adding the darker colours. The next colour I used was Sailboat Blue, dabbing it again randomly, but then spritzing it with a little blending alcohol, to soften the colour. Allowing the layer to dry again. The next colour I applied using the same technique was Denim, but added very little of this one, as it was a very strong colour. Again, I spritzed it with a little blending alcohol, to soften the colour. I try to give these vases a watercolour effect on them while painting.

Set aside to dry.

For the leaf bud vases, I used the same technique. The green clover leaf bud vase, I used Citrus, Willow and Bottle. For the autumn style leaf bud vase, I used Citrus, Salmon and Watermelon.

Allow them to dry.

To add shimmer and light the bud vases, use Lumiere by Jacquard - 554 Sunset Gold, apply with a damp small tip brush, randomly dabbed over the vase base. Add a little bit of water to your brush each time you get more paint. This gives a shimmer to the paint and vases.

I also added Lumiere by Jacquard - 554 Sunset Gold to the centre of the daisy and the leaf veins.

Allow to dry, then coat with your favourite polymer clay varnish.