Silkscreened Summer Polymer Clay Pendant

Silkscreened Summer Pendant by Leila Bidler

Using silkscreens you can make a very quick and very eye catching pendant for this summer in no time!

For this project you will need:

Makins's Clay® Earth Tones Colors Package (I used the colors Olive and Straw)

Makin's® Clay Roller

Cookie Cutters (Makin's® Clay Cutters are great for this project)

Makin’s Professional® Cutting Mat

Makin's® Clay Tool Set

1 Jump Ring

Silk Screens (I used one of my own and MOIKO brand)

Squeegee (you can use an old credit card if you have none)

Acrylic colors of your choice (I used Lumiere Metallic Grape, Halo Blue Gold, True Gold, White)

Pearl Ex gold pigment powder

Necklace cord

Extra for the silk screen: a bowl of water

Instructions:

Take your two colors of Makins's Clay® out of the package and mix it with a small amount of gold pigment powder. Start with a small quantity, remember you can always add more if you think you need more, but not take it out if you did add too much! Mix both colors individually with the gold pigment powder to get it nice and sparkly.

When you are satisfied of the mix roll out the clay with the clay roller.

Now take your silkscreen and place it shiny side downon your clay. Be careful to place the correct side up and read the manufacturers instructions. Rub very slightly with your finger to make sure id adheres well to the clay. Also prepare a small bowl or dish of water to rinse your silk screen right after using it. 

There are several different approaches to doing silk screen, I like to add the color directly to the border of the squeegee (if you do not have one a rubber or silicone texture sheet or old credit card work well also). As shown here, if you want some color variations you can add two different colors: 

Now pull the squeegee and the color across the screen, from top to bottom. Go firmly in one motion but do not push too hard to not indent the clay underneath. As you can see the colors mix nicely on the screen:

This is the result on the Olive Green Clay - after using your silk screen put it immediately in your bowl of water so the paint will not dry and cloak the mesh before you get a chance to properly wash it. 

Choose a different pattern for the second piece of clay and proceed with a first print, using a dark color:

Let's add a special effect: le the color dry, wash and dry your silk screen, place it exactly on top of the previous print, then move it very, very slightly and print again using a light color. This way we will create the illusion of a shadow image on the clay: 

 

Cut out two shapes you like and place one on top of the other, putting a drop of water between them to help the clay stick together to create your pendant. You can put it on a slightly curved surface to let it dry in a curved shape to add more interest.

Have fun experimenting with different shapes of silk screens and different colors, layering them in different ways to get very interesting designs, here another example using different colors and silk screens. 

Poke a hole in your pendant before it dries. Let your pendant dry and then add a jump ring and string it and it is ready to be worn. Optional: you can add clear varnish or resin on top of the pendant but you do not really need it as the acrylic colors will not rub easily.

Go to the beach and have fun!