Key to My Heart

Key to My Heart by Lucy Reese

Hello my fellow clayers/crafters! Who says the love has to stop because February has past? This month, I'm giving you all a "Key to my Heart". It's a simple project using minimal supplies. 

I hope you enjoy it!

Supplies:

Makin's Clay® - Black

Jewelry Components-Key and Charms

Christie Freisen Texture Stamp-In the Meadow

Art Alchemy Paint- Turquoise 

Inks Gold- Ice Blue

Instructions:

1. Grab a ball of clay to work around the key shank. You may need to add or remove bits of clay to get a heart shape you are happy with.

2. Once you have a shape your satisfied with..sandwich it with the texture stamp to emboss both sides. If it distorts a bit, gently manipulate it back to where it was. Let it dry completely and paint half with the turquoise.

3. To finish up, use the Inka Gold to highlight the raised areas on the heart. At this point, you can seal the heart with Flecto. Add your charms and it's a simple as that. 

Instagram:https://instagram.com/lreneedesigns    

Wordpress: tecniquefreak.wordpress.com      

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/LReneeDesigns-310818175920514/

 Pinterest: https://Pinterest.com/reesel03

Decorative Trinket Box

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this pretty polymer clay decorative trinket box.  Lucy used the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Extruder® to add the background embellishment on the cover of the box.  

Pot O' Gold

Pot O' Gold by Lucy Reese

Hello my fellow clayers and crafters!! This month, I have designed a small project for you that would be so cute as a St. Patrick's decoration for your fairy houses or gnome homes.  

Supplies:

Makin's Clay® - Black

Makin's® Clay Cutters - Clouds 

Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Extruder® - Disc #7

Various Paints

DecoArt® Snowtex™

Inka Gold

Instructions:

Begin by rolling your clay in a ball to start to form your pot. Use your thumb to dent in one end to form the "inside".  As you are making the dent pinch the sides a bit to form the lip.

To continue to form the bowl part of your pot. Take your finger and roll to manipulate the clay to 

bowl out on the bottom. To add texture, use a toothbrush to get the cast iron look.

Make your gold coins by taking little pieces of rolled clay and flattening them.

Make the rainbow by using your Ultimate Clay Extruder® and Disc #7. 

Cut out two clouds using your cloud cutter and sandwich your rainbow between the two. 

You can connect your rainbow to the gold by using a bit of the fresh clay, place it around the free end of your rainbow and connect it to some of the gold. Once it's secure, make more coins to cover the connection. Add some texture to your cloud by adding Snowtex. Grab some Inka Gold to highlight the texture on the pot, and paint your rainbow.

Remember, if you are interested in finding me please click on the links below. I would love to hear from you all. 

Instagram:https://instagram.com/lreneedesigns       

Wordpress: tecniquefreak.wordpress.com Facebook:https://m.facebook.com/LReneeDesigns-310818175920514/

 Pinterest: https://Pinterest.com/reesel03

Etsy: LucyReneeDesigns@etsy.com

Mardi Gras Mask

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this amazing Mardi Gras mask made entirely with Makin's Clay®!   The flexible, lightweight nature of the clay when dry makes it a perfect choice for projects like this one.

Decorative Clay Ear Plugs

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently created these fun polymer clay ear plugs using the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Extruder® and the coils texture sheet from Makin's® Texture Sheet Set H.

Hope in Bloom

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this lovely Bottle of Hope she created with Makin's Clay®.  This bottle is sure to brighten the day of someone facing cancer! 

Note - Here is a bit more information about what Bottles of Hope are - Makin's Clay® is proud to have our designers supporting this worthy effort through the creation of Bottles of Hope featuring Makin's Clay®.  

Bottles of Hope are small glass bottles covered with polymer clay and given to cancer patients. They symbolize a wish and a hope for health.  This project was started in 1999 by a Rhode Island cancer survivor and has spread internationally. Bottles are made by artists, students, survivors, seniors and many more who volunteer their time and love.   Learn more about this worthwhile project, see a gallery of many creative bottles and more here on their website. 

Springtime Pansies Vase

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this pretty springtime vase with Makin's Clay®

pansies and extruded embellishments created with the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Extruder®.  What a pretty way this will be to display some springtime flowers soon!

Butterflies in Blue Bottle

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this pretty altered bottle with Makin's Clay® accents.  Makin's Clay® is a perfect way to embellish any creative project!

Vintage Style Bottle of Hope

Bottle of Hope - Vintage Style - Designed by Lucy Reese

Hello Clayers! This month we all participated in designing Bottles of Hope. I had never heard about the program until joining the Makin's Clay® Design Team. I can tell you that the cause hits really close to home as I lost my mother to lung cancer in 2005 at the age of just 56. It seems once we know one person who has it, we begin to know more and more people who have survived or are still fighting some form of cancer. This month, I would like to dedicate this piece to my mom, Virginia Turner. 

Note - Here is a bit more information about what Bottles of Hope are - Makin's Clay® is proud to have our designers supporting this worthy effort through the creation of Bottles of Hope featuring Makin's Clay®.  

Bottles of Hope are small glass bottles covered with polymer clay and given to cancer patients. They symbolize a wish and a hope for health.  This project was started in 1999 by a Rhode Island cancer survivor and has spread internationally. Bottles are made by artists, students, survivors, seniors and many more who volunteer their time and love.   Learn more about this worthwhile project, see a gallery of many creative bottles and more here on their website. 

Supplies:

Makin's Clay® - Red
Makin's Professional® 

• Ultimate Clay Machine®
• Ultimate Clay Extruder®

Small Round Jar with Cork
Prima-Iron Orchid Baroque #1 Mold
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive™
Art Alchemy Paint- Rusty Red
Black Paint for a Wash

Instructions:
1. Use the Ultimate Clay Machine® to roll out the red clay beginning on setting #1 and then again on #2. Apply some Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive to the glass, and form the rolled clay sheet around the glass jar.  Blend in your seam using a bit of water on your fingers.  

2. Using the Prima, mold create 4 of the sun burst looking one ( I don't know what it's really called..lol) Again, add some adhesive to 3 of the molded accents and add to the jar. For a little something extra, I used some small stamps to impress the word "Hope" in between the sun bursts while the clay was still fresh. To create your top, add a sun burst to the cork and hand make a small handle. Set everything to dry for 24 hours, and then use the Rusty Red to paint the entire piece.








3. You can create any details you would like. One way that I added some interest was to use the Ultimate Clay Extruder® to make some small ropes to braid together to add around the lid. Once everything is painted, make a wash from a little black paint and some water, paint it on and wipe it away leaving it in the crevices. 

That's all there is to it! Bottles of Hope is truly an inspiring project to be a part of!

~Lucy

Decorative Clock

Design Team Member Lucy Reese recently shared this creative clock embellished with Makin's Clay®.  What a great example of the broad range of applications of Makin's Clay®!

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree by Lucy Reese

This month Makin's Clay® challenged it's Design Team members to select a Pin from our Tutorials & Techniques Board or our Polymer Clay Inspiration Projects Board and create a project using Makin's Clay® based upon the chosen pin.  Our goal was not to have our designers simply copy of the projects, yet be inspired to perhaps try a new technique, or create a project style they might not normally have considered. 

This decorative Christmas tree was inspired by this pin with several options for creating clay trees.   I added a Christmas star and some dimensional snow accents.  A few of these snow-touched trees would also be great wintery decorations to display throughout the winter after the holidays have past.  

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/501588477234081921/

Materials:

Makin's Clay® - Green or White  
Makin's® Clay Cutters - Star and Teardrop
Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®
Styrofoam Cone
Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive™
Art Alchemy Paint- Green Olive
Metallic leafing DecoArt® Snow-Tex™

Instructions:

Step One:  Use the Ultimate Clay Machine® and begin on setting #1.  Roll the clay, then roll on setting #2, and again on setting #3.   Lay down adhesive all over your styrofoam cone; cut some long rectangles of clay and adhere to cone. Seams and imperfections are fine at this point as it will all be covered.

Step Two: Again roll clay through your clay machine to setting #2 (depending on how thick you want your leaves this can vary). Now, take your teardrop cutter and create your leaves. Smooth/gently press the rounded edge of each "leave" into the clay base. Remember to start the placement from the bottom up.

Step Three: Once you have all your leaves adhered take a tool and roll up the end of your leaves for added dimension.

Step Four: Time to build your star! Roll out your clay on the 3rd thickest setting and cut out 2 stars. Lay down adhesive on one of the stars and sandwich in a toothpick. Let the tree and star dry completely. 

 

Step Five: Since I used white clay, I painted my tree with the Art Alchemy Paint. And for my star, I decided on metal leafing. For my last step, I used the DecoArt Snow-Tex sporadically on the leaves of the tree.

Poinsettia Ornament

Poinsettia Ornament by Lucy Reese 

SUPPLIES:

Makin's Clay® - Red & Green
Makin's® Christmas Nature Push Mold
Plastic or Glass Clear Ornaments 
Pipe Cleaners- Green Pine
Silks Glaze by ColourArt- Crimson & Olive Vine 
Black acrylic paintBeacon Adhesives 3-in-1 Adhesive™
Needle tool
Paint brushes 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Using your red and green clay plus the mold form all your embellishments. I chose to use the poinsettia, holly, and berries.

2. Once you get all your pieces molded and cleaned up. Use a needle tool to help exaggerate some of the texture.

3. While your clay is still fresh, add the adhesive to the back of each piece and place onto the clear ornament until your happy with the design. Once that is done you can begin to paint your pieces. I chose Silks Glazes because I didn't want to lose the color of the clay, I just wanted to enhance it. Being that Silks are transparent, that worked perfectly.






4. Once all your elements are completely dry. Remove the ornaments hanging parts. Then, place as many of the green pine pipe cleaners inside until your satisfied.

5. To give my ornament a bit of a vintage look. I made a wash mixing a little black paint with some water, painted it on, waited a few minutes, and then wiped it back. 

Your finished!!

That's it!! Pretty simple, isn't it? I hope you enjoyed this months project and it inspires you to give it a try. As always, if you have ever tried any of my posted projects.. I would love to hear from you!!!

       ~Lucy
Places you can always find me:
Blog: tecniquefreak.wordpress.com
Etsy: Etsy.com/shop/LucyReneeDesigns?ref=search_shop_redirect
Instagram: LReneeDesigns 

River Stone Flower Canvas

River Stones Burlap Canvas by Lucy Reese

Supplies:

8x10 Burlap Canvas

Makins Clay® - White Clay

Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®

Petal/raindrop shaped clay cutter set

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder- Juli's Garden

3 River Stones

Art Alchemy Paint - Wild Fuchsia

DecoArt® Metallic Lustre™ - Fab Fuchsia

Stickles - Black Soot

Adhesive Letters

Beacon™ 3-in-1 Adhesive

Instructions:

1. Roll out the white Makin's Clay® in the Ultimate Clay Machine® starting at setting #1 and moving up to setting #3. Use the largest raindrop cutter to cut your petals for your first layer of petals, and the second to smallest cutter for the second layer.

2. Place your cutouts into the embossing folder and press down firmly to give your petals texture.

3. While your petals are still fresh, form them into more of a petal shape. 

 4. Now using the Art Alchemy paint in Wild Fucshia paint all your petals.

4. Using your Metallic Lustre and a light touch to add color to just the raised embossed areas and also all along the sides.

5. Add the adhesive to the back of your river stones and adhere to the burlap canvas. Once the stone is placed you can now begin building your flowers using your largest petals as the first layer. Then use your Stickles to make the stems.

6. To finish off the piece add a quote using the adhesive stickers and a bit of black paint around the edges of the canvas.