Makin’s Clay® Pocket
Watch Keepsake Triptych
Designed by Candice
Windham
We all have small keepsakes around the house: mother’s ring,
dad’s cufflinks, a baby’s first rattle.
The Makin’s Clay Memory Frame Kits make displaying these
small items easy and help keep them safe and dust-free. You can include several
things in each section or focus on one item, as I did with my father-in-law’s
pocket watch. It had been stored in a drawer for most of our 45-year marriage,
only coming out when a relative was visiting and wanted to see it.
We wanted to include it in our keepsakes on display, both as
a reminder of him and because it is so beautiful. The fact that I had this
sweet photo of him with my hubby as a baby only made it better.
Here’s how I did it:
Supplies:
Makin’s Clay® Memory Frame Kit, Triple Frame
Makin’s Clay® Roller
Makin’s Clay® texture Plates: Cobblestone (Set A, # 38001)
and Woodgrain (Set D, #38004
Makin’s Clay® Mixing Ruler
Patterned card stock, cut to fit the center square
Patterned card stock to print the title block and phrase
Solid card stock scrap for phrase backing
Burnt Sienna Acrylic Paint (Golden)
Dye Ink, Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress Ink for Ranger,
Inc.)
Craft Knife
Pencil
Plastic or vinyl gloves
Instructions:
Put on the gloves to protect your hands from the paint and
mix about 2 teaspoons of burnt sienna paint into the package of white clay
included in the kit. Blend until the paint is well absorbed. Add additional
paint if you want a darker color. You can leave the color mottled for a wood
grain look or blend it completely smooth.
Divide the clay from the in half. Roll out one piece of the
clay and press the wood grain texture plate onto the surface, Roll with the
Makin’s Clay Roller to impress the entire sheet, then cut out a square ½”
smaller all around than the center opening. Set aside.
Roll the remaining clay and impress with the cobblestone
texture plate.
Flip the clay over and use the frame from the kit to trace
the mat shape.
Using the Clay Mixing Ruler, trim the frame edges
and opening with
Tip: To speed up
drying, I place the pieces in front of a fan and turn them over every couple of
hours so they dry evenly.
If you want the clay pieces
darker or the texture to show more, apply brown dye ink with a sponge.
Assembly
Print the photo and trim to fit inside the top box. Print
the phrases on patterned card stock . Trim the title to fit the lower
opening. Trim and mount the photo
caption to solid card stock square.
Apply heavy-duty double stick tape to the back of all the
clay
pieces. Attach the frames to the photo and title block and the background
piece to the card stock. Mount the background piece into the center opening
with heavy-duty double stick tape.
Screw two small cup hooks
into the top of the center square. Hang the watch chain on the hooks and allow
the excess chain to pile on the base of the square.
Slip the framed pieces into
the top and bottom openings, then add the cover to protect it all.
