Summer Sunset Necklace

Summer Sunset Necklace by Cindi McGee

The technique used to create this necklace was inspired by a class which polymer clay artist Syndee Holt taught at an event I attended.   Her version is a little bit different than this version, but the biggest difference is that I wanted to try the technique with Makin's Clay®, and I'm very pleased with the results!

Materials: 

Makin’s Clay® - Ivory (or White), Persimmon, Black 

Makin’s Professional® 

• Ultimate Clay Machine®
• Professional Clay Tools
• Cutting Mat

Makin’s® 

• Clay Roller
• Round Clay Cutters - 3 pc and 4 pc sets 

Black satin cording 

Judikins™ Diamond Glaze™

Alcohol Inks - Yellow, Butterscotch, Red 

DecoArt® Metallic Lustre™ - Gold Rush 

Rubbing alcohol 

Sponge

Scissors 

Plate/plastic lid to use as palette for alcohol inks

Instructions:

Roll ivory clay starting on setting # 1 and progressing one setting at a time ending on the last setting, #9. 

Roll persimmon clay starting on setting # 1 and progressing one setting at a time ending on the last setting, #9.

Place ivory clay sheet over persimmon clay sheet and roll gently to adhere layers, then trim away remaining persimmon clay and place in zipper bag with a damp paper towel for later use. 

Cut small pieces of sponge.  

Add about 1 tsp of rubbing alcohol onto a plate.  Add a drop of each color of alcohol ink to the plate.  

Dip first sponge in alcohol and then one color of ink, randomly sponge ink onto rolled clay, adding  more ink as needed. 

Repeat with remaining 2 colors of ink. 

Let ink dry, then use fingertip to add small streaks of gold Metallic Lustre randomly over the surface. 

Let dry about 30 minutes.  You want the clay to begin to dry, but not be completely dried.  

Gently tear the sheet into small, uneven sections.  The straw clay will show beneath the ivory layer, it gives almost an “outline” effect. 

Roll black clay to about 1/4” thick. 

Moisten surface of black clay with a little bit of water.   Begin applying the torn pieces, overlapping each other in some places, to cover the black sheet. 

Use clay roller to gently roll until torn pieces are incorporated into black clay and surface is somewhat smooth.

Place plastic over the sheet.  Use 60 mm round cutter to cut disc, then cut two 30 mm, and four 20 mm.  

  

Push scraps together and roll again.   Cut a second set of discs. Place these discs on the back of the first set of discs.  Use a touch of water on your fingertip to smooth the seam on the side where the two discs meet. 

Use clay tool to make two holes in each disc, at opposite sides.  Make holes large enough for either satin cording, or jump rings if you prefer.

Let dry 24 hours. 

Apply Diamond Glaze to front of discs.  Let dry, then apply to back and sides.  

*Note….. I did not decide to glaze my discs until after I had already added the cording…. I recommend glazing before the cording is added.  

Add satin cording.  I use adjustable sliding knot closures, but you prefer, add a metal closure. 

Sea Turtle Polymer Clay Pendant

Sea Turtle Polymer Clay Pendant by Cindi McGee

Materials:

Makin’s Clay® - Olive, Grape Leaf, Neon Green 

Makin’s Professional® 

• Ultimate Clay Machine®
• Cutting Mat 

Makin’s® 

• Clay Roller
• Texture Sheet Set A - Cobblestone
• Clay Cutter Set - Bugs 

Eye pin 

Pearl

Decorative bead (I used a starfish shape) 

Satin cording 

DecoArt® Metallic Lustre - Iced Expresso 

Beacon® 3-in-1 Adhesive 

Instructions:

Begin by making a blend of the three shades of green clay.  I cut pieces approximately 2 1/2”, and 1/4” wide of each color.  Align them as shown with Grape Leaf in center, then Neon Green on each side, then Olive on the outsides.  

Roll with the clay roller to begin to flatten and create a sheet.  

You can continue to roll with the hand roller at this point, but I find it quicker to use the Ultimate Clay Machine®.  Roll the sheet through on setting #1.  Fold in half so ends of “stripes” are touching and roll again.  Continue until the shades begin to blend.   I pushed the outer edges inward each time to prevent a wide strip instead of a longer strip from forming.   I did not want to create a true, finished Skinner Blend, so I stopped blending when I got the effect I desired to mimic the shades of a sea turtle’s shell.   My finished “sheet” is a little less than 1/4” thick. 

Select the area you want to use for the shell and use the turtle clay cutter to cut out.  

Trim legs and head from around shell.   Place the The cobble stone texture sheet, with the texture facing upward (you want the raised texture, not the inset texture) and roll with the clay roller to transfer the texture.  Apply enough pressure to begin to flatten the shell and cause it to expand a bit so it will extend beyond the body and over the legs a bit.  I did not want a perfect circle, as real turtle shells are not round and do not have perfectly smooth edges... 

Roll the scraps from the head and legs to create a small ball about 1/4” in diameter.  Flatten slightly.  Place the shell over the flattened ball and use the palm of your hand to gently press to adhere the two pieces together (fresh clay will stick to fresh clay, if needed moisten slightly with water or add adhesive).  Using the palm of your hand ensure the shell remains in a rounded shape.  I allowed the edges of my shell to extend beyond the mound in the center.

Carefully re-blend the remaining clay and roll again to a little less than 1/4” thick.  Place the texture sheet over the clay with the texture facing upwards and roll to transfer texture to clay.

  

Use turtle cutter to cut out a second turtle from textured clay. 

Re-blend scraps and roll out again, cut third turtle. 

Add pearl and decorative bead to eye pin.  Apply an even coat of 3-in-1 Adhesive over entire surface of last turtle cut.  Place eye pin over head of turtle so that the beads extend out from the head.   Place the textured turtle over the top and gently press with your fingers to adhere the two layers together everywhere. 

Add adhesive to back of turtle shell and mount to body of turtle. 

Use fingertips to apply a very light touch of Iced Expresso Metallic Lustre.  This highlights the texture and gives the mottled effect much like real sea turtles have on their skin and shells. 

Let dry 24 hours. 

Add satin cording and closure.

  

Sonic the Steampunk Robot

 SONIC THE ROBOT by Patricia Krauchune 

For my April Makin's Clay® project, I decided to upcycle a few things I had in my studio. I used the base of an electric toothbrush replacement head for my robot's body. I also used some other random parts I had to adorn him. 

Supply List:

Makin's Clay® in Black     Small Gear                       Copper Wire             Small Piece of Ball Chain

2 Gear Plunger Cutters       Mini Gauge                      Misc. Parts               DAP Rapid Fuse™ Glue

Toothbrush Base                 Createx™ Pearlized         BSI™ 5 Minute       Victoria James Lava Rock

Old Light Bulb                       Copper Paint                  Quik-Cure™              Real Texture Sheet 

2 Square Eyelets                 Beacon™ Tacky Glue       Epoxy                      2 Electrical Ring Terminals

DecoArt® Metallic 

   Lustre™ Silver Spark

Recommended Makin’s® Tools:

Makin's Professional® 

• Ultimate Clay Machine®
• Mat
• Professional Clay Tools

Instructions: 

                                    

Roll out some Black Makin's Clay® on the #1 setting on the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®.  I used two different size gear plunger cutters to cut out two gears. I left the clay in the cutters for 2 days to completely dry out. It is a little bit of a challenge to remove the gear cut outs from the plungers but it can be done gently.

 

This is what the cut out gears look like after drying. I trimmed away any extra clay to give the gears a nice sharp look.   The center of the smaller gear was cut out and then I painted both gears with the Createx™ Pearlized Copper paint.  Set aside to dry.    I cut out a small piece from each electrical ring terminal to give the appearance of a robot hand.  Then I placed each terminal in a small vise and added the ball chain gluing in place with the BSI™ 5 minute Quik-Cure™ Epoxy and let dry overnight.  More black clay was rolled out on the #1 setting of the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine® and applied to the toothbrush base.  I first brushed on some Beacon's™ Tacky Glue for better adhesion.  I then immediately textured the base using the Victoria James Art Lava Rock Real Texture sheet.  While the clay was still wet, I pushed a small gear into the middle of the robot body.  Dry overnight.   When dry I glued a small gauge onto the gear using DAP Rapid Fuse™ Glue.  I used a Japanese Screw punch to make small holes on either side of the robot's body for the arms.  I then used epoxy to glue the eyelets, then the ball chain are into each eyelet. I had a spring part from an old phone that I attached to the top of a light bulb using epoxy.  A small gear was added to the body as well as a little coil I made from copper wire.  I used my finger to apply the DecoArt® Metallic Lustre™ Silver Spark paint to the robot's body.  At this point you can adorn your robot with whatever parts you have on hand and make him your own.  Next I used the epoxy to glue the larger gear to the base of the robot's body and the smaller gear to the top followed by the light bulb.

FINISHED! I think Sonic looks pretty cool and I used some parts that would normally just get tossed out.