Falling Snow Necklace

Falling Snow Necklace by Cindi McGee

Materials:

Makin’s Clay® - White

Makin’s Professional® 

• Cutting Mat
• Professional Clay Tools 

Makin’s® Christmas Nature Push Mold

Jewelry wire
Clear/Silver glass bugle beads
Blue crystal beads 
Silver closure 

Swellegant® 

• Silver Metal Paint 
• Sky Sapphire Patina 
• Sealant

Jewlery pliers

Paint brush

Instructions:

Use white Makin’s Clay® to make 1 small snowflake, 1 medium snowflake (your choice of the two patterns) and 2 additional medium snowflakes in the pattern you did not select for the first medium snowflake.  

Use clay tool to make small hole for jump ring near edge of smallest snowflake, near edge of two matching snowflakes, and on center snowflake make 3 holes, evenly spaced, around outside. 

Let dry 24 hours. 

Paint snowflakes, front and back, with silver metal paint.  Let dry.  Apply second coat.  Let dry. 

Apply third coat, and while paint is still wet, dab on sky sapphire patina.  

Let dry overnight. Apply sealant to front and back of each snowflake.  Let dry. 

*Note - I changed my overall design concept after the snowflakes had dried and were painted.  Another great feature of Makin's Clay® is that even after it has dried, it maintains it's flexibility and it was easy for me to push a needle tool through two of the snowflakes to the make additional holes I needed on the opposite side of the original two holes. 

Use jewelry wire with beads as accents to connect the smallest snowflake to the center snowflake.  I used a pattern of one blue, one silver bugle, one bugle on both the front and back of the pieces as a connector.

Repeat to connect two matching snowflakes to center snowflake, using the same blue/silver/blue pattern on the front and back sides.  

Measure and cut enough wire to have the necklace hang at desired length (cut a little extra for wrapping, etc.).  Cut in half.

Loop wire through remaining holes in two matching snowflakes, add a blue bead then push the opposite end of the wire through the blue bead, and wrap around wire above bead then trim.  Add bugle beads to remaining length of wire.  Repeat on opposite side.  Add closure.

Poinsettia Vintage Metal Effect Pendant

Vintage Metal Effect Poinsettia Pendant by Cindi McGee

The aged, vintage metal effect on this poinsettia pendant gives it a feeling of days gone by - a relic from a past holiday in the "old days".  It looks as though it could have been dug up from an old west town or a "little house on the prairie".....  

Materials:

Makin's Clay® - Light Adobe (other colors can be substituted, I just prefer to work with a base color that is as similar to my paint color as possible)

Makin's Professional®

• Cutting Mat 
• Ultimate Clay Machine®

Makin's®

• Round Clay Cutter 4 Piece Set 
• Christmas Nature Push Mold 

Swellegant® 

• Brass Metal Paint
• Darkening Patina 
• Blood Red Dye Oxide
• Spruce Dye Oxide 
• Sun Yellow Dye Oxide

Paintbrush

Gold satin cording 

Plastic wrap

Craft knife

Instructions:

Roll clay in Ultimate Clay Machine® starting on setting #1 and ending on setting #2.


Place plastic wrap over clay sheet, use  ______mm round clay cutter to cut disc from clay.

 

Use Christmas Nature push mold to make large poinsettia.

Make two additional poinsettias.  Use craft knife to cut some of the individual petals free from the flowers.

Fresh clay will stick to fresh clay without additional adhesive, if necessary you can dampen the clay slightly to help with adhesion while clay is fresh.  Arrange the petals you cut from the flowers as desired on the outer edge of the disc.  These will be the leaves of your poinsettia.

Add the complete flower to the center, overlapping the leaves.

Make a small hole at then top of the disc for the cording.

Let dry 24 hours.

Paint entire piece, front and back, with brass metal paint.  Let dry.  Apply second coat.  Let dry.

Apply third coat, and while paint is still wet, sponge on some
darkening patina.   Let dry.  The aging effect will begin almost immediately and continue to progress over night.

.
Apply a small amount of red dye oxide to the flower, spruce to the leaves, and yellow to the center of
the flower.  Let dry.

When dry, use fingertip to apply very light highlights of brass metal paint to enhance details. 

Coat entire piece with Swellegant sealant.  Let dry.

Add jump rings, chain and closure

Steampunk Infinity Orb - Version #2

Design Team Member Carole Monahan is the queen of creating infinity orbs with Makin's Clay®!  She recently shared this new Steampunk version which has an aged metal finish created with Swellegant.   The flexibility of Makin's Clay® make's it a perfect choice for projects like this.

Swellegant Ammonite Pin

Design Team Member Patricia Roberts-Thompson recently shared this fabulous Swellegant Ammonite Pin made with Makin's Clay®.  We love the colors & textures on this unique piece!

Steampunk Goggles

Design Team Member Carole Monahan recently created these funky Steampunk Goggles for a Fan Fest event at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT.  Such a unique idea and another great example of the broad range of applications of Makin's Clay®!   Swellegant gives them an aged feel and etchall® Creme was a great way to decorate the lenses.