Fun with Clay!

 

I must admit I’m one of those parents who seldom had Play-Doh around when my kids were smaller.  Whenever my kids received a goody bag that contained the party size containers of this stuff I would quietly stuff it at the bottom of a garbage bag.  Maybe because I’m a neat freak?  I just don’t remember clay being so messy as I was growing up.   Because art is a big part of who we are as a family, I always did have jars full of washable paint, feathers, sticks, pipe cleaners in different colors, and lots of construction paper.  I never did mind picking up this mess.

So now I’m feeling a bit guilty for being obsessed with something called POLYMER CLAY.  This stuff is so much fun to use and you can actually bake it to make it hard.  I was introduced to this art by a friend of Taylor’s teenage sister.  Monica came over one day and sweetly gave this old lady lessons on how to make a cake out of clay.  She also gave me some the stuff she had made herself, just because she’s that sweet.  I’ve been hooked ever since and this is why my blogs have been slower than a turtle.

So let’s stop talking and get to what you need and where to get it!

STUFF TO GET BEFORE STARTING - Everything listed here is sold at Michaels or any other hobby store.

Polymer Clay – There are two kinds, one that air dries so no baking is needed and the oven bake kind.  I use the oven bake kind because the Michaels I go to tends to have a better selection of these types of clay.  I chose to start out the 30 Color Sampler which brings a big variety of colors.

Eye Pins  & Jump Rings – If making charms to hang on necklaces, bracelets or key rings.  Around $2.50 for a package of 150 each.  You can find these in the jewelry section of a hobby store.

Wipes – Used to clean the surface of your work area and hands when switching colors.  Very important to obtain neat and clean end results.

Kitchen tools and/or clay tool kit – You’ll find yourself using all sorts of things around your house to shape, form and cut your clay.

 

LET’S GET STARTED!!!!

Instructions for cake:

Step 1:

Select the colors you want for the inside of your cake and roll them into small size balls (size of a chocolate malt ball). Pat down the balls into flat discs.

Optional:  I like to cut my discs to make them all as equal as possible.   I used the top of a medicine bottle.  You can use anything you find around your house or click here for the template size of the one I made.

Next Step: Stack the colors together neatly and roll to make it all into one piece.

Next:  Set aside inside of cake and clean your work surface and hands.

Roll a ball of the color you want your icing (outside of cake) to be and flatten it out into a disc.  Using a rolling-pin, flatten it out as much as possible.

Dress your cake with the clay, as you gather and fold at the bottom (see pic below).

Cut around the excess but not all of it.  Tuck it neatly at the bottom of the cake.  Trim the bottom of cake with sharp blade.

Cut cake into even parts just like you would a pizza pie.

If you would like to add texture to the inside of your cakes, use a toothpick, needle or something sharp to poke the clay.

Add sprinkles using tiny dots of clay.  Insert the eye pins to the top of each layer of cake and bake according to package instructions.  Once charm is done and hardened, attach the jump ring using your hands or pliers.

Here’s other stuff I’ve made.  Actually I’ve made much more of these just didn’t want to bore you with all of the instructions.  They are pretty simple to copy, just take it one layer at a time!  Have fun

Quick Tip:  If you like a glossier finish, once the clay is baked, you can finish it off with a high gloss coat of craft paint.

Lalaloopsy charm for Sofie’s party.  After I baked them, I added the smile and eyelashes with a sharpie. Also added some cheek color with a marker.

I used the pearl white on this Hello Kitty.  The picture makes it look gray for whatever reason.  I couldn’t get a good pic of this…sorry!  In person, it shines quite a bit.  I used the same clay for the Dr. Seuss bookmark below.

To celebrate the birthday of the great Dr. Seuss I made this bookmark.  Before baking poke a hole on top.  Once baked, you can add a long string of ribbon.

Shines quite a bit since I made it out of pearl white.  Next time I’ll use plain white and then add a glossy paint to  finish it off.

Simple charm that starts with just a rectangle and a circle.  I attached a stainless steel nut from I found inside my husband’s tool cabinet to make the lens.

The Moustache charm is so easy to make and so cute.  Get the template here to make your own!

Drop me a line if there’s something in particular you want to make.  Posting tutorials for everything would make this a never-ending blog post but I would be more than happy to send you instructions on how I made something.

xoxo

Tagged as: clay, do-it-yourself, jewelry, mustache, necklace, polymer