With no thought of attempting to compete with Donna Kato or any of the other wonderful polymer clay artists, I decided to try my hand at making some clay jewelry using somebody else's artistry as my starting point . . . in this case, rubber stamps. A number of years ago, I experimented with this idea using the then-new quilt-patterned stamps from Hampton Stamp Company. This time, any stamps were fair game, and none escaped experimentation. The results were some rather fun and funky pins; a pencil, a Hershey's chocolate bar, a rather large sunflower, etc. Whatever stamp you select, the basics are the same.
Materials:
polymer clay
rubber stamps
rolling pin or pasta maker
craft knife
pin backings
glue for attaching pin backing
optional - Rub 'N' Buff
acrylic paint
Steps:
- Any polymer clay can be used (Fimo, Cernit, Sculpey, etc.). I used Sculpey for my pins, running it through the pasta maker set at a #1 or #2. A rolling pin or the side of a can be used to flatten and smooth the clay in lieu of a pasta maker. The thickness of the clay depends on the design you will be using. This is all experimental. Remember, however, that any food preparation item you use for working with the clay, including the cookie sheet you bake the pieces on, must NOT then again be used for food preparation.
- When you select a stamp to use, keep in mind that all images will be reversed and that anything that stands out in relief on the stamp will be indented on the clay pin (figure A).
- Before stamping the flattened and smoothed clay, dip the stamp in water and shake off the excess. This will help release the stamp from the clay (figure B ).
- With a craft knife, trim all excess clay from around the stamped impression (figure C).
- Bake according to the directions on the package, keeping in mind that light-colored clays do not seem to take as long to bake as the darker ones. If you're using both dark and light colors in your pin, you can bake them together using the longer time, or bake them separately and glue them together afterwards.
Tips:
- You can get totally different effects from the same stamp by manipulating the clay after stamping. For example, I pulled and stretched a stamped clay heart to make it elongated.
- The completed pin can be further enhanced by rubbing with Rub 'N' Buff or painted with acrylic paint using either brushes or paint pens. Do not use oil paint. It seems to never dry.
- If you are a newcomer to polymer clays, go to your craft and book stores and check out the latest clay crafting books and booklets. I still consider the first book I ever owned on the subject, The New Clay by Nan Roche, to be one of the very best.
Resources rubber stamps - Hampton Arts
Hampton Art Stamps Inc.
Medford, NY
US
Toll Free Phone: 800-229-1019
Website:
www.hamptonart.com
Rub 'n Buff brush-on metallic colors, Fimo Soft clay, NuBlade Kato clay tool, wire mesh
Available in local arts and crafts stores.
American Art Clay Co. Inc. (AMACO)
Website:
www.amaco.com
The New Clay: Techniques and Approaches to Jewelry Making
by Nan Roche (ISBN: 0962054348)
Click
here to order this title.
Flower Valley Press Inc.
Glen Echo, MD
US
Phone: 301-654-1996
Toll Free Phone: 800-735-5197
URL:
www.flowervalleypress.com
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