Polymer clay artist and jewelry maker Donna Kato demonstrates her technique for making polymer clay button covers. She decorates these versatile button covers with a portion of a rubber stamp design. She discusses a variety of embellishments for the button covers, and offers several alternative ways to wear them, including as pins and earrings.
Buttons can be easily made using Sculpey III or Promat and rubber stamps. The rubber stamp pattern is transferred to the clay, then lightly dusted with powder to enhance the raised parts of the pattern. Rubber stamp patterns may be exactly duplicated by making a mold of the rubber stamp, then using the mold to impress the pattern on the buttons.
Materials:
Sculpey III in your choice of color
assortment of rubber stamps
PearlEx powders to tint the clay - gold
Powders or eye shadow
Beacon Liquid Laminate glaze
optional - pasta machine to condition clay
Before you begin:
- Polymer clay must be cured prior to use. Conditioning can be as simple as kneading the clay in your hands (Sculpey III) or may require the use of other tools to expedite the process. The best way to condition Promat is to roll it 10 to 12 times through a pasta machine.
- The surface powders are mica powders which are very safe to use, and which must be sealed after the piece has been cured. Beacon Liquid Laminate is sold primarily as a sealer for paper and fabric, but it is water-based and suitable for sealing polymer clay.
Steps:
- Condition the clay.
- Select your rubber stamp. When you stamp the image on paper, the areas that make contact with the paper are transferred. In clay, those contact areas will be recessed into the clay. If you prefer to have those parts of the stamp raised, you must make a mold of the original stamp and then use the mold to make your impression.
Note: The size of the rubber stamp should be considered: Are you using the entire image or, in some cases, just a part of the image? For her buttons, guest Donna Kato used several rows of clay around a small stamped image.
- Roll a small ball of clay. Flatten it slightly with fingers. Press the stamp into the clay disk. Remove the stamp.
- Roll a sheet of clay 1/8 inch thick. Place the disk on the sheet. Embellish in any of the following ways:
- snake - Roll a long, thin piece of clay. Wrap neatly around the center and trim to fit (figure A).
- beaded edging - Roll small balls of clay. Place them side by side around the center.
- textured edge - Roll a snake. Stamp with a patterned rubber stamp. Wrap around the center.
- other textures - Use ball stylus, needle tools, mixed clay colors (figure B), etc., to create desired textures.
- Once you have created your button, cut the base sheet around the outermost element, then dust the surface lightly with powder. The easiest way - albeit a tad messy - is to apply the powder with your fingertips (figure C).
- Bake in a preheated 275 F-degree oven for 15 minutes. Once cool, glue button cover to the backing.
More ideas:
- Stamp on both sides of the button. Simply lay the clay over one stamp and do the other side of the clay with a different stamp.
- Roll white embossing powder inside the clay. This will produce a great antique or aged look.
Resources polymer clay products--Sculpey
Available at local craft or hobby stores.
Polyform Products Inc.
Products available at craft and hobby stores.
Website:
www.sculpey.com
Liquid Laminate
Beacon Adhesives
Website:
www.beaconcreates.com
powdered pigments--PearlEx
Available in local arts and crafts stores.
Rupert, Gibbon & Spider Inc. / Jacquard Products
Website:
www.jacquardproducts.com
The Art of Polymer Clay: Designs and Techniques for Making Jewelry, Pottery and Decorative Artwork
by Donna Kato
Watson-Guptill, 1997
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Prairie Craft Company/Kato Polyclay
Website:
www.prairiecraft.com
or
Website:
www.katopolyclay.com Guests Donna Kato
Artist and owner of Prairie Craft Company
Website:
www.prairiecraft.com
Also in this Episode
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