IMPORTANT...
how to use this page
Adult
beginners + Misc. for all beginners (getting started, suggestions,
etc.)
Books/videos
Classes,groups,kits
Tools & supplies
Simple
projects for beginners
...(other) websites
with many proj's+basic polymer info
Projects listed by technique,
or theme:
... Sculpting
.......mixed sculpting websites
.......figures: human
figures
.......robots/monsters/Pokemon/characters, etc.
.......nodders
& bobbleheads
.......animals
and bugs
.......more
figure & other toys + mini-home accessories/furniture
.......outdoor
......."bas relief" sculpting
...Onlays
...Cut-outs
& flat shapes
......basic info....examples, lessons, etc.
...Mosaics,
& other inlay
...Stamping &
Molds, metallic powders
...Metallic (mica) clays...& their special
effects
...Covering (pens,eggs,votives,switchplates,
+ nightlights,lamps,etc.)
...Canes
...Fauxs (jade,turquoise,wood,metal,stone,etc.)
...Jewelry
& wearables...+ zipper pulls, etc.
...Liquid
clays (& transfers)
...Other Ideas
& misc. techniques
.......musical instruments, magnets, tacks-pins
.......more
(various)
...Christmas/Winter
......Halloween,Thanksgiv,Autumn
..... Valentine & hearts, etc.
...Scenes,
dioramas
...Games ........ chess,
checkers, boards
...Other toys
......active-motion toys ....baby & toddler, etc.
MORE
re KIDS
Using kids' artwork to make clay items
Why
kids should clay + learning differences
School
projects, etc.
Teaching &
working with kids
......many project
ideas (mixed ideas, finished items by kids)
.......younger
kids
..........letters,
math/numbers, words, spelling, etc.
......older
kids
.....kids with special
needs, disabilities
.....more
math + art ideas
.....supplies, cost
.....blades
& kids
.....more info & misc.
Not
exactly polymer (but inspirational)
KIDS (by or for) + BEGINNERS
The
things on this page can be:
...made by kids themselves
...made
by adults, for kids (for kids to use such as games/toys, or perhaps
to give them as gifts)
...made by adults, for themselves
(to memorialize kids' art, or use it for jewelry, clothing.. or to give as gifts
to relatives, etc.)
see More re Kids below
for more on:
....using kids' art ...teaching & working with kids... school
projects... why kids should clay!... learning & emotional difficulties...
etc.
USING THIS PAGE ...important information
Some
of the easier kinds of things to do with clay are listed below on this
page.
....however, if you find yourself especially interested in any of those,
you can find loads more info and lessons about it on the category
page here at GlassAttic that deals with that general topic.
NOTE:
whenever you see a category name in ITALICS
in the regular text (for instance..."for
more info, see Miniatures >
Foods")
...the word in italics is the
name of another ANOTHER
category page here at Glass Attic (....the
name of the category page you are now on is called Beginners
& Kids)
......and the word that's underlined
(after the > mark) is the exact subcategory on that page being referred
to
...to go to any of the other category
pag es here at Glass Attic, simply click on its name in the alphabe
(.....category
names are alphabetized in the navigation bar by sections... such as A-B,
or D-F)
Some specific polymer
topics (categories) here at GlassAttic may be of
special interest to kids and beginners ....especially
the following:
Christmas,
Halloween (holidays, etc.)
Houses-Structures (gingerbread
houses & candies)
Sculpture (figures
and animals)
Miniatures &
Buttons
Books on Polymer Clay
Covering (pens
& other items)
Stamping
Molds & Powders (metallic
& other)
Letters&Inks &
Finishes
Teaching (for working with kids...in add. to the
"Working with Kids" area below)
On
the General Info. category page
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/info_letter.htm,
you can also see:
--an overview of all polymer techniques
--polymer groups (online and not-online, beginner and mixed)
--FAQ's & where to find much more information
--supply
sources
ADULT BEGINNERS..... + MISC. for All Beginners
Elizabeth has put many
good suggestions for beginners on her website
(for example, info
about tools, clays, colors, some beads, some fauxs, mokume gane, etc.)
http://thepolyparrot.com/greatstarts.html
(...some of her categories will require Adobe
Acrobat to view)
Kids often don't need any help to take the plunge
...
but for adult beginners it can be a little intimidating... just
not knowing what to do, how to start, etc.
......When you're
new, I think there's such a thing as getting too much input, actually...heck,
I'm not new to it, any more, but I still feel overwhelmed
with ideas for things I want to make! *g* ...
...There's so much stuff to
look at and so many techniques to try!... Might be a good idea to pick just one
area or two that you want to learn, then start with simpler
techniques in the that area and just concentrate on those for a while... the
other techniques will still be around when you've mastered those but they won't
be hanging around in your head causing distraction and making you feel overwhelmed.
...There are so many possibilities with this stuff! . . . so for example,
if you want to do millefiori, start with the easy canes and move on gradually
to the harder ones . . . .if you want to make little figures, start with
those that use simple shapes and detailing and gradually add your own touches,
experimenting all the way; or if you want to make realistic figures, start with
making small studies of heads or hands or legs or whatever using an anatomy book
for reference.. . . .if you want to do household decor items, start with
easy (like stamped-and-pearlex) light switch covers and move up to more complicated
things like boxes. Elizabeth
I'll walk you through the getting-started
process (...wish I was there to hand you a lump of already-conditioned clay; it's
much less scary)
..... Put something on your tablel ike parchment paper or
a smooth glazed ceramic tile (I get mine at Home Depot) or the glass out of an
old picture frame. Wash your hands. Pick out a package of clay. . . . . OPEN THE
PACKAGE!
... Poke the clay. Isn't it beautiful, almost glowing in its pristine
block? It feels kind of firm, doesn't it?
....Snap off a quarter block or
so (don't get hung up on measurements) and start rolling it between your hands.
Notice that the friction and the heat of your body warms the clay (just keep rollling
and bending it until it doesn't crack when a log of it is bent unto a U-shape).
... My most important instruction to you is to play with the clay!
Polymer clay has unique tactile and tensile qualities that you can only learn
through manipulating the medium. You don't have to make something right away.
Give your hands some time to build up body memory of how to make the clay move.
Pretty soon, you'll find yourself opening to the clay. There's a six-year-old
inside you who remembers playing with dough. Let her out, and she'll make sure
you make something WONDERFUL! Nance
make samples:
In the beginning, it's not even necessary to "make something" with
what you've done.
It's less intimidating and less time-consuming simply to
learn to do some general techniques, etc, first. Then you can bake and save what
you're made just as samples (these come in quite handy later for inspiration later
anyway, or for showing to others), which you can keep in a bowl on a coffeetable/etc.,
or string as beads or as flat cutouts (make a hole first) to keep them together.
Suggestions for some good
things for newbies to start with as projects or just as explorations,
and also fun to do.
These can also help to beginners get familiar
with some of the basics of polymer clay and how the clay works, so they're
also a good foundation that can be built on:
...marbling colors
(Color > Marbling Effects) ... and
mixing your own colors too
...molds (using + making) (Molds...
also http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=101292.msg960710#msg960710
)
...stamping (Stamping) ....and
texturing (Texturing)
...metallic
powders (Powders > Mica), like
Pearl Ex mica-based powders (with or without stamping/texturing the clay first)
...onlays (Onlay >
Dimensional)
...metallic
leaf (Leaf) ("crackling" leaf
can look great too)
...miniatures (Miniatures)
very small sculpted items for jewelry, dollhouses, etc
..."fauxs" (Fauxs--many,
etc) imitating materials of all kinds --turquoise/jade/opal/etc, metal, rock/stone,
leather, wood, ivory, etc. (some simple, some not so) .
...sheets of pattern
(Sheets of Pattern) especially > Marbled
Paper, Dragged Lines effect, and the Flattened Sheets--particularly
from cane slices)
...canes (Canes-Instr.
> Beginner Canes)
......the simplest and most basic canes (and the
foundation of most all canes) are spiral-jellyroll canes, bullseye-wrapped
canes, striped canes (layers of color stacked then cut into canes or cane
"loafs"), and folded canes --"picture" canes
are usually the most difficult, tho not always
......also, if a cane like one
or more of those is cut into several lengths, then combined together side by side
(once or many times), very complex-looking patterns can be gotten with very little
work and know-how! --"kaleidoscope" canes)
...AND-OR, click on any
techniques in the categories below under Projects Listed by
Technique or Theme... there are simpler ideas for many basic polymer
techniques there, as well as other ideas
for tools and supplies especially for beginners... see below in Tools & Supplies & Basics
BOOKS/VIDEOS... CLASSES ....GROUPS esp. for beginners
books & videos
See Books
& Videos page for
all polymer books... but on that page you'll also see:
...more
books than listed below which are esp. suitable for beginners
...many shorter books like from publishers like Hot Off The
Press, etc.
...many regular polymer books also have things
in them suitable for kids, especially older kids, and beginners
... many
reviews of the books and videos
for many videos/DVDs
that can be rented, see also Books &
Videos
Here are just a few full length books:
Fast
Polymer Clay: Speedy Techniques and Proje cts
for Crafters in a Hurry, by Sue Heaser (small whimsical projects), 2004?
...
(50 or more whimsical creations) ...projects can be completed in an hour
....Miniature
dollhouse accessories, Faux jade pendant,Mosaic barrette, Bookworm bookmark, Inlay
picture frame, Fridge magnets, Stamped cards, etc....step-by-step instructions,
tips and tricks for beginning and advanced clayers
... The first third of the
book shows basic techniques for working with polymer clay. The instructions are
simple and there plenty of pictures for each technique. The rest of the book is
devoted to small, quick projects... sherylnd
"Create Anything With Clay"--the 2nd Klutz Press clay
activity book -- by Sherri Haab, Laura Torres, (June 99)
... comes with 6-8
half-bars of Sculpey (usually available at kids’ educational toy
stores, craft stores, bookstores, Walmart? ...amazon.com, e-bay
All kinds
of fairly simple projects: Snow Globes. Picture Frames. Fossils. Gift
Tags. Rock Art. Itty Bitty Hardback Books. Letter Beads. Dollhouse Furniture.
Clay Pictures....also have "One Ball Buddies" --little critters made
from one small (no bigger than 1") balls of clay, with little bits added
on to make the balls into critters
-----also their 1st Klutz Press
book for kids, “The Incredible Clay Book,” by Sherry Haab & Laura Torres
Got Clay
Can Play, by Garie Sim, 2006 ... $10.99 + shipping
($5 to US)
( ...emphasis on fun, using recycled objects, "science"
& experimenting, developing a creative eye & spirit, etc... kids or
adults)
...materials, tools & "add-ons," basic shapes ....why
play with clay?
...static items ...dinosaur (using film canister armature),
pencil holder (bunny scene), porcupine with quills, ladybug paperweight, robot
(jointed arms/legs --flex.straws & clay)
...motion
items : water globe (rainbow & dog inside), mobile (with pteranodons),
flipping dog (around swing), volcano (can make it "explode"), suspended
bear "dances" at end of line, submersible submarine with magnet inside,
"framed" shallow-box aquarium (with magnetic fish, also movable on clear
suspension strings)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/book_promo.htm
Kids' Crafts
- Polymer Clay by Irene Semanchuck Dean ... all
kinds of projects for kids and tweens
http://www.good-night-irene.com/KidsBook.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1579903509/ref=ase_goodnightiren-20/104-9652300-4746300
Clay
Characters for Kids, by Maureen Carlson http://tinyurl.com/6b424
...I
just got this book today and it's really terrific - I think kids are going
to love it, a lot of adults too.
Maureen creates 30 critters and creatures
that range from simple to quite complex. If sculpting is a mystery to you, this
helps you see how easily a complex figure can be broken down into shapes
that are easy to form. After you get the basic figure done, then you can take
it in your own directions. She even shows you how to accomplish different moods
with poses and facial expression..... lots of great basic info about
colors, color mixing, making shapes, combining shapes, changing expressions,
etc. ...Tons of beautiful pictures, very clearly written directions and fantastical
stories told along the way - she's amazing, she is! Elizabeth
....she
also has a color wheel made up of little sculpted fish...
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0203march/hia.html
...this video can also be rented for one week ($5) from:
http://capg.zoovy.com/c=ktru0ccjwdGOqyBOt23za2D8G/product/VID079
(.....also
any books on figures and faces by Maureen Carlson)
Creating Fantasy Polymer Clay Characters,
(sculpting funny characters --more complicated) by Dinko Tilov (March
2004)
step by step lessons for trolls, wizards, dragons, goblin, knights,
skeletons, a Santa, a generic guy, and other weird characters
...I have
been working on a how-to book on sculpting funny characters..... will be about
12 projects in it (very detailed, I've tried not to skip anything) . . . . Dinko
http://book.dinkos.com (should be a great
book!... his people and animals definitely appeal to kids -- and grown kids--
nd he's a good teacher)
many
shorter, project books published by Hot Off The Press &
Design Originals ...... 20-pages or so, with many projects ... most
are cute characters
...http://www.craftpizazz.com/
(MUST ENTER polymer clay in the search box, then click on each book to
see the cover)
...http://www.d-originals.com/polymer.html
(or some may still be only on the "new" page: http://www.d-originals.com/newjewelry.html)
...http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/showNOOP.html
(mostly polymer)
.....one of these shorter books shows how to "cover"
2 shapes of papier mache boxes (& lids) from the craft store with clay
, and also sculpt a figure or mini scene to sit on the lid (All Covered
Up!, by Becky Meverden) http://www.polkadotcreations.com/detail_gr9741.html
Making Miniature Villages in Polymer Clay,
by Gail Ritchey,
... "blueprints" for twelve, hand-sized projects
- from cottages to fancy manors, churches, grocery stores, and more. . . how
to landscape dwellings with trees, flowers, fences, stone paths, and other special
touches.
http://www.cottagefever.com
.....http://www.polkadotcreations.com
Don't forget books on bread dough art, Play Doh, and simple earth clay items will definitely give good ideas for polymer clay too.
Kris Richards has two 'Junior Artisan' videos now available thru Mindstorm. I just got her newest one on making boxes (“Goodie Boxes”) and ,"Sculpting Cartoon Critters” .
(may be more good beginner books and videos by now, not listed above, on the Books & Videos page)
For local classes, check local bead stores, art stores, and sometimes craft stores or community centers.
some
teachers register their classes on these pages:
http://www.npcg.org/Education/Classes/classes.html
and http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/teacherindex.html
Krafty Kreations has online beginner lessons
(a MSN site --must join group to attend to these
online classes before they are archived, but free )
http://www.msnusers.com/KRAFTYKREATIONS
Clay Class Message Board (all posts are projects) http://www.msnusers.com/kraftykreationsII/clayclass.msnw
...classes are posted on Tuesdays (beg. Jan. 2003) at 8:00 pm EST,
7:00 CST, 6:00 MST, 5:00 PST
We make all kinds of projects mainly for beginners.
We've done jewelry, holiday ornaments, techniques, dolls,
buttons, and simple clay canes.
The classes are informal and
you may do the project in class or just listen. All class project instructions
are posted after class. So come on and join us. Michele
There are quite a few polymer books and videos, which function like classes too .... plus one advantage of joining a guild is usually a lending library!).... see many above, and also on the Books & Videos page > Books suitable for Beginners)
Sculpey
brand clay now offers a number of Sculpey & Premo kits which
come with a number of bars of clay & instructions
http://www.clayfactory.net/sculpey/skits.htm
.... and .http://www.sculpey.com/Products/products_activitysets.htm
http://wwwsculpey.com/Products/products_samplers.htm
(clay
samplers only... no projects)
Most
polymer discussion groups welcome newcomers, and there are
quite a few of these groups
(see http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/groups--online2.htm
for more info on all the kinds of polymer groups)
You can also see if there is a local polymer guild near you and ask them where classes might be offered (and also join them!... cause they also have classes and you'll learn a lot... again, newbies are welcome).
One
of the online groups, however, bills itself as specifically
for beginners. (It is a free, "mailing list" group sponsored
by Yahoo; after joining, one receives the messages and responds to them
by e-mail. . . new_to_polymer_clay:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_to_polymer_clay/
"...we simply try to teach the basics of using polymer
clay, and we also try to direct newbies to projects which tweak their interest
and creativity..." Julie
"We have a very nice mix of clay interests
as well... (Also) each month I find a project or tutorial on the web and post
it as a monthly challenge... members may choose to interpret the challenge in
their own way and post their results in the photos section. Also 4 times a year
(quarterly) we have a swap." Whitney
"We kinda help each other,
what one doesn't know the other does...we have a really good time.."
(73 members)
Poly's Clay Castle... an area of PolymerClayCentral
for kids... it has few photos, lessons, and a message
board
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/castle/home.html
...and http://forums.delphiforums.com/polysclaycastle/start
(msg.bd)
info on THE BASICS ...here are some pages
at my site tht I often recommend for newbies (specific categories may be
indicated for pages as well):
Tools
> Beginner Tools + Work Surfaces + Rollers, Brayers
Cutters
& Blades > Blades
Conditioning
Glues > Some Bonding Techniques
Baking
Finishes
You do NOT have to spend a fortune
on tools and supplies to work with polymer clay!
When I started
out with pc, I had only a toothpick and a knife from the kitchen and an empty
butane can for a roller. I didn't even buy a pasta machine for over 3 years. I
still have my butane can more then 7 years later. Kellie
http://www.kelliesklay.com
First of course, you'll just need to
buy some clay.
...Personally, I highly recommend Premo or Kato Polyclay.
I am mostly a Premo user, but I am liking the Kato clay, too. I wouldn't use Sculpey
III... while a nice clay for some projects, I found it lacking in (strength) for
jewelry making.
(FimoClassic is strong in thin areas after baking too... FimoSoft
may or may not be. DB)
Next you'll need a few
basic tools.
1) A cutting blade, sometimes a called a tissue blade.
An Exact o knife will work as a substitute in some situations, but you can't beat
a nice sharp blade.
2) A work surface to protect your counter/table.
I use a piece of 1/8" plexiglass, but glass, matt board, self healing cutting
matt, (and other things) will work too.
3) A baking surface. I use
a 4" X 6" ceramic tile. You can work right on it and put it directly into the
oven. Anything you decide to use to bake your clay on should be designated as
a clay only pan. (put a sheet of paper on it to avoid shiny spots though for smooth
tiles. DB)
4) Oven- I use a convection
oven, but toaster ovens and your home oven will do fine. ...a seperate oven thermometer
to check the real temp the oven is heating to is essential. My ovens are all off
from what the knob says. I also tent my clay loosly with aluminum foil to hold
in any residue that may would otherwise build up inside the oven (and also helps
keep them clay from darkening. DB)
5) Embellishments
are fun, but not actually required.
Also, other stuff like Pearl-Ex
and gold leaf add a lot to a simple piece of clay (also using rubber stamps, texture
sheets, molds, etc)
6) Also not required but recommended- cyanoacrylate type
glue (superglues) I use mine all the time. The gel type works best in my
opinion.
7) Yet another "not required" I couldn't live without my pasta
machine.
8) All the info you can get your hands on. :) I highly
recommend surfing the net and reading everything you can find on polymer clay.
www.glassattic.com is a fabulous place to start. I learned everything I know about
clay from the net and watching the Carol Duvall show on HGTV. Tonja
If
you already had an oven and a pasta machine, but no clay, what tools would
you buy for $100?
.... Boy that depends on what you mean to do.
. .
As for clay itself, I find I can never have too much translucent,
black, or white.
For caning, a tissue blade is awfully nice. I
got along for a long time with just carpet knife blades from the hardware store,
but they don't flex like a tissue blade does. Tissue blades run about $2 each.
If you're working with pieces that are rolled out flat for baking, especially
thin ones, a ceramic tile to use as both work surface and baking surface
very handy. I can usually find very plain glazed floor tiles for about a dollar
each at Home Depot.. .
Some sort of glossy clear finish is a good idea.
I use Future floor polish, lots of folks swear by Varathane.
If you're doing
jewelry, you'll probably want to spend some money on the relevant findings.
For sculpture, a couple of fat darning needles and finer gauge aluminum
knitting needles are invaluable. . . .For bigger sculptures, wire and aluminum
foil for armatures. . . Depending on your approach, the suggestion of books
for technique and inspiration is a great idea, too. On the other hand, with patience
and a high speed connection, you can find a lot of technique and inspiration information
on the web these days.
...So much depends on where you want to go
with it . Personally I love having a lot of materials to play with too:
.....rubber
stamps, interference, mica, & glitter powders, feathers, seed beads, telephone
wire, stuff to cover, acrylic paints for antiquing and faux effects, metal foils,
shrink plastic, metal charms, buttons, natural objects to make molds from.
. . . It might be worth getting an idea of a few techniques you specifically want
to try and basing your purchases on those, and then expand later. Ulrika
Generally,
the most expensive item for polymer clay is a pasta machine. These are
not absolutely necessary though.
...Less expensive (and less-sturdy)
ones can be purchased from Michaels, etc. ...these are made in the Far East --such
as the Amaco-- as opposed to Italy. These will work fine for beginners and most
clayers though, as long as they're taken care of properly (mostly involving not
putting in hard or large blobs of clay without thinning or softening first).
...Pasta
machines do allow one to much more quickly and easily do certain things
though like:
condition clays, mix colors, mix in inclusions, and make flat
sheets, as well as do special techniques like the "Skinner blend.
...Many
clayers who end up doing a lot of claying will often eventually purchase an Italian-made
machine, and perhaps even a motor for it though... the first machine can also
come in very handy for taking to classes, letting kids use, using only for white
or transcluent clay, etc.
Try just walking around looking at things (at your house, garage sales, stores) as though you are an alien, totally clueless as to what this stuff really is used for....and you will see potential in things you hadn't noticed before (for using with polymer clay). Sarajane Helm
FEW SIMPLE PROJECTS for beginners
If have some
cutters and a pasta machine (or roller) though, one fun first thing to begin with
when you haven't had much experience with clay is to cut out shapes
from plain or patterned clay sheets with cutters (med. or small ones).
...You can put a hole in the top (by twisting a small straw into the
raw clay) and use as a Christmas ornament, or a pinback on the back,
or an eyepin or flap of clay at the top if you want to use as a pendant,
for example.
...You can even make greeting cards by gluing these shapes
onto folded over cardstock or construction paper.
...They can be embellished
further, if you want, by onlaying all kinds of things as well, if you want
...if they are little animals, for example, a tiny eye or molded bit of clay could
be added for additional interest. (see more on all this below in "Cutters")
Another
advantage of doing this is that you can experiment with many different techniques,
then use any of them (flattened if they're not already flat), to cut the shapes
from
....(for example, marbled sheets, striped sheets, "dragged-lines"
sheets, crackled leaf sheets, mokume gane, cane slices and bits
of clay rolled into the sheets, or actual cane slice sheets, etc.,
etc.!)
Stamping is another easy and cool thing for a beginner. Just
impress the raw clay with a dry stamp (....or just any object ...maybe
a fork tip, pencil eraser, screwdriver end, old button, or something flat like
sandpaper or plastic needlepoint sheets, etc.). Then cut it out.
...or even
better "highlight" it with a metallic powder (Pearl Ex) if you have
some by running your powdered finger lightly over just the top, or bake and then
"antique" your impression with brown acrylic paint (tube types are best,
but any should work) by rubbing it all over and in the impressions, letting it
dry a bit, then wiping off just the topmost areas with a damp paper towel, etc.
Making molds from clay, and/or making clay pieces using clay or other molds, is also easy and great fun. Molds cane made from single items, parts of items, patterns from any textured item you might have around, etc., and are quite addictive! The molded clay pieces can then be used in many ways... as simple onlays onto other clay or onto other objects, pendants, etc., or they can be used to make beads, they can be highlighted, etc., as with stamped clay, and much more.
You might also want to take a look at my page on Books and Videos (there's a Beginner Books section there), and sometimes it can be good to just pick a project from a book or online and do it (even if it doesn't come out perfect) just to get familiar with some of the techniques and steps.
If made small enough, most techniques can be turned into
tiny ornaments for a tiny tree, or attached to a needleworked
image or scene
...Missy's tiny sculpted
(or molded) shapes attached to needlepoint scene (Halloween tree) ...pumpkins,
cat, witch, ghost, bat, spider made as buttons
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/miss_meme_30/detail?.dir=d8c9&.dnm=53bf.jpg
If you have a clay gun, make sure your clay is soft enough, and then perhaps try some Balinese Filigree... or just onlay some ropes next to each other onto a base sheet of clay, then cut a shape with your cutter or just cut the shape with a blade. These look great when highlighted with metallic powders too. (see Clay Guns page for more details)
other WEBSITES with lots
of projects
& basic polymer info
You
can find a large number of project lessons for polymer clay at several of the
TV, craft store, magazine or e-zine websites, as well
as collections of links at some individual clayers' websites (not all
projects may not be for beginners though).
....many of these also have
separate pages or areas for explaining basic info. about polymer
clays, etc.
sculpey.com (website for Polyform
clays --Sculpeys & Premo) ...projects & polymer info
...projects (must
use .htm) http://www.sculpey.com/projects.asp
....and http://www.sculpey.com/tutorials.htm
HGTV (Home & Garden TV channel).....hundreds of projects & polymer
info ( simple to complex)
...mostly from programs such as Carol
Duvall & That's Clever (used to be Crafters Coast to Coast), etc
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay/0,1788,HGTV_3236,00.html
(keep clicking on "More" under each category)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_2000136,00.html
...or go to Advanced Search... select either Carol Duvall
Show or That's Clever, then use polymer clay as search
term
Michaels (craft store)...
projects & info
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/search?page=1&keywords=polymer+clay&type=4
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/search?page=1&keywords=polymer+clay&type=3
PCPolyzine (the free, online polymer "e-zine")...projects
(& all articles)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/tutorials.html
...(and http://www.pcpolyzine.com )
Polymer
Clay Central ..... many projects & swaps
http://polymerclaycentral.com/masterindex.html]
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swapindex.html
Fimo's
website (by Eberhard Faber, maker of Fimo) ...many projects, but not many full
lessons
http://www.eberhardfaber.com/FIMO_copy6.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=17184
(3rd window has a drop-down
menu with 5-6 categories, each of which has a number of projects for jewelery,
household objects, lanterns/vases, gifts, seasonal items)
Garie Sim's website:
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay
COLLECTIONS OF LINKS to PROJECTS
Garie
Sim's blog
http://www.gariesim.blogspot.com
Laurie's
links to many different projects
http://www.geocities.com/turkeymama/UPCG/tutorials.html
Kim Kennedy's links to many different projects,
etc.
http://www.beadyeyedbrat.com
Projects by technique, theme
see
much more on these pages as well
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Books_on_Polymer_Clay.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/sculpture.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/heads_masks.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/sculpting_body_and_tools.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/armatures-perm.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/miniatures.htm
(for
whole scenes, see below in Scenes & Dioramas")
Sculpting with polymer clays can be very simple or very complex.. funny or elegant... in short, any way you want it!
A good place to start, particularly for making
figures, may be making shapes.... actually, everything in
life is made of those shapes.
.....some basic shapes:
balls, oval balls, cones, teardrops, cubes, short logs, long ropes, coils...etc.
. . each could be flattened too for disks, pads, etc.
....once
you've started doing these, you may very well "see" something ...like a teddy
bear made of balls and discs with a cone for a party hat.
You can also use
many other materials like wire, feathers, paper, metal, etc.,
with polymer clay sculpts...(just remember there are some things you can't
bake along with the clay,
those which can't stand at least 275 degree heat --some
plastics will melt or warp, for example.).
This is called "mixing media."
...For example, you might
want to add accessories like a hat or jewel to an item sculpted with clay,
or you might want to embed the other materials into the clay (..if they non-bakable,
simply press the item where you'll want it, then remove it to bake clay and glue
back in afterwards).
....Jeannette's "grungy snowman" with
wire, and face painted or markered on (not clay but easily
could be)
http://photos.yahoo.com/primitivedragon
(click on "Primitive")
(...see much more on incorporating
other materials, see Mixing Media)
(...see
which materials can be baked in Covering)
To
save clay so the clay you have will last longer, you can use a tightly
crumpled ball or other shape of aluminum foil as an “armature”
underneath a covering of clay (especially for larger items... or smaller
ones)... though other materials can be used under the clay too
....just press
a wad of crumpled foil to the approx. size and shape you want, and make sure it’s
well compressed (can even hit with a hammer)... then cover with
a layer of clay ...and bake, or embellish it more and bake.
...frilled-neck
lizard probably using an alum. foil armature http://www.saxarts.com/projects/html/fimo.html
DB: add my tiny wizard
edible
candy dough (make or buy) can be sculpted or molded or caned,
then eaten --see below in More (Various)
...also "gummy"
"clay" kits
For our purposes here, "sculpting" will refer to creating figures and animals, of course, but also to other things which don't need a particular additional technique (like metallic powders or transfers) .......for example making flowers or mini-foods.
mixed
websites
(most are figures)
*Dinko’s
(lesson) on funny bird
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/castle/lesdinkobird.html
*Dinko’s crazy critters
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/dinko1.html
Dinko’s home page
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/2780/
*birds-with-teeth swap (based on Dinko's bird)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/swap_bwt1.html
buttonarcade's simple little
1 1/2" tall "monsters" (screaming with teeth,
or with backpack)
http://photobucket.com/albums/v237/buttonarcade
simple
fun & colorful amorphous figures ("monsters" with a heart"
by ultimately-his-angel
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/ultimately_his_angel/monsters.jpg
many simple but
creative polymer critters... all kinds
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82516008@N00/sets/72157594402099554
Domicreative's
weird little 2-ball creatures --with added metal and wire
pieces (for eyes, antennas, etc.)
http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/pate_polymere_objet/index.html
Kraugomi's
weird little creature heads (often w ith stIcking-out parts), created
on the end of a bolt... most of bolt visible, but nut screwed on
bottom to make a stand under head (...and one is a chicken body,
with bolt for legs and feet?)
http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/kraugomi
...for more, click on http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/kraugomi/page4.html
Blueman's
scary-funny head with many sticking-out clay rods wrapped loosely
with wire... small cone of clay on end of each wire
http://www.gibe.org/blue/menu.html
(must
click on "Galerie," under Le modelage de la pate fimo)
Jenny's
simple chunky shapes with eyes (website
gone)
Karen's
Featherbutts ...funny birds made with eggs to which clay feet, eyes and
nose attached, and real feathers stuck onto bodies (wings, tail,
and crest)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=4027299&uid=2076171
Garie
Sim's "currypuffs" (stuffed pastry rolls like turnovers, empanadas,
piroshki,etc) with faces (for animated TV commercial)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/art/animation/1a_animation.htm
Jan R's simple critters and angels for BOH (some like
crazy Mr. Potato Heads)
http://www.mindspring.com/~janruh/clay/boh.htm
Bond
Kelly Clay's lesson on making a simple face and leaves on
an eggplant shape (use polymer clay & bake)
http://www.bcsgc.com/k1002.htm
Becky's lesson on making a simple baby in blanket
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,CRHO_project_27146,FF.html
Becky's
lesson
on making a sock monkey (Carol Duvall show)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_figures/article/0,1789,HGTV_3237_1387052,00.html
Cindy's simple funny sculpted colored
heads
http://www.geocities.com/claycrazy1/original.html
Cindy's
very simple faces with onlay features and wire spiral hair
http://www.geocities.com/claycrazy1/buttons.html
Peggy O's mushroom people--- mushroom cap on sculpted
head on mushroom stem, on feet-toes sticking out at bottom
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/scadventurer2001/my_photos
(click on "Enchanted Mushrooms" in alphabetical order)
Marie
S's animals,
people, flowers,
letters,!
(first 5 Old Stuff pages?)
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/oldstuff.htm
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/oldstuff.htm
http://polymerclaycentral.com/marie_retro3.html
(some closer up)
http://polymerclaycentral.com/marie_retro4.html)
very simple heads
(similar to mine--and bodies) wearing simple hats and other head wear,
holding hearts, flowers or lollipops, on Jan's page
http://www.mindspring.com/~janruh/clay/b3.jpg
Ruth's
simple faces, hair, etc. at the end of large paperclips
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4218486&a=31279335&p=68441887
good lesson on basics of
making a "dressed" body (wouldn't
have to be a Frankenstein) (same for polymer clay)
http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/project_gallery/seasonal/halloween07.htm
*HelenClayArt's very cute figures (animals, etc.),
including hobby horse head ornament
http://www.homestead.com/HelensClayArt/openingpage.html
PowerPuff
Girls (simple cartoon figures)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/power_gang.htm
Artful's
simple figure characters (head and cone body only...sometimes arms-legs,
accessories added )
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=217174.msg2335373#msg2335373
...Harry
Potter figures, simple painted faces (no mouths) http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/shiritsu/m3.jpg
...Capt.
Jack Sparrow http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/shiritsu/m5.jpg
wonderful
simple ballerinas in tutus, by Tresa (with a bit of netting added)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/mini-fashion/ballerina.htm
Flo's
tiny simple clowns made by bending a marbled log in half
& pinching top (for body & legs), then adding arms, ruff, head and shoes
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=297873&uid=155794
Bond
Kelly Clay's lesson on making clown (leave off pounch in front);
use polymer clay and bake
http://www.bcsgc.com/a1001.htm
Marcy's
clowns with different colors and embellishments for each component
(large teardrop shapes... 2 for "body"...1 for each arm, leg,
shoe... ruffled collar, hat)
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/clown/clown.html
Becky
M's Wizard of Oz figures on "shoe"
http://www.polymercafe.com/feat_of_clay/meverden.html
Barcy's short character people
http://www.sizewise.com/barcy.html
*JeanneCook: West, fancy & not
http://www.mdpag.org/cook.htm
*Pat-nipntuck's
tiny clothed figures, pigs, etc.) (website gone)
Calvin’s various sculptures, etc. (website
gone)
my
(mostly simple) animal and people heads (DB
add...website gone)
very small figures + figures made with wire, etc: ....... (see
many more in Sculpting Body
> Bendy, Jointed, & Abstract)
Sue Heaser's lesson
for seated tiny petal fairy (over one wire)
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/suefairy.html
Shelly's
lesson on small simple angel, with fabric-clay for a dress
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_littleangel.htm
one-piece-body ....angel with wings
http://home.earthlink.net/~firstimpress/index-15.html
lesson
on simple angel figures with gifts
http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/project_gallery/seasonal/xmas03.htm
Michelle
R's lesson on making a small body from twisted wire (wood bead
head)... filling it out with scrap white clay... dressing with cane-slices
top (probaly disk, w/ slash to center), a textured/highlighted skirt
piece, and a belt? to gather top ... hair is loops of embroidery floss
gathered in the wire above head, trimmed at ends
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1399700,00.html
macaroni
monsters (jointed figures/animals on pipe cleaners).... tube
beads could substitute for the pasta pieces, though
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf97project/famf97project22.html
lesson on figure from pipe cleaner
http://www.mcuniverse.com/Miniature_Figure.668.0.html
Garie's
lesson on making a fluffy bear with bump pipe cleaners
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/furry_stems.htm
many
more animals by Garie with pompoms, pipe cleaners, and eyes,
ears, feet, etc. attached to the the pompons
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/furry.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/furry_ball.htm
Emi
Fukusima's lesson on making a figure from twigs and yarn,
then dressing it in polymer clothes
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_2014206,00.html
Marcia
Rocha's funny sculptures using clay & wire (animals, people, things)
http://www.funnysculptures.com/sculpture.html
You can make jointed flat figures (like paper dolls or puppets)
with button-type polymer disks instead of the traditional paper
fasteners at the joints (puppets could be paper or flat polymer clay). Make two
holes in each disk, then thread a u-shaped bent wire through the holes and the
corresponding body holes of both, from front to back; twist wire in back, and
trim off ends.
......here is one template: http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/images/paperdoll.gif
Chris
Gluck's lesson on making funny, simple bugs (could be people) coiled
colored wires for arms/legs
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_kid_crafts/article/0,1789,HGTV_3256_1385790,00.html
Julie's lesson on making jointed kid figures for pins ("Kidz
Pinz")
http://members.aol.com/wise1j/page1.html
various
sculpting lessons at Josh's website (dangles,
covering balls, figures, etc.)
http://joshclay.com/projects.html
Beth's lesson for a tiny jointed figure (fishing
snap swivels) (website gone)
Melnik’s simple small figures, some with dangles (website
gone)
Garie's
lesson on making a clothespin, wire loops, and toilet
roll holder (?) to make a small jointed puppet
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/clip2.htm
Garie's 2" bear jointed marionette
puppet, held with thin nylon filament and a T arrangement of popscicle sticks
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/bear-puppet.htm
Lynelle's jointed figures (marionnettes?)
http://members.aol.com/lynellev/catgallery.htm
Jan's bird marionette
http://www.mindspring.com/~janruh/clay/bird.jpg
Christel's lesson on making a "rabbit"
hair holder, using elastic for holding the hair and also for the
dangly feet and hands (16” total elastic)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0203march/rabbit.html (click on any photo to see enlargement)
http://home.online.no/~raje/Web/Rabbit/full/2002_0201_202602BB.JPG (rabbits, with clothing)
Raggedy
Ann and Andy websites for examples (not clay)
http://www.pineblossomswebpages.com/raggedyjanet/raggedylinks.shtml
....Raggedy
Ann paperdoll figure + clothes
http://www.pineblossomswebpages.com/raggedyjanet/rapaperdolls.shtml
(CHRISTMAS & WINTER)
*Adorables' dogs, cats, animals, xmas/thanksgiv/Easter/Hallow., flowers, fish,
frames, barrettes
http://www.lavendera.com/Adorables/adorables%20front%20page.htm
*Holbrook--FaLaLa,santas,snowmen,angel earring,more
http://members.tripod.com/~mmholbrook/index.html
*Tamila Darling, figures, xmas
http://members.aol.com/darlinclay/index.html
*Jan Ohio's snowpeople (for different
occasions, seasons)
http://www.jjacksondesigns.homestead.com/Snowpeople.html
Ria's
Pooh,
etc.,
gifts, on top of glass xmas balls
http://dragonmagic.nl/
(gone)
many ornaments (hobbies, etc.) bas
relief sculpting
http://www.personalizedfree.com/
Garie's glass "display globe"
baby food jar (over Pokemon and Astro figures)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/kid%27s_globe/zt_pikachu.htm
.......see below for BUGS & other animals...........
(more on human figures
(see
most figures in Websites
just above)
Some sculpts (particularly
figure that aren't very large at the bottom stand just fine before baking, but
fall over after removing from the oven.
....generally that's because the stickiness of the raw clay holds the
bottom to the baking surface just a bit, giving it an extra helping hand... once
it's hardened on the bottom, that bit of help is gone.
...or the sculpt could
tilt because clay softens a bit when it's heated, and could lean
a little to the heaviest side while baking, then cool in that position.
To avoid those things, you can:
...be an engineer, and create
a "very" well balanced piece
...put a base on the bottom (make
sure the base is wide enough, or at least shaped to counterbalance any extending
or heavy areas of the sculpt)
...put most of the weight in the bottom half
of the sculpt ... or have it be really short
...have the sculpt
sit, hang, or lounge, etc. rather than standing
...have it hold
onto, lean against, or touch something else that's stable
...use an "armature" or strengthener --often a wire or rod
of some kind is enclosed mostly in one or both legs, then the free end is inserted
into a base of some kind, often with a little glue too
(......for more complicated
sculpts, there's usually a wire or other armature throughout the whole
figure)
To fix a baked figure that won't stand, you can:
..... add a base (use a bit of liquid clay if possible, alsowith a dab
of superglue to hold it temporarily)... once I did this with just a simple thick
oval clay sheet, embellished with a few rolled roses and leaves
near the feet.
....... can also add an armature (prob. by drilling a
hole for a wire, etc., in the foot). Diane B.
...when they decide to tumble
on me, I can either sand the bottom..... or I add more clay to make
them even (then rebake). anniep
heads
. . . for figures
There are many ways you could
go about this, I think! For example, for a head you could:
--make small,
medium, or large heads. The larger you go the more expensive it is, and the
more likely they are to crack (though there are solutions for that).
--go
from very simple features (sometimes even made from the single motion of a paintbrush
handle) to very complex.
--use molds (which you purchase, or create from
an existing sculpture or doll); the mold can also be "distorted" to
create very different faces.
--color the faces with chalks, acrylic paints
or washes, or not at all.
--make and bake eyeballs to be inserted into the
unbaked head, you can paint them, cane them, or sculpt them only.
--sculpt
hair, or add fake hair of many types, or add hats&other accessories,etc
If you have Cernit already, it has a lovely translucence which good skin tones.
If not, I suggest you buy some SuperSculpey (1 lb. green and white box, at Michaels,
etc.). It also has a nice translucence and many people use it for sculpting.
You can probably buy it even cheaper if you try mail order (see my e-mailed info
letter, under supplies).
Another thing to think about is the body.
--Do you want to sculpt the arms and legs too (then use a stuffed fabric
body), or sculpt the whole thing?
-- Do you want to hinge the body parts,
use Flexiclay which is somewhat rubbery, or make the whole thing one solid piece?
--You can also use other materials for the body like pipe cleaners (which can
be dressed--ask me about this if interested), mailing-tape tubes for fingerpuppets,
pre-purchased bodies, hand puppet bodies, flat bodies of clay for pins, etc.
Best of luck --it's a great, fun project! Diane B.
Boots and/or gloves are easier for beginners than making hands and feet; however simple hands can be made from ovals (with or without a narrowed wrist); if desired, fingers and toes can be indicated with indentions, or cut and separated
(for many kinds
of polymer hats, shoes, purses, etc., see Sculpting-Bodies
> Fabric & clothes)
....not polymer, but could be used
on polymer figures ....hats made from shrinking foam-type
cups in oven... place cup upsidedown on cookie sheet and bake in
oven at 350 for 1 to 1 1/2 min. (different baking lengths
= diff. results)
......scrunched alum foil inside the hat will keep
it larger (or in certain areas)... pill bottle filled with weight can be
placed inside for more stability
......options (before baking):
cut top band off cup, or cut with decorative scissors, cut cup in half; paint
or stamp with acrylic/water-based materials, glue on tiny baked polymer flowers,
etc.
......heads under hats: bake cup over rolled-up and taped 3x4" cylinder
of cardstock or construction paper with face drawn on it, or paint face on an
egg and do the same .. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_paper_crafts_origami/article/0,,HGTV_3293_1370963,00.html
and http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1396182,00.html
Kris
Richards' lesson on making flat "Polydollys"at
Sculpey site...(or any cut-out shape). . . she:
--creates jellyrolls
and stacks of clay (for stripes)
--cuts out a shape of solid
color clay with a cookie cutter, or paper pattern & xacto blade
--onlays variously-shaped slices of the jellyroll and stripe canes
onto the solid body (somewhat puzzle style, but some bits are 3 layers thick rather
than 2)
--adds pressed-down balls of flesh clay for head and hands,
and 2 seed beads for eyes
--her different-pattern puzzle pieces
are: shoes, pant legs, upper pants, belt, shirt, (vest), collar/buttons, arms,
& hats or hair...also cuffs at ankles, wrists, on hats
(--she makes pins
or frig magnets from them, but could be used for anything)
(--good lesson
on making jellyroll/spiral and striped canes there too)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_PolyDollys.htm
Judy's lesson on making a toy polymer acrobat
figure from diff. baked clay pattern pieces
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_figures/article/0,1789,HGTV_3237_2831708,00.htm
Irene C's lesson on making jointed arms and legs
with snaps http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/joints.htm
(gone)
Dawn's Dolly Dangles . . The dolly is
built over a clothespin, the hair is SoftFlex wire, and I'm trying to decide what
kind of wings to put on, feathers or gauze? . . . The hardest part was keeping
the dress "ballooned" out; they're based on a ceramic bell ornament,
and the legs swing freely, so having a bell-shape for the dress was imperative.
I basically rolled up a tube of clay that was too large, then very carefully squashed
the top back together around the clothespin...that's why she got a big collar
- I had to cover up the fingerprints!! Dawn S. (website
gone)
family.com's worry dolls, using a round
head clothespin and 1" lengths of halved craft sticks for arms . .
. could easily use polymer clay instead of fabric, yarn, etc.
http://family.go.com/crafts/famf/worrydoll/
Marcia
B’s lesson on making a tiny wire body with head of wrapped wire, hair of
embroidery floss, and a polymer cane slice wrapped around (square orientation)
for a dress
http://www.rubberart.com/classes/class6_people.html
robots,
monsters, characters, Pokemon, critters,
Mr. Potato Head, amulets, etc.
Garie's
"DeBug" over a ping pong ball (see Covering
> Plastics >More Plastics)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/debug.htm
slug-like
and other alien creatures
http://www.geocities.com/~uncialle/alihauntpage.html
(for
good info on making a "dressed" body and simple
but scary face that could be not-green, see
lesson on Frankenstein figure above in Sculpting > Figures
> More Websites)
(see
more in Halloween > Skulls,Aliens, etc...
and > Things in a Bottle...... and in Bugs, critters below)
for many funny little "monsters" and other "critters", see above in Mixed Websites (under Sculpting)
robots...
...many
robots from movie The Robots would be interesting to make with all clay,
or clay with other things like bolts, plastic domes, wire, etc.
....http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/help/reference/vrml/vrml97/images/robot.jpg
(could also be done with ping pong balls)
...Garie's
Marsbot (like R2D2) http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/making_mbot.htm
...Garie's
cambot ... could be mostly polymer http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/cambot.htm
...see
Garie's hanging robot with spring for neck below under Nodders
...(Garie
a also has also has lesson on robot with short lengths of flexible straws as
joints in his book Got Clay Can Play (see Books above)
...fashionruler's
robot with dangling joints...joints made with 2 eyepins...head/body/legs/feet
as 4 units... arm is 3 unit but wrist is a stiff.
joint
http://harlejm.blogdrive.com/archive/11.html
Pokemon-related
things, made by Garie's students
...Pokemon characters ...and
also Pokemon play structures & scenes http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/gallery.htm
...more Pokemon critters http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/u_channel2.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/neumon.htm
...Pokemon
creature in bas relief "picture" http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/gallery8.htm
(middle of page)
...Pokeballs (ping pong balls covered with clay,
with onlaid eyes, added ears, etc.)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/pinponballs.htm
(click on picture of yellow & blue critters)
......for
some of his round Pokemon creatures, Garie first paints ping
pong balls ...then adds baked clay for legs, arms, and onlays http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/about3.htm
.....(for covering a ping pong ball with clay and baking --ball will shrink
inside-- see Covering > Plastics > Other
Plastic Items)
...Picachu under a glass baby food jar as a display
globe (...also over space figure .. Astrobottle)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/kid%27s_globe/zt_pikachu.htm
...all Pokemon (pocket monsters) http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/pokemon.htm
see also PowerPuff Girls http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/power_gang.htm
various
simple figures and critters by SleepyTortuga (these are actually
painted white clay)
http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee312/SleepyTortuga/?action=view¤t=DSC05121.jpg
Artful's
simple figure characters (head and cone body only...sometimes arms-legs,
accessories added )
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=217174.msg2335373#msg2335373
...Harry
Potter figures, simple painted faces (no mouths) http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/shiritsu/m3.jpg
...Capt.
Jack Sparrow http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/shiritsu/m5.jpg
make interchangeable Mr. Potato
Head type pieces (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hat, collar, or any
other accessory)... did one of the Klutz Press books do this?
...stick
each into a baked head you've made with a hole for each of the units
...or
stick them into mini-pumpkins, or any other hard squashes
...make each
unit over a small-nail head, tack, or brad
...could also use with kid to identify
emotions?
many small flattish amulet-type
figures from the Mile High Guild (based on Rosemary's "Little Babies")
http://www.mhpcg.org/clayDays/claydays01/jan2001/January2001/index.htm
nodders
& bobbleheads, etc.
items with springs
DEFINITIONS
There
are two types of figures where the head moves around somewhat freely from
the body mechanically:
“nodders”
... a little sculpture, with the head or possibly another part, free to move
around at the end of a simple vertical spring
bobbles
(or bobbleheads)...these have a bit more complicated mechanism
(...this
type also has the head on the end of a horizontal mechanism so
the head facing forward from the body,
where a nodder's head is on the end of a vertical spring and sits
on top of a body)
(though
"nodders" are often referred to as bobble heads)
...these could be human, animal, or anything at all
...the parts
that move could be things other than heads (upper bodies... antennae...
eyeballs... even entire bodies, etc.)
NODDERS:
......these are so much fun to make!
......I just buy my springs
at the hardware store. There is no name on them. They have drawers full of them.
.......... just pick springs that aren't too
stiff so you'll get a good 'nod' !
...using a thinner spring resulted in
more of a floppy head than a bobbling head.
Pohuaki
...part of the spring can be hidden in a fixed neck,
with the rest of the spring inside part of the head
..... can
create a large depression in head , or make head hollow, or sculpt the clay around
the spring
....for small nodders I make
the bottom with the spring in it, and then sculpt the head right
onto the spring
....I
used the spring from a medium-point BIC Clear Clic pen (for my small
nodder)...it's a bit larger than a couple of others I tried
......Kristy's
kangaroo nodder (baby’s head is on a spring too) DB
add
...for the larger nodders, I use a wood dowel
.......(first
I sculpt the head around the spring)
...... then I create a hole
in the body to place the spring+head into later by putting a dowel in the
body (then removing it and placing on another?) dowel nailed to a board
for baking (....if the spring doesn't fit into the body hole after backing,
you'll have to cut away at the hole some --carefully, as the spring needs to fit
snug). Kristy
this
simpler one is on a long pipe cleaner (formed into a spring?) --and
uses an upturned & papier-mached soda bottle bottom as "head", and
another bottle for body (pipe cleaner was snaked
down and then up out of the bottle, and into a Styrofoam ball --on which the bottle
bottom head rested)
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/selfport.htm
(middle of page) ...also lesson
Garie's
slightly scary nodders with visible springs
.... one is an
eyeball on a spring over bottom half of face
.... one eyeball is just
over ankles/feet... also a ghost has clay-covered spring
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/horror.htm
3 Powder
Puff girls ... each "flying" horizontally on top
of a spring
....they are located on 3 sides of another figure on a
spring ("bad guy" Mojo)... (all springs are secured in same base)
...
so the girls can be made to bang into Mojo on their springs from each side
of him
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/bashing_jojo.htm
Garie's robot figure hanging
by its head from a wire hanger (has a spring neck)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/magastraw.htm
BOBBLES:
...lever
system (think of a seesaw with a child on one end and an adult on the other
end)... also similar to making one balanced arm of a mobile
...
often using a drinking straw (or wood dowel/chopstick or other rod)
connected to the head, which is hanging through a loop or hook
inside the neck (pipe cleaner loop, metal screw hook, key ring, etc...
...Where
is the center of gravity?.
look at 2 possibilities for making the mechanism in closeups near bottom
of this page (one uses a hook, the other a pipe cleaner loop)
http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/thomas/NSTA/Memories/creativity_in_the_science_classr.htm
& http://tinyurl.com/5nczp
...remember
the turtles whose head and tail wiggled? (bobbled) ...seems
to me there would have to be a hook on the head (neck
end), and a loop inside the upper shell (the
hook was slipped through) for this to work.
Janey
...I have one of those turtles made out of sea shells...You're right
about the hook and the loop
...... plus there's also a heavy counter
balance weight (like a lead weight, screws, washers, AA battery) in
it so that the head can bob freely. Tere
(...can buy a cheap simple bobbing
dog at Walmart to check out e the mechanism)
nodders
or bobblers could be used to wiggle anything at all too... not just heads
for figures
Pam
A's "bobble heads" (made with paperclay and springs) ..some
visible springs, some not... some
not bobbles
http://www.ornamentalley.com/mainframe.htm
(click on Gallery..., then click on Bobbleheads
& Others)
Steve's "bobblehead figure" using a spring
placed over an upturned screw or drill bit? (out of neck) ---top
half of spring free
http://www.bissettdesignstudio.com/cashman.html
... http://www.bissettdesignstudio.com/cashman01.html
...(for more things built with the lever concept, see mobiles in Sculpting > Other Items... and Outdoor Polymer > More Outdoor Items)
birds
made with clay (instead of Model Magic), feathers and pipe cleaners
(feathers are okay in the oven; I think the pipe cleaners are too –careful until
cool—or just make holes in body and glue pipe cleaners in after baking)
http://www.saxarts.com/lessons/html/birds_of_a_feather.html
...(See
PoRRo's birds and witch in Covering below... and more funny birds
above in websites)
many figures &
whimsical owl (with 2-D layered feathers and wire legs)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/may2001/technique.html
sunni's
lesson on making an owl with very large eyes
http://members.spree.com/sip/sunnidaze/me/tutes2/owltute02.html
chicken ...& other animal faces
...(these also have leather thong "dangly legs)
(chicken is made over
a small glass bulb to save clay, but could be an aluminum foil ball, or just be
smaller)
http://www.eberhardfaber.com/Comic_Chickens.EBERHARDFABER?ActiveID=17200
(other animals in dropdown menu)
cute red crabs and starfish with eyes (at fimoland page above with sheep)...slightly crossed eyes black dots on top of black disks
cute seal on top
of terra cotta pot "igloo" ...could be made with polymer
instead of Model Magic
.... cover pot with clay (see Covering
>Terra Cotta) or paint it... make seal from clay
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=c00053
...penguin
family with igloo .. could make a hollow igloo by covering
half of a glass ball or lightbulb with a sheet of white clay, but cut out a U
shaped door hole in one side
......(could impress lines in raw clay
for snow "bricks," or cover with pearly or iridescent
Pearl Ex, or paint with acrylics after baking --possibly adding a bit
of glitter)
......remove clay from ball or bulb after baking cooling... make
tunnel "door" with thick strip of clay placed as an upside
down U in front of door hole
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=20178
..more
animal figures made with clay pots .... http://familycrafts.about.com/od/claypotcrafts/index_r.ht
more
PENGUINS
Kris R's lesson on making a Santa penguin
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_SantaPenguin.htm
lesson on penguin with sign
http://pcpolyzine.com/0212dec/esteppenguin3.html
(3 pages... this is last
page, with photo)
Linda
WP's lesson on making a seated snowman and penguin sitting on clay "candy
dish"... with scarf, mittens, earmuffs,
and holly vine
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=23141
Linda
W's penguin "note holder" (also snowman, gingerbread boy, etc.)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_holidaydecor.html
more penguins http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/Penguins.html
...http://www.whimsicalclaycreations.com/WhimsicalToo.html
(scrap clay penguin covered with cane pattern sheets --lots of translucent
used?? + inclusions)
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/dn537/images/penguin.jpg
Christel's arty whimsical xmas pins magnets (penguin, etc.)
http://home.online.no/~raje/Polymer/pins/christmas.htm
(click to enlarge)
lesson on making penguin
with all-clay egg shape (using 1/2 bar of clay, but could cover an eggshell
or scrunched aluminum foil egg instead of making solid clay)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=c00139
tallmouse's penguin egg (+snowman,reindeer)... onlays on a wood egg
with many materials, but egg could be covered with polymer http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/xmaseggs/index.htm
...any figures can be made by attaching only parts of them to glass or plastic
bottles, or to lightbulbs, glass balls, etc. (e.g....eyes, nose,hands/gloves,
feet/shoes, wings, scarves or other accessories... or whole heads etc.)
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts__penguin.htm
(making a penguin from a soda bottle this way)
Laura's
lesson on dog heads --lab type (mini, but could be any size)...one
is 3/4 view
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/beads-buttons-and-jewelry/dog-earrings-in-polymer-clay
dogs...
swap at PCC (sculpts & canes)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swapdog.html
Linda
WP's lesson on making a dog on a sled
(made w/ FimoSoft's "Metallic White" clay)
http://www.chasummershow.com/productsheets/dogandbear.pdf
(... to enlarge text,
change the %
to 175 from 125, in
the pdf toolbar window )
lesson
on using aluminum foil to make "sculpt" of entire dog
(could cover with clay as well) ... at FARP
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/farp/theart/brukfoil/brukfoil.html
semi-realistic
dogs
http://www.clayvision.com/claypictures.htm
...http://clayvision.net/dog/dogfaqs.htm
bas relief
dog on frame (Puppy Paws Frame, at joann.com.. made with Model Magic, but
same for polymer clay)
http://tinyurl.com/69dz7
Adorables'
cats, dogs, animals, etc.
http://www.lavendera.com/Adorables/adorables%20front%20page.htm
Meowy's
many simple kitties .. all extremeties "pulled"... no joints
http://www.meowy.net/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=29
bas
relief cat on frame http://tinyurl.com/5uc8u
stick
horse toys (stick body for "riding"), ribbon halter (by Marie, Marina)
http://www.marieidraghi.it/immagini/miniature/giocattoli/IMGP1399.JPG
(see more dogs and cats --also horses--
both whimsical and realistic, in:
Sculpting>
Other Items > Animals....also in Websites on that page)
Gail's animals based on HOTP? booklets
http://members7.clubphoto.com/gail412387/435401/owner-8b69.phtml
Heather R's kids & animals
http://members.home.com/claythings/kids.htm
Vanessa's Pigmalion and Bearon
figures (and scenes) (click on both in left column)
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/vlui255808/FimoInvasion.html
adorable
sheep (sitting) ...white balls (or black balls) placed on a flesh colored
body ball (with bellybutton)... simple heads, ears, feet, black eye beads
http://www.mnemain.com/fimoland/
(click on Galeria, then click on Celia
--then enlarge) (gone)
Naamaza's lesson on making
simple sheep (standing)
http://www.naamaza.com/site/detail/detail/detailDetail.asp?detail_id=98939
Marie
S's lesson on making a bear (...has a cup hook though instead of
legs)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_PotHolders.htm
Crafty
Owl's ten minute teddy bear- two minutes for adults! It came
up in the kids' class discussion and several people asked me to post the instructions
(lesson).
To make a bear, make two 'sausage' shapes from clay, cut
the ends off flat and bend into U shapes with the sides just touching or a tiny
bit apart. Put them one on top of the other.These are the four paws, the bear
is sitting on his behind. Make a big ball for the head, and then a smaller ball
for the muzzle - flatten this slightly and put on the lower front of the head.
Mark a mouth on it - I use my fingernail, it a smile shape. Add a little black
ball where the muzzle meets the main head, for the nose, and two little brown
balls flattened with tiry black ones flattened in the middle of them for the eyes.
Take more of the main colour, and make another small ball, flatten it and cut
in half. Take each half, and fold the cut edge in half so that it meets, without
folding the rest of the piece much. This is an ear, place it on the bear's head.
Add a little ball for the tail, if you like. . . . Can be made to hold something,
or to have space for a cake candle. To make it a christmas bear,
use a semi-circle or so of red clay to make a cone shape for a hat, fold over
and add a white ball to the tip. Have him hold a 'wrapped package'. I also make
them very tiny for earrings - pierced right through the poor things heads
and bodys! Crafty Owl
Becky
Meverden's lesson on making a cute bunny with long ears, using blusher
powders for a little color
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,CRHO_project_34872,00.html
artful's
lesson on making a very simple bunny (she uses a bit of wire
between each ear and the head which allows them not to have to be pressed
against the head so much... she then adds bits of paint (2 dots for eyes) or clay
eyes & accessories to make bunny characters --pirate, etc.
http://www.the-artful.net/Making_of__Bunny_by_Shiritsu.jpg
c
*polymerclayexpress'
lesson on sculpting a very nice small dragon
with scrap clay (over alum. foil armature)
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/dece2001.html
..... I just made a dragon to grace one of my
pens (for the pen Swap); and to make the scales I took a regular soda (I'm
From Jersey) straw and sliced across the diameter of the mouth about an inch,
then cut off half of the slice.This left a little scoop that could be used to
slice under and lift small sections of clay. Or pressed into the clay as a half-moon
to make rows of scales. Pinching the scoop gives it a point to make scales with
a different shape.
Linda's lesson on sculpting
a simple dragon
http://www.itsjesterclay.com/littledragonlesson.htm
Cristina's
simple turtle made with cane slices bead + head-neck and feet sticking
out (key chain)
http://www.geocities.com/pastasint/ita/bigiotte/pag1.html
Georgia
Ferrell's tic tac toe turtles (two sets of colors) http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberGeorgia.html
snakes can be made very simply from a long
tapered log of clay
...clay can be solid-color, Skinner blended
colors, marbled clay, striped clay, textured and/or or faux
metal, other patterns, or anything at all
...just roll into
a long tapered log... pinch to create a neck if desired
...add
eyes (and nostrils, mouth, fangs or forked tongue, if desired)
... position
on baking sheet and bake (...if head will be lifted up, prop it by laying
on a bit of polyester stuffing, a tube of paper, etc., so it won't droop)
Annie's
cobra snake... she marbles together some colors into a log, rolls into
a tapered ball, then into a tapered log (no twisting)... then pinches along the
top to create a ridge down snake's back, and makes multiple indentions
along it's body crosswise with a needle tool
...to create cobra hood,
she flattens the head-neck area, then pinches the tip end downward toward ground
slightly to formabstract head
http://www.anniesarc.com/Hatchery2.htm
and http://www.anniesarc.com/CatalogPage2.htm
Annie's
rattlesnake had diamond shapes on its back created by poking holes
in diamond pattern
snakes and
other animals can also be made with an underlying base form of
scrap clay, then covered with cane slices, etc.
...shape
your scrap into a snake or other animal ... cover it with slices from a cane (if
you bake the base shape before adding slices, use white glue or liquid
clay between the baked shape and raw slices)
....if your base shape
is a snake... dragon... fish, etc (anything
without large extremities), the cane slices can look like scales
if overlapped (or possibly teardrop shaped, all applied in the same
direction (begin with bottom row) ... then decorate with eyes, fins,
tails, etc.
Mike
Buesseler’s snakes (Jewelry Crafts, & class)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/mikeb/OldOddStf.html
(over a long rope of scrap clay formed into a triangle log...see Sculpture
> Misc for details)
Marie Segal's snake http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/ms46.htm
Leslie Blackford's snakes, many with cane slices, but some just with
chopped clay or inclusions
http://moodywoods.deviantart.com/art/snakezzz-30600371
... http://moodywoods.deviantart.com/gallery/#_featured--3
Damalias
snake, snake collar necklace, and small-snake earrings ...covered
with mulit-wrapped-bulleseye canes slices
http://www.flickr.com/photos/papcg/2207372029
(see also Jon Anderson's using a similar
technique to cover a snake, lizard, turtle, etc. --very fancy!
http://www.fimocreations.com
(gone?) http://shop.store.yahoo.com/robertshieldsdesign/polymerclay.html
Daniela's
2 snakes (each textured, then covered with metallic powder -- "gold"
snake and "silver" snake), intertwined to make pin(?)
http://www.marieidraghi.it/swap.htm
sea
slugs...gastropod mollusks of the subclass Opisthobranchia, and include
the familiar sea hares as well as numerous small, brightly colored
species. Because of their great diversity in form and color,
sea slugs are a particularly worthy subject for model making ..(his were painted
after baking)... Scott Rawlins, Assistant Professor,Fine Arts, Beaver College
in Glenside, PA
...http://www.seaslugforum.net/
and http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=species
(many, many sea slugs)
snails ...+ nautilus
seashells are a great way to use up your 'muddy' clay-combining all the leftover
pieces & marbling/twisting them together into long tapered
rope before rolling up into a spiral. Kristy
...see also various
jellyroll cane patterns which can be used for nautilus or snail shapes
by using thick slices in Canes-Instr >
Spiral
...Annie's nautilus type sea shells in multi-striped
colors http://www.anniesarc.com/GuiltlessShells2.htm
lesson
on making a funny snail http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e00809&categoryid=10
....DB --Add photos... and add to Scraps
Alan's
beautiful nautilus shells made from translucent and brown
http://groups.msn.com/AlanJamesV/polyclayjewellery.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=54
......
if you want a slimy snail color, coat it with Pearl Ex before baking
& then (after it bakes & cools), coat it in glossy acrylic sealer!!!
Kristy
Denise's
beautiful brown snail shell ... snail has "humanlike face"
http://www.pbase.com/joanie/image/31883037
fancy
fish & starfish, other sea stuff etc. http://www.pbase.com/joanie/seaswap
......Annie's
starfish with long & slender, waving arms,
is made simply from 5 multi-striped, ropes of clay (peachy flesh, with
reddish brown, gray, black) twisted together and smoothed), tapered to
pointy tips at one end ...larger ends of ropes joined together in the center (trimmmed
to V shapes first?)... then arms arranged in S curves (and around another sea
floor object) before baking
http://www.anniesarc.com/CatalogPage16.htm
.....(most
fish are in Canes-Instr
> Picture Canes)
Annie's octopus,
made like starfish but with 8 arms... extra clay in center pulled up to
form octopus head and eyes
http://www.anniesarc.com/CatalogPage11.htm
frogs...
Joanie's lesson on making her little froggies
http://www.pbase.com/joanie/how_to_gallery__froggies
Joyce
Fritz' frog ...solid oval clay body (covered with cane slices... bulge
for eyes, slit for mouth
... legs & toes are coils or twists
of colored wire, with tiny bead at ends for each toe
http://www.woodenstonegallery.com/images/jewelry/JFSfrog1e.jpg
Marie
S's very cool fantastical frogs (abstract, metallic), esp. lips/mouth
and eyes
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/99ms0032.htm
...http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/99ms0027.htm
simple
abstract animal shapes can be made with chopped clay, marbled
clay, Skinner blend logs, Granitex (or translucent
clay with "inclusions" of all kinds, see Inclusions),
faux (fake) stones like jade, marble, ivory, etc, (see
Fauxs), or anything you want
...they can be left as is, or
they can be covered with metallic powders or metallic leaf
(to simulate gold statues), or metallic paints , etc.
...eyes, legs,
wings, etc. can be added to the simpler shapes with clay, or with wire, sticks,
etc., also if you want
Annie's simple animal shapes made with marbled
clay
http://www.anniesarc.com/Catalog.htm
(click on many more pages for duck, whale,
birds, elephant head, flamingo, sloth, etc)
fake
polymer clay rock with one large eyet, by Devil Ducky
... large eye was plastic so not baked with the clay --eye impressed in raw clay,
then glued back in after baking (or could make an eye with clay --see Sculpting-Body
> Eyes > Clay Eyes, or use a glass eye)
...foil-ball armature
underneath.... could use a paperweight, or outdoors, etc.
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/3649/kamen2ze0.jpg
pipe cleaners (the bumpy kind)
formed into many tiny animals
... then bodies are embellished
with shapes of raw clay (and bit of white tacky glue?) to
add eyes, chest plate, and many other things, then baked at 265 for 15 min. (frog,
bears, Picachu, monkeys)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/furry.htm
Garie's
lesson on making a fluffy bear with bump pipe cleaners
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/furry_stems.htm
BUGS
Alan's
realistic bugs & beetles with metallic powders
(anatomically correct)
.....I start with a brass wire (to double as
a stickpin) and fix antennae around that. Then form a body around the wire.The
fun comes with texturing (dental tools) and colouring (pearl-ex mica powders
or Fimo metal pulvers). No two are alike. Alan
http://groups.msn.com/ALANMARY/shoebox.msnw
& http://groups.msn.com/ALANMARY/beetlesampbugsinpolyclay.msnw
Donna
Kato's beautiful bugs, moths, dragonflies... metallic powders, etc.
http://web.mac.com/donna_kato/iWeb/Site/Page%202.html
Family.com's
lesson on making a simple ladybug
http://family.go.com/crafts/season/feature/famf59ladybugs/famf59ladybugs2.html
Becky Meverden's lesson on making a ladybug figure (to hang off
a flower pot)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1399647,00.html
Chris
Gluck's lesson on making funny, simple bugs& buglike
figures (could be people)... colored coiled
wires for arms/legs
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_kid_crafts/article/0,1789,HGTV_3256_1385790,00.html
many
bugs, butterflies, etc., made by kids and adults for The
Great Spring Bug Swap
http://users.adelphia.net/~cclaycreations/html/Spring05_Bug_Swap.html
Lynne
M's ladybugs (ball of clay, onlaid with cane slice or round caned sheet
which had been wrapped with black... halves separated a bit at bottom... black
ball head added to top)
....also butterflies & moths ..
each wing made
from a multiple-cane cane in shapes of various butterflies, etc, wrapped in black
http://www.frajeelai.com/Subcategory.aspx?categoryId=10&subCategoryId=11&page=1
(2 pages)
Garie's
more complex ladybugs --standing up on 2 legs and playing clay piano and
double elec. guitar
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/love_bug.htm
Alan's
simple ladybirds on leaves with lizards
http://groups.msn.com/ALANV/jewellery.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=103
Renee's ladybugs with faces, bees, frog, Raggedy dolls hopscotchcreations.homestead.com/Country.html
(gone)
Caroline's different colored ladybugs
(website
gone)
antkar's simple bug-like animals (powdered, etc.) (website
gone)
llamamama's simpler animals, insects//llamamamasclay.homestead.com/Gallery6.html
catbyte's
(Hazel) very cute, simple lady-bug, w ire legs, antennae
(website gone)
many bugs, caterpillars, spiders, dragonflies (made for wreath)
...esp. 2nd caterpillar made from segments of twisted/squashed ropes ...spider
body with Natasha technique ... light blue bug (prob. mica clay Damascus
Ladder tech) ... and bee/butterfly made with thick cane slices or other
thick cut outs,etc.
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0303march/0303wreathalbum.html
Kim's Day of the Dead caterpillar, with skull head
http://kimcavender.blogspot.com/2008/06/day-of-dead.html
Suzanne's
large bush/tree with a bug on each large leaf (each
bug different, made in different ways... canes slices, powders, etc.)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1043624&uid=149408
scarab
swap at Varda's site
http://community.webshots.com/photo/5633878/17112826EqQLTOFPwa
I teach a "bug"
class that the boys enjoy as well as the girls. . . .we make caterpillars-
just circles of clay attached, with small accents of color... and then a snake
- usually a dark color that they stamp and add the metallic powder (shadow).
... and also lady bugs and beetles- with wire
legs and magic wings: mix at least 3 colors of clay into a ball-
I then slice it in half for them to reveal the mirror image) . . . The
Klutz press books are full of great ideas for children Kathndolls
...we
used to make bumpy green worms with antennae
various bugs
and caterpillars from Arizona guild
....esp. Cheri Oshinsky's
bug as below, but with single, thick cane slices for
the 2 wings and 2 eyes ....long slightly, multiply indented
body made from long b&w stripes, ending in scorpion tail
... legs made from thin wrapped wire, ending with foot of single
transparent glass seed bead ... head solid color
http://www.azpcg.org/documents/BugSwap.htm
fabulous
bugs made in layers
of cane slices over polymer ball (beetles or other) (or can use
other clay bits instead of canes) ... whimsical
bugs made by covering a polymer ball with several sets of different
though symmetrical cane slices, with legs
.........for many details
on how to make these and photos , see
Sculpting > Other Items
...also has
a beetle "anatomy lesson"
Here
is just one lesson and one lots of examples:
...many
many bugs! http://www.pbase.com/joanie/bugz
(Joanie's bug swap)
...Jody
B's bugs http://www.pbase.com/jody/bugz
and http://www.pbase.com/image/21173954
lesson
on making cane slice bugs, anatomically correct, for teachers (requires
Adobe Acrobat reader)
http://www.amaco.com/jsps/amacohome.jsp
(click on Lesson Plans, then on lesson #10)
Naamaza's bugs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naamaza/page9/
Joyce
Fritz' bugs have tiny twisted wires for legs ... (& frog)
http://www.handscapesgallery.com/jewelry/joyce_fritz.htm
& http://www.woodenstonegallery.com/artists/JFS.html
Dorothy
Greynolds' fireflies
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=4651843&uid=2343137
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4153008&a=31266991&p=68339964&f=0
(see
ladybugs above too for some made like this)
(see
Cheri's bug just above also)
(there may be more bugs on the Sculpting
page > Bugs...)
One great way to make light little insects would be to use Jan R's "mask" pendants which were formed over small smooth rocks ... neat! Joanie (website gone)
could
also put polymer bugs & critters in a mini habitat you make , for display
or for pretend-play
(for more, see below in Scenes
& Dioramas for ideas, plus some made by Garie Sim inside closed plastic
containers)
see many MORE ANIMALS in long WEBSITE LIST above
(for a material that's cheap and easy-to-carve after drying (even for kids) for creating 3-D forms, see vermiculite and plaster mix in Carving > "Carving" Sculptures ...not polymer, but could be embellished with glued-on bits of clay)
more toys & mini-home accessories
(....for
making clay couches and chairs and wood bench, see Miniatures
> Furniture
(...........
for "pillows" to put on the couches, see Covering
> Glass > flat glass pebbles)
(....for a dresser made
from small matchboxes, see below in "Covering")
(for
building houses, castles, etc., see Houses-Structures)
Kim's
clay car (carrying a Day of the Dead shriner)
http://kimcavender.blogspot.com/2008/06/day-of-dead.html
Marie S's cars: http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/v113.jpg
...Jeep http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/v100.jpg
Marie S's trucks: http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/v101.jpg
...fire truck http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/v107.jpg
MarieS's
trains: miniature toy train, with each car carrying a (cutout) letter
(of a child's name, etc.)
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-02/pages/train1.htm
train
engine ornament (with engineer pig) http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/pig.jpg
*Elizabeth's minatures (more of a lesson
to come):
cups, saucers, mixing bowl, cookie sheet, wooden rolling pin,wooden
spoon, dough, gingerbread people cookies with icing and raisins
, hot chocolate and mini marshmallows
http://thepolyparrot.com/cookies.html
(see many more miniatures, in Miniatures)
Garie has MANY
THINGS kids can make at his large website
(and in his book Got Clay Can Play:
--projects
for school http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/school/project.htm
--(dinosaur) base for drinking "jar" or for pencil
holder http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/drinkadino.htm
--soda can "turned into" a tree (pencil holder) http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/the-wizard.htm
--scenes, toys, etc., made by kids in his class http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/gallery.htm
--fun "movement" card, with big fish
eating small fish (via wire) http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/strings-wires.htm
--funny coasters http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/lacoaster.htm
--some
contain recycled bits and pieces; some have springs or magnets
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/index.html
for
various Pokemon critters and scenes made by Garie's students,
see above in Robots, Monsters, etc.
space
themes (planets, moons, rocket ships) --these were beads
but could be larger (using tightly wadded aluminum foil underneath or not) for
science projects too
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=548982&uid=452502
also Teri's sheet of galaxies (lesson) for beads; also
a multi-layer spiral slice makes a good single galaxy
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=551073&uid=452502
...(see
robots in Figures above)
outdoor stuff
lesson on making clay cactuses in a terra cotta clay pot (see below in Jewelry, plus other cactuses)
Tamila's flowers and leaves on telephone wire stalks in pot (with bunny) (website gone)
plant stakes (for labeling plants), or put in a flower pot.. Sherry used regular silk flowers, then added a molded polymer face in the center of each (stamens removed). . . or the petals could be made of polymer too (no link?)
"
faces" for trees ... 4-10" high facial features to
hang on a tree trunk (like Mr. Potato Head) and create whimsical tree faces
(could make from polymer... make hole(s) in back of each to hang on small nail
(secure well if you live in a windy area!)
......(2 eyes, 1 nose, mouth, or
mouth unit with mustache, etc..... could also add earrings, bangs, bow tie,
etc.) --change for seasons?
http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com
(click on Garden, then prob. on pg.2?)
OR make
these facial features for mini-pumpkins or hard squashes... push
the pieces onto vegetable "heads," then sit around yard/garden
or on porch, windowsill, etc.
.......could also use other plant
material (with nails or glue) to add arms, hair, ears, hat or clothing,
etc.) (see Mixing Media also for other plant
material)
for
lessons for more garden critter signs & rocks,
see Outdoor Polymer > Books
for
lessons
on covering
rocks to make "houses"
or "animals" etc., in Vessels-Rock
> Larger
for lessons on gluing rocks together to create
figures, etc (and also to paint on rocks), see below in Other
Ideas > more
canejane's
birdhouses made by covering cut-down film cannisters, adding
roof & donut for opening? (could also be done with PVC pipe or even rolled
paper)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=742769&uid=502621
KimK's mini birdhouse covered with clay (wood form from Michaels)
...Granitex roof, blue sides, vine trainiling up front, tiny bird in hole
...hanging
on my front porch several years and only change seen is a bit of fading of the
blue side which gets the sun all day, every day
http://www.beadyeyedbrat.com/journey6.html
(see frogs, birds and owls, etc., above in Animals)
"RELIEF
" sculpting ...on plaques, etc.
+ "sculpted
clay paintings"
NOTE: To sculpt "in
relief" means to place shallow, shaped bits onto a background to create
a picture or design
... the result is not 3-dimensional
like most sculpture you may know (it's as if the backs of the sculpted
bits had been eliminated before adding them to the background)
...."high"
relief means the added parts stick out quite a bit from the surface
...."bas"
(pronounced "bah") relief (low relief) means the added parts
stick out only a little from the suface
Garie's kids'
many wonderful scenes done in bas relief, or in
high relief (and some full 3-D)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creativity/mosaic.htm
(click on each one to see many more)
(...see
many more examples in Paints
> Polymer Paintings > Relief and Onlay, Puzzle Piece
.......and
also in Sculpting >
Bas Relief ......and also below in "Scenes &
Dioramas")
Tarah's bas reliefs
in two sections of a shadow box
http://www.marieredmondartsandcrafts.com/images/Tarah_s_Peeking_Santa.jpg
Garie
also has his students draw an image on paper, then re-create
the drawn image in bas relief with clay (or in 3-D)
...for creating
bas relief, the image could be placed under glass as a guide, and
the clay modeled on top of it... then baked on the glass)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creating_ideas.htm
...Toni's
students' bas relief paintings made over prints from magazines or
famous paintings... they use a sheet of plexiglas with a sheet of
plastic wrap on top of it, then carefully remove plastic wrap and place
painting on cookie sheet for baking (30 min.)...they work only with a wooden
skewer and fingers... they sell
some of their pieces, but only to earn money to buy more art materials for
class.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay/article/0,1789,HGTV_3236_2755049,00.html
...
I have used greeting cards, covered with plastic wrap, and made pins.
Sharon K.
... could use your own photographs as images guides as well
Linda
B's lesson on making a bas relief flower, by putting the proper
scientific parts together
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_PartsOfFlower.htm
Jan's fish and seaweed, on a wood plaque
http://www.pbase.com/image/2137073
*Anne
Klocko's many animals, people, sea themes, flowers, etc. (flatish relief)
http://anneklocko.com/vca_pix.htm
and http://anneklocko.com/vca_7x7.htm
many ornaments (hobbies, etc.) bas relief sculpting
http://www.personalizedfree.com/
Garie's
bas relief magnets (car, tree, bear, etc.)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/nightdrive.htm
bas
relief dog on frame (Puppy Paws Frame, at joann.com.. made with Model
Magic, but same for polymer clay)
http://tinyurl.com/69dz7
bas
relief cat on frame http://tinyurl.com/5uc8u
Caroline’s clay paste seascape painting,
with onlaid sailboats and flowered “curtains”
(website
gone)(...see Sculpting
> Bas Relief for more of this type)
Jan
R's simpler mandalas (made with cane
slices on a marbled/etc. background, created on a tile)
http://www.pbase.com/janruh/tiles
.......for a lesson on making these see http://pcpolyzine.com/november2001/mandala.html,
by Byrd)
Garie's
Humpty Dumpty figure on a wall, as a bas relief scene ... Humpty is made
from component parts which fit together by hidden magnets... when
he falls, he "breaks" apart
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/humpty.htm
(...see
more just below in "Onlays", which overlaps
this info)
(...also
see other examples of bas relief in Sculpting >
in "Bas Relief")
OTHER
KINDS OF
BAS RELIEF
(... see other examples and types of "painting"
with bas relief in Paints > "Paintings"
> flattish paintings)
(...see also Stamping
> "bas relief" effects with stamps)
( see also Canes-Gen
> for pressing down "background" areas of cane slices to provide
relief)
(...see also faux leather techniques in Faux-many
> Leather)
most info on onlays are on this page: http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/onlay.hm
.....(see also just above in "Bas Relief")
"Onlays"
are any shapes, ropes, or just any bits of clay, which are
pressed onto the suface of some other background clay
... these can
stick up (in "relief) a lot or a little
.......(see also "Bas
Relief" sub-category on this page for much more too)
Quinn's
onlay "pieced" patterns
(creates sheet, then shapes) & use of twisted
ropes
http://www.agate.net/~lquinn/products.html
Michelle
Ross' various colorful fish (for mobile)... disk shape as base,
with added cutouts for fins, tails, stripes, heart-shaped lips (or rope)
http://www.polymerclayplay.com/html/gallery.htm
Sculpey's
lesson on small chalk board with onlays made from molds...
also large star cutout bent upward (like trough) at its bottom...then attached
to bottom of board to hold chalk
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_MessageBoard.htm
parrot jewelry, & and some xmas, Valentines
http://www.parrotjewelry.com/jewelry.html
L.Osborne
(Cath's) small lamp with large onlaid sculpted rose and two
leaves
http://faerieangel1nc.tripod.com/faeriesandangelsabound/id9.htm
Christi
Friesen's bas relief scenes on vessels (the outside) (jungle, ocean, etc.)
http://store.cforiginals.net/vessels.html
Anne's
many framed whimsical "pictures" made from sheets of clay
http://anneklocko.com/vca_7x7.htm
NF's whimsical scenes mostly using overlapped
cane slices (forests, mountains, flower hillside, cows)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c255/Nadja2002/Swaps/?action=view¤t=DSC00048_small.jpg
Amy's
small brighly-colored "paintings" in small frames, with
an onlay of a house, sun, etc, on a patterened clay sheet background
......
also an entire childlike scene ..e.g., of a house front, yard, flowers,
etc.
http://www.creationsinclay.com
(click on Framed Artwork...
and on Magnets)
Annie's non-symmetrical
onlaid spirals and stack bits (website gone)
Jenny's simple onlay cat shapes (website
gone)
Trina's (filigree mosaic Easter) pins --she
uses small ropes (the most even ones will be made with a claygun) to fill in areas
of her design or picture
(website
gone)
Trace's
mini vases (*cactus, dolphin, bows, animal tails, esp) (website
gone)
Cecilia's
many framed photos for xmas ornaments (onlaid) (website
gone)
*LadysMaidJewels' Medieval,
Renaissance, etc., reproduction pendants, earrings, etc., made with
gold powder and unfaceted jewels . . . . make a clay base (which
has texturing, balls, ropes, etc.); cover completely with gold powder; impress
whichever jewels you want to use in the base and remove before baking (unless
jewels are glass); bake; seal; glue jewels back in
http://www.ladysmaidjewels.com/Polymer/polymer.html
ADD my hot glue variation
Shapes of all kinds can be cut out from clay sheets, then used in lots of ways!... And most are very easy to do.
The color and patterns used in the clay sheets
can be anything:
...just plain solid-color clay
...OR, sheets
of patterned clay (from marbling, for example)... stamped sheets
...sheets covered with metallic powders or leaf ...sheets created by putting
thin clay bits onto them then rolling them flat into the clay (cane slices,
or various other things) ...and many other clay sheets/looks
To
cut out shapes from sheets of flat clay:
... cookie cutters (and
other cutters) can be used
...or they can be cut with the tip of a blade
or with a needle tool (while firmly pressed down to sheet of glass or other
smooth surface to hold in place)
Thickness
or thinness of the cutouts depends only on what you want, and how rigid or
flexible you want them to be, and the brand/line of polymer clay used (Sculpey,
SuperSculpey--flesh, and SuperSculpey
especially, will break more easily after baking when thin than the others, which
will bend without breaking if baked correctly --best clays would be Kato Polyclay,
Premo, FimoClassic, Cernit, and probably FimoSoft --bake thoroughly).
After
cutting out, the cutouts can also be:
....embellished with onlays
--from smaller cutters, or with your own onlays ...some
onlays could be details --such as adding eyes or carrot noses to snowmen,
or ornaments to Christmas trees, decorations for a gingerbread house, etc.
....if
the sheets were textured or stamped, they could not be highlighted
or "antiqued" with paints or metallic powders, etc., to
bring out the detail
...layered to create 3-D shapes (like Gloobies,
but with clay instead)
Cutouts
can be used for:
....bookmarks....or shapes to be glued
to greeting cards, etc....package decorations/tags, etc. (see
Cards)
....xmas tree ornaments
... pins or magnets
or jewelry
....play figures (including paper dolls, Flat
Stanleys, animals, etc.)
...anything else you can think of ...(more
on Cutters page > Uses, Cutouts)
There is much more
info on cutouts, many examples of using cutters on the
Cutters page:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/cutters-blades.htm
...that
page also has many places to buy cutters of all kinds (including themed
cutters for Christmas, Halloween, music, just about any shape you can imagine
(see the Sources subcategory on that page).
...that page also shows
how to make your own cutters (or order kit for making your own) (see Making
Your Own)
Small plastic cookie cutters
from the cake decorating area are great for kids to use to cut out
some basic shapes.
.....they can add an eye to a fish, or spots to a dog,
etc.
Bed, Bath and Beyond: 100 plastic cutters (I presume alphabet
& numbers plus others --the cutters with plastic bits in the middle of the
outline shape will make impressions inside the shape as well, e.g. the football,
bike, and ice cream cone)
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/Product.asp?SKU=11731422
....plastic cutters sometimes don't make a clean edge. If you are
willing to put in the extra time to trim or blend edges its no big deal. Trina
....or, use a piece of plastic wrap on top of the clay before you
cut it with a cookie cutter. This will at least round the edge and bevel it. Jeanette
examples,
lessons, etc.
Sarajane’s bear & star cutouts+, other projects
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_StarStudent.htm
http://www.polyclay.com/project.htm
polymerclayexpress’ holly and berry wreath using 4 and 6-pointed canape
cutters
http://polymerclayexpress.com/nov2000.html
Marcy's birdhouses made by onlaying V-shape
for roof onto house cutout, then onlaying little flowers, etc.
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/birdhouse/birdhouse.html
cutouts
(using a paper pattern) for tiny shirts
... many of the other
shirts in this swap were embellished with little summer miniatures like
flip flops, sunglasses, cameras, etc. attached or dangling below
http://www.dragonsglass.com/tshirt.txt
(gone)
Nina
K's pine tree shape, cut out from flat "collage"
sheet of clay patterns with a tree cutter
....the
shape is then surrounded by thin clay rope frame
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/nina.html
(see
many more pattern possibilities in Sheets
of Pattern)
create
the letters of your name (or anything else) in clay with cutters and put
them on a background plaque, or have them held by characters, on
a switchplate in your room, etc. You could also cut out the letters with
letter cutters or pattern scissors. (see Lettering category for more info
on how to and samples)
Karyn's
names on kids' pins (or anything) made with thin polymer ropes; printed
(not cursive)... along with simple flowers, faces, cutter shapes, etc.
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/catherinescreations.html
http://www.zigzag.co.nz/NZPCG/Karyn.html
Sarajane's
lesson on making a star (or other) shaped frame with a part of a
photo glued onto the back with a gluestick.. she decorated with onlays,
texturing and a bit of glitter
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_StarStudent.htm
(see Frames & Mirrors
for using a school picture --and baking it in frame)
Heather's
frame made of overlapped leaves
...each leaf started as a sheet
of plain or marbled clay, which was impressed with a real leaf
then cut around (with an Xacto or needle)
...all leaves were then
shaped, & draped on a sheet of plain clay (probably with a spacer)
for a photograph to be inserted
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_sep04.html
(using marbled mix of yellow, red and green
clay, she rolled it flat and cut into leaves with a cookie cutter
...then used one of the tools to impress "veins". You
could also get fancy and use some metallic powder
...or maybe doing a mokume
gane with fall leaf colors and copper leafing, rolling it flat and
then cutting the leaves out of that --be aware though that some copper
leafing tarnishes drastically even when captured in the polymer
clay (esp. next to Sculpey clay?) (see Leaf
for how to avoid)
lesson on child's hand
frame for a photo... template of hand is drawn on cardstock or construction
paper and placed on clay sheet... cut around template with a toothpick (or hat
pin, etc.)... place photo on from of plam and surround with rope of clay... add
macaroni letters to spell name, or addother embellishements... bake ...they glue
toothpicks on the back of each finger to make the clay stiffer (but could also
reduce the template on a copy machine to make it smaller, or place the
regular-size ahdn hand on another sheet of clay (a rectangle for example)
to make it thicker and stiffer
http://www.diynet.com/diy/cr_clay/article/0,2025,DIY_13750_2268661,00.html
Mary Lyon's lesson on cutting
a sheet of polymer in the exact shape of your hand, then adding a photo
and border, etc.... for xmas?
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_clay/article/0,2025,DIY_13750_2268661,00.html
hand
ornament or "vase"...lesson for tracing
around a hand with a toothpick, then cutting out with Xacto
knife (smooth edges)
... add two holes for hanging... a clay "pocket"
is added and clay flowers on pocket to embellish... silk flowers placed in
pocket.. ribbon or cording strung through holes for hanging (at joann.com,
Clay Ornament) http://tinyurl.com/5875s (gone)
flatter
Dimples'
lesson on making scrapbook page decorations with sheets of clay
and bas relief embellishments
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_Scrapbook_1stMemory.htm
(see
more in Cards)
Linda Calef's samples of embellished
cutter shapes (from her book Wearable
Whimsies)
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/detail_hotp2152.html
lesson
on adding wire to clay cutouts to create cute bugs, suns,
etc, (fairly flat)
...bend wires into various shapes, then sandwich
part of the wire inside (two?) clay shapes to hide, for the bodies (leaving arms/legs/etc.sticking
out)
.....from Design Originals short book "Down to
the Wire") http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=k00028
...see below in Other Ideas for other
wire ideas --simple figure with wire & cardboard and a tiny
wire figure with "clothing" )
flat figures ..."paper dolls," Flat Stanley, etc.
a [i]polymer clay[/i] Flat Stanley?? As long as you use a stronger brand than Sculpey III, you'll be able to make something quite thin that'll be flexible but won't break or even tear if bent and twisted. Here are just a few examples made by Garie Sim, which are used as bookmarks: http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/bookmark3.htm Garie used a flexible polymer clay now called "Bake and Bend" for those particular pieces but most of the strong regular polymer clays can be done the same way. Be sure and bake thoroughly or even longer for even more strength. You can check out other thin bookmarks made mostly from regular strong brands of polymer clay on this page that may give you an idea of the range of things that can be done "flat": http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/cards.htm .... click on [b]Bookmarks[/b] especially, but really most other things on that page are flatties too) You could also make a flat "decal" type of Stanley with liquid polymer clay in various ways. You could use tinted liquid clays, and/or there are various ways to transfer images to liquid clay (as well as to solid clay) so you could transfer a whole drawing or other image of Stanley to one of those, or just do his face in liquid or solid clay then attach it to a paperdoll or other polymer clay, etc. Great possibilities ...
Lynne M's lesson
on making a cut out figure from flat chopped clay.. if you don't
make you own cutter, use a regular body cutter, but remove head from the clay
cutout and substitue a spiral cane slice for head... bit of wire
on back to strengthen for pin
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_jewelry/article/0,1789,HGTV_3238_3335450,00.html
see also
...jointed paper dolls and other
figures > Paperdolls .... Pollydollys below?, more?
Mmasaur made pins with cookie cutters and fabric markers... then coated with Future floor wax (or use another sealer, if needed)
Darla's
--lesson on painted, cut out dove shapes (these had a few
defining lines inside --were used for xmas tree decorations)
1. I drew the
dove pattern I wanted to use, with a black outline for cutting, and red lines
for later impressing the details)
2. I cut out the pattern, and used it as
a template for cutting the pattern out of a flat sheet of clay. (I would use a
fairly thick sheet of clay, if not two or three sheets stacked together).
3. After cutting out the pattern in the clay, using an exacto knife, take a dull
knife with a rounded edge to imprint the patterns in the wing and tail. (I used
red lines to mark where to make the impressions in the template picture)
4. I rounded off all the edges, which is easy to do with polymer clay if you use
a little talcum powder and rub around the edges. (or cornstarch if need
to remove traces)
5. After baking, paint with
pearl acrylic paint, add a black dot for the eye, and paint the
tip of the beak with black as well.
6. After the paint dries, glue a sprig
of green statice to it's beak. (if you only have white statice, you can paint
it with acrylic paint also, which is what I did for the one in the picture)
7. If you decide to use as a pin, glue on the pin back, or for a gift tag, I would
insert a wire loop before baking.
That's all there is to it, and of course,
all colors are optional, that is why I didn't really list any. I plan to do this
again with some pearl-ex powders. . . It would be very easy to make a mold
for this as well, and that would speed up production to almost no time at all.
After baking the first one, before painting, sprinkle it with cornstarch or talcum
powder, then press some scrap clay onto it to make a mold. After baking the mold,
all you'll need to do is add a mold release, then press clay into it. The dove
shape will just pop out ready to bake! Darla
Darlene's
cutout cat (using animal-skin pattern sheet) with a few embellished details
(website gone)
... the cat's heart is a cane
slice onlaid on top
... the claws (and facial features?) are incised or
stamped, then antiqued (filled with a contrasting color of acrylic paint,
wiped off of the upper surface, leaving it in the depressions)
coasters
...size...
circle or square (4" or whatever size you want), or odd-shaped cut with cookie
cutter or freehand
...possible techniques ....cane slice sheets, slice
paintings, textured or stamped, mosaics (inlay or caned), faux stone, wood, ivory,
or other faus and inclusions, transfers, etc.
...you could embellish with
crystals, glitters, beads, charms, fibers. Patty B.
...Patty Underwood's various coasters http://www.flickr.com/photos/papcg/sets/72157600940503148
...(this lesson was designed especially for people who
can't manage accuracy with scissors, but can manage to hold a stamp or a rolling
pin... to make as gifts)
(lesson) Roll out the Premo or FimoSoft
to a suitable thickness for coasters.... Cut out circles, maybe with crinkled
edges, with the cookie cutter.... Decorate by pushing in clean, dry rubberstamps
to impress images into the clay.... Put the maker's initials on the back. ...
bake. (If prefered, stamp the images first and then cut out - good for patterns).Crafty
Owl.
...Rebecca D.
has a lesson and examples re making disks to be used for 4-5"
coasters by flattening spirals of clay logs or... she says to use
a rubber eraser to clean any parts that look dirty after use; drips can be rinsed
off (see details in Sheets of Pattern >
Dragged Lines)
http://echomtnc1.homestead.com/pccoasters.html
and http://echomtnc1.homestead.com/instructions.html
...funny coasters http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/lacoaster.htm
(for
much more on making coasters, see Sculpting-gen
> Other Items)
bottom part of large
star cutout bent upward (like trough)...then attached to bottom
of a chalk board as a holder (or chalk)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_MessageBoard.htm
you can use baked polymer cut-out shapes (perhaps
embedded at the end of a chopstick) to stamp with (for example,
stamping metallic powders or acrylic paint onto raw clay,
or even fabric paint onto t-shirts, etc.)
http://www.twisteez.com/products.html
(like these "chopsticks")
(see also Clay
Guns > Disks for pattern disks --though which clay can be extruded
then have a slice cut off for this purpose)
most
info on onlays are on this page: http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/mosaics_inlay.htm
There are several ways to create mosaic
tiles:
...square or other shaped tiles can be cut from a sheet of raw
clay with tiny cutters (Kemper makes small ones, or aspic cutters, e.g.)
...or
they can be cut in grids by cutting with a long blade or with the tip of
a blade... or simply scored in these ways before baking to be snapped apart
after baking
.......or squares or other shapes can be cut freehand with
an Xacto
.......some grids can be cut or impressed with things like
a french-fry cutter or tiny-ice-cube tray
...or make a log of
clay (round or square, etc.), then cut many slices (as close to same thickness
as possible
Then in either case, bake the pieces to harden them
Tiles can also be created by baking sheets of clay very flat (even weighting down with something smooth and flat), and cutting them after baking while still warm (generally with scissors --thin clay is fairly easy to cut when warm)
....for a matte finish on
the tiles, put a sheet of paper on the top side of any weight you use
....for
a shiny finish, put a sheet of glass or a metal baking
sheet on top of the clay sheet before baking, and then weight it (heated clay
will take on the texture of any surface that's placed against in during baking...
any spots that don't completely touch, however,
won't be shiny)
.......Kato brand of polymer clay has a naturally
somewhat-shiny finish though
Tiles can also be re-shaped (after creating either way) by re-heating, then cutting with scissors while still warm... especially if you want specific shapes or smaller filler shapes.
Finished
tiles can then be inlaid into a raw sheet of clay (either butted
tightly together, or left slightly apart) to form the pattern
........(the
base sheet of clay could be a solid color, of course.....or even something like
marbled-colors or faux ivory)
...or the tiles can simply
be glued onto another material such as wood, metal, cardstock, glass,
etc,
.........or items made from these materials like boxes, frames,
switchplates, etc..
If the tiles are applied
slightly apart, there are several ways the spaces can be treated after
baking:
.....ordinary grout can be applied and wiped off in the
usual way (damp wipe at end)
.... a polymer grout can be made from colored
polymer clay, thinned with Diluent-Softener or even with mineral or vegetable
oil
....acrylic or oil paint can be applied all over and forced into
the spaces, then the surface wiped clean
If you've used grout, and it isn't all removed by damp wiping, when you've finished baking the mosaic piece, it (may look a bit cloudy). If that happens, you can apply a clear finish like Future floor wax or Varathane (water-washup), or you can sand the surface with wet-dry sandpaper (use it wet) in grits of 400 then 600, then buff with a t-shirt or most any fabric to bring up a shine (the longer you buff, the higher the shine generally as long as you've sanded first)
Sarah
Lajoie's mosaic frame (she shows how to cut tiny individual tiles,
sells tiles already cut, and has a design-your-own-pattern grid at
her website)
http://pcpolyzine.com/october2001/frame.html
(lesson)
http://www.users.qwest.net/~lajoie/minitiles/
(click on Design Workshop)
STAMPING.... MOLDS ... & Metallic Powders ...
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/stamping.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/powders_metallicwaxes.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/leaf.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/molds.htm
FAQ-Surface Effects,metallic,paint,rough,antique
http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/surface.html
Dotty's abstract powders; bicone bead shape lesson
http://www.jewelrycrafts.com/clayproj4.html
stamped & powdered medallions
http://www.mirkwooddesigns.com/medallions.htm
Ruth
Ann's lesson on very easy stamped disks of clay, some with metallic
powders
http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/medallions.htm
my kids' powdered pendants (made with molds, stamps)
(website gone)
Irene’s lesson on silver Rub’N Buffed, decorated
hearts
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/valpin.htm
Leigh’s leaf impressions with powders, lesson
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/poleigh/leaf.html
Pigment ink pads can be used nicely with stamps --gold/silver/copper or colors. (I guess regular stamp pad ink can be used too, but it would be best to seal it if it will receive much rubbing from clothing or hands. I haven't tried the inks from the paintbrush type stamp pens--they might need to be sealed.)
I saw Donna Kato create an abstract design in her clay by using only one area of a larger stamp --either using a small random area from a large stamp, or impressing the clay repeatedly in different directions with the same corner of a stamp.
Try the metallic and pearly powders (Pearl Ex powders which are made from mica instead of aluminum--no precautions necessary, or the Fimo brand which are are real metallics so avoid breathing and use paper underneath to discard all scattered powder). These are applied *before* baking to either the entire surface with a soft brush, or only to the upper flat surface only (with a finger or something similar) if using with an image stamped into the clay. Seal after baking if the piece will rub against clothing, lots of fingers, etc. (Future --yep, floor polish) is cheap and effective to seal it; apply with brush or cloth.
*After* baking, you can use the Rub 'N Buffs, Treasure Golds, or metallic or plain acrylic paints in tubes--I've used mostly the metallic and interference ones. Rubbing Burnt Umber or another brown into the crevices then wiping the excess from the top gives an antique look. (Rub ‘N Buff has a stronger smell than the others, if that matters to you).
Embossing powders can be used in several ways: they can be mixed into the clay, applied onto unbaked clay (seal afterward), or applied onto baked clay using those special embossing pens that cause the powder to stick wherever the pen has drawn (someone said regular Bic Stic ink works too)--put back in oven to melt.
As
someone has mentioned recently, you can use the fancy-edging scissors to
cut very thin, baked clay. These could be cut into shapes, strips, whatever,
after baking, or possibly before (?).
Shape or regular punchers can
also be used with this thin clay for stars, hearts, etc., but make your sheet
really thin for use with those little square punches!!
Wavy rotary blades
work great before baking and the clay doesn't have to be thin.
Make impressions in the clay before baking with screwdriver tips, strongly graphic stamps, toothpicks, whatever...cut out shapes, strips, etc., and use these as is, or apply metallic powder to the raised flat background --the image will be indented like a carving.)
I made wire shapes, then
hammered them flat, then pressed them into clay shapes, then painted
with pearlex.... baked them, and started prying the wire
up to add some liquid clay to make a strong bond between the wire and the
clay. but as I am pulling the wire off, I am thinking they actually look better
without the wire maybe (with the black background clay showing through and assuming
the wire shape). (inspired by a Mike B. pin) Kellie
http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/wirenclaypins.html
...I bet it'd look wonderful pressed into a clay covered votive, leaving
a thin area for the light to shine through where the wire was pressed in. Darla
...other stuff could probably be used instead of the wire. a smooth piece
of twine, perhaps. lay it down on the clay in a design, and then brayer
the twine down into the clay. texture, and apply pearlex, then gently remove the
twine. Kellie
The small flat pieces of clay you're talking about making with your group could also be used to embellish cards without being too thick for the mail, I would think by being glued onto colored paper or cardstock.
You can also make polymer postcards, which go through the mail just fine! (see Linda Goff's Polymer Postcards at http://www.lindagoff.com/wire2.html and more on Cards page). Diane B.
You can also make nifty stamp rollers by carving/stamping a rectangle of clay which you then roll into a log, or use to surround a dowel or another log of clay before baking --this gives you a rollable stamper for continuous marking. It would be neat also to add things to the surface of the stamp --things like tiny Kemper shaped clay pieces, etc.
"stones" impressed with
individual words, numbers, shapes (for kids learning to read, do math,
learn shapes)... good for practice as well as for kids who do best with
touch . . . they could also make them themselves)
...here are some made
with inclusions http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/playwithclay.html
...(see
more on making lettering and things like these in Letters-Inks
> Stamps and Molds)
HOT GLUE:
as MOLD:
I put an inked stamp into a large blob of hot glue from my glue gun (which
was extruded in a puddle on glass, a tile, or whatever will release it),
then let it harden.... I slowly peeled off the stamp, and later
pressed polymer clay into the new *mold*....(because the glue *mold* was
flexible, I was able to pry the polymer clay out quite easily). Barbara
http://community.webshots.com/album/20460362rDXaCMfuHo
(temporarily at Denise in Austin's site)
...you could also use one of those
glue pads sold for the glue guns for easy release
...Barbara used
hot-melt glue; would low-melt work as well?
...........could
also be used as a STAMP as well?...
either the negative glue or the positive made from
the molded clay
..........make a print:
Spread a texture stamp that you made, with paint (or pigment ink),
then place a sheet of paper over it and press. Just like doing a woodblock
print... OR rub with a pencil or crayon like doing a regular rubbing.
as
EMBELLISHMENT (reverse) : lesson on using hot glue puddle placed on
a bottle (or other object) to make an impressed medallion ... impression
made with a wet stamp (stamp of any kind, moistened with water)
when glue becomes cloudy... after glue cools and stamp is removed, glue impression
completely covered with Patio Paint (a strongly adhesive acrylic paint,
or any acrylic) to color the glue, then highlighted with Autumn Rub 'N Buff
(to which a bit of gold RB is added here and there)... (cork for bottle
is also painted then Rub'NBuffed)
http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/nowwhatzine4jan03/makingtreasurebottles.html
I've been wondering about making stamps for polyclay from
regular Elmer's glue (not their "School" Glue tho')....
by drawing a design with a line of Elmer's glue squeezed right out
of the bottle onto cardboard.... when it's completely dry, you should
have a raised design, and you can ink it and print it. It was fun
and looked cool.
(....or use the stamp to impress into polymer clay)
...you
wouldn't even have to draw freehand; you could print out something, or
trace it, then glue it to the cardboard and drizzle glue on the lines .
. . Keep in mind you can't control the thickness of the
line too well, and so you get a very "loose"-looking drawing with
some extra blobs and thin spots. This would be fine if you plan what kind of design
to apply the technique to--a sort of casual folk-art image would be great. Suzanne
making your own Stamps & Molds ....with "Ready Stamps"
Sarajane's
page on how to order Ready Stamps, and examples
http://www.polyclay.com/ready.htm
This
is a great idea (and you get to support a worthy cause to boot!) --having your
own stamps made. It's easy and cheap. All you need to do is draw anything you
like (with black ink), or paste on photocopied images from Dover books, etc.,
or type type some text onto white paper (if you've pasted on photocopies, re-photocopy
the whole thing so you have just one flat sheet) and send to:
Ready Stamps
The United Cerebral Palsy Foundation 10405 San Diego Mission Dr., Suite 103 San
Diego, Ca 92108 (619) 282-8790
Call to order first, and for any additional
information. **Be sure to request both the MATRIX and PLATE** with your order
so you will have the negative into which the rubber is poured. This *acts just
like a sheet of molds* and makes great raised designs in the clay! !!!!
When you receive it, take the rubber sheet of stamps and cut around each image as closely as feasible, then permanently or temporarily mount each on a handle/base made from small thick clay cubes or tiles --or whatever shape can mostly easily be grasped, wood blocks, or the bottom surface of one of those clear rectangular acrylic boxes that come in several sizes and colors--these are neat to use because you can see through them. .
Be forewarned: this is enjoyably addictive!!! You'll tend to find more and more uses for them, as well as other images you just *have to have* for clay :-) --even drawing your own textures like thin lines or little stars, etc., etc!
Here
is a list of things that were used to make impressions in the clay in the
"texture swap" I participated in:
--screwdriver tips (star-like
impressions) --pen tips or caps --crumpled aluminum foil --piece of wide lace
(roll over for impression), --thin, long strip made with small & lg. teeth
of comb --diagonal, wormy, raised pattern (plastic texture sheet--art store) --drywall
screen (3-M, med.), or any size --sandpaper --plastic canvas (# 7) --med.curved
parallel lines --lines of small, thin, depressions --interesting & fancy buttons
(from several people) --small parallel lines (grip area on plastic clothespin)
--rough rock (a cylinder stamp) --rough bark (faux wood?) --open-weave, wire-edged
ribbon --tiny cedar branches --irregular lines of bumps --skewer end; scales?
(with samples) --insect tunnels from a dead branch --fine, knobby fabric weave?
(for borders on pins) --grid of lg & sm discs --broken taillight --metal
studs (stars, rounded, circles--for holding stones?) --basketweave leather tool
--raised fat spirals --backpack strap --vent cover impression --rows of logenze
shapes (guitar amplifier) --3-diff.-edged cake decorator triangle
Molds
Polymer
Clay FAQ | Using Molds
http://www.jaedworks.com/clayspot/polyclay-faq/molding.html
Judi Maddigan’s projects with Pushmolds
http://www.angelslanding.com/pushmolds/index.html
http://www.angelslanding.com/pushmolds/gifttags.html
Marlene's jesters --caned (but could be painted, etc.) molded faces surrounded
by hats, folded fabric ruffs, etc.
(website gone)
Heather R's lessons on covering a switchplate,
the molded fish (see EZ Molds below in Purchased Molds)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_tropfishswitchplate.htm
(Tropical Goldfish switchplate --and necklace)
Improvise if you don't have
various things: instead of using a pasta machine to make a "Skinner Blend,"
use a little light colored powder or buffing wax (see Powders) after removing
the fish from the mold where the clay looks lighter; instead of using a wavy blade
on a stack of layers, well marble some blue and white clay together or just use
a solid color; instead of seed beads, use a dot of acrylic paint pressed on with
a toothpick; instead of embossing powder in the translucent, use brown play sand
or use tan colored clay and add ordinary sand.
Branching out might also include making molds from various household items, jewelry, toys, etc.-- e.g., bolts (make great stripes), screwdriver tips, fancy buttons, wadded aluminum foil (use some of these for texture, masking an area for stamping an image, or mount a separate stamped piece of clay onto this background), the strip from rubber hose clamp, charms, bracelet patterns, faces from dolls or action figures, wooden shapes, bits of filigree, netting or fabric, combs, ---this can go on forever!
You could also show them how to make ("outie") molds from their rubberstamps by brushing a wad of clay with a soft paintbrush dipped in talcum powder, then pressing the stamp into the clay. They could simply make a number of impressions in one large piece of clay, or could cut around each image to form a "frame" which would show up after baking and impressing into another piece of clay.
~When you use molds, don't forget that you can add, remove or distort what they give you. Add accessories, onlays, etc., stretch parts, or remove them and add other parts you've made or from other molds. DB
purchased molds
PolymerClayExpress' Friendly Impression and
AMACO molds (native Amer, geometric, quilt, shells, etc.) http://polymerclayexpress.com/molds3.html
Polymer Clay Express (sells and shows many Push Molds)
http://www0.delphi.com/polymerclay/express/molds.html
Sculpey's multi-mold EZ
Release Push Molds (flexible, no release needed, multi-mold
sheets --at craft stores, or order from
http://www.sculpey.com/fset_products.htm (click
on EZ Release Molds)
Etruscan
Motif, Leaf, Celtic,
Sconce, Summer Floral, Swag, Grandma/Grandma or Santa
: 2 grandma/grandpa doll styles with hands,feet and ears, Angelic/Young Adult
: 3 angelic/young adult doll styles with hands, feet, and ears, Whimsical
Dolls : 3 whimsical doll styles with hands, feet, and ears, Miniature
Dolls : 7 miniature doll styles with hands, feet, and ears, Zoo Life
: Elephant, Giraffe, Lion, Monkey, Tiger, Toucan, Zebra, Chompers
: Crocodile, bulldog, shark, SuperFlea, T-Rex, Garden Party : Butterfly,
Dragonfly, Grasshopper, Inchworm, Ladybug, Grow a Garden : Picket fence,
Bumblebees, Butterfly, Wheelbarrow, Birdhouse, Flowers (2 styles), Garden glove,
Bird, Spade, Flowerpot, Watering Can, Let it Bloom : Roses (3 sizes),
buttercups (2 sizes), Daisies (4 sizes), Lilacs (3 sizes), Butterflies (2 styles),
Designer flowers (3 styles), Leaves (5 styles), My Sports : Sport jersey,
Baseball bat, glove and ball, Football, Football helmet, Soccerball, Basketball,
Golf ball, Golf club, Gold putter, Golf bag, Family Time : Mom, Dad,
Sister, Brother, Country Charmers : Barn, Horse, Pig, Chicken, Cow,
Milk barrel, Feed stock, Haystack, Sea Life : Blue whale, Dolphin, Tropical
fish, Seal, Seahorse, Sea turtle, Starfish, Sea shell, My Pets : Dog,
Cat Goldfish, Doghouse, Bone, Fire hydrant, Food bowl, Collar, Fish skeleton,
Baby I Love You : Stork, Baby stroller, Rattle, Block, Rubber ducky,
Sheep, Rabbit, Stocking, Angel for All Reasons : Angel and minature snowman,
Valentine heart, St. Patrick clover, Flower, Watering can, Birdhouse, Flag, Watermelon,
Apple, Teddy bear, Pumpkin, Turkey, Class Creations : Chalkboard, Schoolhouse,
Open book, Pencil, Eraser, Apple and bookworm, ABC's, School bus, Not So Scarecrow
: Scarecrow, Sunflower, Corn, Pumpkins (2 styles), Oak leaf, Maple leaf, Crow,
Kringle & Snowman : Santa, Snowman, Christman tree, Stocking, Candy
cane, Holly leaf, Christmas light bulb, and Ho Ho Ho, six architectural
METALLIC CLAYS ...special effects
(mica-based clays)
Many
interesting effects can be created with the special polymer clays which have tiny
flakes of mica in them.
...Most of the "metallic" clays
do have mica, but a few don't (Sculpey III)... the ones needed for the special
effects are the metallic colors of Premo, Kato, and now some Fimo clays (generally,
gold, silver, copper, Pearl, and sometimes red/blue/green (those last3 don't have
as strong an effect though)
...the mica flakes in the color "Pearl"
are in an uncolored and fairly translucent clay base, so many other "mica"
colors can be created by adding up to 50% of a regular opaque clay color to Pearl
(often resulting in a pastel).
random folded slices ... kellie did
this on an egg, but could be on any item or on a base
sheet of clay instead, then used as is, or for covering (she didn't do this,
but a coating of white glue can be put on the egg first then dried to give more
tooth if needed)
.... run the sheet of (mica) clay thru the pasta machine about
10 times to make all rthe mica particles in it lay flat
....then roll this
sheet out thin, and roll it up from one end into a log (nowwhen
you take a crosswise slice off the log, the center
wil be dark, and the outer edges
will be lighter & bright.
...cut the log in half and reduce one piece in order to have two different
sizes (one big, one small) to work with.
...slice off a thick slice
from one log, and run it thru the pasta machine on a #3.... apply this
slice directly to the egg
...... (for all other slices:) take another
slice off one of the other logs (vary the slice thicknesses), fold
it in half ...then run thru the pasta machine on #3...
you can also smoosh some of the folded slices
... butt this
slice up next to another slice on the egg... add tiny balls of clay to
any areas not covered
...for an egg, she made a hole in the clay through
the blowing-out hole, and after 15 minutes of baking she plugged the hole with
a cone of raw clay and flattened it...and baked another 15 min... while clay was
still warm from last baking, she shaved off the excess plus (blade or Xacto)
...after cooling, she sanded the heck out of it, and buffed (or use a clear finish
to bring out the depth and shine). Kellie
Kellie's lesson: http://polymerclaycentral.com/satinegg.html
more examples of Kellie's folded-slice eggs
http://www.kelliesklay.homestead.com/satinswirleggs.html
Yes, that was my son Kyle's egg that inspired you.... he was 5 when he made it.
... I had given him all my gold scraps, which he proceeded to mush and
smoosh as only a 5 year old could, and then placed them on the egg. I smoothed
it out for him and baked it. Claire
(...see many more ways to use mica clays for special effect in Mica)
COVERING
things
(glass, metal, some plastics, paper-based products,
etc.)
(see more of these
and on these techniques at:)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/covering.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/pens.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/eggs.htm
LynnDel's kids' pens... grades 1, 2, 3 (at
PCC)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/castle/kidpens.html
or http://pw2.netcom.com/%7Ep8melo/kidspens1.html (gone)
or
Ginger's switchplates
with animal heads
http://www.geocities.com/gchavezgchavez/gallery.html
Celeste's
switchplates with dragon or bear holding onto the plate (sticking
out)
http://gallery.gundo.com/gallery/album54/Image008_2
Nanette’s relief (kid-theme?) switchplates:
http://www.geocities.com/pckeepsakes/switchnew.htm
Cindy's
switchplates http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5451/Plates.html
(gone?)
Cecilia's adorable
animal votives, with extensions of eyes, ears, elephant trunk,etc...using
pastel translucents (FimoSoft's Transparents?)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_feb01.html
Singing Clay's stamped, antiqued, faux leather, horse-theme,
switchplate, with frame
http://www.singingheart.bigstep.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=922235%7C1065936&PRID=1024771
*Comport's Genie--head on bulb body
http://www.mdpag.org/genie.htm
PoRRo's
birds and witch over a blown-out egg (see Eggs
for basic instructions for covering eggs)
http://www.saunalahti.fi/theporro/egg/birds.jpg
http://www.saunalahti.fi/theporro/egg/witch.jpg
(face isn't easy, but you could sculpt your own)
Dar covered some metal coffee cans for storage,
then "wrote" the content on the outside with ropes of clay
http://www.dar.addr.com/pctools5.jpg
Jean
M's cat food can with molded faces (see more on catfood cans in Covering/Metal)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=992890&uid=129271
Claudine
covered an empty cardboard alum foil or plastic-wrap tube, and onlaid
trailing vines with leaves of green, blues and cherry (could be made into
a "rain stick" too)
http://creaplastic.free.fr/04claudine02.htm
Dotty's
lesson on covering a prescription bottle to make a figure
wearing a kimono
http://pcpolyzine.com/0204april/vessels.html
(she warns not to put white
glue on amber prescription bottles to increase tackiness)
Violette's
bugs --covering backs of pistachio shells
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=889791&a=6491047&p=24468263
Trace's mini vases (website
gone) (website gone)
lesson on tiny vase pins (for holding real
or polymer flowers)... made by covering metal (single) bolo tie findings...
for more flowers and wider pin cover two bolo findings and leave area of
clay between
http://www.itsallinmyhead.net/vase_pins.htm
my covered and decorated small bottles
http://www.glassattic.com/imagesCANES_COV/cov-BOH/BOH.htm
(....see lessons and much more on these small bottles on my Bottles
of Hope page)
covering an
Altoid tin, or other tins (Band Aid boxes, round tins, etc.)
....I
used to have them cover the tin's lid, then bake it, then cover the bottom (because
if they covered the lid and didn't bake it first, it would be entirely mangled
by the time the bottom was covered)
..... Now I have another way. I have them
wrap the whole thing in the sheet of clay, trim off potential overlaps
with scissors, smooth, then cut the opening with the point of a pin. (Works better
for kids than doing half of the box at a time.) LynnDel
http://home.earthlink.net/~danewbold/kidsclay.html
...large
flat character face covering a whole tin, by Gestalta_Sara (Chocobo-chicken,
a Nintendo character )
.....plain yellow clay covering...large simple
eyes (like fried eggs) + lg traingular beak onlaid; gloss finish
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9210/chocora7.jpg
(see
many more covered Altoid and other tins covered in all kinds
of ways in Covering > Metal > Altoids,
etc)
"blank" metal lunchboxes http://store.yahoo.com/lunchboxshop/inlun.html (8 1/2 x 6)... can also find mini ones at Michaels, etc. sometimes
Lisa
Pavelka's lesson on tiny "dressers" made by covering ...stacked
matchboxes w/ sides and feet (and more dressers)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1399691,00.html
http://www.heartinhandstudio.com/Match_Box_Drawers.JPG
.
. . see also Covering
> Paper for necklaces and other things to make by covering
a matchbox
cover a small
bottle (make as a pendant if desired) then turn it into a bubble bottle
with wand cap
Jody's twisted wire wands in various shapes http://www.pbase.com/image/175464
Heather
R's lessons on coveirng a switchplate with molded fish (...for that
mold, see EZ Molds below)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_tropfishswitchplate.htm
(Tropical Goldfish switchplate --and necklace)
...if
you don't have various things for the lesson, improvise!...... instead
of using a pasta machine to make a "Skinner Blend," use a little
light colored powder or buffing wax (see Powders)
after removing the fish from the mold where the clay looks lighter
... instead
of using a wavy blade on a stack of layers, well marble some blue and white
clay together or just use a solid color
... instead of seed beads, use
a dot of acrylic paint pressed on with a toothpick
...instead of embossing
powder in the translucent, use brown play sand ...or use tan colored clay
and ordinary sand.
...(see many more switchplates &
lessons on covering them in Covering
> Switchplates....)
There are kits for clocks,
kaleidoscopes, key chains, etc. at this site which are easy to cover
& inexpensive
http://www.polymerclayprojects.com/clocks.htm
My pens class was a major success!!
...the whole school has been saying
that this was the best Art Day project ever! ...even the boys that are impossible
to interest in art projects got into it.
...We made approx 700 pens
in 2 1/2 school days. The teachers and even the Principal came in to make pens
too. Thanks to Prairiecraft's low prices each student got to make 2 pens
(our budget was less than $1 per student).
... Everyone made a paw
print pen --a blue pen with small white balls arranged in a paw print pattern
(our school Mascot's emblem, in the school colors)
...Then they were given
the option of embellishing a base-colored pen with dots and snakes
etc., or making a marbled pen.
...After the 1st day, they could also
make patchwork pens from the leftover marbled bits.
....My DH made
me rolling pins from a length of pipe and a friend lent me her pasta
machine - good thing she did - mine got trashed
(bent scrapers) during the class.
...My problem now is that I've created
a monster!! I'm teaching my son's class to make roses next week, another
class is making more pens (both for mothers day gifts)... . and
everywhere I go at school people are asking me about the clay- where to get it
how to bake it etc..I've been passing on info left and right- but at least now
I won't be the only clay addict in town.I'm sure Michaels and Hobby Lobby are
wondering why there's such a run on clay all of a sudden.
..... (for
much more on covering and embellishing pens, see Pens)
(My long-ish wizard's wand) is made over two
Bic stick pen barrels placed end-to-end with bamboo skewers inside for added
support (just grabbed whatever was laying around the clay table!). Denise
I made a small headstone out of (faux stone) Granitex clay when our guinea pig died this past summer.... I used a piece of corrugated cardboard covered with aluminum foil for a base, and then covered that with Granitex.... I used rubber stamps for the words, and decoration, and the kids loved it. Helped them with the closure part... Judy in MA
lighthouses...
depending on the size, these could be solid or hollow
(for much
more on lighthouses, see Houses-Structures
>
many figures, animals, and items can be made by covering terra
cotta pots (regular sizes or the miniature ones) with clay
...
or by adding clay embellishments as borders, etc., on plain or painted
pots (use acrylic paints)
...lots of lessons: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/claypotcrafts/index_r.htm
(just use polymer clay instead)
...see
Covering > Terra Cotta for more
lessons, and also for tips on covering terra cotta
You
can cover your existing cabinet knobs, following package directions
on whichever clay brand you choose.
Or you can make them from "scratch",
and just use the two-ended screws and screw it into both the knob
and the cabinet door when it's all ready! Deb
…good
idea for drawer knobs . They are a little whimsical and would be
great in a kids room. I made gold suns and silver moons using polymer clay
and cookie cutters. You could do it any shape, what about dinosaurs or butterflys?
Marie Segal's covered doorknobs lesson --ceramic or metal: http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_Knobs.htm (Polymer Clay Covered Cabinet Knobs)
“Russian
Nested Dolls” ... see more info on these nesting figures below in Other
Toys
Russian, Chinese, Indian, etc., "nesting dolls"
http://www.nestingdolls4u.com/products.htm
...also Japanese Kokeshi figures (don't nest)
piggy
banks:
--piggy banks actually
shaped like pigs-- use a round vanity bulb and make the bulb stem the bottom for
the cork.
--I used a glass jar as the base for my Dragonbanks ;)and
decorated the top and the bottom with clay, but i left a large piece of the jar
uncovered that made it fun to see the money! Ria
--You could make a piggy
bank using the rock purse technique. A cork would work, yes... or you could
make a hinged door.... or a door that slides in & out of tracks. Something
like that. Joanie
--Jan’s very cute piggy bank…What I did was purchase some
cheapie ones..and cover them with clay..rather than make the entire bank from
clay. I then made a mold from one..and have used scrap clay to create the
bank...and then covered with canes etc. You can purchase ceramic ones (unfinished)
pretty cheaply too...then cover with clay as desired. Jan
(website
gone)
--You can get rubber stoppers and corks at American
Science and Surplus. Their regular store always carries them, I'm not as sure
about their online store. http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=4&category=50
Gerri
--(someone wanted to make a clay lid for a glass jar piggy bank and
and just needed a way to get the money out without breaking the whole thing) .
. . . My suggestion is to make a clay lid with a slot for money going
in, which matches the theme of the jar; (in another spot on the lid, make a bigger
hole with a decorative thinigie acting as a stopper which can be removed
to pour the money out). eg: flower decorated jar: do a flower that looks like
it is sitting on top of the lid but when you lift up on it it pulls a little clay
stopper out and you can dump the money out ...JLH
.....or use the whole
lid as a stopper for the bottle
--I was thinking of pigs too the other
day when deluged with BOH ideas and dealing with the shape of the top part of
the tiny bottles I got from the vet. They might make great snouts.
These tiny ones are way too small for coins, but you could add a faux hole and
attach a tiny piglet to the bigger mama bank :-) . . .Diane B.
--Couldn't
you use the bubble bottle technique? (see Vessels/Balloon Vessels
) I think I'll give it a try. Cindy
You
can also "cover" polymer clay itself. Usually this is done over
a solid polymer shape (e.g., the snakes, etc. below), but it can also be over
a scrap polymer core of crushed aluminum foil, for example (see Armatures
for more).
Mike Buesseler’s snakes
(Jewelry Crafts, & class)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/mikeb/OldOddStf.html
(over a long rope of scrap clay formed into a triangle log...see Sculpture/Miscellaneous
for details
(see also Jon Anderson's using
a similar technique to cover a snake, lizard, turtle, etc. --very fancy!
http://www.fimocreations.com
(gone?)
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/robertshieldsdesign/polymerclay.html
"samplers"
. . . It's a great idea to cover something with polymer slices (or other things)
when you're first getting started (or at any stage along the route for that matter).
I covered a tall drinking glass with samples of all my "first" canes
(it was for my mother-in-law who was interested in what I was doing ... but I
covered a second one for myself while I was at it). I just love having it now..
. . I use my covered drinking glass now as a holder for things like
dental tools and paint brushes ( but I could also cover smaller jars/glasses
--or perhaps make a draped bowl-- to use for smaller tools, glue containers,
q-tips, etc., or even cover PVC pipe or toilet paper rolls to
cover for tall tools too.)
Come to think of it, I should have done this even
more . . . it's stimulating to have all those samples from the first glass right
there while I'm working on other things. Now I'm thinking I should make "samplers"
of other things too: for example, maybe powders colors, types of mokume
gane, or different ways to use striped stacks, etc., etc,. . . . maybe
even molds. Or a collage of various things might be nice too.
Maybe it would be easier to keep a few "category" glasses or jars going all the
time, then just add the newest sample with a bit of Sobo or superglue and bake
when one gets full enough. . . could always add more later that way too. Diane
B.
Denise's "egghive" in 6th row... long
strings of clay formed by twisting scraps, wrapped around an egg
http://hobbystage.net/art/denise_in_austin/
for covered but see-through nightlights, freestanding lamps, or translucent screens, shields & luminaria, and also covered lamp bases, see Covering > Glass (...some are plastic also, but still in that large section)
(see more on all types of covering in Covering)
(see Pendants & Cording for using fishing
swivels to make a dress-up purse from a covered Altoid box)
(see
most info on making canes and using them on these
pages here
at GlassAttic:)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes-whatarethey.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Canes--general.htm
(general info for successful cane making)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes--reducing.htm
(how to make canes smaller)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/canes--instructions.htm
(many specific patterns for canes)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/faces_caned.htm
(face canes only)
...there are also lessons and photos
of many canes on these pages:
Christmas
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Christmas.htm
Halloween,
& other holidays http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Halloween_etc.htm
Houses/Structures
(candies) http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/houses_structures_gingerbread.htm
Dotty's lesson on making ("floating")
spiral canes to make a large keyring bead
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/april2001/keyring.html
PCC’s folded
canes
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/foldcane.html
(see Canes-Instructions for
more on Folded canes)
Amy
K's lessons on making some very simple canes, then covering a
frame with slices from them
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayArticle?articleNum=as0077
Irene & Rachel lesson at PCH on making a snowflake
cane (applicable to other types and color combos)--they use translucent, translucent
and blue (light blue), and white
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/snowflake.htm
Irene
C's very simple face lesson, component method (used as centers
of different flowers)
http://www.polymerclayhaven.com/lessons/flowers.htm (gone)
WeeF:dimensional slices "people"
http://www.putneycrafts.com/samitz.htm
This was easy and fun (they had no facilities like pasta machines.)
...All the kids did was to roll flat seven colours (rainbow-ish
range), then trim them into sheets of approxiamtely the same size. Then
stack them in rainbow order.... Next, the kids were each given (one
block at a time?) of the rainbow 'cane' (about 1inch side) and asked to make
it into bead shapes. Some cut it as it was, and then rolled the beads,
others put corkscrew twist down the cane's length then chopped it,or whatever
appealed to them. It was amazing how many different shapes and designs were made
from such a simple start.... A range of bright colours do appeal
to new starters (and me too if I'm honest! - I still like the rainbow geometric
canes!) Alan V.
Play-Doh type-toy
tools for extruding logs of shaped clay (...Play Doh Fun Factory
single extruder, available at toy and discount stores)...$4 at Wal-Mart, in the
toy section –OR deluxe version: Play-Doh One Stop Playshop (work station
- $19.95 at Toys 'R Us)
... Jeannie Havel uses this to make "elements"
for canes... after extruding, she lets them set for awhile, then combines
into canes
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/december2001/elements.html
....cleaning
the Fun Factory may appear daunting, but you can place tools in freezer for 15-20
minutes. Clay will pop right off. Jeannie H.
(see more on other kinds
of "extruders" in Clay Guns)
My sister teaches polymer clay to kids. Blown-out eggs are too fragile for most of them to handle, and she didn't have time to prepare them anyway. So, she had them cover the hard-boiled ones with polymer, and then cured them, as normal. She has one egg that's at least a year and a half old, and no problems so far. The polymer seems to make a completely air-tight cover. I thought it was a great idea! They're a bit heavier than blown out eggs, and she doesn't sand them, but they worked fine! Maureen (only the ones with no breaks after boiling??)
“caning”
with food. . . As mentioned in a previous article, refrigerator cookies
are one option. The Joy Of Cooking has a basic recipie using chocolate and vanilla
dough to make jelly rolls, checkerboards, and bulls eyes. ( Yes, all you clay
feinds these were baking trems first<BG>) You can use food coloring to
create your own colored doughs. I recomend paste colors found at your local cake
decorating store.
Marzipan is also an option, although it is
a lot more expensive to make than cookie dough. The colors in both the marzipan
and cookie dough will provide you with a challange because of the natural yellow
tint of the doughs. Also fondants?
...edible candy dough (make
or buy) can be sculpted or molded or caned, then eaten --see
below in More (Various)
...also "gummy" "clay"
kits
FAUX techniques
(such as
jade, turquoise, wood, granite, pearl, & many more)
(see more on these at :)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Faux--many.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/faux-ivory.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/faux--turquoise_wood.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/inclusions.htm
Faux** (or fake, imitation) techniques don't need to be done very exactly and can produce impressive results for molding, stamping, or sculpture and bead shapes (faux IVORYcan be made by simply mixing beige and white--or beige alone--with translucent, rather than the traditional stacking method)
(**pronounced foh, to rhyme with flow or go; the plural is pronounced fohz)
JEWELRY & other Wearables + zipper or jeans pulls, etc.
Helen’s birdhouse
earrings, at PCPolyzine (lesson)
http://pcpolyzine.com/june2001/bird.html
Marie S's colorful
dangles hung from necklace of "spacer" beads (using colored
plastic-covered wire)... several abstract bead shapes strung for each dangle
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-01/pages/geofun.htm
Carl's lesson on stringing simple
seed bead and polymer clay necklaces (Feats of Clay)
http://www.geocities.com/cjohenge/featsofclay.html
Mary's "window"
pins, made by duplicating sashed windows, and their views, etc.
http://jackmaryetc.com/claypin.htm
Natasha
beads lesson (see
much more in Beads > Natasha)
http://www.webhaven.com/crick/natasha1/index.htm
Jan
R's mask pendants, former over small river rocks; bet it'd be a great way to make
light little insects too.... neat! Joanie (website
gone)
Cathy’s kid
necklaces ....one with rolled-up beads made with
long narrow triangles (rolled
up from wide end to tip end) (website gone)
my
little brother made snakes and then turned them into neckerchief slides...
but u could make them rings
..... or make other animals for
a pin or something.
lesson on tiny vase pins (for holding real
or polymer flowers)... made by covering metal (single) bolo tie findings
...
for more flowers and a wider pin, cover two bolo findings and leave area
of clay between
http://www.itsallinmyhead.net/vase_pins.htm
Shellee's kids barrettes
(bear face glued to center of barrette made with triple ribbons, & onlaid designs)
http://www.geocities.com/vipaccessories/Hairclippg.html
Marina's barettes make with lemon
or orange slices, plus leaves (lesson on making citrus slices)
***
look now at ---> http://www.marieidraghi.itAgrumi.htm
Shellee's kids' hair
"worms" ...with string of beads dangling off bottom
http://www.geocities.com/vipaccessories/Hairwormspage.html
Christel's lesson on making a "rabbit" hair holder,
using elastic for the holding band and also for the dangly feet and hands
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0203march/rabbit.html
(click on any photo to see enlargement)
http://home.online.no/~raje/Web/Rabbit/full/2002_0201_202602BB.JPG
(unfinished rabbits with clothing)
.....and see more hair ornaments
in Jewelry
MandaBeads712
made adorable simple Mickey_ Mouse "ear hats" in bright colors
as charms for a bracelet
...for each, she pushed two semi--flattened
balls (like M&M's) as ears down onto the top of one semi-flattened
larger ball which had been cut in half (half-disk) as hat (like joining
ears to a little clay bear head)... then made a hole through each hat from top
to bottom (between ears, to beneath hat), later threading through an eye pin and
a bead or two for decoration... glazed heavily after baking ...and hung a number
of them from a chain link bracelet
Thumbelina made a 4-5" saguaro cactus
with a large sombrero to hold some of her jewelry...her rings hang over
it's "arms," and her post earrings fit through holes in
the hat brim (figure is top heavy so is created on a base, which could be a bit
wider)... made from Model Magic but would be better from polymer clay
...the
trunk could be polymer clay formed around a bunch of twisted wires, with each
wire bent down to make an arm at the proper height, or you also could tightly
wrap aluminum foil around the wire(s) if you want, to save clay... just don't
leave air pockets.With an armature inside the saguaro couod be fairly tall and
thin because it would be strong ... it might need a reasonably wide base though
to compensate for the wide hat so it wouldn't tump over! Diane B.
http://www.craftster.org/pictures/data/500/23760DSCN0238.jpg
....lesson
on making other kinds of cactuses with spines and flowers
(spines are V shapes of black or white thin wire, squeezed at bottom then poked
into the cactuses... cactuses are taper shape at bottom so can be stuck down into
raw rice in
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-
crafts/buildmodel/feature/dony0100craftcactus/dony0100craftcactus.html
bead
people and jointed figures for jewelry, magnets, etc.... for example:
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/funfigs.html
...http://www.amtraco.com/%7Emoonbabies
(see
many more both types + lessons in Sculpting-Bodies>Jointed,
.& Beads>Misc.
Uses)
zipper pulls,
key chains, etc.(for boys . . or girls)
...Try a very sedate
sports theme with black cord. Or maybe something to hang off a backpack.
Elayne
...zipper pulls ... abit of advise. Make a stiff wire core that you
work your clay around. the swivel area takes a whole lot of wear and the body
receives large amounts of squeezing and knocks. I should know, I just broke a
cast metal zipper pull.
.....polymer beads, etc., can be attached with a lanyard
hook to zipper pulls, jeans, etc.
http://www.bronzebulletdesign.com/gallery_zipper_pulls.htm
(zipper pulls --animals, objects)
http://www.woodthrushstudio.com/tinyandzipper.html
(fat-cane slice zipper pulls)
http://good-night-irene.com/fanpulls/new.html
(fan pulls... beads)
http://klewexpressions.com/largeimages/zip500.jpg
(with seed bead danglies)
. . . a football,basketball, soccer ball,
or baseball ... or sports team colors, etc.
.....see "bead people"
just above as possible pulls
......use GITD (glow in the dark clay)
if you can. It is a 'cool' thing then. Lysle
(be sure and make any the beads/figures
for pulls or key chains, etc. fairly rounded and with a strong clay (no
Sculpey), or they will break too easily
with use!
...lots more inspiration for zipper pulls
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLC,GGLC:1969-53,GGLC:en&q=zipper+pulls
more
jewelry things on these pages:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/beads.htm
(beads)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/beads-holes.htm
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/pendants_cording.htm
(pendants and cording)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/jewelry.htm
(other jewelry... earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, barrettes and
hair things, etc.)
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/buttons.htm
(buttons)
LIQUID
CLAYS (& transfers)
(see Liquid
Clays page for much more)
regular liquid clays:
---Liquid
Sculpey ... available in small bottles at Michaels (though may be with
the clay combo kits and Shapelets) and probably in other places (as well as online
in small or larger amounts); it comes in a white (LS)
and a translucent version (TLS), but the white
LS is available only by mail order (both have a matte finish when cured)
---Kato's
Clear Polyclay Medium ("Kato
Sauce") is a newer version of liquid clay ( translucent only)... very
transparent... (somewhat shiny finish)
---Liquid Fimo Decorating
Gel is the newest version (translucent only) (very transparent, maybe more
rubbery or flexible)
special liquid clays:
--Colored
Liquid Sculpey can be hard to find, but comes in a few colors: black, gold,
silver
--Liquid Poly Glo...liquid clay which glows in the dark
. . . 6 colors (red, orange, green, aqua, blue, violet). Offered by Puffinalia.
http://www.puffinalia.com/glow/liquid_poly_glo.html
...what
a cool thing to decorate a regular lampshade with. You could make loads
of little flat backed Liquid Polyglo cameos, shapes etc and glue
them on with PVA. Then when you turn out the light, they would be all charged
up and glow away like crazy! I bet kids would love that! Emma
All liquid clays must be baked in order to harden ... they will stay runny or gel-like until then.
They may be thinned with Sculpey's
Diluent/Softener
... to thicken them, let sit out for a while ...or
add a powder such as PearlEx, chalks, etc---would cornstarch work?? ...some oil
paints may thicken a bit).
Liquid clays can be colored
....use
oil paints, oil pastels, alcohol-based inks like
Pinata, heat-set ink or paints, paste food colors like Wilton in jars, or a bit
of solid polymer clay ....or teeny bits of acrylic paint or regular
food coloring
....some inclusions may thicken the liquid as well
as color it (like metallic powders, embossing powders?, powdered chalks, artist's
pigments)
.....other inclusions might be glitter, sand, mica flakes, bits
of metallic leaf, bits of nature... or anything bakable and small etc.
Liquid clay can be used
in many ways!!
...it can be used to transfer images from various
sources (photocopies, ink jet prints, magazine pictures, colored pencil drawinsgs,
etc.) onto clay ........some of those transfers produce clear decals which
can be attached on clay (or most anywhere)
...when painted on glass, etc.,
it will removable "clings" for windows, etc. (can add colors
or inclusions)
...it can be drizzled onto other baked clay to make lines
and patterns
...if clay is mooshed into it, it becomes a paste or
paint
...it's the best material glue around for attaching clay to clay
...it
can be used as a strengthener or filler
...when painted on (or dipped
into) anything else, it's used as sealer .... or a decoupage medium
...you
can even " fingerpaint" with liquid clay (possibly tinted various
colors)
.......use various tools
like ball tipped tools, a pencil eraser, etc.
.......or use fingers
(possibly wearing a latex glove or one or more little "finger cots"
--wash hands afterward)
(...don't overmix
colors or will get brown!)
(see much more info about liquid clays, including brands and types, in Liquid Clays)
The
clear decal-type or other types of transfers could also be attached
directly to the front of glass, metal, or other surfaces
(e.g., small glass or plastic bottles with decals would look neat).
...transfers
could also be attached with a backing of clay, or metallic
leaf and/or clay. Diane B.
...for after dark in kids' bedrooms,
Halloween-themed, or maybe planets or
other images on glow-in-dark liquid clay or backed wtih
gitd clay, or maybe glow in the dark window clings would be
fun
Marie R's lesson on drizzling-drawing a shape
onto clay with LS, then covering with embossing powder (tamp off excess)
and baking
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_TLSEmbossed.htm
Karen
P's lesson on using LS as a decoupage medium . . . here she shows
how to decoupage pressed fern and other leaves onto a clay backing
(first using as an adhesive on the backs, then covering the fronts, before baking)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_FlowerScroll.htm
sunni's lesson on dipping/painting dried plant
material, fresh flowers/etc., and flies! with Translucent Liquid
Sculpey (see LS category for more info)
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/experment.html
You can make flowers out of tissue paper, and then
give them a thin coating of liquid clay
... You can form miniature
items out of paper such as a trash can, and paint it with liquid clay...after
baking, paint & decorate. Ellen
making a transfer,
etc: I used Translucent Liquid Sculpey to paint over a photocopied photograph
of my baby grand daughter. I then soaked the paper off the back (thats the tricky
part) and then used another layer of TLS to "glue" it onto a disk of pink
quartz fimo, and put tiny rose coloured seed beads around the edge. I gave it
to my daughter for her birthday, and she thought it was just beautiful. Sera
decoupage --i found a book called Create anything
with polymer clay (see above). It was a children's book, but it had a lot
of neat ideas in it. One of them was cutting out a paper or magazine
picture then coating front and back with sobo glue. The glue gives the picture
a glossy finish and also enables you to apply the picture to polymer clay
and then bake it. Tootwo2
musical instruments & rattles,maracas
Donna
Kato's lesson on making a mini-maraca by covering
a small glass ball ornament, then adding a solid clay handle
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_cds/article/0,2045,DIY_15079_2504794,00.html
...to
make maracas for my sons, I covered large light bulbs with a thin layer
of Premo, then applied various 'wild' cane slices. Very psychedelic. ( I didn't
break the glass to remove the bulb for this project, although I have for others).
......added
rice and lentils ...constructed a "stopper" attached
to a wooden dowel for a handle, and baked again. Marie
(more
details on covering glass
spheres and bulbs in Covering
> Glass)
(for
making stoppers, see
BOH >
Stoppers)
covered eggs...Margaret
Regan introduced me to "acoustic eggs"...she puts sand, beads, or other
materials that rattle inside the eggshell before covering with clay..
could also use plastic eggs
....Mary Lyon's lesson on covering
an egg, stamping with powders, then filling with small glass beads,
BBs or small plastic pellets (she says organic materials such as
rice and unpopped popcorn may also be used but don't produce as crisp a sound
as manmade things)
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/nh_other/article/0,2025,DIY_14147_2269547,00...l
...for filler, I pre-bake tiny balls of clay, then put in 5 or 6 in
through the drain hole (on a raw covered ? egg)
...... then close up that
end the same as the other end
tip for covering: roll raw-clay covered
egg around in your hands and on a surface to smooth it...then pierce thru where
the drain hole is with the needle tool to release the air while it bakes ....bake
...(more on covering eggs in Eggs)
Malnik
makes hollow rattles from clay "pinch pots" ...see
Vessels > Hollow
Forms > Balloon Vessels for lessons
......small section is
cut out after baking... seed beads inserted.... section glued back in....
embellished with canes slices, etc...rebaked
very small rattles (actually hollow clay spheres and "lentil" shapes, wtih rice, etc., inside) ...see les sons and more details in Beads > Hollow
any
hollow clay shapes at all could be rattles too, whether traditional round
or long and skinny or even almost flat, as long as there is room
for the filler to ratttle around
...they could also be used as jewelry,
or as a normal part of an object but with interest, or the bodies
of sculpts, etc., etc.
(large rattle, exterior)...
gourd whose bottom has fish-net type cording all around outside strung
with beads (thick cane slices) for shaking
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2004march/polimera.html
(more
info on covering gourds in Covering > Wood
> Gourds ... small gourds can create dolls or dragons too)
more
rattles and maracas ....some polymer clay, but inspiration too:
http://www.google.com/images?q="polymer+clay"+rattle
http://www.google.com/images?q="polymer+clay"+maraca
what
about buying a tambourine? or a drum,
and covering the outer edges with clay? Twiggy
...or making a stiff
clay vessel (freestanding or over an armature), then adding leather or
ohter things for drum heads
covered kazoos (Hershberger)
http://www.digiserve.com/kazoo/KAZOOS.HTM
.
. .i have also seen flutes made out of polymer clay, and they work.
a
polymer ocarina whistle can be made from two pinch pot hemispheres...
add a tube parallel to the top into it; the secret to getting a good whistle is
to insert a thin stick into this tube, through it and into the hollow body. The
top of the stick must be aligned with the inside top of the clay body. Using any
sharp tool, cut an angled opening in the top of the whistle ...The edge of the
opening must be vertical and at the point where the stick enters the clay body.
The other edge must be at an angle (say, 45 degrees). ...angle, width, and length
of the opening are variables to play with. (width should be no wider than the
stick, and the length should be about the width.
...(re touching baked clay
with your mouth)...well, I wouldn't suck on it for hours, but PC is not toxic,
especially after baking. False teeth use a form of PC for the gums, people have
them in their mouths daily for years. The BIG reason not to use it for food is
that bacteria will grow in any little scratches and grooves, and its very pliable
when hot, and soft enough to scratch even when cool. It won't hold up to really
thorough dishwashing over time. Sarajane)
(great lesson for earth clay
ocarina, but should work for polymer too)
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2525/whistles/whistle.html
other
ocarina lessons:
http://ianchai.50megs.com/ocarina/
(lesson with polymer) and http://www.yahuba.com/
(listen to ocarina sounds)
http://www.cr.k12.ia.us/hard/Arts/Visual/oc1.htm
and http://www.kidsncrafts.com/61/cat61.htm?501
and http://www.hominid.net/whistle_making_sequence.htm
and http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/%7eflute/egm.htm
magnet stuff
Lisa's lesson on making a refrigerator
magnet by cutting a hole big enough for a button magnet in the layers of
a clay-sheet-and-backing-sheet, then super gluing the magnet in the hole onto
an onlaid sheet of a transfer or other design
http://pcpolyzine.com/0204april/favors.html
I made a number of magnets for the new metal whiteboards my son's teacher received one year. . . . .some were little figures (like a rabbit to represent the class bunny), some were cane slices pressed onto balls or fat disks of clay , one was an "aquarium bead" to represent our aquarium.... I also made transfers, etc., to stand for the themes they'd studied that year (Native American, etc.).. . For some I formed the clay around the magnet and used a little white glue, superglue, or liquid clay to hold, some I glued on after baking. Diane B.
Every
year I make an incentive device for
my (special ed) elementary students
...I paint a skateboard park "track"
onto a metal whiteboard (..each year I paint a new picture after washing
off the old one)
.....then students make most
of the little clay skater figures with magnets on their backs ...I
love the different hairstyles and hats the kids put on the figures
...they
get to move their skater one segment per day when they've
done their assignments, or come to class on time, etc. (when they get to segment
#14, they get to choose a prize out of the prize box)
...I painted the "Skateboard
Park" background with straight tempera onto the 3x4' metal whiteboard
...I actually painted on the on the BACK side of the white board (its'
metal with a matte finish), since the magnets stick better on that side.
......last
year I had no problem with the paint chipping, but this year there has
been a little ... (but thanks for the reminder about adding liquid soap
to the tempera helping paint stick on waxed milk cartons, etc -- I'd forgotten
about that one!) ...the magnets do not often come in contact with the painted
areas. LynnDel
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0302february.pdf
(click on "Skateboard Park"from 2nd
page)
(see more
on magnets in Other Materials
> Magnets)
...to
find more magnet ideas on this page, look below under Motion
Toys... and also do a Ctrl + F
search while
here using the word magnet )
...for
many other magnet and magnet sheet ideas, see Other
Materials > Magnets, etc.
tacks & pins
There are various ways to embellish
or cover tack-type things with polymer clay ..some depend on which kind
and shape of tack you're using and what material it's made of
...thumbtacks don't have a natural "riser" between
the pin and the top of the head, so generally will have more stress
placed on them when removing or inserting into bulletin board
...clay can
be added to the top of a thumb tack or pushpin, or it can be formed slightly
or completely around the edges (of bakable tacks) to give a "mechanical
hold", etc.
pushpins ...very small sculpts or
small cane slices could also be glued to the tops of plastic push pins
...Kim Korringa superglues slices from her colorful canes onto the heads
of pushpins... I don't see any on her site, but you can imagine what they'd look
like by checking out her canes: http://www.kimcreates.com
(...click on Gallery of Designs, then check
out each page)
..it maybe possible to bake plastic pushpins with
clayon them...are they okay at our baking temps? (test!)
..or just use a good
superglue or epoxy glue (with instant glues, the more exact contact
between the parts, the stronger the join will be so try to make sure your clay
is really flat on one side and wide enough where it touches).
...Marty Woosley's
more involved lesson on making large, fat, round tacks around a
wood bead... by cutting off the topmost part of a wood
pushpin (found in framing areas of craft stores) --but could saw
off a plastic pushpin instead?, then drilling out a larger hole in the bead (held
in a vise), then gluing the remaining head into a round wood bead... she then
primes with white glue, and covers the wood bead with a sheet of clay,
and then clay embellishments or cane slices, etc.
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/december2001/pins.html
metal thumbtacks
...make a "mechanical
hold" with the clay (having part of the clay go behind the front edge of the
tack so it grabs on, or piercing a disk of clay with the thumbtack shaft,
then pressing its edges to the underside edges of your sushi --bake)
...if
you use a glue with metal, be sure the metal is wiped with alcohol to remove
any oils that might resist a glue and it's often a good idea to sand it a bit
so it isn't quite so smooth
....there are some strong white glues which
are meant for attaching small metal items onto fabric or another surface (Gem-Tac,
or Jewel-It), or epoxy glues will may work well, or try a superglue
.....even a blob of E6000 might work, but because these will
be subjected to a lot of pulling and stress, you'd want the strongest bond possible.
.....liquid clay may be a good choice, but that would have to be baked
afterwards to cure it.
..could also bake the clay on the tack, then pop
off after baking and reglue with superglue or another glue if necessary...
especially if you've got the clay part way around the edges, but not all the way
..Alicia's
parrot head or leaf sculpts or slices placed on thumbtacks http://www.parrotjewelry.com/photoboards.html
..lesson on covering metal thumbtacks with clay, then adding
rose and leaves (gone)
...flower and leaves glued
to a metal tie tack http://www.rings-things.com/gallery/displayimage.php?p=194
...simple
tie tacks made by kids (but don't use hot glue!) http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_TieTacks.htm
.."post"
earrings may be made in some of these same ways... see Jewelry
> Earrings > Posts
...and some types of polymer knobs
may be inspirational (Covering > Knobs)
very
short tacks and pins and nails/brads may also work well for making
"tacks"
...tacks ...like map tacks
...pins ....applique pins or sequin pins (with
ball heads, or without heads) ...see more just below
...nails
and brads and escutcheon pins and from
the hardware store (various thicknessnes and head sizes, usually very strong shanks)
PINS
for sewing and quilting
...pins
work well for inserting into (drywall
type) walls (or foam, etc.) or as well
as bulletin boards since they are slender and somewhat rigid, and hardly
leave a mark
...stiff
sharp pins come in various types http://www.clover-usa.com/products/sewing/pins
(both pages)
.....ball point ...those
with plastic
or glass heads (heads
may be small or large...shafts may be short, med, or long)
.......one type
of plastic head pin has a large flat head ("flower head"
pins) ...sold especially to quilters
.......another type is short (applique
pins, sequin pins)
....regular "silk" steel dressmaker pins
have tiny flat metal heads
..you
can also make your own heads for pins
.....cover whatever
head there is
.....or remove plastic head from ball type
pins, make clay top, then bake with the pin, or glue on afterward (see just above
for glues)
(...see just above for the very short pins)
...many sculpted
figures, foods, etc. on or around heads of sewing pins (she also makes
pin cushions for them)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/sets/596349
for items to make for bathrooms and kitchens in particular... see Outdoor-Water > Bathrooms, Kitchens
for lessons
on making your own notepads with inexpensive padding
compound or white glue, see Misc >
Notepads
(...also info. on some interesting things to use for pages,
and various ways to use the pads)
pencil
topper eraser creatures (lesson) using Eraser Clay (see more
in Characteristics > Eraser Clay)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_EC%20Creatures.htm
http://www.sculpey.com/teacherslounge.htm
memo
holders ... photo holders ... place card holders
....can
just make freestanding note holders by sticking one or more stiff wires
into an interesting clay lump as a base, then bend wire end into
an open-spiral shape......decorative uses can somewhat overlap functional
ones
...Glenna's note holder with square wire spiral sticking up from
base (covered with sculpted clay roses and leaves) http://www.rosepetaldesigns.com/images/gallery/pcnh/placecardholders.jpg
...Linda W's winter figures, holding decorative rods (with
wire spiral sticking out of them) to hold a photo
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_holidaydecor.html
....Miracle's memo holder (dinosaur eyes showing through egg hole, it's hands
holding rod with alligator clip? on top for sign)
http://mycraftyphotos.homestead.com/HalloWees.html
..to lower the center of gravity of the (place card holder
or) photo holder, use a shorter wire, or shape a design into the stem
....for mine, I made the hole for the wire in the raw pre-cured clay, then
glued it in place afterward. Barb
...clay
faces, with wire loop "antennae" for holding small memos (can attach faces
to computer, door, or even dashboard with Velcro)...Confabulations' "computer
buddies"
http://www.nanosite.com/confab/c-impulse.htm
Family Fun's lesson
on making a teapot and set by wrapping a wood bead with clay
ropes (bees/etc.)
http://family.go.com/crafts/buildmodel/craft/beeteaset/
rocks and stones
..."stone
craft".... figures and other creations are made with small
rocks which are glued together (using a silicone glue like E-6000/Goop,
or try Gorilla Glue but may need clamping) then painted
... ... polymer parts
or items could be added, or just use these creations for polymer inspiration (lessons
& info too)
http://www.geocities.com/flozart/stonecraft/index.htm#G2
(look in nav. bar on left for
lots of info and photos)
real rocks embedded in gray faux
mortar used as frame around a miniature "fairy door" by FairyWings
(or could use faux rocks)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/bloodymoon/clay/100_0759.jpg
...my
friend paints on rocks to make them look like animals
.... .
. she got the idea from making clay chimneys, door knobs, etc. on houses
made from real rocks
http://www.homestead.com/petarock/howto_main.html
...http://meme.essortment.com/paintingonrock_rmqz.htm
...http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/artscrafts/rock.painting.art.html
for
garden critter signs & rocks, see above & also
Outdoor Polymer >
Books
for
covering rocks with clay to make "houses" or "animals"
etc., in
Vessels-Rock > Larger
(for
more fun things to make, and maybe put outdoors, see above
in Sculpting > outdoor... and in Outdoors
> More Outdoor Items)
mini
doors and/or windows for fairies,
other critters, etc.-- for outside or inside
...flat small "doors"
and or windows, etc., could be made freestanding or with bases/etc., then placed
in front of tree trunks, house foundations, dirt mounds, rock piles, or other
places outdoors
... or placed in front of baseboards (like mouse holes) or
even boxes or other places indoors
see more & examples
in Houses-Structures
> Whole Structures & Scenes
(see
fairy houses, mini habitats, etc. above in Scenes
& Dioramas)
minature
Zen gardens ....traditionally a shallow container with sand, tiny rake
to make patterns, rocks/shells/other objects to move around inside it--also called
"executive sandboxes,"tabletop mini Zen Gardens"
....but
could also use any scene or objects you want to create....for
more, see Misc.
> Tabletop Zen
Gardens
terrarium in a glass ball ornament (real or fake)
...(could
add clay figures or clay structures to it... or just use plastic greenery,
moss, etc... if a real terrarium, a baked clay lid could be glued over the hole
to keep it going for a long time
http://www.cottageliving.com/cottage/gardens/article/0,21135,785211,00.html
(see
more clear display units below in Scenes & Dioramas)
paintings
of clay... using a coloring-book-type line drawing, on which clay shapes
are added to create a picture
...also, place a sheet of glass over
the drawing to create and bake on, or tape a piece of tracing or waxed paper on
top to create & bake on); if you want clay be thinner/runnier, mix a small
amount of Sculpey Diluent, vaseline or mineral/baby oil into it first); Sculpey
clays will be too brittle after baking; use Premo, FimoSoft, Fimo, Cernit, etc.
...(see lessons and techniques for doing this in Paints
> Polymer Pastes and "Paintings")
http://www.bcsgc.com/a1003.htm
(gone?)
Johnny Kuborssy suspended a cane slice inside a bar of handmade glycerin soap.
for making many types of small "bead people" and various types of small figures made with various things, see SculptingBodies > Jointed > Figures
lesson
on making a simple figure with wire (Fun Wire or other) plus two or three
small pieces of corrugated cardboard
http://twisteez.com/lessons.html
Susan B's lesson
on making a tiny wire figure and clothing it (partly) with caned
clay (spirals)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_wiredwomen.htm
lesson
on squashing a soda can, then painting with a layer of white paint
(thick, tube paints best) as an undercoat, then painting face or clothing or whatever
with any acrylic paints (could onlay faces or other bits of polymer clay though)
... fun
http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/lesson11.html
make a freestanding
figure from an image cut out from a photograph...
( laser cut "Photo-Sculpture" ..."Silhouette Cut Outs" ..."Standup
Photos"... photo statue...self-standing figurine).. backed with 1/4"
acrylic or foamboard)
... these are then
fastened to a base to make them stand (usually in a slot of some
kind in the base material)
... they can be ordered from photo shops or Walgreens'
etc. from any photo you give them, but why not make one yourself?
......you could just use thickish clay sheet for the backing
rather than acrylic (maybe over a stiff vertical something) ...most photos can
be baked with clay at 275 ..use white glue between
them
..... of you could also add your own face, for example,
to a polymer cut out shape of a body, or any other object (glue on, or
use a transfer)
http://www.coolphotostuff.com/photo-sculptures.htm
(these are more expensive than Walgreen's... mounted on acrylic backing)
http://www.stand-up-photos.com/sculptures.html
and http://www.funfotos.com/gallery.html
...variation: make your own dimensional base from clay to look
like sand, ground, etc., then and just cut out photos backed with clay and glue
them into slot holes, etc
...http://www.hercraftideas.com/crafts/kid/photosculpt.shtml
Lynne
M. created a working pinwheel (for a pin) by cutting a square polymer
sheet almost to the center from each corner, folding over to the center one tip
of each resulting triangle, then piercing the 4 tips loosely with a head pin (etc)
to hold them together... (may need to prop open with tissues etc. while baking)
... sort of origami
http://store1.yimg.com/I/manning-creations_1814_169695
...
for other ways of using clay for origami or other folding techniques, see
Sheets > Other Tehcniques > Origami, folding
bending
wire and tools for melting crayons, etc. (good site) –can combine wire
ideas with clay
http://www.twisteez.com/products.html
Byrd's lesson on making an onlaid mandala design on
a ceramic tile (could be very simple to quite complex), but fun (and inadvertent
but cool "math lesson" too); plus more examples of her mandalas
& more info on making these
http://pcpolyzine.com/november2001/mandala.html
& http://www.pbase.com/revbyrd/mandala__gallery
....Jan
R's simpler mandalas (made with cane slices
on a marbled/etc. background, created on a tile)
http://www.pbase.com/janruh/tiles
(.....for
more info on making various kinds of clay mandalas... and also
for mandalas drawn by kids... see Onlay
> Uses > mandalas)
.....(more info on mandala patterns
in general) http://www.abgoodwin.com/mandala
(click on About Mandalas)
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.pattern/lesson1art.html
(bottom of page)
http://goddessmandala.com/mandalas.html
(Sid's explanation and non-pc mandalas)
Faye's
elephant boxes ... bottom of "box" is elephant body with head on
front
... one elephant box has a dome-shaped lid which completes the
figure ..the smaller one is left without a lid (more like an open bowl-body
on legs)
http://community.webshots.com/photo/208105613/208113217YPOmOs
In her book, Polymer Clay Techniques, Sue Heaser writes about making what we call "rock purses" (see VesselsRock); for which folks have typically used a smooth rock as the inner plug - shaping the clay around it and baking, then cutting the baked clay free and finishing the purse.
Sue showed how to use a
raw potato as a removable armature to create a 3-D shape or vessel-container
(with an open back) (in her Creative Home Decor book) ... I like that idea because
when you use a rock, you have to find just the right kind of rock with the right
shape, but when you use a potato, you carve it to whatever size and
shape you find pleasing, and go from there. Gabe
(...more details
in Vessels > Removable Armatures > Other
Materials)
sunni's lesson on making tiny hinges
from wire (for mini books, eggs, vessels, or whatever!); one half shaped like
(double) eye part of hook-and-eye clasp with a coil in the middle
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/hinge1.html
polymer clay items can be cast into clear
resin?. . .for paperweights or whatever.
...I
have done a lot of this, (as have many others in the miniatures world, I am sure),
and it is absolutely fine. I have very old pieces – baked polymer clay fish
in clear casting resin ponds, and mermaids, turtles etc in resin-filled
polymer clay rock pools... Some are 10 years old and absolutely fine still.
Sue Heaser
postage stamps or stickers:
you can use them to make pendants, pins, or even to use as central medallions
for covered notebooks, boxes, etc.
(website
gone)
looking for something that both boys
and girls like? .... try fish
...have them make canes
of fish and sea plants, then let 'em go to town onlaying slices
onto a blue sheet (marbled maybe) or another blue surface, etc.)! Kim K.
...many,
many colorful reef fishes photos (salt water fishes )
http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/spectype.htm
and http://www.shellhorizons.com/products.asp?Category=18
i think a lot of make boys want to do a project is taking the idea and
just adding the word monsters or "power" to the project,
lol. ...like monster masks, superhero cuffs, Harry Potter or other
wands, etc....also dinosaur themed projects --every boy/man i know went
thru the dino phase, lol
......also at a camp (for 6 year olds), the boys
looooved making rings out of pipe cleaners and beads. they liked it more
than the girrls because one kid staarted calling them Yugi-O power rings!!
askaboutpickles
...boys in my classes liked doing everything... bowls,
simple canes, pens, simple frames as ornaments, little
sculpts of bears & pumpkins, even metallic-covered pendants (many
boys made these "for their moms")
...scenes,
bas reliefs, ornaments & seasonal items, etc. are good too...
as well as most anything covered (Altoid tins, jars, little
wood or metal cars, etc.)
...many other things on this page ...(bugs,
snakes, wind chimes, etc.)
wands
.... http://tinyurl.com/ysjob7
...http://tinyurl.com/2hlc5y ...http://tinyurl.com/23nqqa
..wizard, magician, Harry Potter, etc. are plainer wanads... usually
wood (textured or with onlaid "carved" shapes)... could be highlighted
with gold or antiqued with dark brow, etc.
.....lessons & various
Harry Potter wands (partly-covered wood dowels)
http://users.owt.com/bluefox/Bluefox/wandmaking.html
.....my
long-ish wizard's wand) is made over two Bic stick pen barrels
placed end-to-end with bamboo skewers inside for added support (just grabbed whatever
was laying around the clay table!). Denise
..fairy or princess
wands have a star at end, ribbons, etc.
...http://tinyurl.com/27c5ma
...http://tinyurl.com/yq8mo9
..royal
wands and scepters (sceptres) have embedded "jewels," and lots
of texture, often gold
...http://tinyurl.com/yonkmw
...http://tinyurl.com/yqydxh
for
classes or kids . . .making a flat sheet of clay without
a pasta machine. . .. (lesson)
...quick and
dirty, use a smooth sided paint can ...the seams on the ends will give
you about a #4 to #6 thickness (dependent on the can seams)
....OR, another
way is to make some sticks on a saw with one side being the dimension desired.
You could also make up some 18" long by 1/8" by 1/2" sticks. Also
make several like sized strips out of a stiff cardboard (not corragated). You
the deside what thickness you want
......then make two alike stacks that you
fasten at the ends with rubberbands or tape.
......tape these two strips
parallel to your work surface. Of course they must be closse enough for the roller
to span.
..... Now lay down a sheet of waxed paper, and then a flattened
ball of clay (try to get it flattened to near the desired thickness (but not
less than)
......Cover with another sheet of waxed paper . .....Starting
in the middle and roll away from the middle.
...If you want to get some really
'hard' guide rails get rectangular brass tubing. (I say rectangular
so that you can get two different sizes.
.. I have been using square acrylic
rods ... I use them lots more than I thought I would--especially because
it seems like I have fewer air bubbles with rolling down a thick slab than with
building one up from pasta-machine layers.
(see much more on
various technique and guide-rail ideas, in Pasta Machines
> No Pasta Machine?)
sheet of
wavy stripes ...... scalloped stripes like some "marbled
paper" effects
...(made with scrap bits of clay, rolled into
a snake, twisted a lot, then flattened into a sheet... a stylus is then dragged
across the stripes creating multiple chevons and indentions --which are then
are removed by pasta machining (see whole lesson in Sheets
of Pattern > Dragged Lines)
...(example) Juli
McCarthy's dragged-lines heart shape .. http://members.aol.com/CAPCG1000/pendantswap.htm
swirled bicones
.......create a swirl pattern on top of a flat bicone shape (lentil-like)... can
be used for jewelry as beads/pendants or as parts of other things, etc.
....this
fever is so contagious! Today I showed the technique to some kids at the adventure
playground where I work, and we all made swirly lentils the whole day through
*LOL* I think we produced about 50 pieces... Kerstin
... kids
making swirly bicones: http://www.kerstinsfimoseite.de/fimo/lentilbeadsandkids.html
--lesson:
http://desiredcreations.com/howTo_CALentilSwirl.htm
--lessons,
tips and ideas: Beads > Bead
Rollers > Bicones (using a flat surface rather than a trough-type bead roller)
Kellie's bookmarks website gone)
You
can free form the letters of your name (or anything else) with clay and
put them on a background plaque, or have them held by characters,
on a switchplate in your room, etc. You could also cut out the letters
with letter cutters.Leah's name on a plaque made with pressed-down twisted ropes
of two colors
http://www.jjacksondesigns.homestead.com/Elves.html
Leah's name on a plaque made with pressed-down twisted ropes
of two colors
(website
gone)
for
mobiles (indoor), see Sculpting
> Other Items
.... for outdoor wind chimes and mobiles,
see Outdoor Polymer
> More Outdoor Items (...though these could be used indoors as well)
Benie's bookends with themes http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1972493&uid=1050390
hair sticks with clay on end (or knitting needles) http://family2.go.com/crafts/famf/knitneedle/knitneedle.html
(see Cut-outs above for Sarajane's frame ornaments for school or other photos... and also lesson on child's "hand" frame for photo)
I did a fun thing with my 10 year old son and his Cub Scout den.. . . We made decorated snakes. I made a sample one, and did a few hours preparation ahead of time. I conditioned a little under half a small package of clay for each boy, for the body of the snake, but I made a variety of colors for them to choose from. The most popular colors were acid green, turquoise, blue, silver and gold, but I had yellow and black available too. I got one of those plastic divided boxes people use for needlework floss and put groups of large-pea sized balls of clay in all of the compartments. I let them choose 3 balls each for the decorations on the snake to start with. There were a variety of bright colors and some Sculpey Glow in the Dark colors. I purposely made it so no matter what colors a kid picked, there would be plenty of contrast. The Glow in the Dark was from a set of 4 colors, and that was a huge hit! They would have made the whole thing GITD if I'd had enough. I passed out sheets of typing paper to each kid to use as a work surface. The first thing I had them do was make fangs, eyeballs and forked tongues. (Any project with those elements is sure to be cool!) Many used the GITD for those and some added blood dripping from the fangs with red clay. I had brought my small convection oven and we baked them on a sheet of paper that I drew a big grid on. Each kid put their fangs, etc, inside a square with their name on it so we could tell whose were whose. While those baked, they made the snake body and I told them to stop rolling when the snake was a little shorter and fatter than they wanted it to end up. They added stripes and dots and shapes and I showed them how to make a thin log the length of the snake and put it on the underside and press lines across it for scales. That added quite a lot of realism to the underbelly. I had thought that they would then roll the snake to smooth in the decorations, which is why I had them make it short and fat, but nobody really did that. Some added rattles on the tail, too. I sliced each head to open the mouth part for them. Then when the fangs etc. were done, they stuck them in the snake and posed it coiled or wiggly or straight on their typing paper with their names on it. It would have been easier if they had scratched their initials in the clay instead of trying to keep each snake on a sheet of paper. I brought some polyester stuffing they used to prop up parts that might droop. When it was time to clean up, I passed around the divided box and they put the scraps back in the compartments with the same color. It was an easy way to prevent a lot of waste clay.... they were enthusiastic and every kid was completely involved with their snake. Even my kid who hates art (gasp). There were 9 kids and several parents there. Some of the parents were hovering too much and trying to tell their kid what to do, so I gave those parents their own clay and had them do one for themselves. Karen
make
your own edible candy dough ........for sculpting, or
molding, or caning)
....another fun medium is what I call "chocolate
clay." You melt (regular?) chocolate and add white corn syrup
(e.g. Karo syrup). The resulting "clay" can then be molded or sculpted
and put in the refrigerator to harden. It can be used as a decoration and then
eaten. My classes love this! I always make this with regular brown chocolate.
Nuchi
...I wonder if white chocolate (with or without coloring) would
work, and then be possible to use for canes?
...another recipe
for edible candy usese Candy Melts instead
.....melt 14 oz. package
of Candy-Melts... add 1/3 cup light corn syrup ...stir to blend
.....turn
out onto waxed paper and let set at room temperature to dry
.....wrap well,
and leave at room temp. till needed (best overnight) --can store at room temp.
for sev. weeks
....(to tint mix --white or other light colors presumably
-- with coloring made for icing or candy... knead in
........can also mix
colored doughs)
...as with polymer clay mix will be hard after sitting,
so "condition" small portion by kneading until pliable
......
if gets too soft, let cool or put in frig briefly.
...for making
sheets, sprinkle work surface with cornstarch to prevent sticking
.......
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1985-Candy-Clay-for-Modeling--3D-Figures.html
OR
purchase edible candy dough
...Wilton also sells
Kandy Clay... also in kits (at Michaels?, etc.)
http://www.epinions.com/content_150962605700
......or http://www.wilton.com (...search
for Kandy Clay)
...another one is called EDO, advertised
as "Edible Candy Dough" ...looks & works like polymer clay
http://www.edofun.com
...I think they sell it at Target also.... the colors are mixable,
and it's moldable
.......good for little sculptures, cake decorations,
caning? . . . The taste isn't too bad but
unexpected because the texture is doughy and doesn't really match the flavors
--kind of like biting into white bread but tasting tangy watermelon. LivingClay
....Wilton also sells Gummy Candy Making kits and tools, molds, etc.
I
wonder if the bead rollers of Sue Lee’s (see Beads/Bead Rollers for suppliers)
would be great for older or disabled folks. . . Diane B.
Assisted
Living Community . . . .I lead a very active clay group. Yesterday a woman told
me that she feels that after working with the clay and placing small beads
on the surface, her handwriting has improved and feels that the fine
motor skills needed to perform the activity has been therapeutic. I've been
working with clay in geriatric settings for many years and although the bead rollers
appealed to me as does every clay tool I see, I think POLYCLAY is the best most
stimulating media for the soul, spirit, imagination and nimble fingers!
Yahoogroups
(used to be eGroups and Onelist) “mailing lists”
–free online polymer
clay groups whose e-mail messages will come to you as e-mail; can read only
or respond too. There are 1000’s of these groups (many kid-friendly; minimum
age is indicated for each group). Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=polymer%20clay
for a list of relevant groups. They usually have archives too!
(see much more on the regular Christmas page: http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Christmas.htm)
*Adorables'
dogs, cats, animals, xmas/thanksgiv/Easter/Hallow., flowers, fish, frames,
barrettes
http://www.lavendera.com/Adorables/adorables%20front%20page.htm
*Holbrook--FaLaLa,santas,snowmen,angel earring,more
http://members.tripod.com/~mmholbrook/index.html
*Tamila Darling, figures, xmas
http://members.aol.com/darlinclay/index.html
*Jan Ohio's snowpeople (for different
occasions, seasons)
http://www.jjacksondesigns.homestead.com/Snowpeople.html
Ria's
Pooh,
etc.,
gifts, on top of glass xmas balls
http://users.bart.nl/~creation/english/pooh_page.htm
many ornaments (hobbies, etc.) bas
relief sculpting
http://www.personalizedfree.com/
Cecilia's many framed photos for xmas ornaments
(onlaid) ebsite gone) (website
gone)
Use
cookie cutters to cut shapes from sheets of clay (plain or patterened sheets)
....
can decorate the shapes with impressions made with stamps or any kind of tool/etc.
.....can
onlay bits of clay or metallics
Nettie's lesson
on making a star-shaped Santa ornament
http://www.geocities.com/nettieinohio/starsanta.html
I made some really cool stars for christmas ornanments by mixing the Premo metallic silver and gold with the glow-in-the-dark. And people were really surprised by the effect! Kimba
Heather
P's lesson on making small mitten shapes with clay, then embellishing
them with can slices for cuffs and here and there (her mittenshapes are cut around
a cardboard template or freehand with a Xacto though,
rather than a cutter)... ornament
http://www.humblebeads.com/mittens.html
Wouldn't it be fun to have a bunch of friends over to make Christmas ornaments?
covering light bulbs or glass ball ornaments:
....I
used large light bulbs at Christmas to make maracas for my sons. I covered
the bulbs with a thin layer of Premo and then applied various 'wild' cane slices.
Very psychedelic. I didn't break the glass for this project although I have for
others. Added rice and lentils then constructed a stopper attached to a wooden
dowel handle and baked again. They loved them
.. . ...also made Snowman
and Santa table top ornaments. Marie
...press stamped,
molded, sculpted clay or cane slices, etc. onto colored glass xmas
balls, or use plastic balls and glue on baked pieces
of clay?
(see Covering > Glass
Ball & Bulbs ... and also Christmas
> Glass Bulb Ornaments...for much more on these techniques)
Dianne
C’s “dirty snow man” (lesson)– Make snakes of Fimo Art (00), white, &
glow-in-the-; Bundle the snakes randomly so your bundle has Art, white,and glow
next to each other. Reduce, put the bundles together; reduce, put the bundles
together--do this until you can make 3 x 3 inch squared cane….cover snowman.
same as Dianne’s except I made a lace can out of white and translucent 06
and put the glow in the dark on under the lace cane …Dawn
Snow people . . . the directions called for spraying with matte acrylic and then sprinkling with fine glitter, so they really do look like snow now.
an easy Santa (head) pin? (lesson): 3/4" flesh ball flattened slightly, then a 3/4" red ball shaped into a fat, flat triangle and attached to the top. 2 seed beads for eyes, white beard, mustache and eyebrows and then roll small balls of white clay for the hat trim. This is also a quicky craft fair pin. Pat
(...for snowmen or other figures made from, or sitting on., glass "ice cubes" .... see Misc > Marbles > ice cubes)
make tiny gingerbread houses (or
just house fronts )and/or candies (see Houses
> Gingerbread)
....candy canes: start out
with one long skinny log of white and one of red, then twist them together.
If you want a smooth version, roll the twisted ropes till they're combined and
twist again so the stripes are as close together as you want them (roll again
to smooth), then bend the top over for a J shape.
You can also make the candy
cane have more than 2 colors, or different-width stripes, etc.,
by using the white log as a larger central log, around which you place smaller
red or green logs lengthwise, for example, leaving plenty of space for the white
to show through. Then roll, smooth and bend as above. Voila . . . so real you'll
want to eat it.
a few candy canes, and other candies (see Houses-Structures
> Candies for lessons)
(website gone) (bears holding candy canes)
Elizabeth's
lesson on making mini-gingerbread house ...fronts, decorated
with candies
http://polymerclayexpress.net/dece2002.html
(be sure and click on Templates and the last photo to see details)
.....I
think I'll print out that lesson and send it with some clay
to my daughter-in-law wholikes crafts and has 5 small ones at home. Maybe she
could do this with them for next christmas . . . I think that they could also
attatch them to wreaths for decorating the door, as well as ornaments
for the tree. Could even put one tied onto the bow for that special touch on a
christmas present. Amanda
(see much more on gingerbread
houses, candies and other sweets in Houses-Structures
> Gingerbread)
Nf's Santa figure formed on a bottle (from one of Maureen Carlson's books) (website gone)
many ornaments,
bas relief sculpting --bears, snowmen, gingerbread houses, etc.)
http://www.personalizedfree.com/
Nancy's ducky in soapy barrel ornament, build over a jingle bell (website gone)
clear xmas balls
can also have polymer scenes small pieces/figures inside them; the plastic
balls available at Michaels etc., can be opened in halves then resealed (be careful
of the orientation), or items can be placed inside the regular glass ball ornaments
with tweezers
....pigsnstuff's glass balls with scenes inside ( the pieces
are baked first and then after raw sculpey is placed inside on the bottom of the
glass ball, the baked pieces are added and then the whole piece is baked again...Teresa)
http://www.pigsnstuff.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.cgi
(click on Ornaments, then keep clicking on next ones to see them all)
....Since
I started shipping the ornaments, I realize that some base clays in the glass
balls (which attach to the figures, etc.) have become dislodged.
Now before I add the clay to the bottom of the ball I add a few drops of crazy
glue first. So far this has seemed to work.
...her smaller photos make
the balls look as if they are frosted glass with an window area unfrosted
for seeing inside; clicking on the larger size shows that's not true, but it might
be a fun thing to do with glass etching cream, or maybe fine glitter held
with glue/water
I just made 'tree spirals' from transluent clay and glitter....super simple to make (photo link now gone, but I think these were disks cut along a spiral line inside it; when the center portion is lifted, the larger part of the spiral hangs down, creating a kind of 3-D tree shape). Dianne C
You can take transparent Liquid Sculpey and color it with pearl-ex pigments (i.e., antique silver for grey or gold which turns out yellowish) and then paint the stripes on (to cut-out animal shapes?). I have been doing this with my cat and dog ornaments (although the dogs get spots instead of stripes). mamadude
gift ideas (for boys or girls)
......8 yo suggests
cool figures to sit on the end of their pencil, clay-covered pens,
a little dude to sit on the top of the computer, swirly eggs
...zipper
pulls ...key chains, etc. .....one or more polymer beads, etc., can
be attached with a lanyard hook to zipper pulls, jeans, or to other
hardware for keychains, etc.
......My 8 yoboy says a really cool keychain
type figure (or crazy creature) to hang from their backpack,
zipper pulls for their backpack
......Try a very sedate sports theme with
black cord. Or maybe something to hang off a backpack. Elayne
......zipper
pulls ... bit of advise. Make a stiff wire core that you work your clay around.
the swivel area takes a whole lot of wear and the body receives large amounts
of squeezing and knocks. I should know, I just broke a cast metal zipper pull.
(see
more on zipper pulls for clothing or jeans or backpacks, etc. (boys
or girls) above in Jewelry)
...Or a football,basketball, soccer
ball, or baseball type necklace might be accepted by boys...see if you
can find out what sport and teams he might like. A black block with
a dayglow 'X' made with GITD clay (x-box) is cool
. . . I also suggest necklaces.
Though my son doesn't wear them, lots of the boys here do. Think neutral colors,
hemp or buna cord, some smooth silver beads and maybe a faux stone technique.
But keep it unobtrusive. Mokume gane would be sorta neat in
some necklace beads, like cylinder beads, and space with faux ivory beads. Boys
fashion right now is neutral colors to the extreme. Khaki, black, gray,
dull green. Girls, on the other hand are into light blue, hyacinth,
tan, and pink. No bright pinks and no jewel tones atall!! Tie-dye looks
and swirly things are in. Like the lava lamps of our youth,
but more muted. Ginger
....Use GITD (glow in the dark clay)
if you can. ...that makes it a 'cool' thing then. Lysle
........I've found
that all the kids, 7 to l6, that I have taught love, love, love, glow in the dark
clay! The classes I have tought have been pens, lightswitch covers,
and crazy creature key fobs. Shellee
... I made some neighbourhood kids
miniature Nintendo 64 controllers they LOVED them, and they still wear
them proudly! Adria
(for more info on neutral colors and other
looks for males especially, see Gifts
> Men)
Wizard's Pantry Swap (ingredients a wizard in training
might have in his pantry, inspired by Harry Potter):
Sunni's page showing
the swap items she received (pgs. 2 & 3) and the items she made (pg.
1):
http://www.sunnisan.com/crafts/pantry2.html
(click on Next) ....... http://sunnisan.com/crafts/pantry.html
sunni's list from Dianne C's Wizard's Pantry Swap
....Acoyite
from Jody *ewwwww - gooey,* Faerie Stones from Kim2 *ooh, pretty!*, Pulverized
Snail Trails from Jean M, A Bottle Pendant (travel size "Floo" powder containers
from Celeste, Cedar leaves from Jean C , Dehydrated Muggles (hermetically sealed)
from Dianne Cook, Unicorn Hair from Kellie B, Baby Unicorn First Growth Horn Charm
from Stephanie G , Dragon Debris (Talons, scales, eggshell pieces, frozen dragon
particles) from Jan, Frog's Eyes from Marjorie , Shrunken bottled creepy things
from Nuchi , Eagle feather dust from Jean C , A Leprechaun Guitar Pick made of
Sidhe Scales, owl feathers from sunni,
and a Nearly Flying Potion, w/all ingredients
from Helene: Crushed rose petals and beads in a snape-like jar Porcupine Quills
Small, delicate and volatile Eastern Seabord Tortoise Shell Dragons scales with
accompanying beads Homemade Birch Bark paper Spiderweb Crystal for dowsing And
Phoenix Feathers!!
. . . it wasn't necessary to have read the Harry Potter
books, though they are an excellent source of inspiration. I made bottles of aconite
concentrate, useful for taming werewolves or PMS. (actually, it's green bubble
bath!) Jody
My son and I spent last night making Asian paper amulets because he's a big Card Captors fan. I don't actually read kanji (Japanese letters) so we went through a gift catalog and copied the characters off of stones and plaques. Jody
Lysle’s “Not So Heavenly” Angels
(the larger one was about 1 1/2 inches tall.) --lesson
-I made
a #1 thickness sheet of gold metallic and cut this into a 1 1/2 in diameter circle.
-Then I cut out a quarter pie slice; This was rolled around a cone (tip of
a large pencil, etc.)
-I then cut two more pie slices about 1/5 of a pie
each; these were again formed on a pencil point.
These two for the angels
arms and are placed onto the sides of the main cone (the body) place each slightly
foreard of the mid line. Bend the arm cones at the elbow then squish them slightly
flat.
-Into each sleeve, insert a section of 'snake' which will be formed
into the hands and posed according to what they are doing.
-The head is a
ball of clay with basic pinched nose and eye and mouth depressions. Hands and
head are in appropiate flesh tones.
-I then apply some #9 thickness clay
for the hair & style it. A thin ring of metallic gold forms a halo.
-The wings are cut from one #4 thickness sheet of white. I use my own free hand
concepts of the wings; this is a one piece wing. I then place the wings on the
back and use a #9 thickness section of body material to help join the wings to
the body.
-I use some #18 wire that is twisted into a hook to enter at the
top of the wings behind the head and comes out the botom in the hollow 'skirt'
----(construction time about 1 hour).
HALLOWEEN ... THANKSGIVING ... VALENTINES... etc.
see
much more on
Halloween, Valentines & hearts, & other holidays
on the regular Halloween page: http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Halloween,etc..htm
(for suggestions on creating non-scary alternatives for Halloween, see Halloween > Non-Scary Alternatives)
Johnny's
pumpkin PolyPals (only polypal left?)
http://heartinhandstudio.com/DSC01294.JPG
*Garie's
many figures, chess set (film spool), and magnet fun, horror/Halloween
masks, skulls/devil heads in "ClothPins"?
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/index.html
Leigh’s pumpkin cane
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pumpkin.html
(instead of cutting out the features on the votive with an xacto, I
put a layer of black clay on the back of the slices, put them in the freezer for
a while and then carved the faces out with a toothpick. I enjoyed doing them and
my daughter loved them. Michelle)
~Magestic’s skulls & skeletons
http://www.majestic-n.com/majestic/skelprod.html
aliens and body parts in specimen bottles (Halloween) http://www.geocities.com/~uncialle/alihauntpage.html
*Adorables'
dogs, cats, animals, xmas/thanksgiv/Easter/Hallow., flowers, fish, frames,
barrettes
http://www.lavendera.com/Adorables/adorables%20front%20page.htm
ghosts: (lessons) Make a rough head/body
shape, bake; take a square of clay and drape it over the shape, folding
on the diagonal so you have a triangle shape draped over (each side of ) the head/body
shape - the points at the sides make the arms. Shape spookily, and use
a sharp knife or tiny cutters to make eyes & mouth. . . If you use
glow-in-the-dark for the outer piece, use a darker colour for the inner
(so the eyes and mouth show dark) but if you use white for the outer, use
glow for the inner so the eyes and mouth only glow!! . . . .add a loop or something
for hanging. Crafty Owl
...I
once made a simple little sheet-drape ghost as a sample for a kids class . . .
BTW, how did you form your ghost? I thought of several ways, trying to get it
as simple as possible without wasting too much clay for the kids, but I can't
remember now if I draped a disk of clay over an alum.foil ghost shape,
then pressed down all around, or if I tried a modified pinch pot first
(I added black dots for the eyes). Maybe I should have made it smaller...think
it turned out about 3" tall. Diane B.
...I made #4 on the pasta machine sheets
of white clay and cut lil circles about 6 inches across and draped them
on foil cones after cutting the eye slits.. just before I fired them I
stuck a tiny flat piece of black clay behind the *sheet* slits to look
like eyes... you can put a Hook in the top to hang them if you want to... obviously
the larger the circle the larger the Ghostie... (vbg). . .Oh and Sculpter that
I am .. I made some look like they had *arms* under the sheet by kinda
pulling it out a tad and making it point off in a direction by stuffing a tad
more foil under it to keep it up till it was through fireing..(Dont forget to
make the top of the foil rounded or you will get a pointy headed Spook!! LOL)
Dusty
lesson...we each made a pumpkin with a Jack-o-latern face, and they came out really cute. . . We actually cut out very tiny triangles, and mouth shapes out of black sculpey with an exacto knife, and pressed them on. We also used a little bit of green for a stem. They came out pretty cute. The are just a little more than an inch in diameter: Laura
Tammy's
lesson on making pumpkin earrings (round orange shapes, with leaf,
features added with marker)
http://jewelrymaking.about.com/hobbies/jewelrymaking/library/n_091900.htm
I'm
going to attempt to make some wearable devil horns for Halloween
this weekend...advice?
Maybe you could find yourself a metal
headband and bake them right to it? I'd suggest you cover a foil core
so the don't wiegh as much too! Joanie
...if you can wear those semi-plastic
head bands that girls would wear to pull back their hair, couldn't you glue
lightweight horns on that? Glue - superglue, Sobo, E6000.
Hey, that gives me an idea. I could make Vulcan ears. Desiree
As a
matter of fact, tonight I was wearing some horns made by Linda Geer (see Halloween). They're pretty simple 2-3"
horns with a hole drilled through the base. She strings them on a stretchy
clear plastic cord and you wear them like a headband. I don't know if they
are solid clay or made over aluminum foil. Jody B.
masks... polymer, or painted plaster gauze masks without
polymer (these could have polymer embellishments glued on later) ... could be
half masks or whole masks
---be sure to leave large
openings for your eyes if you will wear the
mask (any uncovered eye area could have face paint if you want)...
lesson
on making plaster gauze masks: http://www.artlex.com/ed/Maskmaking.html
lessons
on making polymer masks in Heads-Masks
many
tiny ropes of clay can be laid on top of a sheet of cl ay or a clay shape
to create tentacle or wavy effects (these can be
creepy
or they can be beautiful and organic/mystical)... good use for wild hair
too ...see much more on these in Onlay >
Uses
...Adrienne's tentacle-looking items (Gorkley swap) (website
gone)
all about bats
http://www.batconservation.org/content/kidspage/kidspage.htm
making scenes and dioramas for your favorite characters or for school projects, and mucn more . . .
...(see websites below, plus Miniatures category, Sculpting > Settings, and possibly Houses-Structures category for more
*Ladybug's many wonderful little scenes
http://www.ladybug-fairies.com/scenes.htm
*Jeanne R's "classroom"
hut for fairies learning to paint fireflies glow-in-the-dark, stone path,
flowers,mushroom, chalkboard, etc.
.....
("Fairy Class on painting fireflies glow-in-the dark" ), mushrooms,
chalkboard, etc.
http://www.heartofclay.com/page7.htm .... http://www.heartofclay.com/sb/fairyhut2.jpg
Celadonia's many fairies of diff. kinds,
in mini-scenes, etc., plus fairy necklaces
http://www.celidonia.it/English/gallery.htm
(especially "woods" fairies)
little
round bunny house with many flowers,etc.
http://it.dada.net/freeweb/bussola/italyclay/book/foto/mia2.jpg
Garie's
tiny Smurf house and yard
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/smurf_home.htm
Garie's
astronaut walking on the moon scene
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/astronaut.htm
Yijun's
scenes with dragons, hills, and more
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/yijun's%20site/dragland_index.htm
Crealand's
various humorous scenes (click on each , but photos are still small)
http://crealand.free.fr/scenes.htm
*Victoria's scene with cats and many items (thumbnails)
http://www.users.mis.net/~victoria/sb/inworks.htm
Vanessa's Pigmalion and Bearon figures and scenes (click on both
in left column)
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/vlui255808/FimoInvasion.html
worthart's wizard and his
home interior
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=662429&uid=448958
Maria Teresa's fisherman on tropical
island and underwater scene in two separate hemispheres
http://bussola.supereva.it/italyclay/book/foto/teresa2.jpg
L. Osborne (Cath's) underwater scenes (kelp, fishes, mermaids, etc.)
http://faerieangel1nc.tripod.com/faeriesandangelsabound/id10.html
Cathi's
open "book" sitting upright on a wood plaque ...with
matching scene, figures, parts of story, in front of pages (on plaque)....
(for kids or anyone)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1464706&uid=820896
Jeanne R's mini sauna (3-sided), with variable colored wood
planks, a pot bellied stove, etc.
http://www.heartofclay.com/page7.htm
Lindly's sort-of diorama/sculpture
... an open on one side display box
http://www.nwpcg.org/ravensdale/rave/rave00/haunani.shtml
Lynnette's scenes under mushrooms... and grandpa and veggies in front
of 2-sided picket fence base
http://www.lynettehampton.com/archive.html
Bernie's
bookends as bases for little scenes
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1972493&uid=1050390
Emily's
Japanese room scene...woman, screen, table & Japanese food,
seating mats... freestanding wood floor
http://tinyurl.com/2mkj2p
*Su Lin's "room" box ...with couch, pillows, lamp,
hobby horse, curtains, etc., and many wall pieces
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creativity/sam_sulin.htm
Art
without Borders' boxes (some are houses) (created by children to express
their hopes and dreams --non-polymer, but inspirational)
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/showcase/gallery/exhibits/cbborders/cbb01.html
(keep clicking on NEXT)
Helene
Grove's simple figures in simple scene set-up
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/africans.html
(click on Helene's swap photo)
Alexandra's
funny flour fairies cavorting around "bowl of flour with egg in
it" ... small scene
http://www.alexandrablythe.co.uk/photogallery/work/work-pics/Flour%20Fairies.jpg
Pennydolls' lessons on making some items in scenes (pine tree,
toy train, snow tunnel) with her babies
http://www.pennydolls.com
(click on English Flag, then on Fimo Workshop, then onto a picture to get lessons)
(gone?)
Fayette's
many mini-scenes (in/around flowers/leaves & themed,
etc.) for her bitty bugs
http://www.pbase.com/fayette/bitty_and_little_bug_beings_
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=778632&uid=492837
Kevin
Buntin's wonderful scene of many woodland creatures (hedge boggles) at
a banquet (with
lots of natural materials as well)
http://www.kevinbuntin.com/hedge_podge.html
...more creatures http://www.kevinbuntin.com/hedgegallery.html
Celidonia's many little base-type scenes (some with themes) for tiny
creatures, etc.
http://www.celidonia.it/English/gallery.htm
(look all around)
many gingerbread buildings and trees
in scenes
http://homecooking.miningco.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.gingerbreadlane.com
miniature dioramas with skeletons, etc. for Day of the Dead (Dia de los
Muertos)
http://www.casacorazon.com/index2.html
Eni's
student galleries of fantasy structures (interior & exterior) and fantasy
critters (not polymer, but lots of inspiration)
http://www.3dworkshops.com
Mary's
scenes http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1228293
(gone?)
*Elizabeth's miniature home--dioramas in a half-view
--many tiny items, smaller scenes for bunny,rabbit,reindeer)
(website gone)
Elizabeth's
home-burrow for jackalopes ... furniture and (see
lessons for many items in
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=640954&uid=488109
fantasy
"gardens"
for fairies or critters, etc....
She has an enclosed outdoor room on the back of her house filled with ferns etc.
where they spend quite a lot of time. Her granddaughter (aged 2) loves fairies
and surprises so under one of the big leaves in her garden she has place a fairy
tea party. She made red and white spotty mushrooms, flowers, caterpillers, snails
and other bugs (with a piece of wire poking from the bottom to stick into the
ground) and placed them around a little log, which a couple of fairies are sitting
havinga tea party. .....She added small pebbles, bits of moss etc.
..... Every
couple of days, she moves things around and Maddie is absolutely
fascinated . . . she checks on every visit to see what’s happened . . . Every
now and again, my Sister-in-law picks the whole lot up and moves it to a different
part of the garden.
...Northwest
Naturals's wonderful minis (cradle, bed, swing, etc.) made with
natural materials (the babies & fairies and some others
have a bit of polymer)
http://gerdesdesign.com/northwest.htm
... also lesson on making a tiny baby on a leaf
http://gerdesdesign.com/my_dollhouses.htm
(house in log and mossy house have all kinds of natural furniture and accessories)
...Ladybug's fairy houses and scenes http://www.ladybug-fairies.com/scenes.htm
http://www.ladybug-fairies.com/fairies.htm
(also click on Enchanted Gardens)
fairy houses made with natural
materials (not polymer, but inspirational)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_artists/article/0,1789,HGTV_3228_2251271,00.htm
...I
want to make a fairy garden...where could I get some cicada wings? Wouldn't
they look cute hanging on a little clothesline somewhere? Maybe I should make
a Christmas fairy garden...MizzElf (or
Halloween fairy garden, or Valentine, etc.?)
......the first
thing that came to my mind was Tinkerbell, so how about a trailing of fairy
dust (fine glitter) on the pathway in "her" garden..., a ladies compact
with a mirror inside... and a small cushion for a bed on the other side...,
a directional sign (the kind with pieces of wood that give names of places
and miles to them) e.g. "Leprechaun Lane" -- just over the rainbow, "Tooth Fairy
's Bank"....., "Fairy Godmother's House" ....
. . . I have a wonderful book
I purchased called "Tiny Treasures", amazing miniatures you can
make, by American Girl Library published by Pleasant Company Publications that
have great ideas in it. kidatheart
...Add some tiny mushrooms too,
for chairs etc. MissySue47
Maureen's lesson
on making a faux wood table, bench, and stool, plus faux
rocks (large, and small for path) and teapot
....(she places
her items in a med-large terra cotta saucer filled with soil)...
could make all items smaller as well
.....her U-shaped
table is cardboard which is sandwiched between two sheets
of raw clay (may want to consider brushing cardboard with white glue first to
help adhesion), bent to create legs... she also covers toothpicks with clay to
use as stool legs and X-supports under table
......rocks:...
marble-mix granite, jasper, white & translucent clays ..flatten
and fold over (same direction each time) until sufficient layers appear (...for
rocks larger than 1", she uses a a alum. foil ball armature underneath) ...then
press against rough real rock for texture (colors of stone varied by adding
other colors)
(other items shown include fairy, snail, flower,etc.)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,1789,HGTV_3352_1399774,00.html
polystyrene
foam can be used in many ways to create scenes, or the objects
in them
.....(after cutting,shaping,etc.) the foams can be used as a form
underneath polymer clay (left in permanently or removed), or they can be used
alone or simply painted, etc.
...Stephan's play or game
scene, with figures, tombstones, etc, all made with polystyrene (blue insulation
board foam in this case for better detail)
http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/products/customer/gallery/patgame_stephan.htm
...for
loads more info, ideas, and lessons on using & shaping
foams in many ways, see Covering > Plastics
> #6 polystyrene,Styrofoam,etc)
see many more
ideas (general and specific) for making little scenes in:
Houses-Structures
for houses, castles, ground, stone-brick,
background scenery, etc.
Sculpting
> Bases
Miniatures for
plants, food, other items & scenes
Halloween
> Scenes , Dioramas, Houses
Christmas
> Sculpting and Websites
mini
habitats for bugs or other critters to live in (or just to play
in for awhile)
photos of several variations of ant environments
made by Garie inside closed plastic containers (like ant farms)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/antvironment2.htm
lesson for 3 ant environments...CaveVironment(pg2), ComtemVironment
(pg8), NaturaVironment(pg9) http://www.polymercafe.com/images/antvironment.pdf
(requires Acrobat Reader)
...see more
on lessons re making "AntVironments" by Gari Sim in Houses-Structures
> Mini Habitats
more CLEAR DISPLAY UNITS:
Marlies ... scene inside upturned
jar for display "box"... some parts photos from catalogs
glued onto paper or cardstock
http://www.mcuniverse.com/index.php/Glass_Jar_Room_Box_-_Computer/670/0/
(outdoor)
Alice's Tea Party scene under a large glass "pot"
http://post.queensu.ca/~readel/Pictures/celebrations/Alice.jpg
...see
terrarium (real or fake) made in a glass Christmas ball above in Other
Ideas (could make into a scene)
...clear glass or plastic containers
can be good, and large or small ...things like an aquarium, fish bowl, clear plastic
storage container, acrylic box or acrylic box frame, large brandy snifter fish
bowl (Walmart, etc.), glass jars large or small, large wine glass, clear glass
ornament
(for more scenes inside or under glass display containers,
see Outdoor > Display Globes
Mary's "window"
pins, made by simulating a sashed windows and their views, etc.
http://jackmaryetc.com/claypin.htm
Ria's Pooh, etc., gifts, on
top of glass xmas balls
http://users.bart.nl/~creation/english/pooh_page.htm
(gone?)
(see also pigsnstuff's scenes in glass
xmas balls below in Christmas/Winter)
I am playing with clay and a large seashell right now trying to decide on a mini-scene to make in it..for my brother and sisterinlaw who just built a house on the coast. Peggy NC
well-known
stories or book, etc.,can be created at least partially in polymer
clay too:
Mad Hatter's Tea Party figures and diorama (this one's fancy,
but could be much simpler)
http://www.handcraftedfantastictoys.com/alice/mad_tea_party.html
Lisa
P's Alice in Wonderland scene inside a hinged
http://www.handcraftedfantastictoys.com/alice/mad_tea_party.html,
decorated egg
http://pcpolyzine.com/0301january/lpcheshire.html
Susan's
kid's Easter eggs (cutout dioramas) --not polymer, but could be
(website gone)
....(see
lessons on making sugar skulls, or sugar egg dioramas, in Eggs
> (enclosed) Dioramas)
"furniture"
for scenes and dollhouses in Houses-Structures
(couches... dressers... tables... rugs... etc.)
.....one of Tonja's "covered" Altoid boxes
looks to me like a bed . . . it's actually, I think, a painted tin
with a large slice (larger than the top of the box) laid across the top
like a bedspread ...it drapes over the edged and forms a flare at
each corner...with the "feet" she's put under the box . . . (just add
pillows for a bed!)
http://www.tonjastreasures.com/vessels/tn18.htm
I made some teepees a few years back, and what I did was use watercolor paper rolled in a cone shape, then stapled to keep it's shape. I placed a thin layer of clay over it, fused the edge together, cut off the excess, and baked. After cooling, I pulled the paper cone out carefully and it left the clay teepee intact. I was amazed it worked.
*Kathy's
wonderful bonsai trees &. other trees, logs... bushes...
fences... rocks & ground effects, stone pagoda, etc., on
flat-base scenes
http://www.bonsaikathy.com/bonsai.html
lesson
on making lumpy "ground" made from (10 to 12)
balls of clay (1-2" in diam.) which are kind of piled together
on a flat surface, then pressed together and seams smoothed with toothpick,
by Linda WP
(.....she adds a purchased mini-fence and some clay tomatoes ...used
as a stand for carrot and broccoli "pens")
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_1915128,00.html
...what
about using balls of scrap clay, then covering them with
a thin sheet of ground-colored clay after baking?
"collage" map of Canada, provinces http://www.crosswinds.net/~clayamies/clayamies.html
(click on t-shirt) (gone)
...can
cut out the shape of a state, country, or other geographical
area (or house, pet,etc.) from a sheet of decorative clay
...state
of Florida from a cane-slice sheet http://www.geocities.com/ncfpclay/page3.html
see rubbing plates in Textures for using as backdrops for little scenes (farm life, beach, etc.)
tabletop
mini Zen Gardens can also be changeable
scenes, if you want them to be
http://www.zengarden.co.za/zengar.html
...each "garden" is usually a shallow tray of fine sand
(or gravel, rocks, rice, sugar, etc.)
...little clay or other objects
can be set into position in the trays as scenes ...scenes could also be holiday
themed, or any theme at all
(....see much more on making these in Misc
> Tabletop Zen Gardens
... also see Maureen's lesson
just above on using soil in a terra cotta saucer for scene)
dioramas
in (larger) sand trays for regular play or for "play
therapy" (see more Misc > Tabletop
Zen Gardens)
... examples: http://www.healingspacecoaching.com/sandtray.html
(...and outdoors) http://www.skymountain.org/SW.htm
Rod
Wicks' fabulous structures (whimsical old "castles", moss-encrusted
& forest structures, minaret, old ship (galleon?), fantastical
houses, dragon in forest scene, scenes with mouse "pirates?" on another
ship, many with humor (he uses ceramic porcelain/stoneware, cement, & polymer
clay)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/rodwicks_gallery.html
(click on each!)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/rodwicks.html
& .......http://www.geocities.com/solidmud/solidmud1.html
(gone)
.....for
more houses, castles, etc., and landscaping ....see Houses-Structures
> Scenery)
....also see much more
in Miniatures
BAS RELIEF scenes
Tresa's
scene from Brambly Hedge & Strawberry Shortcake plaque
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/mini-fashion/picture.htm
Valerie's
high relief plaque scenes (outdoor and figures/structures)
http://www.falczx.com/painting.htm
**Garie's kids' many
wonderful scenes done in bas relief, or in high relief, and
some full 3-D
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creativity/mosaic.htm
(click on each picture for many more!)
Garie's kids' Christmas bas
relief scenes & sculpted scenes (& Santa balls)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/more_greetings.htm
Garie's
"scene" on a watering can (made from recycled plastic
soda bottle), with lots of bears playing on it
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/can_bears.htm
Garie has kids draw a scene (or anything) on paper, then
recreate it in polymer clay (3-D sculpture, or bas relief)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creating_ideas.htm
NF's whimsical scenes
mostly using overlapped cane slices (forests, mountains, flower
hillside, cows)
http://photobucket.com/albums/c255/Nadja2002/Swaps/?action=view¤t=DSC00048_small.jpg
(......see
many more relief "scenes" in Sculpting
> Bas Relief Sculpts)
(for
more on chess sets, see the Sculpture
page, > Miscellaneous)
(see also "Mosaics"
above)
Jim's site with printable game boards (chess,
Monopoly), game boxes, playing cards, dominoes, puzzles, etc.
http://www.printmini.com/printables/pp.shtml
GREAT SITE: .Aunt Annie's Crafts illustrations of some
game boards
--solitaire, mancala, pachisi, Morris
(alignment), Alquerque (war), Spiral and Square (race), hunt
games, dice, dominoes, and match-card games, as well
as game pieces, spinners, etc,
...these would be good
for reference in how the objects actually look, or could be used as transfers
(see Transfers).
...just keep clicking
and clicking for more gameboards, lessons, etc.
http://www.auntannie.com/games.html
http://www.auntannie.com/games/gamesps.html
.....Aunt
Annie's "solitaire" board games
http://www.auntannie.com/games/gamesfct.html
.....her
various pachisi game boards
http://www.auntannie.com/games/gamesvry.html
(and
$20 software for making 40 ..."board
games, card games, and outdoor games from different cultures with an emphasis
on fun. Learn the rules of over forty games and how to make all the equipment
needed to play the games"...plus articles on the history of the games)
....interesting
game called Waldschatenspeil ("Shadows of the Woods") ... played in the
dark with a small candle which creates shadows behind the various standing trees
on the game board... dwarves try to gather behind the trees a bit like hide and
seek... dreamy, magical.. needs adult because of candle
http://www.seasonsnaturaltoys.com/childs_room/play_room.htm
SOME
BASIC IDEAS (for tic tac toe . . . or any board games):
--The board could be a small, freestanding square of polymer, or
made on a wood plaque, or wood board veneered with a sheet
of clay
--Or a miniature version of a game or a scene-with-figures
could be made on top of an Altoid box (with the pieces stored inside) --see
examples below
......the pieces and/or boards could be magnetized;
......only
the pieces or the board could be made from polymer; etc.
--Many techniques
might make interesting boards . . . e.g., mosaics/larger tiles, mica canes,
onlay, stamping/textures/molds, etc.
--playing pieces could be anything
from flattened beads, to stacked beads, to covered wood or metal shapes, to little
sculptures/Natasha dolls, thick cane slices, or just about anything.
......Eberhard
Faber has a similar idea with their stacked shapes (on top of corks) used
as stoppers for glass bottles
http://tinyurl.com/bhmn3
--In fact, games can be used to feature or experiment with all polymer
techniques (faux's, mokume gane, caning, transferring, etc.!)
THEMES:
What about your own Candyland or other board game, featuring names,
items or other bits relevant to your kids'
lives??
. . .what about Christmas, Halloween, or hobbies
themes?? Diane B.
I was also considering having the kids in my son's 7th grade classroom make some small games with polymer clay to give to hospitalized kids - from tic tac toe on an Altoid tin, to chess, to board games, etc. We're looking for things we can do under the aegis of "Community Service" without having to leave the school. Diane B. (see more on a similiar project in Bottles of Hope)
You could make little dominoes... or any around-the-board game similar to Parchisi or Sorry. The boards could be small painted cookie sheets (or sheets custom cut) and you make the playing pieces of clay. ...the reason I mentioned cookie sheets as playing boards is because the magnets will stick to them -- if you use the right kind of cookie sheet or metal sheet. LynnDel
We've
done tiled tables and my son has made board game pieces. Try a cookie
or Kemper cutter.
....If you make a piece that isn't quite the right
size, use an emery board on it. We've never had trouble making the
tiles fit, and we do LOTS of mosaic things. Sarajane
I've cut logs or canes while they're still warm on many occasions for making game pieces ...It's works great!! Mary K.
Samara's star-shaped backgammon
clay game pieces (with spiral in center) for her hand-made fabric
backgammon "board" (which rolls up with pieces inside, for traveling)
http://samsaradesigns.blogspot.com/2007/07/to-play-with-clay.html
magnets
. . . see below in Toys for fishing game using magnets
...even
the small button magnets can get a bit expensive if you need a lot of
them, about 30 -40 cents a piece --fine if you need only one playing piece per
person, but a problem for checkers, etc.
....would it work to put a sheet
of that magnetic sheeting or some magnet stripping under a thin
sheet of clay? (if the attaction would still be strong enough)
.....
(or you could put it under a colored paper or cardstock with the gameboard drawing?
...easier to color on.). That way I think you wouldn't need magnets at all, just
something made of steel like hex nuts (bare, mostly covered, or
maybe as a design element under some other clay shapes.)
...the magnetic sheeting
isn't as strong an attractor as regular permanent
magnets. . . .it can be cut with scissors to use as tiles though. . .Diane
B.
For games like mahjong, checkers or, dominoes etc., which might require a lot of clay, maybe only the top portion of existing wood or metal pieces might be covered (see Covering); or blanks might be otherwise bought or made from non-clay (balsa wood, bottle caps, etc.)?? Diane B.
...you could also make a spinner instead of using dice. Dice tend to start arguments in a moving car. . . LynnDel
There are many game pieces one could make
to substitute for games pieces which came with a game, or for a made-up game.
One
way to make playing pieces for your board game to be freestanding,
Weefolk suggests stamping an image into raw clay (then cutting out
around it, possibly deepening some of the lines), and attaching a wedge shape
to the back
http://www.weefolk.com/11_1996.htm
...if
you make freestanding pieces without a wedge, remember they must be wide or at
least a bit wide at the bottom so the won't fall over . . . using a flat
piece of clay attached to the bottom of the figure/item is another way to
have a stable base. Diane B.
"rubbing plates" (texture sheets) could be used backdrops, or in other ways for games and toys (more details on these in Textures)
Marty's
lesson on covered matchbox pendants (not game, but could
be, or could contain pieces)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2000december/matchbook.html
(bottom of page) see Covering for this
technique
Anyone say mahjong?? I have been
thinking about making tiles for myself. I love that game. Dianne C.
The Mahjong Museum http://members.aol.com/mahjongmuseum/
I've never made a complete mahjong set..but I made some bracelets
with tiles designs from mah jong sets. Jan R.
...Tonja's mahjong
tiles as a bracelet... one side faux bone, front side stamped and backfilled
designs (or transfers?)
http://www.tonjastreasures.com/jewelry1/tn20.htm
sudoku
. . .(the clerks at neaby Joann's have made a sodoku game with square
ceramic tiles and oven-bake glass paint)
...but one person may do a version
in polymer clay with little magnets, for amusing her kids in the car
...it's
become a group challenge for the clerks to pull a layout from a book and
work through it together on slow days. Mieka
tic tac
toe games....I'm working on a tic tac toe board for my grand
daughter for Easter. It's got a Spring theme with leaves and flower canes. The
game pieces are birds and bunnies. Still have to finish up the underneath
side of the board, sand and finish all the pieces, but it's looking good! JAN
http://www.mindspring.com/~janruh/tic.jpg
.....Georgia Ferrell's tic tac toe turtles (two sets of colors)
on wood plaque board"? (painted, with clay grid lines?)
http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberGeorgia.html
....Celia's wonderful tic tac toe set with adorable sheep --one set
with white fleece (balls), the other with black fleece... board
is green "grass" ceated by impressing ballheaded tool in clay
sheet, and there is a brown "fence" on two edges of the board
(...dividing lines are simple brown snakes)
...http://www.mnemain.com/fimoland/
(must click on Galeria, then click on Celia,
then enlarge)
......Susan's tic tac toe board made from twisted clay
ropes delineating the # shape, & around the edges; can use slices
for the pieces (website gone)
... Marie S's lesson on making a tic tac
toe game with molded shapes for the x's and o's...nd
the game board made from a square wood board (with canvas on
top?) divided into a grid with square wood dowels
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=21312
...ScarySmiles's tic tac toe board and thick-disk (round or
squarish) playing pieces with stars or moons on top
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c366/shyeyedsweetie/Crafts/PDRM1129.jpg
my
tic tac toe game and lesson ...built on an Altoid tin...
the playing pieces rest peg-like in clay squares with center holes (like nuts
from a hardware store), and the lid has a "knob" for helping to open
it easily. ... Playing pieces stored inside...
I glued a couple of pieces of black felt to the inside top and bottom with Gem
Tac glue to keep them from banging around.
...lesson:
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0305may/tictactoe.html
...better
photos: http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/bowls-boxes/tictac_orangemagenta.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/bowls-boxes/tictac_orangemagentaopen.jpg
(open)
tic tac toe game on lid of metal box (playing
pieces are laminated with magnet sheeting)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=k00102
... could also be on the lid of a cardboard or wood cigar box,
a gift box, etc.
... on a cardboard
box lid painted with magnetic paint (using button magnets under
pieces)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=c00030
2 tic tac toe possibilities on end of mini
crate-box desk organizer (magnetic paint.. bees&ladybugs
or wood trumpets for playing pieces)
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=24086
tic tac toe game using painted wood craft spools
and other shapes, on a painted board with feet
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e01398
Georgia Ferrell's tic tac toe turtles (two sets of colors)
http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberGeorgia.html
I made a (fancy)
tic tac toe board for my dad for his birthday. I had been wanting to make
one for years! The board is all clay (and uses some mica clay bits) as
are the pieces. The grout between the game board sqaures (mosaic
style?) is TLS colored with black oil paint. I sure do love that TLS. So much
easier to squirt it into those tiny grooves using a needle and syringe than to
smash soft clay in there. And the TLS just leveled itself out so nicely and smoothly!
Heather
(website
gone)
...~I made some tic tac toe pendants last
year. The "board" is the pendant.. and X and O (cane
slices) were strung on the cord until you wanted to play (they could
easily be removed). It would work great for tins too... ...Jan R.
http://freeweb.pdq.net/janruh/clay/de2.jpg
...(see also above for other basic ideas for any game board,
and for possible themes )
I also found a really
rustic-looking wooden Pachisi board with button game pieces
and no dice. Each home corner is a star of a different color. The board
is done in such a way as to be able to be a wall hanging too.
....Have
you ever tried to find clip art in your basic clip art files for
this game?
...I scanned the tin and dice I made to accompany the game, laying
the parchment paper on top of it so when printed it would blend into the background
better. DH added the title to it and printed it out. I was very pleased with
the results.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=121486&a=13844470&p=54977704&f=0
Monica's
fabulous clay dominoes ...made with canes slices from different-colored
bullseye canes (with multiple wraps) onlaid onto clay bases,
rather than using different numbers of pips
...one or twice
are placed onto a rectangular piece of black clay (blank domino) depending
on whether one side is to be left blank (wild?)
...the matching
patterns could also be indicated in various other ways .... e.g., any
matching slices from a cane, or cutouts, or stamped (&
highlighted?) clay bits, even different marbled colors, transfers,
etc.
http://www.geocities.com/pastasint/ita/giochi/pag1.html
Sax Arts & Crafts clay dominoes
set lesson
http://www.saxarts.com/projects/html/dominos.html
...As near as I can figure out, this project shows 28 dominoes created
from 6 canes (though it might be less confusing to have the “blank” be
a solid or nearly solid color) and a base layer.
.... The twenty-eight bases
are created by rolling a (dark?) solid color to 1/4“, then using a 2x1” cardboard
template to cut around for each tile.
....The canes can be purchase
or created, but must be pressed to a square shape (1x1”) before cutting (into
6 thin slices each).
..These slices are then laid on the bases in the following
combinations, to avoid duplications (e.g., 06 would be one half a “blank” slice
and the other half a # 6 cane slice): 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 11, 12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 22, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46, 55, 56, 66. They
suggest creating a lightly engraved pattern on the backs of the completed tiles
while baking by laying them (design side up) on a sheet of crumpled-then-very-flattened
aluminum foil; this should make them partly shiny also. Diane B.
Jim's
printable domino patterns
http://www.printmini.com/printables/games/dom.shtml
transferred
Domino rules...I found a wooden boxed set of Dominoes
with stars stenciled on the outside and the blanks embellished with stars. Both
games were lacking directions, so I hit the internet and came up with
instructions for the basic Dominoes game.. . I printed the Dominoes directions
onto an inkjet quality parchment paper, with clipart tiles for a graphic
....
then I transferred them to clay) (three columns of print on one side with
the title and tiles printed on the other side in the middle third, allowing a
three fold pamphlet-style piece...) They turned out looking terrific! Jean Mmasaurs
...rules
for many Domino games http://www.xs4all.nl/~spaanszt/Domino_Plaza.html
Trax
. . .64 identical square tiles . . . 1 1/4" square by 1/4"
thick. . . . each tile has a "plus" mark on one side (with a diff. color
for each line) and two curves (pointing toward two diagonal corners, a diff. color
for each curved line) . . . rules: form track of your color into a closed
loop or a continuouus line that joins opposite edges of the tiles in play over
at least 8 rows ... ages 10 and up, simple or more complex play
http://www.traxgame.com/
...Tantrix
. . . 3 sets of 10 hexagonal tiles with 3 colors of curves (3 backgr.
colors) for various solitaire puzzles (or coffee table distraction...very
addictive.), or multi-player game . . .also Tantrix Discovery: 10
tiles numbered on the back from 1 to 10. ..start with three tiles, then slowly
increase the difficulty by adding more tiles...come stacked within an upright
4 dowel stand or in a bag http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixShop.html
& http://www.tantrix.com/images/TantrixSchoolCompetition.jpg
The
blank backs of dominoes can be used in various ways --take
a look at these, e.g. (...not polymer)
http://www.heartsintouch.com/items_embellish.htm
Triominoes . . . my boyfriend
had the game at home and it is so much fun to play it in these dark winter days
. . . this set is made of glow in the dark fimo . . . the back of
each of the 56 equilateral triangle stones/tiles (has
been textured as a sheet and highlighted with metallic powder, before being cut
into triangles?) . . . on the front of each i painted the numbers
at the tips of the stones, but i have ordered little tiny numbers dots to push
them in the next time i make one . . Brigitta
http://www.imgstudio.com/IMGphotos/2002/December/13/stamp_lthumb/12132
0025264293.jpg
...Triominoes Junior has groups of little
shapes or pictures to match up rather than the numbers
http://www.boardgames.com/triomjun.html
Charles
Mayer's tangram set and round puzzle made with a sheet or sheets
of patterned clay, in foldable flat envelope-box
http://simplydarling.com/SDCPages/SDCGuild/Gallery/CharlesMayer/CharlesMayer.htm
...In
my mind the best way to make a thin flat puzzle is to make a finished
piece (e.g., a large picture or geometric cane slice or slab) and then turn
it over and mark your cut lines. Then using a jig saw or band saw cut
along the lines after baking (or pair of scissors if it's thin enough).
Could cut before baking too with an Xacto, thin needle tool, or blade if
not too thick. Lysle
...For jigsaw puzzles, see various hints on making
complex canes and landscape complex canes, as well as Klew's
lesson on using a drawing (made with a fine-point Sharpie) under
her clay pieces to help shape them http://www.nfobase.com/html/petroglyph_project.htm,
and my explanation of it, all in Canes-Instr./Complex
Canes & Landscape Canes; for example:
...(landscape
canes) can be made in a puzzle piece fashion from the top down, or the
bottom up. . . by making
large flat canes (stacks on their sides, caned textures similar to grass, etc.),
then cutting the bottom edge (or side/s) off in a particular
pattern (wavy for mountains, straight across for water, etc.); for the next
lower layer, or part of a layer, cut it in the same shape (can stack under
previous layer and mark before cutting) and nest it into the reverse-matching
shape above or beside. Continue adding layers/bits until the puzzle is complete.
...Kris
Richard's sort-of puzzle figures . . . .some helpful tips?
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_PolyDollys.htm
...Jenn
D's puzzle made of hand-colored? transfer, cut into puzzle shapes
(how?) sitting in clay "tray"
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_jun03.html
(click on Details)
...three dimensional puzzles are much harder...
you make one piece bake it then dust it with corn starch (a mold release agent)
then shape the next piece and bake it. Then test for fit. You might have to sand
a bit to get a good fit. Repeate till all parts are done. Lysle
...cookie cutters
or various things to indent the sides of slabs might be helpful in making pieces
too
...tessellations would be fun too (see Canes-Instr
> Quilt/Tessellations for details... they're basically made from one tile pattern
which has been extended or indented on the sides; copies will nest together)
polymer
miniatures
.....as accessories for the figures in for role-playing
games (including some furtniture)
http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/polymerclay.html
Think-ets.
. . game with 15 miniature items carried in a pouch ( games come with diff. items)
...“What’s
Your Story?” First, lay out five to 18 trinkets. Then choose one and start
a story using the trinket as the subject. Ask the other player(s) to do the same
until you and the players have woven an entire story. One other tidbit you should
know: Think-ets encourage silliness! Variations on “What’s Your Story?” Variation
no. 1: Using the trinkets for subject matter, tell the story “popcorn” style.
This is where storytellers blurt out pieces of the story as they imagine it. Variation
no. 2: Instead of laying out the trinkets, leave them in the bag. Take turns pulling
out one trinket at a time, and tell the story in that order.
....play games
such as "What’s Missing?," "What’s Your Story?" or "What’s Moved?" No two Think-ets
games are the same so kids can try and collect all the playing pieces! In addition
to fun, playing with Think-ets can exercise the brain by improving memory, logical
thinking and creative imagination. The games that can be used with Think-ets can
be played with one or more people. "What’s Your Story?", first, lay out five to
18 trinkets. Then choose one and start a story using the trinket as the subject.
Ask the other player(s) to do the same until you and the players have woven an
entire story. The game in its easy travel pouch can be played anywhere.
“I
like playing the ‘What’s Missing’ game at restaurants. I like the story game,
too, because I get to make up stories. I also like inventing new games!” –Ryder
Perry, 14 “My children and I play Think-ets when we’re waiting in the car, at
a restaurant, or sometimes during a quiet day at home. At different ages, they
go through stages of which games they like to play. There was a real memory fascination
stage as well as a storytelling stage, which is my personal favorite. Since I
am an artist, I often add my own miniatures to the collection to surprise them
and to make the game more personal for our family. It is a great way to unite
as a family and to get your creative juices flowing! –Rebecca DiDomenico, artist
“Think-ets are fun and a great way to start conversations with your children.
You can play the games suggested or design your own. The possibilities are endless.
Once you get started you won't want to stop playing, and neither will your kids.
This simple special product by virtue of its intrinsic play value will take you
back to a time when people really played with and talked to their kids.” –Lynn
Rosenblum, President, Toy Power Consulting
...moments when you need a fun
game with your child but cannot commit the time to a board game. This is also
a game you want to have in pocket, purse or bag for those long waits in the doctor’s
office or waiting for a table at your local restaurant. Look out, tho’, because
you are going to catch the attention of other waiting children. And you can bet
their parents are going to ask you, “Where’d you get that?” The only warning we
can give about the product is that the parts are very small and present a choking
hazard. This game is clearly not designed for the little ones who still put everything
in their mouths. Use wisdom and caution when playing this game with young children
and supervise carefully any child to whom you give the game. and we agree.
...great
crowd breaker and a way to ease folks into the concepts of storytelling in a non
threatening and inclusive manner
... beware of any items
too small for little children
Dice (swap)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swapdice.html
Now, as to the tin and dice...The tin is one of the tiny Altoid tins. I used an almost navy blue for the top and a deep red for the bottom and the stripes. For the stars, stripes, and the dice, I made a simulated bone...I've had the bone cubes sitting on my desk the better part of a week and have tried various ways of setting the pips to them...I made several attempts to make my own smaller star texture tube or eraser end cut to size. I tried stenciling some small stars, I tried pressing the stencil into the cube but could not get it to line up right...Finally, I decided to press the blue clay up from behind the smallest star on the brass stencil I was using and shaved off enough stars to do 3 dice (2 for the set and one for me... I baked the stars for about 10 minutes and pressed them into the raw bone cube, dome side down, flush with each side. I then baked the dice for an hour. When I sanded them down, well, I want you to know I was simply delighted with the outcome! I added the (faux) bone stars to the tiny tin and found a brass-toned star from which I removed the hanger to press into the stripes and baked the tin, sanded and coated with Future. The tin just holds the four sets of 4 different colored buttons and the two dice...Mmasaurs
I've found that stamping
numerals into the dice is tricky; tends to get the dice off square, so
you have to carefully re-shape without mashing in the grooves...
...try baking
small plain cubes then put sheets of clay onto the cubes and then impress
the letters. The dice would probably hold their shape alot better that way. Linda
I made a pair of dice with PC the other day -- and afterwards learned something about dice from watching "The Weakest Link" on TV. I learned that opposites sides of the dice must equal 7. I looked at the dice I made and they are all wrong. I've since made a pair that's "anatomically" correct. Just thought I'd pass that on. BJ
...Do you know that the tiny Altoids tin will just hold 3 sets of dice the size I used? Wouldn't that be a nifty little go-with for Christmas gifts? Jean/PA
I do have plans to make a complete gameboard, pieces and dice for a game that is sometimes brought for the day by a little girl in my care. Her grandfather the board and they use marbles for pieces -- they call the game "Marbles" ("Chinese Checkers"?) and it is similar to Parcheesi but the board has holes bored for the marbles to sit in. I've been toying with how to do the whole thing in clay for some time. Maybe I'll make it a game Christmas this year!
I
once made a gameboard and pieces for a cooperative-type game
my child loved in pre-school but which seemed to be now unavailable for sale.
Something about a beanstalk, giant, magic harps, golden eggs, cherries?, etc.
The board was long, not square, and featured the beanstalk surrounded by a series
of squares forming a trail up past the sleeping giant and back "home."
I think all players had to not use up their supply of soothe-the-giant-if-he-wakes-up
items and make it back home, or no one won --something like that.
I copied
the board and colored it with markers, then made the little cherries, nests
with golden eggs, playing pieces, etc. (think the golden harps were photocopied
onto small pieces of cardstock & colored with gold paintpens?). It was a
great hit. It also gave the kids the idea that they could make their own games
or pieces, and was very satisfying to play with something I/we created, or rather
re-created. Diane B.
I am considering making a PC mosaic tabletop for a play table for my currently 10 month old son. I'd like to make it a "play dough" table top, with shaped depressions and projections for him to play with. Some animals and some geometric forms. . . . Your play dough table sounds like a great idea!. Depressions would be wonderful built-in molds, but be careful with any projections. Could cause injuries. . . or break off if thin. I think it would be plenty safe if you cover it with several coats of polyurathane so it is easily washed.
I
am going to go to the thrift store and buy a bunch of chess sets
and cover the pawns with canes. (that is if they pass the oven test first!).
Or, I have seen little wooden "playschool" shaped pieces that
I will cover with canework. I'm even going to put little caned faces on them.
...make faces for “Russian Nested Dolls” same way? (...see
those below in Toys)
Norse games http://www.tarahill.com/tafl.html
Mary
Lyons' lesson on creating cubes of clay with a pasta
alphabet letter pressed into each side for a spelling, etc.
game for kids
(see Letters-Inks >
Letters for more ways to create lettering on clay)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_entertaining
other/article/0,1801,HGTV_3116_1380656,00.html
magnet "sheets"
have an adhesive back, so a layer of baked polymer clay can be adhered
to them; other magnets may have to strength to hold on top of the clay as well?
(could be used for small frames for the frig, gifts, postcards, games...
for fishing games see Toys below)
available at crafts (?) or
office supply stores (these are NOT the ones which can go through your printer,
but a printed sheet can be pressed to the back of the magnet sheet after the release
paper is removed) Diane B.
graphics for game boards can be transferred to felt by using an iron set on cotton (no steam) for 12-30 seconds
chess BOARDS+PIECES
...
I was making for a friend's 12 year old son. . . has turned out great!I used a
small amount of blue granitex mixed with translucent [Sculpey III] for one set
of squares, and white pearl mixed with translucent for the other set of squares.
I made a template out of cardboard for the size of squares I wanted, and
then placed them on a sheet of black clay, which I had rolled out on the thickest
pasta setting and then cut to the finished size. I also used the largest pasta
setting for the squares. Anyway, I then baked the board, and it came out great!!
Still have to sand it...
...using a set of square cookie cutters
on a sheet of clay works great for making the (squares) for the board. Dotty in
CA
...someone also made a beautiful checkerboard with
mokume gane...each color used just translucent, foil, and possibly other shades/tones/tints
of that color.
...you might just use small ceramic tiles pressed in
grout, in a grid, also
lesson:
Chris paints a chess board using strips of blue painter's tape for
a stencil, on top of a an old end table with drawer
(legs removed) ... could also use a tray or large frame?
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_kids_family/article/0,1801,HGTV_3122_1397493,00.html
(simple) chess painted board (cardboard?) and pieces,
made by kids
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/creating_game.htm
Varda's
chess board and (larger) pieces and board (all made
with mica metallic clay)
http://community.webshots.com/album/56mhdpZjP
Jan R's chess board and (simple) pieces (all made with
mica metallic clay)
http://www.mindspring.com/~janruh/jan/ch2.jpg
Jim's
printable graphic of a chess box to hold board and pieces
(images of chess pieces on outside)
http://www.printmini.com/printables/games/gameboxp.shtml
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
chess
PIECES (more):
Suzanne's Day of the Dead chess set (isn't completed
yet) ..with skeleton in coffin and stacked heads
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=458299&uid=149408
Georgia
Ferrell's chess pieces ....pillar-type Medieval? figures with capes,
etc. on disc bases ...no faces... castles are cone of stacked clay
"bricks"
http://www.geocities.com/sopcg/MemberGeorgia.html
Garie's chess pieces made by covering 35mm metal film cannisters
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/u_channel.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/spools.htm
Sally's simple chess pieces (pillars with various wire
configurations at tops) and fancier board (faux abalone &
solid color)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/clayday_blue3.html
PCC's chess pieces swap
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/chessswap.html
Marie S's cute chess pieces
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/images/chess1.jpg
various
chess sets (figures)... later from molds?
http://www.doveceramics.com/chess.html
Alan's chess figures made by making molds of sculpted faces, then "dressing"
them with jester hat, cowl, etc., and adding a bust
http://groups.msn.com/ALANV/sculpture.msnw
Tracy's
high-end themed chess sets (at DoveCeramics)
http://www.doveceramics.com/chess.html
http://www.doveceramics.com
(safari animals!)
Rick Whites' many chess sets collected from
all over the world
http://hometown.aol.com/Ssragtop/chess.html
Magestic’s
various chess sets (not necessarily polymer)
http://www.majestic-n.com/majestic/medchesset.html
Katherine
Dewey's booklet on sculpting realistic horse heads, "Equestrian Busts"
http://www.elvenwork.com/workbook.html
Dinko
Tilov's chess set with many whimical male figures
http://www.dinkos.com/chess.html
(gone.... boohoo)
Boris Tilov's chess set
with many whimsical male figures
http://hobbystage.net/art/boristilov/
(gone?)
molds
can be used to help make chess pieces in several ways:
....save time when sculpting
your own figures or faces, etc., by making molds of them after baking
,...then use those molds to get an easier start on any similar pieces (see
Molds)
...whole- figure chess pieces can be made by making
clay heads, hands, feet & boots from molds, then adding
themto a simple body and clothing
..........Maureen Carlson suggests
using her "What a Character" molds of faces, hand & boots
http://www.weefolk.com/atd14.htm
....http://www.weefolk.com/sell.htm
(bottom of page)
...many other molds (purchased or homemade) could be
used in various ways:
..... for example, themed chess pieces could be
created with purchased molds of a Santa Claus ( face or whole body), or
a scarecrow body, or an Egyptian, African, Victorian,
Whimsical, Garden, etc.(....see Molds
> Purchased Molds)
.....or themed pieces could be made with any
molds you've createde yourself
.....or casts from any mold could be used just
as embellishments for each piece
more themes
for chess sets:
...white vs dark "chocolates," misc.cartoon
figures, baseball, cowboys & Indians, the Flintstones figures, Star Trek, golf,
lighthouses?, etc.
....kids made chess pieces representing
members of their family as a Christmas gift for their dad
........the
dad was one of the kings and had black hair and a mustache; the queen was mom,
the bishop, knight and castle resembled each of the other daughters...the pawns
were crawling baby brother
.......the other set was made to resemble another
family, with their dog(s) as pawns.
http://family.go.com/crafts/cutpaste/feature/famf0200bestcrafts/famf0200bestcrafts.html
(or find "Family Chess Set" under Drawing > Cutting
& Pasting > winners?)
....Tadd used an underwater sea
life theme ...pawns =seahorses, knights =dolphins, bishops =squid, and rooks=pillars
of coral ...hasn't decided yet on king and queen pieces but some suggestions have
been opened oyster with different colored pearl inside for each side, whale-orca,
shark, octopus, seal, starfish, crab, angelfish... or Neptune + mermaid/siren
merman... trident, moon, wave
TIP: if you can't at least guess what the piece is just by looking at it, you probably won't like playing with it... I've learned that from playing with various 'fantasy' chess sets. Tadd
To differentiate the 2 sets of pieces,
I'll mostly use the color of the bases under each piece... the 'light'
side will have bright blue bases, and the other side will be dark-blue based (probably
the colors of the peices themselves will be darker as well to further differentiate).
Tadd
more ideas for materials:
...polymer
fauxs... like ivory, stone, jade turquoise, marble, metals, wood, leather,
etc.
...or real nuts and bolts, quilled paper, yarn (crocheted), etc.
cutters
for chess pieces
http://kitchengifts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=KCI&Category_Code=leisure
(6 cutters)
http://www.sweetc.com (pages
10-19 of the "catalog"...
now on a diff. page???)
Sandy Selfridge, gave a demo on using the mini-lathe to shape baked clay and immediately everyone said: "chess pieces!" Makes a great gift. Trina (who has never done them...yet)
chess pieces
--meanings:
--the Bishop is the Religious and Spiritual
Advisor to the King - (that is why the two bishops flank the King and Queen, and
is traditionally shown with a suggestion of a Bishop's mitred hat.)
--the
Knight, though traditionally depicted as a horse, is actually a (usually)
armored warrior who pledges allegiance to the K&Q, and fights their battles. The
horse is used because all knights were mounted, and would engage in jousts, etc.
Katie
-- Pawn basically means footsoldier. Usually sent in to do the
initial dirty work in battle. I guess I picture them as loyal, hard-working folk
that are under-appreciated by the royalty on a chess board. Considered most expendable,
but in truth, probably more valuable than considered.
-- Rook is an
old word that means to nest very high in the trees. In chess, it's symbolized
by a castle tower. I would assume the rook serves lookout and also has an attack
advantage from his high roost. Manx
-- Rooks are a kind of bird, and
were often kept in places up on the castle tower roofs called "rookeries", or
at least thats the explanation I was told a long time ago. Sarajane
......The
Chess Game is a feudal kingdom at war with another feudal kingdom.
The Pawns are the serfs, the poor rabble who work the farms for the
King and are pressed into battle in the front line. They are also known as "fodder,"
and that is why there are so many of them. They are expendable. That is also why
they can only move forward, for them, retreat is not an option. They are expected
to just push forward until they die, for their King.
The Rook is the
castle, the fortress, that protects the King. It is usually represented by some
sort of tower-looking piece, made with blocks or bricks, and battlements on the
top. It is solid and dependable, and protects all the other pieces, but especially
the King. That is why the two rooks are placed on the outside edge of the row,
for protection. The solidity of the rook is shown in the way it moves; only in
a straight line, in any direction. Its power is that it can move as many spaces
as it wants, and is useful in causing check from too far away to be vulnerable.
Katie
CHECKERS, POKER CHIPS, TILES, etc.
For games like mahjong, dominoes or checkers, etc., which might require a lot of clay, maybe only the top portion of existing wood or metal pieces might be covered (see Covering)..... or blanks might be otherwise bought or made from non-clay (balsa wood, bottle caps, etc.)?? Diane B.
lesson
on making molded faces and hair for individual checkers (board
made from cardboard or fabric with fusible webbing)
http://www.diynet.com/DIY/article/0,2058,2951,00.html
Joe
Lamancusa's checkers were made with molded faces on faux marble
pedastals
.... (he suggests using a poker chip or 50 cent
piece as a template)
Chris makes checkers
by pressing clay into plastic bottle caps (and then? makes an impression
in each with a fancy button . . . or in oppposite order?)... leaves clay
in?
... could also use a fluted metal bottle cap as a mold ...
checkers would be stackable for kings?
checkers
(or poker chips or coins, etc.) with image/texture on both sides)
could also be made with a 2-piece mold, like these by Michael & Donald
(lesson)
http://polymerclayweb.com/piratecoin.asp
(... see more on 2-part molds in Molds
> 2-Piece Molds)
"kings"
in checkers:
I recently made 5 checker sets (you read right) and then
dahhhh, you have to have kings for them! They were made from a button mold, so
any ideas? I tried dusting them with corn starch and then putting a "cap" of clay
on them, but since there are all individual to an extent they don't
want to fit well on top of the clay button. cowgirlsrule
--How about
making little pedestals for them to ride upon once they become "Kings?"
I'm envisioning something with a little rim around the top to keep the piece from
sliding off when it's moved, and maybe 3 legs, or even a solid little stand...Linda
--howzabout a little tag (neck or finial?) on top of
each, with a corresponding hole in each "king"? Then the buttons would
remain intact, but one could still connect a king, if they were so inclined. deb
--in many games that I have used, you flip the piece over when it is 'kinged'
and there is a crown on the second side. So, I would add another layer, different
color of clay (or a lighter color) on one side of your pices. Possibly with
a crown stamped lightly on it? byrd
--or could make each checker stackable
with others by using 2 molds from an existing finished checker
....
make one-sided checker, bake... press into raw clay to make mold #1, bake...press
raw clay into mold #1, bake to create mold #2
......then to make
each checker, press new ball of raw clay between mold 1and mold 2 (like a
2-piece mold) ... each should come out so it nests with another checker, if I've
got it right(?) though one side will be an innie image and the other will be an
outie (to make a different image/pattern in center but still with nesting rims,
little more complicated)
I'm not a miniaturist but I've thought
about making a checkerboard on the top of an altoid box, and miniature
chess/checkers to fit it that would fit in the box. Emily N. :) (see above
in Games for tic tac toe game on top of Altoid box)
... just cover
a bigger cookie type tin for the board for a checkers set! Joanie
Several years ago I made a pendant that was a small checkerboard. Not thinking, I glued the checkers to the board so they wouldn't fall off when I was wearing it. You can't believe how many people at Ravensdale (where I first wore it) wanted to play a game. Shucks. Next time I'll use an altoid tin so I can keep the checkers inside, and be able to play when someone asks. Dotty in CA
(see also Sculpting above, and various other places on this page)
my heads (DB: add lesson)
molded,
sculpted or caned heads/faces used on jointed "bead people"
bodies
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/funfigs.html
Kelly
H's clay fingerpuppet heads
http://harman.fws1.com/cgi-bin/i/pix/fpuppet2.jpg
my fingerpuppets (DB: add
lesson)
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/sculpts_more
MysMyers'
4 clay fingerpuppets (faces and clothing painted on top of one-color
clay... characters from musical group MSI)
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h245/Kyra_Teale/Art/DSCF1550.jpg
...
for actual use, especially with kids, would probably need to make hair less projecting,
or use wire/etc armatures inside each projection
Janey's
all-clay fingerpuppets (website gone)...like
a finger puppet ... I used an (tilted backward) egg shell
as a core for the head which makes it very light ...After forming
the (clay) neck, which is hollow with walls only 3/16" thick, I used my Dremel
tool with flex cable to remove the part of the shell inside the neck so
that now you can place a finger inside the skull and touch the inside of the top
of the skull . Lysle (see more in Heads-Masks)
tallmouse's glass salt shakers
made into tiny Middle Eastern-clothed figures (could be clay figures
or fingerpuppets instead)
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/3kings/index.htm
abstract
figures
Sarajane's "girl beads" ...cane slice faces on
slightly flattened round or oval "bodies" (Japanese, Indian, Island, and Southwest
themes) http://www.polyclay.com/beads.htm
Kim K's goddess beads with cane slice face, and "gorkley" strands for oval
body
http://www.beadyeyedbrat.com/images/goddessbead-kim001b.jpg
Japanese Daruma ...face (in depressed are), as half of abstract
round body http://tinyurl.com/66elzz
....see
also Faces for faces canes
Japanese Kokeshi
dolls/figures aren't just round and "one-piece"
...kokeshi can have
separate heads, hair, and/or arms, accessories, and
can have various shapes for their bodies, etc.
http://tinyurl.com/5jncpv
...http://tinyurl.com/6gncwq
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldjapanphotos/sets/72157604387284960/
(see many more abstract figures of various
types in Sculpting-Body >
Abstract figures)
nested dolls
...Russian, Chinese, Indian, etc. http://www.nestingdolls4u.com/products.htm
...there
could be several ways to go about making these depending on the shape desired,
and how much difference there might be between the graduated sizes.
....the
tightest fit would come with surrounding the smallest (already baked)
doll with Repel Gel, or with smoothly-wrapped aluminum foil, before
making the next size doll around it ... metallic powders also work as releases,
and ArmorAll might work or not (cornstarch thickly applied to the
inside of the new raw clay might work too, but would be a little tricky)...
more info on various releases in Molds >Releases
......after
the new unit was baked, the horizontal (equator) cut for making
it into 2 halves could be made while the clay is warm (or go over a previously
lightly-scored line)... after cooling, one could proceed with the next layer-figure
...a
looser fit (with more space between each figure) would come from surrounding
each new doll layer with something thicker, like polyester stuffing or
batting or wound fabric strips, totally-dry paperclay, etc.?, or even wadded
aluminum foil, though the cut might be harder to make
........for more on that
general technique of cutting in half to create two parts, see Vessels-Rock
...creating a new figures by coiling a long rope of clay over the spacer could
be one way of maintaining a sort of even thickness of the clay for each new doll
layer, but still allow the exterior to be reshaped a bit
....to make the individual
figures stiff enough... use a thickish layer of clay, or usea layer
of Sculpey underneath a layer of a strong clay because it bakes up "harder"
(though it is weaker when thin)
...... could also stiffen somewhat with a coat
or two of acrylic finish or liquid clay (liq. clay must be
rebaked... and acrylic finishes will be "harder" if rebaked at 250 or
less for 5-10 mini)
(for more methods of making hollow clay
items, also check out Vessels> Hollow
....and Beads> Hollow )
lesson on flexible figures made over simple wire armature...
could be Bendies, or they use for plant "ties"
http://www.itsallinmyhead.net/plant_ties1.htm
(see macaroni figures on pipe cleaners above in Sculpting... but use tube beads instead)
Garie's various
creatures and chess piece figures made with film canisters
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/u_channel.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/spools.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/morespool.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/resourceful.htm
.... lesson on making a robot (Marsbot)
from a film canister + a plastic dome from candy machines (it also
can be made with l.e.d. eyes controlled by a switch and/or a sound chip)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/marsbot.htm
"articulating shoulder and hip joints are done with insertion
of soft wires into the film canister, open up the canister you can hot
glue inside to hold the bend wires (flexible black straws are the best for the
robot though).
"You have to bend the end (of the wire)
or loop it... hot glue is a better glue to use... and if you want to hold them
down, scratch the surface inside the canister at the place you want to apply the
glue."
"Soft wires" are possibly same as twist ties?
sunni's
dog necklace collar--maybe with a Christmas or other holiday or indivdual
theme? --be sure the collar is for adornment only and that the recipient pooch
-or other animal-- isn't one who eats everything! (the cording is that stretchy
clear plastic fishing line looking stringing material) . . . these could be made
for stuffed animals or dolls too!
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/collars.html
"modified" toys (altered or reborn dolls, etc.)
.
. . there seems to be a whole community out there of folks who like to make customized
toys and/or dolls and figures by modifying a purchased
one (like a Barbie or Furby) by:
..creating new clothing or
make-up, etc., adding or substituting parts f rom other toys,
or making their own parts and accessories to add --sometimes
with clay...
..some of these are traditional figures/dolls with more elaborate
or different costumes, but in many there can bean element of humor, wackiness,
or satire
...Kim glues polymer clay wings onto the back of Barbies
(she uses hot glue, but 2-pt epoxy would be stronger)
http://www.kimsworldofart.com/dolls/dollgallery/restoreddolls/index.html
Here
are some websites with info, photos and links:
....lots
of ideas on reconstructing and repairing .... and some other good links. kd
http://www.dolls-n-daggers.com/Dolls/Progress.html
http://www.fantasydollsbyd.50megs.com/new_page_14.htm
...baking Barbies & plastic figures :
......different
plastics have different softening and melting points, so one part of the figure
could be different than another. ...a lot of plastics will begin to slump if
bare at around the 200-325 degree range
.....so it's best at
least to bake at the lowest temp possible (say 250-265), and shortest
time for the thickness of clay you're using, for a particular clay brand
.............I
took a Barbie apart and put both her body and head in the oven at 300
F - at the end of 5 min. everything looked fine. However, at the end
of 20 min., surprise! head still looked fine, if
maybe a little soft, but -- the body was ...melted. Subversive
.....you can
always try to protect the figure from the heat by making the clay for the
parts you're covering reasonably thick, and also protecting any
bare parts (by surrounding with baking soda, etc.... more info
and ways in Baking > Darkening)...
those things should moderate the temp actually reaching the plastic figure (see
also Covering > Plastics > Film Cannisters)
......or
you could also use a heat gun on just parts of the clay/doll (outside an
oven) to cure the clay, but you'd need to hold the gun at a certain distance for
the right time to be sure the clay is thoroughly cured.
......of course, you
can always form the raw clay parts on the doll, let the clay firm up (wait
some hours, or refrigerate or freeze a while), then carefully remove and bake
them--with supports if necessay to hold thin parts.... then glue them back
on later.
(see more on making polymer clothing in Sculpting-Body
> "Clothing")
...Donna Anne's lesson
on painting facial features on a plastic doll/figure, from which
the factory applied coloring has been quickly removed with acetone .......but
don't use solvnt-based "enamel" paints since they
will dissolve the plastic (or will become sticky, or not dry)-- instead use acrylic
paints ("artist grade" acrylics that come in tubes are thicker than bottled craft
acrlics, for thicker coverage) ...another site suggested using "vinyl" or soft
vinyl paints (diff. from acrylics?)
....for dyeing Barbie or other plastic
figures' hair, etc., see Sculpting-Body
> Hair ....and also Pendants & Cording
> Plastic > dyeing for more ways
very
cool play structure (scene) by Stephan, with figures, tombstones,
etc --all made with polystyrene foam (blue insulatiiton board foam in this
case)
http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/products/customer/gallery/patgame_stephan.htm
(for
lots more on covering polystrene foams, see Covering
> Plastics > #6, Polystyrene)
play scenes with freestanding figures could be made
.... even a really
tiny version inside or on top of an Altoid box, etc., like the old
Mighty Max hand-held, openable, playsets
http://www.virtualtoychest.com/mightymax/mightymax.html
. . . "girls' versions" of these games, Polly Pocket, came
out as little rooms with furniture, playgrounds, carriage and part of ballroom
for Cinderella-type, etc. http://www.onlypollypocket.com/1992/Polly_in_the_Nursery/polly_in_the_nursery.html
(click on each year, then on separate compact)
Marie
S's miniature toy train, with each car carrying a (cutout) letter
(of a child's name, etc.)
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/02-07-02/pages/train1.htm
...see
more (non-working) cars, trucks, trains above in More figure & other toys
+ mini-home
accessories/furniture, and other places on this page)
Garie's
tiny Smurf house and yard scene
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/smurf_home.htm
all
kinds of toy-type things at Garie's website! (see some specific
categories above in Sculpting)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/index.html
put real or polymer bugs & critters into
a mini habitat you make, for display or for pretend-play
(for
more info, see above in Scenes & Dioramas for ideas, plus some made
by Garie Sim inside closed plastic containers)
various
wooden thinking toys (tangram, puzzles, pyramid stackers)
http://www.rfag.org/toys/thinking.htm
active toys (...motion)
COVERING or DECORATING
"cover"
wooden vehicles (small ones... buy at Michaels/etc) or small metal
cars, with clay (see also stationary train just above)
..could also make
clay scenery or ramps, etc, for playing with them... see Scenes
above
(......see Covering > Wood
or > Metal for more info on covering these materials with clay)
cover
or decorate wooden yoyo blanks or painted yoyos"
(DB: add lesson)
http://www.polymerclayprojects.com/misc__projects.htm
MOTION "FOLK" TOYS
spinning tops and dreidels
....cover
a wooden top or dreidel... or make your own
....Naama makes her
dreidels with a large flattened bicone with a thin rope around its edge
(or make edge "sharp"), then attaches a tall clay handle to the top
and a solid clay cone to the bottom (could pierce bicone with dowel, then add
handle and cone over it)... (make sure everything is centered and weight-balanced
for best performance)
(for making bicones, see Beads
> Bicones > With Flat Roller)
http://www.livecity.co.il/site/detail/departAlbum/albumPic.asp?depart_id=2431&category_id=6730
toss
and catch toy ...make a rod or tube (could cover a tube
or rod/tube with small taper-candle cup at top) (rod/tube can be rolled
under a perpendicular paintbrush handle to create the impression of having been
"turned")...embed a string or cord (2-3 times longer than distance
from string attachment to top?) into a round bead, and tie the other end
around the "turned" rod somewhere or embed it into the end of the rod
...make depression in top of rod if it's not a tube ... bake ...(to
play, toss ball up and try to catch it in the depression at the top end of
the rod/tube)
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/kids/tosscatch/index.htm
(this one not polymer)
Jacob's Ladder (cascading
clacker toy) ...also called "clacker blocks" ...originally
a Chinese puzzle
..(often 6) thin square or retangular wood blocks --but could
be polymer clay (one thick square for each tile, or two squares attached back
to back esp if covered with different designs-- connected with ribbons
glued or nailed in certain areas... they "fall" in a very interesting
way when the top one is turned downward
lessons for assembling the blocks
with ribbon http://www.woodcraftarts.com/jacob.htm
http://www.jamboree.freedom-in-education.co.uk/w's%20craft%20corner/jacob's%20ladder.htm
many
examples of regular wood ones http://tinyurl.com/2pncfc
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/buildmodel/feature/famf29blackhistory/famf29blackhistory4.html
animation of movement http://www.halfpast.demon.co.uk/fff.html
...Bob Wiley's polymer clay Jacob's Ladder
...5 clay tiles covered with faux wood parquet designs
http://home.earthlink.net/~r5wiley/wileydesigns/id5.html
...the
2005 winter edition of Polymer Cafe has tutorial for polymer clay versions of
this traditional toy
.... the first one I made was based on instructions for
a wood version ...it was too
heavy though - clay is denser than pine - and it kind of fell apart....
so I halved the sizes and thicknesses, and tried again.... this
one is small - the tiles are 1.5 x 2 inches or so. Worked much better.
tooaquarius (...tiles covered with diff. cane slice sheets on each)
...embellished
Jacob's Ladder necktie! http://www.samstoybox.com/sam/jacobtie.html
...could
be a "book"?
Pier Voulkos gave a class on folk toys which
spin, balance, jump, rattle and surprise:
......Jumping
Jack, Balancing Acrobat, Color Spinners and Tops, Floppy Animal, Rolling Dragon
..Desiree's
toys from Pier's class
....collapsible animal (deerlike)..."automatic"
rocker... kinetic roller on rails
....balance-on-one
point mobile (made from wire + clay blobs here and there for balance)
http://www.desiredcreations.com/gallery4pinsNframes2.htm
(bottom of page)
........Desiree's short
video of another balancing-on-one-point mobile
http://www.desiredcreations.com/images/miscImages/balance%20toy1.MPG
(short video)
Judy's lesson on making a polymer acrobat
that does sommersaults on a string between two 9" pieces
of of basswood (which are separated by 2" of 3/16-inch dowel rod, forming
an H)
.... the string is strung through holes in one end of the upright wood
pieces and also through the hands of the acrobat... squeeze the other end of the
H to make the acrobat do sommersaults... (the acrobat itself is made from baked
pieces for arms, body, etc., which jointed together with wire ---spiraled and
flattened outside each join)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_figures/article/0,1789,HGTV_3237_2831708,00.html
(...for rattles, see above Other Ideas > Musical Instruments & Rattles)
all polymer, or just parts polymer
...various
other wooden action toys of the past for inspiration (dancing man, toss
and catch, squeeze acrobats, etc.)
http://www.rfag.org/toys/action.htm
...balancing toys (item balanced on point) http://tinyurl.com/4xauv
(Google search for balance toys)
...more folk toys http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/toys/toys.htm
and http://www.toysfromtimespast.com
What
about small versions of keep the rolling ball out of
the holes game boards? ...sort of a maze in
which a small ball is rolled along a path bordered by short walls.
....I would think that creating a drawn version
of the desired ball path on a separate piece of paper would be a good thing to
figure out first, marking all the walls and openings. Decide on the size ball
you have or can make (hard to make a really round one though) and what size holes
you'll need --actually they could be smaller holes and the ball would just stop
there rather than falling through). Be sure to make the base on something very
stiff like a tile to keep it as flat as possible (*roll* the clay sheet down on
it to prevent air bubbles). You might want to lightly mark where the walls begin
and end, then begin laying them down, mark lightly where to cut, remove and cut,
then replace; they don't have to meet well, just enough to guide the ball. You
could use ropes of clay of your own making or use a clay gun to extrude square
or round ropes; press to connect well or use a bit of white glue (not Elmer's
*School* Glue) on the raw clay. Diane B.
...."Spice-Tin Pocket
Game" lesson
(simply use polymer clay rather than the cardstock
they recommend); they use glass-lidded (spice?) tins to put their
game surface in, using a ball-bearing which rolls around till it rests
in a hole ... they used a 1" deep 2" diameter can with a glass
lid... could also glue a piece of plastic for the cover or just not have a cover.
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/crafting/article/0,,HGTV_3352_1396692,00.html
(DB.....
add my lessons on these)
pop-up figures, with polymer
heads
physics play toy
carousel
phenakistoscopes
balloon obstacle
course ... and others
SNOWGLOBES and
waterglobes
...for lessons and info on making globes
in various sizes, and out of various glass and plastic containers,
look in Outdoor-Snowglobes >
Water > Lessons)
.......one
of the waterglobe lessons on that page also allows movement of the
figure inside the globe (a fish) because it's on a long flexible spring,
and also has a tiny magnet in its mouth (which can be affected by waving
another magnet outside the globe)
FLOATING toys
....floating
toys of all kinds can be used for play in the bathtub, a sink
or puddle (or container)
(duckies... little
figures or creatures... marinas or "bases" of any
kind --space station, house, farm, etc.)
...boat (with tiny
passenger) made by Jerald...probably made by using polystrene
foam (packing foam, Styrofoam, or solid sheets of insulation/Home
Depot) under the clay for floatation before baking (whole "rough-carved"
boat shape, or just boat's bottom?) --polystyrene is covered with alumin. foil
(or oil?), first to prevent claycracking while baking
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/polymer_celestial.htm
(for
lots more on covering polystrene foams, see Covering
> Plastics > #6, Polystyrene)
...corks also
float well... they can be used whole, or several cut and put together to make
a shape... then covered with clay or just parts covered (paint with white glue
first for tack, let dry) ... they also sand easily (...if corks were not purchased
from craft or hardware store, or American Science and Surplus, and you're concerned
about odor or squished shape, boil for 10 min to restore size and get rid of any
odor)
.......wood dowels, strips, and shapes would work
too, but would sink with less weight on them than corks (if not covering completely
with clay, best to seal first with acrylic paint or white glue)
...or floatable
toys can also be made with hollow clay items
...items made with
Sculpey Ultralight clay (or over it) will also float (see
Char's )
(for floating or submersible
items which are also magnetized, see just below)
MAGNETIZED fun
for LynnDel's magnet-containing skateboarder figures which are moved on a metal whiteboard painted to look like a "skateboard park" (as a motivational tool, but wouldn't have to be), see above under Other Ideas > Magnets
magnet bug on cardstock-painted
"path" --add
my photo? (fun for younger
children too)
...lesson:
make a small bug of some kind from clay (or use a small pompom, or other item)
...attach a small round magnet to its underside
...draw a path, bushes/whatever,
on a sheet of cardstock with markers (or use a large index card?)
...place
the magnet-bug on the top of the cardstock at the beginning of the path
...then
use another magnet on the underside of the card to move the bug
along the path.
This is a fun game for kids, and also a good way to
practice hand-eye coordination.
. . . one variation I've wanted to try
is to use baked clay to border the path . . . by using a
flattened clay rope, or square log extruded from a clay gun... baked (could be
baked on a sheet of glass which had been placed over the cardstock drawing to
create it)... then removed and glued to the cardstock. Diane B.
...see http://www.grandmats.com/images/r5826.jpg
for a texture sheet of "mazes" that could possibly be used for
this, or in some other way)
...similar ideas for inside Altoids
tins:
......skating scene with tiny figures on pond, by mamakittyx2...
she created a white clay "bank" around the inside bottom of the
tin and baked, then filled the open area in the middie with clear acrylic finish
tinted a bit blue and let dry throughly...she also glued button magnets
to the bottom of the little "skaters", then used another magnet underneath
the tin to move them around on the pond...she also used paper, glitter, etc.,
as trees inside top of lid as background, and glittered the
white snow clay
http://i.xanga.com/mamakitty/snowtin1.JPG
......another scene with surfer and jet skier on "water,"
with magnets to move around... "sand" next to water is clayas well as
tiny umbrella & sandcastle, by sweets4ever
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=36813.msg319795#msg319795
fishing
game .. Garie's lesson on making clay fish, each with a tiny
"rod magnet" in its mouth... and a fishing pole
made from a long "drinking straw"?, fine nylon string (fishing line),
and a small donut magnet
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/awwa2.htm
...
these fish can also be submerged in a container of water for fishing out,
but also see Garie's fishing game using fish enclosed in a water globe
just below
...many other fish could be made for
a fishing pole with magnet
....these could be made with small magnets
in the mouth area somehow (make sure they're in the
correct orientation for attraction!), or with pieces of iron
or steel in the mouth area (to which the pole's magnet would be attracted)
....
if very thin clay were used, the weight of the fish wouldn't be a problem,
even if using a small amount of metal on (or in) the fish (like a paperclip,
etc.)
.... thin clay fish could be created simply with a cutter (or
freehand with a needle)... and the clay could be marbled or made into a
decorative sheet before cutting out
...Michelle Ross' fish have
disk shaped bodies, with added onlaid cutouts for fins,
tails, stripes, heart-shaped lips (or rope), and bubbles....
she used a die cutter and a laminator for the body, but
could certainly use all clay... if using wire for fins, it might be attracted
to the magnet too though
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay/article/0,,HGTV_3236_3071209,00.html
http://www.polymerclayplay.com/html/gallery.htm
Garie's
lesson on making an "aquarium" (no water) with scenery
in a shallow or deep box (created with plastic corrugated sheets, glued
together and painted.. wooden frame for front side)
...then suspending fish/sharks
(with magnets inside) in the aquarium so they can be moved by their clear
strings from above (hole in top of frame/box, end of string tied around
a ring outside), or from the front with another magnet
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/aquabox.htm
(also click on Project Demonstration)
Garie
puts magnets in some of the items in other categories, such
as:
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/magnetics.htm
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/resourceful.htm
......submersible tub toys with magnets also ("aquafloats"
--skin diver and dolphin-shark)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/aquafloats.htm
....coating will make the clay non-porous and will give a better finishing.
I do not coat the figurines, as any coating or varnish will make the surface of
the figurine turn whitish after few days of submersing the aquafloats into the
water
(. . . . polymer clays are somewhat porous, (you can observe this)
if you throw the figures into the container full of water, some of them will
float ...after a few days, they will sink to the bottom...t
varies from clay to clay... then the only way to make them partly floatable again
is to them dry them out after playing with them. Garie
...some
clarification on Garie's magnetic and other moving devices
......fish (in a water globe) moves toward or away from "food"
held outside the bottle ... "Soft wires" are possibly twist ties?. .
. The fish "food" is held on a pole and string *outside* the jar (not
shown)? "Try not to use large bottle, if the diametre is too big, the big
worm magnetic field is not strong enough to attract the fish."
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/bottle.htm
...."The mouth of the Panda is inserted with a tiny magnet, you can
determine the poles. Conceal another magnet on the bamboo branch, if you present
it on the same magnetic poles the panda will turn his head, as it repelled each
other. If you turn the branch around, the magnet on the panda's mouth will attract
to the clay bamboo branch, North and South attract."
(see
more on magnets in Other Materials
> Magnets)
Garie Sim's book Got Clay Can Play has lessons
on other clay magnet
toys and motion toys:
...suspended
bear "dances" at end of line, submersible submarine
with magnet inside, aquarium in shallow box with suspended magnet-sharks,
etc.
...mobile (with pteranodons), flipping dog (around swing),
volcano (can make it "explode"), water globe (rainbow
& dog inside)
RAINSTICKS
...can make these over a
cylindrical armature like a cardboard tube, multi-layer rolled-paper
tube, metal tube or rolled-metal sheet, PVC pipe, wood
dowel, which is removed after baking (or maybe a metal one would be
good for the sound if left in?)
...the "rain" is often rice
or beads... for larger rainsticks could be lentils or pebbles, aquarium gravel,
etc.
.....we liked the sound of a mix of split peas and small beans the best.
Libby
.....you don't necessarily want to go too small on the bead size... a
little variation in size is good too since you can actually hear the difference
in sound from different size beads. Judy MA
...to create interference
for the falling beads, something is placed in the tube to slow them down
& make the sound longer and allow each "tap" to be head more
separately... the pattern used is a helix (long spiral) ...and often
wire or wood rods are placed inside in that pattern**
..Hava's
newer lesson on any size rainstick... she's added lots of clever
& helpful tips too:
......thin walls create louder sound... longer
tube, more pins, tighter spiral of pins all create longer &
louder sound
......larger holeless beads = louder sound, smaller ones
= softer sound... she like s a combo of sizes to create fuller,
more complex sound
......beads should fill less than 1/10 of the tube
..uses thin # 6 base layer (+ liquid clay coating... or another
layer of # 6 if want decorative layer)
......to create a spiral guideline
for the pins, wrap a string evenly around the raw clay on tube, then roll tube
to imprint the line.
..... after baking, put dowel most of the way
back into the clay tube for support...begin inserting pins in
extending end, moving tube up as needed
......she also suggests using
armatures like Bic pen, roller, or M&Ms tube
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/hava_rainstick.html
...Pamela's
lesson on a mini rainstick (used as pendant)
....
I took a 1/4" diameter dowel rod, wrapped aluminum foil around
it and, using scrap clay about 6" (rolled to about a 4 on the
pasta machine), wrapped the dowel rod (for a base layer).
...poked
about 25 holes all over the clay with a toothpick (will work best if they're
in a spiral-helix pattern) and baked it
...after twisting out the dowel
rod and foil from the clay, I took head pins and cut them to a little over
1/4" long and stuck one in each hole--the head pin needs to be long enough
to go through the thickness of the clay and be about flush with the opposite
wall of the tube.... I didn't even need to glue them--they seemed to fit snugly
enough
... I plugged one end of the clay tube with clay, and then put
in the very small seedbeads or holeless beads (the "rain"
must be glass or metal for a good tinkling sound, not plastic)
..to see how many beads were right, I tested it by putting my finger over the
hole and trying it until I liked the length of time the 'rain' fell when I turned
the tube upside down
... I then plugged the other end of the tube,
covered the entire tube with cane slices (a decorative layer), and
baked it again. . . .! Pamela
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/rainstick.html
...
the wire I used inside my rainstick didn't make the kind of sound I wanted....
I had too much mass inside. Dotty
**other possibilities for interference
for the beads/pebbles instead of wire/nails/toothpicks:
.....strawberry
basket --cut into quarters and inserted in tube... or hardware cloth
--cut into strip(s) a bit narrower than tube opening, zigzagged inside
tube... or plastic 6-pack can holders --twisted to fit into the tube (not
too tightly packed)
....I used wire in spirals instead of pins. Cláudia
....matte board strip... this was the mechanism shown by our local
RAFT group at the yearly Kids Art Day here
...... it ended up like a column
of extending "blades": http://www.raft.net/ideas/Rainstick.pdf
.......cut
a strip of matte board (almost as long as the tube and slightly narrower)
.......make
cuts on each long side of the strip about 3/4" apart (for what size tube though?),
alternating one cut on one side with one cut on the other side (each cut should
extend a little past the center of the strip)
***here I don't quite get their
instructions (and I've lost the instruction sheet I got), but if you just hold
one end of the strip firmly, then begin twisting it from the other
end, you'll see it begin to form vertical blades between each cut (...probably
better to do first with a cardstock strip just to see how it works, because
the matte board may not bend as easily... then you can see where to "fold each
strip, one side then the other"
.......it looks like they've also folded
one corner of each blade (alternating directions, or alternating strips-segments?)
to further impede the falling bits ("fold “flaps” in alternating directions
in each successive strip")
...simpler metchanisms,
but sound not as good?:
......cut 1-2 sheets of heavy paper into
1" strips lengthwise and tape end to end... fanfold (like lots of
W's) into sections no bigger than will fit easily into tube... attach each end
of folded strip to each end of tube interior
......pieces of alum. foil
tightly rolled into snake twice as long as tube and 1/2" in
diameter, zigzagged inside tube.
...see also Kaleidoscopes
for inspiration on covering and embellishing a long cylinder shape
...see
also rattles on this page
MISC.
many
projects (large and small, toys mixed in here and there...+ counting beads
on rods, etc.)
http://absolutelyfreeplans.com/PROJECTS%20FOR%20CHILDREN/projects_for_children.htm
"tablet
weaving" ....the equipment for table weaving ("tablets" --rounded
flat squares with 4 holes punched out-- and a "shuttle" for holding
the cording) could be made from clay?
...fairly simple weaving
technqiue which creates long strips of weaving (like a belt or strap, or applied
to clothing,etc.)
....lots of patterns (simple to more complex)
... could
be used with clay or clay beads?
http://www.shelaghlewins.com
(scroll down and click on Table Weaving)
http://www.weavershand.com/index.html#KG
(galleries)
... little equipment needed (one version is backstrapped weaving)
BOOKS
on making motion toys
...various clay motion toys in Garie
Sim's book Got Clay Can Play (see above under Books)
(... not clay... details
on these in customer reviews at amazon)
*The FunCraft Book of Action Toys (Scholastic
Book Services, Usborne Book... 0-590-11931-1, by Heather Amery)
*The FunCraft
Book of Action Games (Scholastic Book Services, Usbourne Book... 0-590-11930-3,
by Anne Civardi)
ALSO
Paper Automata: Four Working Models to Cut
Out & Glue Together by Rob Ives
Automata Too: Four Working Models to Cut Out
and Glue Together by Magdalen Bear
Automata and Mechanical Toys by Rodney
Peppe (Pepper?)
Using Kids' Art to Make Clay Items
There are a number of things that children's
artwork can be used for, especially by their parents and older friends,
though kids themselves can also transform their own artwork into polymer
clay items.
some basic ways to use pieces of non-polymer-clay artwork
could be:
...make it into a "transfer" (perhaps photographing
it first, etc., if dimensional) (see Transfers
for ideas)
......transfer directly to clay or make as decal (if
decal, could be cool as a window cling, etc., too)
...decoupage
the artwork itself (under liquid clay, etc.)
...make the main lines into a
carved flat piece... or make a stamp from it, then use the stamp
on raw clay
...make it into a painting (bas relief or flat)
...make
it as a sculpt
some ideas for using the polymer artwork:
...jewelery
...boxes,
Altoid boxes... other vessels, large or small
...covers fo a book or notebook...
scrapbooking
...greeting cards (esp for Grandma, etc, or as birthday cards)...
postcards
......transfers could also be made into a "book" as bundled
pages
......or sewed or glued onto fabric, clothing, back packs, tote
bags, etc.
...game pieces or boards
...tabletops
...figures or dolls
(just
about anything!)
(DB:where are the other suggestions
and projects done?)
Jeanne Rhea has done
a number of things with her children's early artwork:
...transfers on matchbox
pendant and magnet
http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/04/making-art-from-your-childrens-early_15.html
she
also memorialized her son with his crayon drawings transferred to tiles for
a necklace
http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/04/making-art-from-childrens-early-artwork_16.html
http://artfortheheart.blogspot.com/2007/04/making-art-from-childrens-early-artwork.html
Why all kids. should clay! + Learning Differences
Most
kids will understand a concept more easily and thorough if they engage
with it physically
...hand-eye coordination... understanding
of scale... patience... developing their own creativity
"...All
the kids in the world are imaginative and clever.... as teachers, we
must give them guidance and set a direction for them in anything that they
are learning.
....Understanding a child and their abilities is important...
some kids might be slow in learning academics, but very talented in music, sports
or arts. Motivate their talents and they will definitely improve their academic
learning as well. Through years of teaching play clay classes, my students
have become very confident and creative in claying.
. . Play clay classes
have also helped to improve many children with their academics in school. ...parents
play an important role by not putting too high an expectation on their kids."
Garie
.......from Garie who teaches polymer classes to kids
in Singapore (more in his book Got Clay Can Play)
"Clay
as Art Therapy"
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/about13.htm
(then click on link for complete text)
more
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/learning.htm
A mother talks about how learning to use polymer
clay helped her ADHD child tremendously (from age 8)... and see some of
Yijun's clay work
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/yijun%27s%20site/more.htm
Rod Wicks' uses clay (and other materials) to help
work with young kids and teens having behavioral or social difficulties
...he has done similar things in youth detention centers, with street
kids, and in residential care of the psychologically disabled
...("...contemporary
gurus in education for boys will tell you that such hands-on activities
provide the perfect opportunity for listening to and counselling
young males"...)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/rodwicks.html
...http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/rodwicks_gallery.html
(some of Rod's work...click on each!)
Are there any kid's troops that have made their own clay badge,
and earned it?
... or church or synagogue that had a craft sale with
kids selling their clay art?
... or kids' guilds or groups?
Kim
school
projects (science, art, music, any type) + learning
...polymer
clay can be very useful for making school projects!
......the clay can be
used alone, or it can be combined with other materials like wire
or natural materials or paint, or anything
......clay can be used for individual
items, or just as pieces or parts in scenes and dioramas,
etc
SCIENCE, etc.
...lesson on large eyeball made for science
project (with a wadded aluminum foil interior to save clay)...could be made smaller
as well
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e02752
...Linda
B's lesson on making a bas relief flower, by putting the
proper scientific parts together
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_PartsOfFlower.htm
...make beetles and bugs with correct
anatomy
(see Sculpting-Gen > Other
Animals to Sculpt > Bugs)
...see terrarium made inside a glass
xmas ball below in Other Ideas
...fossils in stone... made by
transferring a pencil drawing directly to raw clay, then pressing down lines with
toothpicks, skewers, etc., and building up other areas
http://www.reuels.com/reuels/page551.html
...Kathy Davis' topographical map of ocean and islands (geography
project?)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1180023&uid=487483
...Cheryl's
tiny planets beads
http://ctrottier.tripod.com/planetssmallersize.JPG
..motion
toys involve science principles and can be a fun way to learn them, create
a science project, or just play around with balance, motion, etc.
(for those,
see below in Other Toys > Active-Motion Toys)
HISTORY &
STRUCTURES, SCENES
...Middle Ages dwellings, 5th- 7th grade (castles,cottages
plus landscapes, open-roof room) made with bulk white Sculpey, then painted
with tempera
http://www.art-rageous.net/Castles-Cottages.htm
l
...Colonial style houses done by students with bulk white Sculpey,
then painted with acrylics
http://www.art-rageous.net/SculpeyColonialHouses.html
(lots
more dioramas, houses, landscaping, furniture, etc., in Scenes
below, and in Miniatures and Houses/Structures)
...duplicate
an everyday object (to learn proportion, scale, detail, etc.)
http://www.paperclay.com/plan.htm
(but do it with polymer clay)
see many more ideas below in
Younger Kids (letters & numbers) ...in More
Math, Art ...& various other categories
+
Garie Sim's book (motion toys)
WORKING with & TEACHING kids
Anyone
who feels overwhelmed at where to start or what to do...
it's natural to feel like that with this stuff. You can do so much with it and
you want to try it all.. . . .I really, really like something that Tory Hughes
repeats often in her videotapes though.... "You can't do anything wrong
but burn it."
....So, get a good oven thermometer and go with
your instincts.
...... sit down and just play with a blob of one
color, without any real idea of "making something." ...just poke
it with different implements and tools, squish it, roll it into
snakes and other shapes (see Beads
> Shapes as well) ...etc.
.......what can you do with the
snakes? Smash it flat... what can you form from a pancake?
....see how many
different kinds of critters you can make from just balls, snakes and pancakes.
Just let your mind wander and wonder and question and experiment..... You'll
be adding colors and textures and embellishments without
even thinking about it. Zig
Project ideas (various ages) & samples
finished items from kids
Marie
R's projects for parties (underwater scene on votive,
garden scene on flower pot, animal pen holder stand,
animal coaster, & various sculpts)
(various
types of things, by various ages... caning on tiles,
pencil cups, paintings, etc.)
http://www.marieredmondartsandcrafts.com/ClassArtwork.html
http://www.marieredmondartsandcrafts.com/BirthdayCrafts.html
http://www.marieredmondartsandcrafts.com/preview/PastClasses.html
Deb's class for
kids
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2004march/kids.html
Garie's photos of giving
a polymer clay class to 140 elementary school students
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/junyuan/primary_sch.htm
(see Garie's many other classes ..and many items made by his
students at:
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/learning.htm
)
Poly's
Clay Castle's polymer clay items made by kids
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/castle/kidswap1.html
and http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/castle/treasureroom.html
kids
make polymer masks
http://hometown.aol.com/cbykris/kiddies.htm
various
made by 12 yr old ...Ruth's daughter
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4218486&a=31286445&f=0
various,
made by 9-yr. old
http://geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5451/JWork.html
frame of leaves made by 9-yr. old Heather (see above under Cutters for
details)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_sep04.html
Bev's
4-yr. old playing with clay and pasta machine, & a few tips on kids
http://www.yeoldouthouse.com/clayhints.html
Claire's
5 yr. old's items from playing with clay (website
gone)
Garie
Sim's blog
http://www.gariesim.blogspot.com
Garie
Sim's website:
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay
Laurie's
links to many different projects
http://www.geocities.com/turkeyma
Sculpey's
"Teachers' Lounge" page with project lessons, etc.
http://www.sculpey.com/teacherslounge.htm
If
you want to work with your kids and do some easy projects
....try
rolling out the clay (you can marble it if you want)
....using
a smallish cookie cutter (or canape cutter, etc.) , cut out some
shapes
... let the kids embellish them (clay worms, cane slices,
or anythjing else you can think of)
... then punch a smallish hole
near the top ... bake.
... Voila! ...a pendant or a christmas
tree ornament..... or glue on a magnet for use on the fridge. .
byrd
my projects with kids:
simple canes...
bowls... .pens... bears... twisted
frames
...using powders, stamps, molds to make pendants (website
gone) DB add
heads &
fingerpuppets for kids' parties and classes
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/sculpts_more
We've made food for Poly's Clay Castle, and Y2K bugs. A cartouche with their names in Egyptian glyphs on one side, in English on the reverse.
quick
way of making "instant" canes for beginners (lesson)
In a class that covers a wide variety of techniques, (not just canework) I get
the students to make small sample canes so they get the idea but the conditioning
does not take for ever.
...form flat blocks of diff. colours, each
the same size... ours were 1 1/2" square, but 1" tall. ...cut
each into an identical geometric shape (triangle, rectangle, etc.),
cutting right down through the block. Now replace sections of one colour
with sections of another color from a different block (you'll end up with as many
canes as the blocks you started with but the colours all alternating). ... reduce
...to
easily create more complex canes, you can stack the canes and reduce
again (or wrap, combine etc etc)... they will be all colour coordinated and it
looks great. . .Sue Heaser .
make erasers
with kids, or for teachers...see ideas in Characteristics
> Eraser Clay)
...Yes, the erasers do work. I think this would be
a very cool project for kids to do at chool or at a party. Kim
...This is
a cool little thing to do with the eraser clay, Sculpey or Premo --(SuperFlex?)
.....(lesson)
- Working on an index card or sheet of paper --Make 5 equal sized balls of, say,
orange clay - about 1/2 diameter or a little smaller. --Set them in a circle so
that they just all touch each other. -- Now put a ball of a different color in
the center. --Make a ball of green and point on end (to make a teardrop). -- Stick
that somewhere on the outside circle of balls. Repeat with another if you wish.
--Now take something stiff, like a clay package or a sheet of plexiglass and flatten
the whole thing to half the depth. Add some textures on the leaves
and petals if you wish. Voila!! a cute little flower with leaves!! ..
My
son...made a green dinosaur the same way - by rolling cylinders
and balls and then flattening together. We also added textures
and eyes with the back of a skewer. syndee
I
also teach children with polymer clay...
... I've used cheap eye shadow,
in glitter metallic tones- the same way we use the metallic powders. It's safer
around children- no dust. They can stamp the clay with stamps and textures and
then add the shadow by touching it with their fingers and smoothing it over the
clay.
....I teach a "bug" class that the boys enjoy
as well as the girls. We make caterpillars- just circles of clay attached,
with small accents of color; lady bugs, beetles- with wire legs (and "magic"
wings: mix at least 3 colors of clay into a ball- I then slice it in half
for them to reveal the mirror image)
.... and a snake - usually a dark
color that they stamp and add the metallic powder (shadow).
The 2
Klutz Press books are full of great ideas for children (...see above in "Books
and Videos). Kathndolls
Small kids can mix or marble colors ... make beads
we used
to make bugs--bumpy green worms with antennae, lady bugs,
etc...very simple ones.....
...I kept some simple canes available
for them to decorate them with. Dotty
with
flat sheet magnets and a few small molds of things like flowers
or butterflies, you can have them cover the sheet magnets for their
mom's refrigerator. Dotty
Oh teaching young children
is so cool :))
....take some comics or pictures of kid-theme
characters with you :) ...children love to make their fav.cartoon :)
....here
in Holland we have alot of polymer clay books for children with great instructions
in them.
......one has a lesson on covering a matchbox with clay, and
make a little figure on it :) Ria
Pinchy's
lesson on making a bug body with a Natasha "bead"
technique, which is pressed around a blob of scrap clay to form a fat bug shape...for
legs and feet, bits of clay are then added to the end of each of 4 wires
which are inserted into the body with LS (could use short wire pieces and superglue
rather than LS), or telephone wire. . . (could use less chopped up clay for Natasha
for a larger pattern too)
http://www.geocities.com/pinchyspolymerplace/natashabug.htm
julie's coiled-snake (bead).... natasha (symmetrical) beads and figures made from them (website gone)
Something I did with my
Brownie group last year was have them make pins for Mother's
Day: (note, they were 6-7 years old, so I did a lot of prep work ahead
of time)
.... I pre-made some square and heart shapes....
they placed different cane slices on top of the shapes (I had
pre-cut the slices and placed on them on sandwich wax paper).... I still hear
raves about that evening, and the Mom's DO wear their pieces! Patti
use colored clay, then texture or stamp ...and apply one of the Pearl-Ex powders before baking (see specifics below) or Rub"N Buff after baking
we covered Bic Round Stic pens ...and also make stands for them....pens
are a real favorite.. ...and they're gifts present they can give to
their parents that their parents really use.
...we covered
small candle holders using translucent clays.
...we used leaves
we found near the house as stamps
....covered cans with clay to make
pencil holders. . . and made picture frames for snapshots. Lenora
key fobs (we did our with) glow in the dark clay! I send them home with a giant split ring, with 3 chain links and a jumpring attached. The jump ring can easily be opened and their art attached. I have used a small eye screw that I get at local hardware store that is embedded into the clay prior to baking. Thought maybe this would be a great way for them to use there beads. Shellee
Just
thought I'd mention the project my students did last week: eggs.
First
I had to decide on what the eggs would be made of. I quickly nixed real eggs --
didn't want to blow out that many, especially since some eggs would inevitably
be broken when the kids were putting clay on them. I ended up handing each child
two feet of aluminum foil and having them crunch it into egg shape.
They filled dents, dips and flat spots with bits of scrap clay.
Then
I gave each student several strips of scrap that had gone through the noodle
attachment on the pasta machine and showed them how to coil it around and around
until all the foil was covered.
I had several cookie sheets full of pre-sliced
canes (this lesson was only 55 minutes, or I would've had them make their
own), and each student filled a 3x5 card with their choice of canes --I
limited them to no more than 3 different (cane slices), or all the eggs would've
ended up with one slice of each kind I had available!
They arranged the slices
on the eggs, smoothed them out, and I baked them.
I learned, after
the first batch, that even foil eggs need an air hole.
One pin hole is enough, and hard to find later. I cut off the bubbles and repaired
them, most repairs were nearly invisible.
No time to sand, but Future
polish made the eggs look beautiful. The unsanded but shiny eggs have a childish,
primitive appearance that I find charming, and the kids were thrilled. LynnDel
Kids can make transfers of their own drawings (which are first reduced in size on a copy machine). Max(ine)
I haven't worked with kids and polymer clay much but I taught my eleven year old grandaughter how to make a jointed baby doll (about 6 inches) with Super Sculpey. Don't know right off how that could be done with a class but I'm sure it could. Marlene
I've taught faux ivory with prebaked inlays and photo transfers to 6th graders and it was awesome. Max(ine)
I'm going to
be making some mini? books this year with the 6th grade.
Max (ine)
...can also make notebook covers (see Books-mini
& Covers)
We stamped a shape, (in this case a frog)
....then I cut around it and put it on the pan to be baked. I also use glass from
a frame to bake.
...Once all the pieces were made I hung around and superglued
the pinbacks to the clay. It worked out really well and only took about an hour
and a half to do . . .
At the same time another mother had another project
going on. doing the same working one on one. with first graders this works great
you don't have to have your eyes on two or three at a time. I believe that is
why it took minimal time. while we were working the teacher read to the students
and did minimal involvement activities so that all the kids were having fun. They
did coloring, and cutting. That way we had all kinds of activities. Oh yes and
they made Christmas cards. Sounds like the class could work on Cards then
calling the children one at a time make their brooch, the re join and finish their
cards. A nice floral Rubber stamp would be great. I also use Pearlex powders to
stamp in. If you spread the pearlex with a soft brush on a piece of glass and
stamp into it as you would a stamp pad it works great. Or you can stamp with ink
and the brush pearlex on top. Annette
Here is what my DD did for me on her
own. She shaped a flat heart of clay. (You could let kids use a
cookie cutter & cut whatever colors they like.) She rolled snakes & used them
to shape the letters spelling out, "I U Mom" She made a smaller red heart
and arranged it on top of the bigger heart along with the letters so it said "I
(heart) U Mom". (I love you, Mom.) You would then have the option of either:
1) putting a small hole in the top of the heart so that, after baking, it could
be threaded on a ribbon or piece of yarn to make a necklace for mom.
2) after baking, you Superglue a pinback on. (Don't let 1st graders do
this! You'd have to do it for them.)
The great thing about this is the kids
would be able to make their own gift for mom with minimal demo & help from you
& it doesn't need any sharp cutting instruments! clayfreak
Another
thing you might consider doing with extra beads, cane slices and "boo-boos"
is donating them to a teacher. Kids love sorting out the different shapes
and colors and looking for different designs. I have a bag in my class and it
gets almost constant use!.
…..it would be a great way to teach color names,
shape names, and work on classification skills.
I just downloaded a catalog from a site called The Compleat Sculptor and it mentioned that they have special events, projects and even do parties based around getting children involved with polymer clay. They use Sculpey III in these things.. . .http://www.sculpt.com/
ADD: puzzle-pieced pictures (see Paints > "Paintings") ...and bas relief pictures (Bas Relief above )
It just
might surprise you how creative they are once they get some in their hands.
...The biggest problem with kids is getting them to
keep it small.
(another reason pushmolds are nice--already a set size). KleeBug
pushmolds. ... be sure to dust them with cornstarch first so that the
clay won't stick, and then push in the clay
....You can make lovely little
pins using molded flowers or animals, on just a circle background (use
a jar lid like a cookie cutter to make a circle from a rolled out sheet of clay.)
....The kids can use colored clays for the flowers (or one color and paint them afterward).
I
brought PC to my son's pre-school class a couple weeks ago (I had 9 children,
around 5 yo)... all had a wonderful time & played clay for about an
hour!!
.... I brought preconditioned Premo, cut up
into little squares (maybe 1" square on thickest pasta
setting) ... brought lots of different colors
....then I showed them
how to roll the clay into balls ...then how to make snakes, and
then just let them run with it.
.....each child got their own "tool
kit" which consisted of an empty yogurt cup filled with a couple
popsicle sticks, some tooth picks, a large nail, and a few
other assorted findings I had.
... I brought everything home to
bake it ... then I scanned each child's creations and put them up on
my photosharing site... What a thrill for both the kids and their parents to
be able to see their creations on the internet!!! Claire
lacing
beads (wood stringing beads)... make sure to make the holes extra large!
---made in various colors
---and/or shapes (cutting mulitple
thicknesses of polymer sheets with small canape-type cutters):
http://www.hobbytimeny.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Product/asp/product-id/909801.html
---patterns or designs
.....all-over patterns made
from sheets of clay or 6 slices of a cane placed over an underlying square clay
bead (see Sheets and Beads
> square and Canes-Instr.)
...each
side different (with numbers, letters, counting bits like 3 tiny star cane
slices in a row, stripes, spirals, etc.)
http://www.giantstepsbooks.com/lci/0543.html
I
have taught this age group and they love clay.
.....They mostly
like to do their own thing with minimum nudges on what to make. I had
a four year old here yesterday that did quite well just twisting several
colors together and made "figures". All she had was clay and
a work surface. She stayed busy for about a half and hour. deb jean
...canapé
cutters are easier for little hands than small the Kemper cutters
...this
age also loves and responds to textures so have some safe
textures to "mash" in the clay...burlap to roll over the surface...
rubber stamps... big buttons .......kids
are quicker than the
adult eye! so don't use anything small
that might go into a mouth...
...
some chopped up clay pieces...
....then just GO WITH THE FLOW!...
the kids will lead ....once they know they have the freedom to create,
they are fearless and will create things that will astound you in the complexity
of their concepts ..you will end up having more fun than they do! Sammy... who
used to do this all the time....
....May I suggest that you teach them some
simple basic shapes to create animal sculptures: ball, teardrop
and snake. ...Combinations of these forms will make bears, dogs, cats, catapillers,
etc. Patty
...You will find there is a great difference
in developmental concepts and abilities in the 5-8 year age span,
so be prepared.
....I use the softest clay available
and/or I do any needed pre-conditioning before the class starts.... young
children,even 8 year olds, do not have patience with the conditioning process
and want to dive right into making things.
...You didn't mention the time
period allotted.... but the younger ones will need a change of pace in the
middle if it is an hour class so be prepared with "extras" to perk
up their interest....keep it simple
Occasionally
one of the kids may get a little bored, so
I took that moment to demonstrate something:
....for example,
I made a candy cane by twisting red and white snakes together, a little
teddy bear figurine, even made a Pikachu. . . that was enough to
get their attention again. Claire
pinch pots (or coil pots) are wonderful for the age group... introduce them with a "Little Jack Horner" routine and ending up with a wad of clay on thumb and they will immediately get the idea
making letters and
numbers, words & names
with clay
A
fun thing, as well as something "physical" and hands-on that helps
kids learn letters and other abstract shapes more easily
...letters,
numbers, or whole words could be made by kids
..... or
adults could make letter and number things for kids to learn and
play with
...(other clays could be used, even bread dough, but the advantage
to using polymer clay is that "ropes" of it can be much smaller, make more
precise lines, don't swell or crack during baking, and are strong after baking,
etc.)
....these
are good for practicing letters and numbers, spelling,
etc.
...because
the letters can be hardened, they're also something permanent to "show
for their work"
....although
all kids learn better using multiple senses to interact with whatever
they're tring to learn , some kids definitely
learn best with physcial manipulation
....esp.
good for any who have learning difficulties ... vision problems
...the
letters or numbers can also be used later too in lots of functional
ways, which makes them even more interesting for kids (see below)
make
letters with ropes
...roll out some ropes of clay (or the kid could
do this if reasonably coordinated)... then have the kid form the letter on a surface
that's safe for baking (so they won't be disturbed when transferring
to the oven)...after cooling, the letters won't be "rock" hard, especially becuase
of their thinness, but will hold together quite well). ...try to make sure any
places the clay touches itself, it's pressed together a bit for
the best join, but it will work even if not.
....can use a butter knife to
cut off any excess raw clay once the letter is formed (or you could use an Xacto,
etc.).. Diane B.
...Marie's letters ...
some are fat ropes, and freestanding but joined together ...
with figures, etc. at end of name or word
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/oldstuff1.htm
(also Old Stuff galleries
3 & 4?)
...Karyn's
names on kids' pins (or anything) made with thin polymer ropes ...letters
are printed (not cursive)
...... along with simple flowers,
faces, cutter shapes, etc.
http://www.polymerclay.co.nz/nzpcg/catherinescreations.html
... http://www.zigzag.co.nz/NZPCG/Karyn.html
...Leah's
name on a plaque made with twisted ropes of 2 colors
which have been been flattened a bit (after forming letters)
http://www.jjacksondesigns.com
(?) ...old link http://www.jjacksondesigns.homestead.com/Elves.html
cut
out with cookie or canape cutters
...letters and numbers can also
be cut from sheets of clay (plain or patterned) with cutters of
various types and sizes
....(see Cutters
for finding and buying these)
...it's also possible to cut them freehand
from a sheet of clay, but not easy for younger kids (use needle tool or craft
knife, with clay stuck to a tile, etc.)
cut
out with scissors or with pattern scissors
(use
cooled raw clay, or thin baked clay).
....for
more info on how to do that + samples, see
Letters-Inks >
Lettering ...and Cutters
> Other Blades
making stamps
of letters, numbers, words
Mary Lyons' lesson on creating clay
cubes with a pasta alphabet letter impressed
into each side for a spelling, etc, game for kids
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_entertaining_other/article/0,1801,HGTV_3116_1380656,00.html
making
molds of letters, numbers, words
..Marie's lesson on
using alphabet pasta to make letters or lettering on backgrounds
(for tiles, on strip "banners" or on shape "plaques")
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_MoldMaking.htm
...place
pasta letters (facing upward) however wanted onto #1 sheet of raw clay,
which is on a sheet of glass or ceramic tile
...press down on all lettering
at one time (not more than 1/2 way through clay sheet) with foam side of foam-backed
stamp (or something else stiff, but with a little give maybe) to make all
letters extend upward ti the same height
...cut a strip or other
shape around each set of letters (or make several strips for rows of
words)... remove all excess clay
...bake, on tile without moving
clay... let cool on tile
...mix 2-part silicone putty (see Molds>Silicone
Putties) --or use flexible clay, regular clay or another
molding material, with a release) but silicone will give the greatest detail
to the molded letters
......press slab of putty (roughly same
shape as clay shape) over baked clay and pasta on tile, pressing down all around
onto tile just past baked clay (don't let putty get too thin)
...let putty
cure 15 min or recommended time for brand... remove from tile, then
remove mold from clay
...use logs, strips, or balls of raw clay to fill
the molded areas (see Molds > Making
Yourself for info on how to use molds, releases, remove clay, etc)
...apply raw clay to an item as embellishment... or bake
clay and glue on later or use singly as spelling tiles, etc.
individual
letters (or letter tiles) can be left as single pieces,
so that names or words can be spelled out anytime
individual
numbers can be added-subtracted ... or made into addresses,
tel. no's, etc.
letters can also
be glued onto or pressed onto almost anything
else
...non-polymer items
.....baked clay shapes
can be glued to many materials and items... for example:
.......wood plaques/boxes...
cardstock... plastic switchplates/pens... papeir mache boxes/chests...
glass ornaments, etc.
.....raw clay can be baked onto
some of those surfaces or items, but not all of them... see
Covering for details
...polymer items...press raw or baked
letters onto a raw or baked clay sheets or shapes, etc.
or have your word or name held by a little figure, doll, animal, etc. (...one you've made, or one you have)
kids can make
their own gift for mom with minimal demo and help... & without any
sharp cutting instruments
...they'd roll snakes & use them to shape
the letters spelling out, "I U Mom" onto flat heart-shape
sheet of clay
.....(or could let kids use a cookie cutter &
cut whatever colors they like.) ...would then have the option of either:
1) putting a small hole in the top of the heart so that, after baking,
it could be threaded on a ribbon or piece of yarn to make a necklace for
mom.
2) after baking, superglue a pinback on (don't let really
young children do this part!). clayfreak
fake "stones"
can be impressed with individual words or shapes or numbers,
etc. (for kids learning to read, do math, learn shapes)
......some made with
inclusions http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/playwithclay.html
(more on these in Letters-Inks > Stamps
,Molds)
(much more on making letters in various ways can be found in Letters-Inks > Lettering...)
projects
done in class with kids (Patty Barnes, art teacher)
...
Practical applications work best rather than just lecture and rote learning, at
least in my opinion. Patty
Jr. Hi:
beads
... have each student make enough of one kind (marbled, simple cane) to share
and have an in-class swap. Make into necklaces on S'ghetti cord. (cheap &
stretchy) This will also work for Art I H.S. students
molds (make from found objects, or use candy molds, paper molds, polymer
clay molds) to create a pin and card
.....then made a Valentine
card using construction paper, doilies, glitter, imitation 'pearl' strands,
ribbons and decorative scissors... on a white paper insert, they wrote their message
to correspond with the pin motif. (for a teddy bear "I can't bear to be without
you" ....great Mom gift)
cutters, small ...they used canape or
small cookie cutters in various ways
snow globes using
the clay to make clay critters(after watching Kris Richard's great video)
for inside donated baby food jars
painting
...on gessoed masonite, or plexiglass (see Paint
> "Paintings" for techniques)
relief collage ...pieced
together like a crazy quilt (each student made a 6" square)
....they used
only the 3 primaries, plus white & black ...then we went through the steps
of color mixing to get secondary and intermediate colors
HS:
.....created their own original jewelry ...and some added macrame cording
....
made a mold .... then replicated it and used it to cover switch
plates... picture frames... and glass votives
...designed
furniture and accessories for 2 doll houses we built for the
kindergarten classes
...made marionettes to act out plays/stories they
had written (and presented to the first grade) on the stage they built
and decorated
....3-d sculptures
...math....
followed blueprints and built the frames of 2 houses. ...they
learned a lot about cutting angles and measuring for accuracy. Patty
B.
Special Needs ...
& Disabilities
(though
most of these ideas and tips could also apply to any kids)
please
NOTE:.
most of the info re kids with special needs
and disabilities is on the Disabilties
page here at GlassAttic
...look there for loads of suggested activities
and tips and tools for kids with cognitive and
emotional difficulties as well as physical disabilities, etc.
Sculpey's
website now has a long page on various disabilities and special needs
....this
is their list of things which can be helped by working with clay:
.........Patience Problem Solving Position Visual Processing
Matching Finger Exploration Precision Tactile Exploration Creativity Attention
to Detail Imagination Memory and Recall Self Esteem Sequential Thought Pincer
Grasp Bilateral Coordination Early Literacy Eye-Hand Coordination Wrist Rotation
Part/Whole Relationship Motor Planning Range of Motion, Reaching Visual Attention
Functional Finger Movement Manual Dexterity Cooperative Hand Movements Fine Motor
Skills Sorting – Colors, Sizes, Shapes Cause and Effect Finger and Hand Strength
and Control
...General Play Tips....
and Things to do to incorporate therapeutic goals
...the disability
categories they address are:
.......cognitive (attention difficulties),
communicative (autism, etc.), physical (low strength, coordination,
etc.), sensory (low vision, blindness), emotional
...for each
"disability" there are suggestions for tools or tool modifications...
various activities... and special tips for working with that
child
http://www.sculpey.com/specialneeds.htm
for learning letters and numbers (hands-on), see also above in Younger Kids
Arts
and Activities ( magazine for teachers) http://www.artsandactivities.com/Page/Subscription2.html
... looks very interesting and I understand it has quite a few polymer
clay projects as well....(the mask) is done by Rebecca Zimmerman. Very
cool!
http://www.artsandactivities.com/Page/article1202c.html
Mirella & Geo
...this mag has been a staple in the education world for
years...there's always a copy in the teacher's lounge. The few times I looked
at it (before) there wasn't much related to clay...glad they are getting aboard.
Trina
more math:
I
also used art to teach math . . . practical applications
of math work best (rather than just lecture and rote learning), at least in my
opinion
.....how to make multiples from a mold they made, how to measure
with a ruler to provide a border on their paper, how to measure volume
for the concrete we mixed to make our stained glass stepping stones, how to make
a tessellated image using, flips, slides, rotations, etc. There is a lot
of math in every day art work and it is relatively painless. Patty B.
...I
used to teach middle school math and used a lot of craft projects in my
classes (for teaching surface area = plastic canvas boxes, fractions
= quilt squares ...) Ruth
....Fractions and measuring were
also part of my class on making a teddy bear since the kids had to cut
logs into specific lengths (and somtimes "in half, then
in half again"); they did this to get specific proportions of their alloted
clay for heads, arms, noses, etc; they fist rolled their whole amt. of clay to
a specific length according to a simplified paper ruler I'd made and photocopied
(taped to the underside of their clear work surfaces), e.g. 6", then cut
say at inch marks # 1, 2 and 4. Some of those lengths would be rolled out and
subdivided further. Diane B.
....see
also just above for following blueprints (Older Kids)
more art:
In my classes, we discuss basic color
theory .....and how to mix colors make bears, birds, butterflies and
beads. Lenora
...lesson on making
a 12-color color wheel with canned white frosting and food coloring
(red, blue, yellow)... each color spread on a Vanilla wafer
http://www.art-rageous.net/EdibleColorwheel-LP.html
...could do the same thing with cookie doughs...candy doughs...
doughs made from other clays... fondant ... white glues... white
paint, etc.
There is a whole vocabulary
used in art that children could learn as they are going through grade
school. Unfortunately kids are usually told how to do a project
but not what they were learning in the correct terms.
.....Nor were they taught
basic beginning color theory such as the three primaries and the order
of the color wheel. When you get 6th grade students who don't know anything about
art, there is a lot of ground to cover in a very short time to bring them up to
par. Patty B.
I am not sure if I tie my kids' classes to
the principles of art or not
...I do introduce them to color mixing,
textures, a variety of ways to use the clay to accomplish
a task/project, we talk about shapes, mosaics, much more. I want
them to appreciate the medium as much as the art.. . . polymerclaycreations
When
you teach, do you use the (formal language of art) with your students
when working with the clay?
If these are taught beginning at an early age,
it makes it easier for students to talk about their work, and also
to understand why they may have done something the way they did.
....
All works of art can be broken down into their various "Elements of
Art" (which are like the words in a sentence... the basic components,
and their "Principles of Art" (like the rules of grammar,
the guides to the way components are assembled).
(there is
some slight difference between textbooks as to what comprises each, but
for the most part these are the most common ones:)
ART ELEMENTS
....or components:
Line: (straight, curved, diagonal, modulated, broken
and implied)
Color: (primary, secondary, tertiary, intermediate, complementary,monochromatic,
triad, split compliment, analogous, positive/negative, warm/cool, intensity, saturation,
hue, tint, tone and shade)
Texture: real and implied
Value:
(light and dark and the range between, chiaroscuro )
Shape .....and
Form: (geometric, organic, realistic, abstract ..... 2 dimensional {flat}
and 3 dimensional {form} )
ART PRINCIPLES: .....or how the various
elements are used:
Contrast: (differences in individual elements...
such as a smooth texture contrasting with a rough texture)
Space: (positive
and negative... as used in the piece)
Emphasis: (also called dominance
or focal point)
Variety: (use of different elements to create
interest)
Harmony: (use of repetition, rhythm, pattern
or motif)
Balance: (symmetrical or asymmetrical, or radial)
Unity: (the whole or total effect of the piece)
(.....Not all elements
will appear in every work of art.)
.....Of course, art is made of many more
(components): style, medium, abstraction, realism, narration, meaning,
and so on. Patty B.
Supplies, costs
children
ages 5-8. . . keep the class size small or get help!.....no
more than 9 or 10 kids (with help)...4-6 without help. deb jean
Saran's cutting sheets worked pretty well for us as work surfaces and they
are a lot cheaper than plexiglass sheets...you can get in the grocery store.
Anna
...The Saran sheets are awesome. I just recommended using them at our
guild meeting where we are going to have a troop of girl scouts come and play.
I think a package of 20 is under $5 and they last quite awhile.
Andrea
...may need to tape down though if rolling logs, etc....
...(see
more ideas for work surfaces on Tools
page)
I think the only thing you need is clay, some sort of roller (PVC tube cut into maybe 4" pieces), a work surface like wax paper or freezer paper, and something to cut with (depending on the age) maybe plastic knives (see below for more on "knives").
keeping
clay costs down in the classroom..... for about
$300 a year, I could manage enough clay for all 120 junior high
and about 75 high school students.
....if you use a school
purchase order and order from the online companies, most will give
you a good discount..... I always bought Premo because it held up well to designs
students invariably do with thin parts. I bought the 1# bricks, and I doled
out the clay in very small amounts.
.......I
always cut the clay off the brick and told them to bring back any excess,
and they were able to have more if needed more than I originally gave them.
Some how it always worked out.
...each
student had to have a sketch of the proposed project, with colors indicated.
...size was controlled by such things as the size of the baby food jar for
making snow globes... or a pin for Mom had to be the central component to a Mother's
Day card (half sheet of construction paper)
...high school students
were also limited in the amount of clay used again by which projects
I assigned... such as designing furniture and accessories for 2 doll houses
we built for the kindergarten classes, or the marionettes they made to act out
the stories they wrote and the stage they build and decorated. .Patty B.
Adults or helpers could
do all the cutting (esp. for canes) when it's time, but many kids won't like this
much because cutting is so much of the fun (esp. some boys)
(...whether adults
or kids cut slices from canes, make sure to separate the slices immediately
or they get stuck together)
Shorter
blades like those in Xacto craft knives can be useful for some kids' cutting
.... even the top
of a needle tool or hat pin can be used to cut flat sheets
Mid-length
and long blades can be used in many more ways though
...blades to be used for
just cutting pieces or chopping clay can be blunter
than those needed for cutting slices from a cane
For
his students, Garie Sim makes "long" blades, short-blade Xacto substitutes,
and dough scraper type tools from the 2-sided aluminum piece on
(the outside of) a floppy disk (3 1/4")
.... the aluminum piece
pops right off and can be cut with scissors (just don't use your best ones!!!)
Kellie B.
.....this is a fairly high grade of aluminum (maybe tempered?)
which is pretty stiff even when it's as thin as this --1 1/4"
x almost 2" for each side-- though each has a rectangular hole inside)
...Garie's large rectangular cutter which can function like a long
blade or be more like a "dough scraper"
......he shows
one with a curled-over handle, and anoother with a thick clay covering/handle
(...both handles run all along the side of the "blade"
opposite the cutting edge)
......this type can also be used to cut cane
slices as long as the canes aren't too old and hard (still possible)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/shop/handmade_recycle.htm
...Garie's lesson on using this metal to make small "pencil"
cutters like Xacto blades (which he embeds in long clay handles)
http://www.garieinternational.com.sg/clay/shop/handmade_recycle2.htm
duller
blades ... for really young kids (7 or under maybe), some of the
simpler and duller blades are:
... ordinary tableware knives (as
thin as possible) ..... also some palette knives are quite thin
....metal potter’s blade or "rib" (buy them at
crafts or art supply stores) ...about 4” long and 2 ½ “ tall, flat on the bottom
and rounded on the top
....none of these will work well with
cane slices though (but the smeared images can be sanded after
baking to remove the smearing)
....though any of these can be beveled-sharpened
just a bit (...see just below... or in Cutter-Blades
> Sharpening for much more info)
I
use a cheese plane to take my slices (from the final mokume gane
stack, or from ghost image mica?)
....this is not as dangerous as a
blade, and you have more chances of cutting a large complete slice,
which is not as easy to do with the blade. Amanda Rose (make sure your distortions/pokes/etc.
are very deep though)
In the
kitchen store, they have this dough scraper .... It is a sheet of stainless
steel with one edge rolled over to make a handle.
.....To sharpen
this (could sharpen on a little for kids, I bevel
only one side of the blade (I used the side
with the handle curl) ...the beveling-sharpening is done by
hand and
with water...
do not use an electric grinder
to do the sharpening because power sharpeners can overheat the metal and destroy
the temper (that means you will need to sharpen it a lot). Lysle
sharper
blades ... (esp. for canes)
...
utility knife blades (come in invidual blades a couple of inches long (or
in snap-off type blades )
http://www.cornerhardware.com/hardware/Hand_Tools/Knives/Utility_Knife_Blades-396.html
(utility and snap-off blades)
...wallpaper scraper blades (Target, etc.)
3 or so inches long (...or other blades for scraping
..a length
of unseparated snap-off blades, especially the
cheap, smaller, long blades that can be extended from plastic
handles (someutility knife blades also come this way)
.....blades
in these small knives are thinner than the heavier duty blades ... and
also have a handle to hold onto
......will work even better if the clay
is placed very close to the edge of the table (or a raised area),
and parallel to the table edge if its' a cane, before cutting down
to give the hand holding the handle more room (off the table)
http://brochure.admagnets.com/detail/322/144/KNIVES%20CUTTERS!/Main
... http://tinyurl.com/5j5q
I
use cheap, small paring knives for my classes... the blades are around
2 1/2" long with plastic handles... can buy at dollar stores
.... to make
sure all class knives are accounted for , I took a piece of poster board
and folded one long edge up about 3”. Then I stapled both ends of the fold and
then about every 1 1/2” to create pockets for the knives to be slid
into blade first. I was able to see at a glance that all 20 were there
and I not, no one left the room until all of them were in place.
....And of
course, everybody was told that if they misused the knife, they wouldn’t
get to play with the clay. Worked pretty well. Patty B.
..however,
some of those blades above may not
be flexible at all... and most are thicker
than blades we usually use
..some may also have holes
in their sides which could interfere with some kinds of cane slicing (these might
be fine for cutting sheets though --with the whole edge or just with the tip--
or for regular chopping and cutting)
The end of any longish blade or snap-off blade unit could be also embedded in a polymer handle (see Tools > Handles)
When I gave cane classes to end-of-3rd graders
(just me and 6 kids at a time), I gave each kid a single-edge razor blade
which had been dulled somewhat by scraping the sharp edge
on sandpaper.
...I also covered the top (thicker) part of the blade
with clay both to use as a handle and to easily see which was the business
end.
...I gave each kid a jar lid to hold the blade in when
not actually in use.... I also told them to help each other notice
when the blade was not in its "home."
...I also gave them a visual
demonstration of what could happen if
they left a blade on the work surface which had gotten stuck on some clay with
its edge upwards, and they rolled a log of clay ..... I rolled my clay just
until my finger would have touched the stuck blade, and asked them to imagine
just what would have happened if I hadn't stopped. They were always gasps of
realization, and that made quite an impression!
....For the rest of the lesson,
I always tried to say "OK, blades up!" after they were to have
made some cuts --and they all helped each other.
This
system worked really well, and I never had a single problem. --now they're
6th graders, and I've eliminated the clay handle, but kept the lids.
I let my child use one of these at home too with no problems, even at that
age. Some kids may just be more accident prone or careless by nature though.
(The main problem with using a single-edge razor blade is that it won't cut well
through thicker canes or pieces of clay, because of the lip.) Diane B.
If
you only want to mark the blade so it will be immediately
obvious to the kids which side is which, you can try one of the following
things on top of each end of the dull edge
(rather than along the whole length of the edge, which might interfere with cutting):
--paint
with red fingernail polish (the enamel-based ones won't interact with
the clay)
--put a bit of masking tape on it
--make a small clay
marker or handle-covering on one side, or on both sides (glue on)...
if you place only on one end, the tip of the other end will still be free to use
easily as a pointed cutter. Diane B.
(...see much more on blades, for kids or not--esp. types, sharpening, marking, uses, kids & blades, etc.--- in Cutters-Blades > Blades)
more Info ... & Misc.
for more ideas and suggestions
on working with classes, see Teaching
for more on teaching classes (to
kids or adults) at home or at school, also see Start
a Business > "Parties"/Demos ....Shows
> Home Shows)
for ways to prepare and warm clay for classes or to have a supply ready for kids, see Conditioning
...polymer projects can also be a great thing for a birthday parties ....sleepovers ...or other gatherings
my
kids' "pocket pals" ... disk-button faces with twist-off plastic
tops for arms, on toothpicks, decorated, used for bookmarks, etc.
(website
gone)
*many interesting projects from Washington
Middle School
http://www.pekin.net/pekin108/wash/art/
also their yarn painting, a technique of the HuicholIndians of Mexico
http://www.pekin.net/pekin108/wash/yarn/index.html
Enchanted Learning's crafts for all ages, plus much more
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
DIY's (Do It Yourself) Arts and Crafts projects for kids
http://diynet.com/DIY/projectIndexDetail/0,2041,DIYC_57,FF.html
http://diynet.com/DIY/projectIndexDetail/0,2041,DIYC_70,FF.html
puppets and puppet theatre
http://diynet.com/DIY/projectIndexDetail/0,2041,DIYC_238,FF.html
website
with lessons on loads of things to make from several hundred
different materials
http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/matchtmp.html
As a child, I used to make jewellry with pill bottles and crayons
- shave crayons into the bottle then bake in the oven. The bottle and crayon
would melt together into a neat looking puddle which could be made into a pendant,
key chain, etc. As I recall, the oven temperature was fairly low, otherwise the
plastic would burn. Of course, they are probably making pill bottles out of
different plastic now, so perhaps they are more temperature resistant.
I read an article in a model railroad magazine, about 20
years ago, about someone using the plastic worm fishing lures as a casting
material. He was melting the plastic worms in the top of a double boiler, pouring
it into a mold and letting it cool until it was solid. The casting was as soft
and squiggly as the original worm. Don't remember what was used for molds.
These worms come in more colors than you can imagine.
... plastic army men
work the same way (though they'll be hard when cool).. As a kid I used
to melt them all the time. Seth
...old vinyl records, etc. can be slumped in
a low oven over a form to make bowls
(see more on all these in
Misc. > Melting or Softening Plastics
> Slumping)
(DB: also see Kids –Other Crafts file)
