What I've Been Working On: Christmas Presents 2014

Wow! It's been a full year since I blogged last but I promise I have a good excuse.  Not long after my last post (the jellyroll heart tutorial) we found out I was pregnant with baby #8.  I have mentioned before that I have miserable pregnancies and this one was no exception.  In fact, it was the worst one yet.  Needless to say, I did very little claying and even less blogging.  But baby arrived safely on Halloween and is now almost 4 months old and I am finally getting back into doing the things I have missed for the last year.  It's kind of a bittersweet thing - I've loved holding my new baby almost constantly even though it meant things didn't get done. That stuff will always be there and baby most certainly won't.  But now she's not wanting to be held all of the time and so I get more time to do other things.

But I digress.

I did manage to carve out some time at Christmas to make presents for the extended family members and I wanted to share them with you.  I bought a bunch of big glass vases at the local thrift store and wanted to gussy them up with clay but I didn't want them to all be the same.  So I scoured the internet for inspiration and then turned off the computer (so the pictures would come out of my head and not from someone else) and started sketching.  I also decided, that since I had a ton of mud (clay scraps that have been mixed together to make one solid muddy color) that I would use that and then use pearl powder for the color.  I was going to do different colors but when I saw what the silver looked like on there, I decided to do them all the same color.  For the tree one and the one with the flowers and vines all over, I had to take the clay off the vase after it was baked and superglue it back on. (Oh, and forgive the lousy photos. I was trying to hurry and get pictures so I could deliver the gifts and I didn't get a chance to preview them.) So here goes:

I made this one for my husband's brother's widow.  It's got a tree on each side. 

The trees up close.

This one was for my mother- and father-in-law. There's a "rope" that goes around the neck of the vase.

The flowers up close.

I made this one for my husband's sister and her husband.  The main part was supposed to look like twine wrapped around the vase.  The leaf shapes were intended to look like large buttons.

"Buttons" up close.

(This was the worst picture.)  I made this one for my husband's brother and his wife.  I made the vines similar to the way I do the tree branches and then added the flowers.

Close-up of the flowers and vines. (Sorry for the blurriness.)

I made this one for my dad and step-mom.  I cut out shapes from the top part and then appliqued them on the bottom part.

Close-up of the cut-outs.

I did this one for my mom and step-dad.  I love how the roundness of the vines contrasts with the perfectly flat flower petals and leaves.

Flowers and vines up close.

This last one I made for my sister. I took a long, flat strip of clay and formed it into the bow shape.  There's also a ribbon that goes around the neck of the vase.  This was probably my favorite vase.

Close-up of the bow.  I gave it some texture to make it look a little like lace.

I loved making these and may do some smaller ones to add to my Artfire shop.  Either way, I'll be making at least one more as my oldest daughter has requested one with roses on it.

Enjoy!

Korrina

Polymer Clay Tutorial: Preparing a Plastic Egg for Covering

I love to cover eggs!  But... I tend to break the blown-out real ones.  So, quite a while ago I decided to try using the plastic Easter eggs from the store.  I wasn't sure if they would melt or not so I tried one and - it worked!  I just get the cheapo ones from Walmart.  If they weren't completely covered in clay - insulated, as it were, I suspect they would melt.  So, for next week's tutorial, they work fine.  I'm going to do some openwork ones later that I will need to use real eggshells for because you dissolve the shell out with vinegar... 

Anyway, for this week I am going to show you how I prepare the plastic ones for covering.  Sometimes putting a base layer of clay over the egg is not necessary but, in most instances, it's a good idea.  The plastic eggs nowadays are pretty flimsy and will bend and distort as you handle them, causing cracks and distortion in the clay.

So, on to the tutorial.

Tools Needed:

Tissue blade or craft knife

Pasta Machine or acrylic roller

Baking pan with something soft in it

Needle tool

Supplies Needed:

Plastic Easter egg

Super glue 

Scrap clay ("mud")

Directions:

(Make sure your egg has at least one hole in the bottom of it.  If it doesn't, use a small drill bit or large needle to put a hole in it.)

Super glue the two halves of the egg together.  This picture shows the egg with the hinge broken - that's not necessary.  My kids think my eggs are their personal toy stash.  Just put the glue around the edge of the egg and stick the halves together.

Let it dry and use your craft knife to cut off the hinge.

Roll out a sheet of clay on a medium setting on the pasta machine.  Make it long enough to go around the egg and wide enough to reach the middle of each end.

Be careful here, if you squeeze the egg too tight, the glue won't hold. Trim one end of the clay sheet straight, wrap it around the middle of the egg and trim the other end so it will be flush with the first part.

Carefully press the clay around to one end of the egg, pressing the edges of the sheet together in a lip, rather than overlapping against the egg.

Carefully press the clay against the egg so that it's sort of "shrink-wrapped" on the end.  Press the seams together firmly.

Do the same on the other end.

Use a sharp blade to trim off the excess clay.  I usually trim 1/4 inch or so away from the egg on the first pass so I can see better to trim the rest off.  Try to get it fairly flush with the rest of the clay layer.

Use your tool of choice to roll out the seams and then roll the egg between your hands (again, gently, you don't want to crack the seam in the egg) until it is smooth.  

If there are any air bubbles under your clay, they should show up now.  Use a needle tool to pierce them, press the bubble down and roll again.  Get the egg as smooth as you reasonably can.  It doesn't have to be perfect.

 You should be able to see an indentation where the hole in the bottom of the plastic egg is.  Poke your needle tool in there.  This will allow the air to escape from the egg and help prevent cracking during baking.

Bake your egg according to the manufacturer's directions for your clay brand.  I usually bake it on a piece of quilt batting to prevent flat spots.  I couldn't find my batting so I baked this one on some half-wadded kleenex.

Now it's ready to cover with decorative clay!

Enjoy!
Korrina