Polymer clay - Anima Designs

FREE
Using Mixed Media
with Polymer Clay
Design by Lynn Krucke
Many crafters have discovered the fun and excitement of combining stamps, papers
and inks with polymer clay. Now let’s take the partnership to the next level! The
products and supplies used here are available at your local stamp, craft or art store.
Polymer clay is so versatile —- the possibilities truly are endless!
The Basics:
Your work area Tools (cookie cutters, pasta machines, baking sheets…) should be dedicated to crafting and
not used again for food. Polymer clay contains pigments that may stain surfaces or damage
finished wood surfaces. Do not place unbaked clay on furniture, flooring, carpeting,
upholstery or fabric. A sheet of glass, freezer paper, a large ceramic tile, or a dedicated marble
cutting board are all good work surfaces.
Condition the clay For best results condition clay before use. “Conditioning”
means that the clay has been kneaded and warmed so
ingredients are evenly mixed and the clay is flexible. If you
have a pasta machine dedicated to crafting, great! Cut the
bar of clay into thin strips and run it through on the thickest
setting several times. Conditioned clay is warm, pliable, and has a soft sheen. It doesn’t crack
along the edges when rolled in sheets. To condition by hand, cut clay into small pieces: knead
and roll one of the pieces in your hands until it is soft and pliable; set aside, and condition
another chunk —- then add to the first. Continue this way and you will soon have an ample
supply. Don’t try to condition the whole bar at once.
Tools and supplies You don’t need a lot of fancy tools Here is a list you will want to have on hand. Other specific
supplies needed are listed with each set of instructions
• Craft knife
• Clay blade (Sculpey Super Slicer)
• Needle tool, awl, or toothpick
• Pasta machine, acrylic roller, or clay-dedicated rolling pin
• Coffee straw (in fact, straws of all sizes make great holes!)
• Small spray bottle with water
• Unlined index cards or baking parchment
• Wax paper
• Oven thermometer (yes, this really IS important!)
• Baking tray dedicated to crafting
• Timer
• Oven mitt, pot holder
Embossing Powder “Inlay” Pendant
Additional materials:
• Premo! Sculpey polymer clay- Black (5042), Gold (5303)
• Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS) • Mini Molding Mat (I used
Colorbox® Totem Blanket, 8759) • Embossing powders (I used
Ranger® Adirondack Moss, Clay, Ginger) • Foam sanding block
or wet/dry sandpaper • Shallow dish with water • 20g wire- black
• Small beads • Stringing material (satin cord, ball chain or rubber
cording) • Knitting needle or skewer • Round-nose pliers
• Wire cutters
Instructions:
1. Condition black and gold clay.
2. Roll sheet of black clay about 1/8” thick.
3. Spritz molding mat lightly with water. Place clay on the mat and press
with fingers to impress the clay. Remove clay and place face up on index
card.
4. Use Super Slicer to trim clay into pleasing shape.
5. Sprinkle first color of embossing powder into impressed areas. Add
second and third colors. Use fingers to smooth surface. Make certain
impressed areas are filled.
6. Bake image at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Use an
oven thermometer!
7. Remove piece and let cool.
8. Wet clay and the sandpaper or sanding block. Keep sandpaper level with
clay surface as you sand, so that embossing powder is not removed from
impressions. Rinse frequently. Image will become “sharper” as excess
powder is removed. Dry clay when sanding is complete.
9. Roll out a sheet of gold clay slightly less than 1/8” thick. Place baked
image on the sheet of raw clay.
10. Tear around the image, pulling gold clay into an irregular border.
Remove baked piece.
11. Texture the gold clay with a dry piece of sandpaper. Spread small
amount of TLS on the back of the baked image; replace it on gold clay.
12. Make holes with needle tool on either side of baked image near top.
13. Bake entire piece at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool.
14. Wrap wire around knitting needle or skewer to make a coil that spans the
distance between holes on your piece. Leave long tails at each end of
coil.
15. Thread tail of wire through hole in clay from back to front. Place clay on
work surface to bend the wire, and position coil across top of pendant.
16. Add beads to each wire tail and trim if necessary. Coil each tail snugly
against its bead to secure.
17. String pendant and enjoy!
TLS Transfer Greeting Card
Additional materials:
• Translucent Liquid Sculpey • Image for transfer (see note
below) • Paintbrush (optional) • Container with water •
Coordinating shades of cardstock • Rubber stamps (I used
“Thank You” from A Muse Artstamps®, “Berry Sprig” from
Hampton Arts®, “Lines and Dots” from Magenta®) • Fluid
Chalks Inkpad (I used Colorbox® Dark Moss) • Stamp cleaner •
1/16 inch hole punch • Tiny brads (4) • Copper leafing pen (I
used Krylon®) • Glue Dots or adhesive of choice • Craft knife
and cutting mat or scissors • Ruler • Paper towels
Note about TLS transfers:
Transferring images with TLS opens up a world of possibilities.
Transfers created this way are flexible and strong. Thickness may be
varied depending on needs. Images (including original artwork, clip
art and photographs) copied with toner on a color photocopier work
well, as do images from some magazines. Inkjet images also work,
but paper choice is important. For my inkjet transfers I use a matte
photo paper from Great White® and a Hewlett Packard® printer.
Be mindful of copyright restrictions where rubberstamped images are
concerned. Many companies do not permit images to be
electronically reproduced (scanned or photocopied). However,
images stamped on plain paper with many inks do transfer. Color the
images before transferring with Berol Prismacolor® pencils and the
color will transfer too! A partial list of inks that work include:
Memories®, Staz-On™, Fabrico®, Brilliance®, and Versafine®. Test your
favorite ink before beginning a project.
Instructions:
1. Select image. Print or copy as directed above. Cut out image.
2. Apply TLS to image. Thicker transfers will not be as flexible as thin ones. Note: I use my
finger to spread TLS, but a brush may also be used. TLS can’t be cleaned with water, only
rubbing alcohol or paint thinner. I keep one cheap brush dedicated to TLS and clean it with
paper towels.
3. Bake paper at 275˚ F (130˚ C) for 15-20 minutes. Soak baked paper/TLS in water.
4. When paper is saturated, begin rubbing it away from the TLS. If paper remains, the fibers
will appear whitish. Re-moisten those areas and rub again.
5. Cut coordinating pieces of cardstock to desired sizes for layering. Stamp images on
cardstock with Dark Moss Fluid Chalks pad. Stamp “thank you” on scrap; trim, and edge
with leafing pen.
6. Layer transfer onto stamped cardstock. Punch holes in each corner with 1/16” hole punch.
7. Secure layers with brads.
8. Use Glue Dots or adhesive of choice to adhere layers to front of card.
Post-It Note Cover
Additional materials:
• Translucent Liquid Sculpey (TLS) • Rubber
stamp (I used “Flowing Maple” from Hanko
Designs) • Craft stick • Inkpads: I used
Colorbox® Fluid Chalks in Burnt Sienna, Dark Peony,
Deep Green, Colorbox® MetaleXtra Copper Swift •
Stamp cleaner • Metallic Rub-Ons (I used
Craf-T Products) - Color Kit#1 • Heat tool
(optional) • Cardstock • Scissors • Ruler • 1/16
inch hole punch • Decorative fibers • Pad of 3”
square Post-It™ notes • Glue Dots or adhesive of
choice • Small piece of adhesive-backed Velcro®
Instructions:
1. Place rubber stamp rubber side up on your work surface.
Squeeze TLS directly onto stamp surface.
2. Use craft stick to spread TLS in an even layer over stamp,
(don’t worry about perfect edges!). Make sure TLS layer is
thick enough to cover highest parts of the rubber. You should
be able to see the stamp image through TLS.
3. Let stamp sit uninterrupted for a few minutes. Check for air
bubbles, and pierce with craft knife. Trapped air can lead to
imperfections after baking.
4. Bake the stamp at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 20
minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
5. While stamp is still warm, gently insert needle tool between
rubber and TLS along one edge. Push down gently against
the rubber and slide the needle tool along. The TLS impression should loosen like it is
being “unzipped.” Remove impression from stamp.
6. Dab inkpads directly onto the baked TLS. I used burnt sienna first, then dark peony and
dark green. Use a heat tool to dry the inks, or re-bake for 5 minutes to set the inks.
7. Pick up a small amount of copper rub-on with your finger and smooth across TLS to
further highlight texture. Buff away excess with a paper towel or tissue.
8. Cut a piece of cardstock 3-1/8” x 7-5/8”.
9. Ink the leaf stamp with copper ink and stamp cardstock. Re-ink and repeat as necessary.
Let dry.
10. Remove backing paper from pad of Post-Its; position the pad 1.25” from one end of the
cardstock. With stamped side out, wrap cardstock around pad, creasing folds well. Longer
end of cardstock should overlap the smaller end on front.
11. Add Velcro® closure at overlap.
12. Punch holes in TLS and thread decorative fibers through holes. Tie knot and trim.
13. Use Glue Dots or choice of adhesive to attach the TLS motif to front cover.
Bonus Technique #1 -
Punching Premo! Polymer clay
Additional materials:
• Premo! Sculpey- Pearl (5101), other colors of your choice,
including scraps
• Craft chalks (I used those from Craf-T Products)
• Alphabet stamps (I used Hampton® Art Stamps)
• Black inkpad (I used Ancient Page from Colorbox® but others
work as well!)
• Clay-friendly adhesive
• Paper punches
• (optional) 12 inch ceramic tile
Instructions:
1. Roll conditioned Pearl clay out to 1/16” thick (#5 setting on Atlas
pasta machine).
2. Rub surface of Pearl clay with several colors of chalk.
3. Ink stamps and stamp letters on clay. Press stamp firmly, but not
enough to make impression in clay.
4. Mix several other colors of clay and roll sheets 1/16” thick. These
sheets may be textured with stamps, have added powders, gold
leaf…or baked as is.
5. Bake sheets of clay at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 25
minutes. Sheets may be stacked with white paper between.
6. If flat sheets are needed, flatten the sheets while still warm under
a ceramic tile.
7. Punch shapes from baked sheets. Use for cards, collages,
jewelry, home décor projects and more!
(Adhere punched pieces with Glue Dots, Diamond Glaze® (Judikins©)
or another clay friendly adhesive. TLS may be used to adhere clay
pieces together if piece is rebaked after TLS is added.)
Bonus Technique #2 -
Using powdered mica
pigments
Additional materials:
• Premo! Sculpey- Black (5042)
• Powdered mica pigments (I used Pearl-Ex Super
Copper and Aztec Gold)
• Metallic Rub-Ons (I used Craf-T Products) - Color Kit #1
• Rubber stamp (I used “mimbres pot”from
Stamp-a-Mania)
• Small paintbrush
• Clay-friendly glaze or Future floor finish (optional)
Instructions:
1. Roll conditioned black clay out to 1/8” (or thickest setting on pasta
machine).
2. Mist rubber stamp with water and place rubber side up on work
surface.
3. Position clay on stamp, press with fingers to create impression.
Use even pressure. (You may press the stamp into clay from the
top; but, it may be harder to get an even, deep impression,
especially with larger images.)
4. Remove stamp. Trim image with craft knife.
5. Use fingertip or small soft paintbrush to apply a small amount of
powder to some areas of unbaked clay. APPLY SPARINGLY! A
little goes a long way!! Add another color of powder. Unbaked
clay readily “grabs” powders, but they don’t stick to areas that
already have another color in place.
6. Brush away excess powder.
7. Use scrap clay for beads. Pierce with awl or needle tool. Roll
beads across stamp for texture. Then add powders.
8. Bake at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 30 minutes. When
pieces are cool, rub briskly with a tissue to remove loose powders.
9. If desired, add rub-on Color for further highlights. Buff with
tissue. Seal if desired with clay friendly glaze.
10.Add finished piece to your project.
What Is Polymer Clay?
Sculpey brand polymer clays are nontoxic man-made modeling materials that
work and feel like ceramic clay, but won’t
dry out when exposed to air. The clays
are available in over ninety colors and
become permanently hard after baking in
a regular oven or toaster oven at 275˚ F
(130˚ C)
Always use an oven thermometer
when baking polymer clay, as the oven
dial may not accurately reflect the
temperature inside. Bake polymer clay
on a baking tray or in a pan dedicated to
polymer clay. To avoid shiny spots on
the underside of flat pieces, bake the clay
on index cards or baking parchment.
Sculpey brand polymer clays come in
several different types, each with a
distinctive feel, texture, and finished look.
Premo! Sculpey is ideal for papercrafting
and mixed-media artwork because of its
strength and flexibility after baking. Once
baked, polymer clays may be sanded,
carved, drilled, buffed, and re-baked if
necessary.
When gluing polymer clay we suggest
cyanoacrylate gels (e.g. Quik-Tite“ or
Super Glue Gel“), silicone glues (Goop“,
E-6000“), and dimensional clear
adhesives (Diamond Glaze“, Aleene’s
Paper Glaze“). Glue Dots“ work well for
attaching clay pieces to cards and
scrapbook pages. Translucent Liquid
Sculpey is the best way to attach clay
pieces together, but the TLS must be
baked after “gluing”!
“All Sculpey clay products are
certified AP Non-toxic
Reorder # CFPS025
For Projects and Product
information visit us at:
www.sculpey.com
Polyform Products Co.
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
Phone: (847) 427-0020
© Polyform Products Co.
Made in U.S.A.