Polymer clay - a material from which you can make a wide variety of decor, household items and decorations. It is easy to work with, it is presented in numerous colors, it is flexible and available for creativity. Jewelry is especially impressive made of plastic, which can be made in accordance with a personal style and for any occasion. In the article, we will consider how to make a suspension of polymer clay with your own hands.
Rules for working with material
In order for the process of manufacturing objects from polymer clay to be fun, and the result to meet expectations, it is necessary to observe the rules for working with the material:
- They choose the raw materials very carefully, for beginners the material is cheaper, while more experienced craftsmen are recommended to use high-quality clay.
- No need to purchase a whole sculpting kit. To begin with, it is better to buy a small block of clay and test it in work, combine it with other details, evaluate its flexibility and bake.
- Before proceeding to the manufacture of any decoration, you need to have a gas or electric stove, tools and a board. The packaging with polymer clay will be marked with the time and temperature of firing in the oven.
- To preserve the color purity of the finished product, work should be carried out with gloves or clean hands.
- For the manufacture of jewelry, special accessories will be required, so before working you need to make sure that there are fastening parts and decorative elements.
Suspension
It is much easier to make original or abstract pendants and pendants from polymer clay on your own than it seems to many at first glance. For work, you need a machine for rolling or a familiar rolling pin, polymer clay of several colors, patience and creativity. If we take into account the method of rolling the material, then the easiest way to turn a piece of clay into a cake is to use a specially designed machine, for lack of it you can use a kitchen rolling pin.
The suspension manufacturing technique is as follows:
- First, polymer clay is laid in your favorite color scheme, rolled into a thin plate.
- Then it is cut into thin identical strips and coiled.
- Finished spirals are randomly stacked next to each other.
- The accessories are attached to the resulting suspension and baked in the oven indicated on the clay label time.
The decoration will look especially impressive if you additionally cover it with several layers of special varnish.
Heart pendant: master class
To make a pendant of polymer clay in the shape of a heart even a child can do, but to make the pendant extraordinary, you should show your imagination. For work, you can use the remains of clay from previous crafts. The process itself will not take much time, but the result will certainly please. To make a heart pendant, you will need:
- multi-colored pieces of polymer clay or residues, cuts and splinters, of various shapes and sizes from previous products;
- stack with a ball;
- stationery knife;
- glue;
- accessories for decoration.
How to make a pendant
Step-by-step instruction:
- All available pieces of polymer clay must be finely chopped with a clerical knife and mixed.
- A cuboid is made from the finished mass, the size of which should not exceed 2 by 2.5 cm. In order to give the product the correct shape, the edges must be aligned with a ruler or other similar object.
- The figure is cut into two equal parts and deployed in such a way that the cut was facing up.
- Finished parts are cut again, in the end should be 4 equal parts. Each of them is turned out.
- To get a symmetrical pattern, all quarters are neatly folded into two rectangles.
- A rectangle is formed from these plates again, following the symmetry of the pattern. The pattern should be mirrored on all sides. The mold must be well pressed and the remaining air released from it, properly bonding the clay layers together.
- From below, the rectangle is cut with a clerical knife on both sides, thus giving the mass a triangular shape.
- The next stage is one of the most difficult, but interesting. It consists in shaping the product. At will, the heart can be made flat or convex, wide or oblong. You can work with clay mass with your fingers or with the help of a stack with a ball. When the heart has acquired the desired shape, you can put it in the oven for firing. The average baking time is 5 minutes, it all depends on the manufacturer.
How to attach accessories and how to cover
After completing the firing, they begin to mount the accessories. Do this with any quick-drying glue. The pin is screwed into the hole from above and additionally fixed with glue.
When the glue dries, a heart holder is attached to the pin. A cord, tape or chain of the desired length is pulled through it. To make the pendant rough, it is ground with felt, and to give the product gloss, it is varnished.
Remember: polymer clay pendants can not be coated with any varnish. Some will not dry at all, while others will start to stick after a while. Nail polishes are also not recommended. They contain acetone and alcohol, which react chemically with clay. Special varnishes are sold in the same place as clay. You can find the products of Fimo or Scalpi companies. As an option, it is permissible to use a varnish for furniture or parquet water-based polyurethane-acrylate, for example, Future Floor Finish, Tikkurila Parketti Assa.
Important: before applying varnish, the product must be washed with a sponge with soap and dried. Otherwise, the coating will be removed by film.
Making a Lilac Pendant
To make a lilac pendant you will need:
- polymer clay of lilac or close in hue color;
- filigree;
- toothpick;
- pen from the brush;
- copper-colored accessories: large ring, clips, bail, carabiner, connecting rings;
- tape of the same color as clay.
Execution technique
Step-by-step instructions will help to make a pendant (pendant) of polymer clay with your own hands:
- Lilac-colored polymer clay is rolled into a thin layer, the optimum thickness is 2-3 mm.
- Filigree is applied to the formation and pressed tightly.
- Using a toothpick, the pattern is continued to be pressed.
- With a knife along the edges of the filigree, polymer clay is cut off. Do this with extreme care so as not to damage the drawing.
- With a toothpick, protruding sections of clay press or create a pattern with dots using a toothpick.
- From plastic, a little lighter than the main tone, it is necessary to roll many balls with a diameter of 1.5 mm and attach it to the product with a brush pen. Thus, the pendant is given volume and beauty. You can design a product by combining several plastic colors that are close in shade.
- Then, a hole for the ring is made in the pendant and sent to the oven for roasting according to the time indicated on the package.
- The final stage is fixing hardware. A bail and a pendant are put on a large ring. The bail is attached to a tape folded in half, and fixed at the edges with clamps. Rings are attached at one end, and a carbine at the other.
Having mastered the technique of working with plastic, you can make beautiful and original things for yourself, your friends and relatives.