Here is the second of 12 monthly tutorials being posted to this site in 2013. February's jar utilizes the Sutton Slice technique to create a unique, multi-dimensional surface effect.
What You'll Need:
- A Carmex jar - of course!
- Two or three different colored blocks of clay (I used FIMO Soft White, Peppermint, and Windsor Blue)
- Lisa Pavelka Fancy Checks Texture Stamp
- Poly Bonder High Temp clay glue
- Needle tool
- Clay dedicated pasta machine (or stacked playing cards of two equal piles and an acrylic roller to get a clay sheet of form thickness)
- Polymer clay blade (the sharper, the better!)
- Smooth ceramic tile to work on and to bake on
- Optional: 1.25" inch circle cutter, flatback SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal, tweezers
Always condition clay thoroughly by hand-kneading rolling through a clay dedicated pasta machine until soft and pliable.
Step 1. Press a small ball of clay into a clean, dry texture stamp.
Step 2. Shave the raised clay off of the stamp. Hold one end of the blade down as you pivot the other end over the surface. You won't cut the texture stamp.
Step 3. Adding small balls of clay at a time work the best. Be sure to clean up loose scraps of clay before the next step. You may wish to use one or multiple colors to embed in the different cavities of the stamp.
Step. 4. When adding multiple colors, don't worry about cross contamination of color on the visible surface. These won't be apparent when you release the clay from the stamp as they will be upside down against the background clay.
Step 5. When the area you wish to fill is complete, press a sheet of clay (in a contrasting color), rolled through the 4th or 5th largest setting of the pasta machine, down over the embedded clay. Press the entire clay sheet repeatedly and firmly.
Step 6. Flip the texture sheet, with the clay in place, down over the work tile. Press the entire stamp firmly against the tile.
Step 7. Bend the stamp backwards, folding it in half. When the top edge of the clay sheet is revealed, press the edge down firmly against the tile. Roll the stamp backwards, slowly. If some clay remains stuck in the stamp, gradually roll it back in place and put very firm pressure down against the back of the stamp in the area the clay resisted removal. Re-roll the folded stamp back towards you. Repeat this if necessary until the clay comes out on the background sheet. Continue rolling the folded stamp until you all the clay is released onto the tile.
Step 8. Cut the pattern out with a circle cutter (or you can trim it be slightly larger than the lid and trim the excess in the next step).
Step 9. Glue the clay to the lid and trim away excess clay, holding the blade parllel to the rim.
Step 10. (Optional) Press a crystal into the center of the lid. Bake at the manufacturer's recommended temperature in a preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Step 11. Recreate Steps 1 - 7, with the same or different pattern texture stamp to create a strip that's slightly wider than the rim and longer than the circumference. Glue this to the edge of the cooled lid and trim excess clay away.
Step 12. Texture the area of clay along the rim where it meets with the lid to fill the gaps and create a texture that camouflages the seam. Re-bake the lid for 30 minutes.