Clay "Replicas"
Embellished Album Cover
Design by Shirley Rufener, CPD

Materials :

• Premo! Stamplets Classic Designs Kit #PE 4038 (rubber stamps, clay and shapelet stencils)
• Additional Premo! Sculpey clay colors: Silver #5129, White #5001, Ecru #5093
• Pearl-Ex pigment powders: Antique Bronze #660 (Jacquard)
• Various rubber stamps: label frame, corner design, pocket watch, detailed unmounted background stamp
• Sculpey Super Slicer blade
• Deckle style edging scissors
• Awl or 1/8" hole punch tool
• Water mist bottle
• X-Acto blade craft knife
• Items to mold: Small crochet lace doily, old sewing scissors and key
• Brown acrylic antique medium or paint
• PSX Paper, Rock, Scissors glue stick (Duncan)
• Aleene's 7800 all-purpose adhesive (Duncan)
• Decorating Chalks (Craf-T Products)
• Baby powder or cornstarch
• Sculpey Acrylic Roller (or pasta machine)
• Large very soft bristled paintbrush
• Shadow Box, Book Liner & Antique Lace paper, Old Tags cardstock sticker (Karen Foster)
• Brilliance heat-set pigment ink pad

Directions:

• Gather up scrap clay and re-condition it well. Form into 2 large smooth balls, slightly larger than key and scissors. Flatten clay somewhat to form a thick pad. Apply cornstarch to items with paintbrush, and also to the clay ball's surface. Press object into clay face down working on a flat non-stick surface. Pick up mold, carefully pull clay away from the sides of object and remove item. Bake molds for 30 minutes per 1/4" of thickness and allow to cool. Note: Molds are thick and take much longer than the actual replicas will to bake.

• Mix 1 part black and 2 parts silver Premo together. Roll into ropes that will just fill the replica mold. Spritz mold with water and immediately press clay well into mold. If necessary, carefully shave any excess clay overflowing mold with slicer blade. Remove molded replica and place on smooth baking sheet. Smooth any rough edges and bake as directed.

• To make the lace mold, spritz doily with water until saturated, fold one edge upward and press onto a thick pad of clay so that mold has one straight edge. Roll over doily firmly to embed using roller tool. Remove doily and bake mold.

• Create lace replica by mixing equal parts white and ecru clay, and pressing a thin pad of clay into water misted mold. Remove clay and cut around curved edges only with deckle scissors. Save scraps! Bake clay replica and cool. Apply a mixture of antique medium and water (ink consistency) with paintbrush and wipe excess with cloth or paper towels.
  
  
• Form molds from watch, corner design and label frame rubber stamps by pressing into thick, powdered pads of clay. Remove items, bake molds and cool. Make 2 corner embellishments, a watch and a label pressing balls of black clay into water misted clay molds. Apply a layer of Pearl Ex to raised design surface with fingertip. Bake and cool replicas.

• Flatten ivory color scrap clay to 1/16" thick sheet, stamp in black with Stamplets text rubber stamp and cut a ragged edge around design with X-Acto. Bake and cool, then chalk edges with brown to age them.
  
  
• Roll a 1/16" thick sheet of black clay. Mist background pattern stamp with water and press clay firmly to texture it. Cut an oval frame and opening with cookie cutters (Wilton set) on ceramic baking tile, and remove excess clay. Form two 3/8" black clay balls for frame feet, and gently press onto background stamp to texture one side. Apply a layer of Pearl Ex to raised design surface with fingertip. Bake and cool all pieces.

• Carefully remove spiral from album. Using glue stick, secure book liner paper design (that is cut 1" larger all around) to covers. Extra paper flaps are folding to the back side of cardboard covers. Cover inside of covers with a sheet of lace paper that is 1/4" smaller all around. Re-pierce album holes with an awl or re-punch with tool. Center and glue a square section of shadow box paper to front of album cover. Plan frame position and secure a color copy of an old photo (cut to oval shape) with glue stick. Adhere tag sticker where shown. Secure a name label inside opening with 7800 adhesive.
  
  
• Secure all clay embellishments to album as shown in finished project photo above, applying 7800 to back of clay piece. A toothpick aides in applying thin lines of glue where needed. Allow to dry flat, overnight. Apply brown or black chalk around edges to age album appearance, and below clay accents to form realistic shadows. Enjoy your keepsake!