Covered Bulb Ornament
Design by Lynn B. Krucke

Materials and Tools:

• Premo! Sculpey polymer clay-
  • Red pearl 5259
  • Gold 5303
  • Pearl 5101
  • Green pearl 5299
• Pasta machine, rolling pin or other means for rolling out sheets of clay
• Large replacement bulb for holiday light set
• Rubber stamps-
  • holly (Magenta)
  • winter wishes set (Hero Arts)
• Dye ink pad (black)
• Wax paper
• Craft knife
• 20 gauge wire- length approximately 4 inches
• Small pair of pliers
• Baking tray
• Fiberfill (or an index card, accordion folded)
• Oven and oven thermometer

Directions:

• Condition clay colors (separately) by rolling and kneading them until they are smooth and pliable.
• Mix equal parts of pearl and gold clay together to create a lighter shade of gold. Set aside.
• Mix equal parts of gold and green pearl together to create a new green. Set aside.

• Roll out conditioned red pearl into a sheet approximately 1/16th inch thick. Use this sheet to wrap the bulb. Pull the clay gently as you wrap, and smooth it carefully to prevent air bubbles from being trapped under the clay. Trim excess clay at the top and bottom and smooth clay to eliminate seams.

• Roll out a small sheet of light gold clay to about 1/16th inch thick.
• Ink "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" stamps with black dye ink and press each gently but firmly onto the prepared gold clay. Lift stamps and set aside.

• Tear clay with stamped greetings into desired shapes. Press them carefully onto the clay covered bulb. (I positioned one on each side of the ornament). To avoid smearing the stamped images, place a sheet of wax paper over them before smoothing them down.

• Roll out a sheet of green clay as described in step 5. Ink holly stamp with black ink and stamp several times onto prepared green clay.
• With craft knife, cut around holly images close to stamped lines.

• Lift each carefully and position them as desired on the ornament. Use a new piece of wax paper between your fingers and the ornament to protect it from smudges and smears while you gently press the holly pieces into place.

• Roll a skinny snake from the remaining gold clay. Wrap it around the neck of the bulb until you reach the top edge.

• Bend one end of the wire into a small flat spiral, then extend the wire up at a 90 degree angle.
• Press a small ball of clay to form a disk. Insert the wire through the center of this disk, then attach it at the top of the ornament, covering the top of the ornament. (the spiral will be hidden on the inside and will keep the wire from pulling out later)

• With the oven set to 275 degrees F, bake the ornament on a piece of fiberfill or resting in the accordion folded index card for 25 minutes. Allow to cool
• Shape the wire into a loop for hanging, adding ribbon if desired.