Awesome School Accessories - Sculpey Clay Projects

D.I.Y. for Awesome School Accessories
Design by Syndee Holt

Materials:

E-Z Release Push Mold - Let It Bloom
Sculpey III in the following colors:
- Lavender 312
- Purple 513
- Turquoise 505
- White 001
- Black 042
Invisible elastic for stringing bracelets
Small amount of glitter for the bracelets
Bic Round Stik pens
Basic clay tools, skewer, needle or needle tool to make holes for buttons, clay cutter or craft knife (use with supervision), glass, bottle or brayer for rolling and flattening clay

USING FLEXIBLE PUSHMOLDS TO
MOLD IN COLOR:

Practice to determine how much clay will fill your selection. It takes less than you might think!
When building in color layers, a little goes a long way. Use a clay shaper, paintbrush handle or a pencil eraser to pull any excess away from the lower boundaries.
You want to just fill the lower boundaries, even leaving them a little shallow. The final layer of color will fill into the shallow areas, leaving a neat border. But, if the first colors are "domed" up, the final molding pressures will force the "dome" out of its boundaries, leading to a smeared look. LESS IS MORE in this case.
When the lower boundaries are filled with their colors, press the main clay color into the center of the mold. Gently press and pat so it flows into the shape. When the clay is nearly level with the top of the mold, use your index finger to gently pull any excess away so that you can see all edge boundaries of the mold. This eliminates a "skin" that would need to be trimmed away.
Let the clay "rest" for some time; or, put the mold into the freezer compartment for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from freezer, and "pop" your molded piece out by pressing from the backside of the mold. It will come out like an ice cube.
If any color residue remains, wipe the mold out with a baby wipe or a Windex dampened paper towel

Directions:

Butterfly Buttons:

Make small rolls of each of the colors EXCEPT black, and twist them together tightly.

Make 4 small coils out of this twisted clay for the butterfly wings, and press them into the wing boundaries of the mold.

Add two small balls of black for the body and press all of the clay into the butterfly mold. Use your finger to gently roll the clay away from the edges to avoid a skin. Set the mold aside for a few minutes or pop it into the freezer to firm the clay up.

TA DA!! That was easy!

Now, let's make the flowers. Start with a small ball of purple and add a tiny ball of turquoise to the end of it. Push gently into the mold and rub the extra clay back to the center.

Pop out your new, beautiful flower! Repeat flower steps and make several more.

Place your holes for the buttons on each side of the center. Make sure your holes can be used on the back of the flower, too!

Bake your buttons in a calibrated oven set at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes per 1/4" of thickness. Sew them directly to your shirts and jeans. Wash on a gentle cycle with the garments turned inside out. Line dry.

Make some of your flowers and butterflies WITHOUT holes. Glue them (use Super Glue Gel and use carefully!) to the cover of your assignment book or notebook after they are baked.

Pen:

Pull the ink barrel and the colored tip out of the pen with pliers.

Make a thin sheet (1/8") of the turquoise clay, and wrap it around the barrel of the pen.

Trim the edges of the clay to fit. Gently roll the pen on your worktable to smooth out the clay wap.

Pinch the edges closed at the top of the pen. Hey, this looks like a good place to put a flower!

Add some unbaked flowers and butterflies around the barrel of the pen. Press gently to make sure they are stuck to the barrel of the pen.

Bake your pen in a calibrated oven set at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes per 1/4" of thickness. Bic pens will not melt! Be certain it is a genuine Bic, as imitations will melt!!!

Wicked Sparkle Bracelets:

Roll several balls of clay of each color -- or make lots of different shapes!

Make holes through the balls using a large needle or skewer. Be careful! Don't mess up your shape or poke yourself.

Put a small amount of glitter in a plastic bag and add your unbaked balls. Shake that sparkle!!!!

Carefully remove your beads and bake them in a calibrated oven set at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes per 1/4" of thickness.

After the beads have baked and cooled, you can string them on the invisible beading elastic. Follow the package directions for the beading elastic. (Hint: I find that dipping the end of the elastic in a thin nailpolish and letting it dry makes a "needle" on the end that helps me get the beads on the elastic easier.

Be creative! You can put two identical flower molds together to make a bead for a bracelet. Just put the two slowers back to back, and gently rub the edges together.

Put your holes through from side to side and bake as previously directed. String 3 or 4 of these between plain clay beads or glass spacer beads for a really cool bracelet.