Easy Ornate Frame
Design by Lynn Krucke

Materials:

Directions:

• Remove the backing and glass from the frame. Coat the frame with white craft glue and set it aside to dry. When the frame is baked the dried glue improves the bond between the clay pieces and the wood of the frame.
• Condition the clay by kneading it in your hands or rolling it on your work surface until it has a pliable/elastic feel. For faster conditioning, use a pasta machine.
• Push a small amount of the conditioned clay into the desired spot on the mold. Use just enough clay to fill the mold to the top (with practice it becomes easier to judge the right amount of clay to use!) Add more clay if needed. If you have too much, you can remove the clay from the mold and start again with less clay or you can carefully shave away the excess clay by holding the Super Slicer parallel to the mold and pulling it gently toward you (it helps to flex the mold slightly away from the blade as you do this).

• Flatten the clay in the mold and use your fingers to "nudge" or pull the clay back slightly from the edges- this results in a molded piece with crisper, neater edges.

• Flex the mold or push gently from the bottom to unmold the clay piece. It should come out very easily, but if the clay you are using is very soft you may want to put the mold into the freezer for a couple of minutes before unmolding the clay.

• Set the molded piece aside and repeat steps 3-5 to make more embellishments for your frame.

• Once you've made a number of clay pieces, begin placing them on the frame and pressing them firmly into place. It's a bit like a puzzle, but once you've positioned a few you will get a sense of how the shapes you've selected work together. I tend to work toward a fairly random, organic look but you can certainly make the frame more symmetrical and ordered if that's your preference.

• Use smaller bits of molded pieces to fill in gaps, or roll small circles and snakes of clay and position them to complete the composition.

• Bake the frame at 275 degrees for one hour. Allow to cool.

• Paint the frame with acrylic paint. Let dry.

• Brush on the leafing adhesive wherever you want to add composition leaf. You may choose to cover the entire frame with metallic leaf as I did, or you may prefer to let some of the paint show through. Wash your brush immediately after applying the leafing adhesive.
• Allow the leafing adhesive to set until tacky, then begin applying leaf. Position sheets of leaf on the frame and press them gently into place. Tear away excess leaf and position the pieces where needed.
• Use a large soft brush to burnish the metallic leaf in place and to remove excess bits of leaf. Save excess leaf for another project in a static-free container.

• Brush on a light coat of burnt umber acrylic paint, then use the cotton rag to remove most of the paint. This final step "tones down" the brash look of the leaf, creating a richer finish for the frame.

• Protect the frame with one or two coats of polymer friendly glaze before adding a photo and replacing the glass.