Condition clay by rolling and twisting it in your hands, or running it through pasta machine until the clay is soft and pliable.

Roll silver clay into a sheet. approximately 1/8 inch thick (#3 setting on Atlas pasta machine).

Ink dragon stamp with black ink, and press stamp gently but firmly onto silver sheet to transfer image. Remove stamp and trim image into a simple shape with gentle curves. (Note: The Sculpey Super Slicer is flexible and can be shaped into a curve prior to cutting.)

Place a small piece of wax paper onto the stamped image to protect it.

Roll conditioned black clay into a sheet the same thickness as the silver sheet.

Texture scraps of the black sheet with the Chinese newspaper stamp without ink. Add Pearl-Ex powders with a small soft brush. Remove any excess powder by brushing and tapping the clay pieces. Do not blow the powder so it becomes airborne. Trim scraps into thin strips.

Carefully layer the stamped silver shape onto the black clay. With the wax paper in place, gently press the two sheets together to adhere them --- be careful not to trap air between the two layers!

Next, place the trimmed Pearl-Ex texture strips along the edges of the dragon image to "frame" it. Be careful not to get powder underneath, as it will prevent the strips from sticking to another layer of clay. Press strips firmly into place to adhere them.

Leaving a small border on the sides and at the bottom, cut out the black clay following the curves of the first shape. Extend the cuts along the two sides so that they meet at the top, leaving a small triangle of black clay along the top edge.

 

Next, shape the triangle at the top of the piece over the handle of the paintbrush to form a loop for the neck cord.

 

 

Make the beads for the closure as follows: Make one round bead and one oval bead from scraps of black clay. Cover both with Pearl-Ex powders. Make holes in each the size of the Buna cord you will use for the necklace. Note: the hole in the round bead should go all the way through; the oval bead should have a hole that extends only about halfway into the bead.

Bake all clay pieces in a calibrated oven at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Allow to cool. (Note: calibration means that you have checked the dial or readout temperature with an external thermometer and it adjusted up or down accordingly. Do not bake at hotter temperatures to "speed" up the process! )

Cut Buna cord to desired length plus approximately 1.5 inches. Place cyanoacrylate glue gel into the hole of the oval bead, and insert one end of the cord. Allow to dry.

String on the pendant. At the other end, cut the cord on an angle with craft knife, and then string on the round bead.

Bring angled end of cord over onto itself to form a loop. Experiment to determine the size of loop needed to fit over the oval bead on the other end. Glue end of cord in place at that point, forming loop.

Add more glue, and then slide round bead up to glue in place, disguising the glued end of the loop.