Tamila Darling
Make this beautiful and decorative entertainment set and invite your friends for a fun feast.
Getting Started
Preheat oven to 275 °F. Test temperature with oven thermometer for perfectly cured clay. Condition all clay by kneading until it’s soft and smooth or running it through the Clay Conditioning Machine for several passes on the widest setting. Fold the clay in half after each pass and insert the fold side into the rollers first.
Step 1 Baby Blossoms
Roll out balls of clay ¼" in diameter in White, Sunshine, Ballerina and Spring Lilac and slightly flatten. Use Needle Tool to make indentations around the outside edges to form flower petals.
Step 2 Baby Blossoms
Roll out a ball of contrasting color 1/16" in diameter and apply to the center of the flower. Use the Needle Tool to press the center of the flower to the middle of the petals. Set aside for application later.
Step 1 Blooming Blossoms
Roll out five balls of Ballerina and Spring Lilac ¼" in diameter. Roll each ball into teardrops and arrange in to a flower.
Step 2 Blooming Blossoms
Use the Needle Tool to make indentations lengthwise into the center of each petal. Roll a 1/8" ball in the opposite color of the flower and press into the center of the flower. Set aside for application later.
Step 1 Star Blossoms
Roll out five balls of White ¼" in diameter. Roll each ball into a football shape and arrange into a flower with the points forming a star.
Step 2 Star Blossoms
Use the Needle Tool to make indentations into the center of each petal. Roll a 1/8" ball in Sunshine and press into the center of the flower. Use the Needle Tool to texture the center of the flower Set aside for application later.
Step 1 Basic Leaves
Roll out ball of Granny Smith ¼" in diameter. Roll ball into a teardrop and slightly flatten.
Step 2 Basic Leaves
Use the Needle Tool to make veining on the leaf. Set aside for application later.
Step 1 Tulips – Stem and Leaves
Cut a large paper clip in half and bend straight. (2" piece of wire can be used also) Roll out a snake of Granny Smith clay 1/4" thick by 1" long. Insert wire into the snake and gently roll the clay to 1/8" thick, trim away excess so that each end of the wire is exposed. The clay stem portion needs to be at least 1" long.
Step 2 Tulips – Stem and Leaves
For leaves, roll out a snake of clay ¼" thick and cut into 1" sections. Taper each end of the cut sections to form a point.
Step 3 Tulips – Stem and Leaves
Attach two sections to each side of each stem and flatten. Use the Needle Tool to make veining for each leaf.
Step 1 Tulips – Flower
To form each tulip, roll out three balls of Sunshine clay ½" in diameter, and form into teardrops for the petals.
Step 2 Tulips - Flower
Cut one teardrop in half and place with the flat sides down next to each other and press together. Curl each tip outward.
Step 3 Tulip - Flower
Slightly flatten the remaining two teardrops and place one centered on the top of the cut petals. Apply the second to the center back side.
Step 4 Tulip - Flower
Dab the top of the stems made earlier with Translucent Liquid Sculpey and press the tulip flower to the top.
Step 5 Tulip - Flower
Bake tulips in a preheated oven at 275 °F for 20 minutes, remove and let cool. NOTE: Pre-baking is not required but recommended to avoid distortion when inserting into the basket.
Step 1 Spring Bonnet Napkin Ring
Roll out Tan clay into a flat sheet 1/8" thick. Cut an oval from the sheet 2 ½" long by 2" wide. Roll a ball of Tan clay 1" in diameter. Form ball into a 1 1/4" in length oval shape and press gently to the center of the flat sheet. This forms the base of the hat.
Step 2 Spring Bonnet Napkin Ring
Roll two long thin snakes of clay 1/8" thick by 18" long. Place the two snakes side by side and twist to make a rope. Curl the rope around the outer edge of the hat to cover all the edges of the flat sheet and continue wrapping the hat until entirely covered.
Step 3 Spring Bonnet Napkin Ring
Cut off any excess. Use the Needle Tool and cut a hole on each side of the hat for stringing ribbon through after baking. The hole should be ¼" in diameter, this is where the ribbon will be threaded.
Step 4 Spring Bonnet Napkin Ring
Roll a 1/16" snake of Sunshine 4" long and flatten slightly. Attach to the hat as ribbon trim at the base of the hat top and trim away excess. Decorate the hat with flowers and leaves made in the prior steps. Flowers and leaves can overlap the top of the holes to have them more hidden, however, leave enough exposed for easy threading of ribbon after baking.
Step 5 Spring Bonnet Napkin Ring
Place finished hat onto a paper towel tube and gently form the brim to curve on each side of the tube. Use coffee cups or other oven safe items on each side of the tube to prevent it from rolling to one side or the other during baking.
Step 1 Spring Place Card Holder
Roll out Tan clay into a thick snake that is ¾" in diameter by 2 ½" long. Flatten the snake slightly on each side to form a rectangle.
Step 2 Spring Place Card Holder
Roll two long thin snakes of clay 1/8" thick by 18" long. Place the two snakes side by side and twist to make a rope.
Step 3 Spring Place Card Holder
Curl the rope around the outer edge of the basket base starting at the bottom and continue wrapping rectangle until covered to the top edge. Wrap around the top layer a second time to make a brim edge on the basket. Roll a 1/16" snake of Ballerina 12" long and flatten slightly. Attach to the basket just under the brim portion and cut away excess. Use remaining Ballerina strip to add ribbon ends to the front on the left and right front sides of the basket. Roll two balls of Ballerina 3/8" in diameter and form into a teardrop. Flatten each slightly and attach to the center front of the basket. Use The Needle Tool to make creases.
Step 4 Spring Place Card Holder
Cut a large paper clip in half and dab the cut ends of the clip into Translucent Liquid Sculpey and insert into the center back of the basket. Use a business card or piece of cardstock cut to 3 ½" long by 2" wide as your template for the place card. Place on the back of basket, resting in front of the paper clip. Insert one tulip to the front side of the card on both the left and right sides of the basket. These are what will hold the name card in place.
Step 5 Spring Place Card Holder
Roll a snake of clay 2" long by ½" in diameter, form into a triangle and attach towards the rear center of the basket just in front of the and in between the tulips. This gives you an elevated area to add flowers. Continue filling your basket with flowers and leaves made in the prior steps.
Spring Mini Candy Dish or Coaster
Use a ½" deep glass dish 3" in diameter (this was actually meant for use as a pillar candle holder) and cover the sides and top edge with Granny Smith clay. Texture the sides with the Needle Tool to emulate grass blades. Decorate the top portion of the dish with flowers made in the prior steps.
Baking and Finishing
Bake all pieces on a paper lined cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 275° for one hour. Turn oven off and let cool Remove from oven, thread ribbon through the hat, and tie around napkin.
3 Large Paper Clips
Wire Cutters
Length of Ribbon ¼ to ½" wide by 6" long
Small glass pillar candle holder (3" wide by ½" deep was used in this piece)
Paper Towel Tube
Plain White copy paper
Cookie Sheet
