further experiments using sugar to create hollow polymer clay forms



an extrension of my pressed damp sugar method (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=420721.0#axzz2Mm77nf6c ) but using boiled sweets in place of sugar



each of the beads measures 3.5cm in length by 2.5 cm wide
im really pleased with how this turned out, bit of a change from bangles too

this was made using the same method. i made the bead form over a 'pear drop'

got my package from Onyxnox and wow!!
words cannot express how much i loved it

first up a Bake it so! apron that id seen, desperatly wanted and pinned


sorry, my camera gets over excited when confronted by almost anything including fabric paint apparently , the only way i could get a decent shot was to hang it up with the light behind it


two amazing etched copper cuffs featuring the Enterprise and my favourite characters


i took some close ups beacuse i cant get over how detailed they are
i know, right? 






the awesomeness kept coming: an adorable crossstitch owl hoop


a set of woodburnt owl baubles (i cant wait to hang these on my tree!)


and two purple owl crochet dish cloths
 

thank you, thank you Onyxnox!

i had been wanting to make big polymer clay beads for a while. this was my first attempt  it measures just over 4.5cm in length and about 4cm in width
a good way to use your molds for clay work without having to worry about anything leaching from the clay. i used to make these sugar shapes as a child and because the sugar simply dissolves in water i thought it would be ideal to use as a hollow bead core



step one: you can use any candy/chocolate mold for this or here, im using a Ravioli tray . oil the mold with a little vegtable oil.

step 2: mix your sugar. fine sugar such as caster sugar works better than granulated. add water a little at a time and mix until the mixture resembles damp sand. you will need approximatly 2 cups of sugar for every 4 teaspoons of water

step 3: pack the sugar mix into the mold firmly

step 4: smooth the top with a knife blade or similar

place in a warm dry place to harden. small shapes like this should harden in a few days. these took 4-5 days but larger shapes may take longer. when dry release from mold.

step 6: mix a little caster sugar with water to form a thick syrup (sorry i dont know the exact amounts of each for this as i just went for it )

step 7: use the mix to glue the half shapes together. dont use to much, you dont want it running out of the join. be sure your hands are perfectly dry when hadleing the sugar otherwise it will start to crumble and distort.
place back in a warm dry place for a few days (i left these for 2-3 days)

step 8: cover the sugar form with scrap clay. i used a small circular cutter to form holes at each end. bake

step 9: either run the bead under warm running water or soak it for 20 minutes or so then rinse. the sugar syrup dissolves slower than the other sugar mix so if you used a lot of it i recomend soaking.
cover as desired
if anything seems unclear please dont hesitate to ask 

polymer clay Monarch Bangle. my first project of 2013!
 i had been wanting to try Donna Kato's butterfly cane for a while, finally got there.i cut slices from the cane and smoothed them over an extruded scrap clay armature the baked, sanded and buffed.
i think i needed to make the black and white areas bigger, maybe make the bangle deeper, but i like the concept of this

this was my first attempt covering a glass bauble with fimo.
 i used a sheet of white (medium setting on my pasta machine...too thick and its a pain to wrap, too thin and you have little wriggle room when it comes to smoothing or sanding out lumps and bumps) and smoothed it around the bauble with my fingers.  then i  firmly wrapped a length of 15lb fishing line (you couyld use nylon beading thread/string/whatever you have to hand..experiment) round and round until i was happy with the design (next time i need to be firmer and pull the line tighter when doing this as a few bits are patchy). then i carefully unraveled the line then i baked the bauble and backfilled (use soft well conditioned clay, bit like buttering bread) the lines with gold polymer clay, baked again and sanded
i only used 600 grit on this piece as i liked the matt look of this, like unglazed ceramic

action shot (sorry, my camera dislikes twinkly christmas lights and merely slightly blurry was the best it would give me )


simple but pretty, im really happy with how this came out
if you have any questions or if something is unclear please ask

christmas prerssie for little brother No.2 who's a huge despicable me fan.
all the designs are hand painted onto premade bisque with black underglaze, dipped in clear glaze and fired

mug and coaster:


detail of the bowl:


the set together:


as always comments or advice are more than welcome

an old friend asked me to paint this for her O/H who is a huge Avengers fan; well.....as a fellow comic geek i could hardly say no
i included his favourite quote from the movie too
 
Mark Ruffalo as Dr Banner/ The Hulk
painted with black and grey underglaze on pre made bisque, dipped in clear glaze and fired. i wanted to try and make the actor recognisable but doing so in a style reminiscent of the film more humble comic origins. im really pleased with how this turned out. i think i need to make one for myself...









as always comments or advice are more than welcome

my brother is a huge Terry Prachett (and curry)  fan so i made him a breakfast set (there will be a matching bowl at some point..) featuring Death, one of his favourite characters
all the pieces were hand painted onto premade bisque with black and red underglaze, dipped in clear dipping glaze and fired



the mug features the Ankh Morpork city crest


detail of the plate and coaster prior to firing:

started the christmas crafting
ive seen a fair few of these around and loved the idea. finally got around to trying my hand at this i originally planned to use metal hooks but i couldnt find any where locally that sold them, and was too impatient to order them online (you guys know what its like when you get a certain project in your head... ) i was a little worried that the wood would swell and crack the clay but i kept the clay reasonably thick and used minimal water when sanding the finished pieces and they turned out just fine  







i ended up covering the sizes with clay so i need to add those with a sharpie (thankfully i kept a note of which colour was which size...im not usually this organized ) im pleased with these though, i might have to make a few more...im sure its not right that the spots outnumber the stripes...

Rocking to my inner geek  







i used an extruder gun with a square disc to extrude lengths of green and black clay which i then stacked and then reduced to create the cane
(theres a great video tutorial for this particular pixelated technique here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jDsLPoc54U )



it was the first time i had used this particular method to create a cane and im really pleased with how it turned out
comments are more than welcome and if you have any questions please dont hesitate to ask