First Post - Altered Altoid tin

[spolowitz]

So I've been lurking a while and finally decided to post. This is pretty much my first attempt at using polymer clay. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

The top- I put a light coat of acrylic gloss on it. The stars were weirdly hard to make.


The sides- The skulls eyes are made of seed beads


The inside -xxx, halloween stickers = awesome


thanks for looking !
comments are welcome  : )

[paisley-sink]

good job! looks tres cute

[enchantedwhimsies]

cool - i like it!

[RonnieCat]

What a lovely and cheerful little "coffin"!  So cute and amusing!

[Diane B.]

Very creative and cool!

If you tried to cut out the stars freehand or even using a gummed star as a template, I'm not surprised.  Five-pointed things (or pentagons) are deadly hard to draft, and the individual cuts aren't easy to do well either. 
There are a few "sharp-pointed" star cutters around with 5 points**, but the most common ones are rounded or have 6 points ...probably not worth buying them just for one project.

**Kemper has a set of graduated star cutters (plunger type), for example:
http://www.clayalley.com/kemper.htm

There are some star-shaped punches though (can use for raw clay or baked)... if you have one of those and are interested in how to use it with polymer clay, check out this page at my site:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/cutters-blades.htm
(... click on Punches, under Small and Medium Cutters...)

And welcome!


Diane B.

[spolowitz]

well i used a stencil and just rolled the clay out flat and cut it with an exacto knife , they were tiny and the points kept on smashing.

but thanks for the advice I'll look into those.I'm sure they'll make things a lot easier next time

[kishcrafts]

great job! very goth!

[Diane B.]

i used a stencil and just rolled the clay out flat and cut it with an exacto knife , they were tiny and the points kept on smashing.

For similar things, it can be easier to use a template rather than a stencil... IOW, draw your pattern on paper using the stencil, then cut out the paper shape, place it on the clay, and cut around the paper shape.  That way the Xacto blade is free to get into whatever position you need it to make the cuts best. 

When I've done some things like stars that way and had only straight lines to cut, I've "sliced" the clay with the edge of a blade when possible rather than pulling the tip along (single edge razor blade or long blade).  That keeps the lines straight and makes cleaner cuts, and also can keep the cuts straight (up and down) if the clay is thicker.

Another thing to keep the points (or any areas) from distorting might be to make the cuts while the clay is on something it won't stick to very well (like a small sheet of paper or tracing paper ... that way you can peel the stars off to apply them more easily than from a stiff surface (could help to refrigerate or wait overnight first, esp. if using Sculpey)... or you can apply them where you want with the paper still attached, then peel off the paper (might need to run your finger down the edges if they're not smooth or rounded if you want).

Having shape cutters around is totally fun though... it's just that it can be expensive to buy too many of them, so it's good to be able to cut things out when necessary.
(Another tool I find works as well or better than a blade btw for cutting out shapes from sheets of clay, is the tip of a "needle tool"... if you don't have one, you could also use a stiff or larger sewing or embroidery needle.  In that case, you'd need to put the clay sheet on something it would stick to a bit more though since you'd be dragging the tip around the shape and wanting it to stay in place... then you could use the edge of a blade etc to gently pry under the edges and lift it in without distortion...and/or cool it first.)


Diane B.

[nototouchthearth]

would anyone happen to know if it is possible to decorate/cover an altoid tin with cut cane slices? how would one do this-it isn't safe to put the whole tin in the oven, is it?
sorry for the ignorance.. i'm a polynewbie!

[Diane B.]

would anyone happen to know if it is possible to decorate/cover an altoid tin with cut cane slices? how would one do this-it isn't safe to put the whole tin in the oven, is it?

Oh, it definitely is possible to cover Altoid tins with slices (in several ways), and to bake the clay and metal together in the oven.
I sent these links to you in another question you asked on the Discussions/Questions board, but for "covering" Altoid tins in particular, check out this page:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/covering.htm
(... click on Altoid, under the Metal category..._
And for making sheets of slices to use in various ways, including covering things, look here:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/sheets.htm
(...click on Flattened Patterns, then scroll down to "Cane Slices"...)

And this page too (not one I gave before):
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/Canes--general.htm
(... click on Sheets from Cane Slices...)


Diane B.