More Wall Plates

MORE WALL PLATES:
After completing the 17 piece set for a customer recently (see previous post), I had the bug to come up with something new for my own kitchen...

 


This is what I came up with.  I have oil rubbed bronze fixtures and hardware (dark with a bit of copper edging).  And I wanted something to go with that. I also have a couple of drop lights over the island/counter that are also dark, but the shades are mission style, stained glass.  The colors in my kitchen are oak cabinets, green counter tops, tan walls (above chair rail) and brick red (under chair rail).  So, I wanted to continue the "warm" atmosphere in the kitchen and get rid of the plain ol' white wall plates.
I decided to paint the screws black and I liked it much better.

This is bronze and copper mica powders over black embossed clay.  You could use as little or as much mica powders as you liked in any color.  You could also use Inka Gold or alcohol inks.  Or...you could simply emboss black clay (or any color clay, for that matter) and gloss coat the finished product without using any powders or other applications.

So many possibilities!

Wall Plates

WALL PLATES

I just recently completed a request for 17 wall plates -- here are 15 of them!

These looked great using brown plates that already had brown screws, not white.

I covered the plate with a thin sheet of clay textured like "naugahide." I cured this layer, let it cool, then added the second layer in pieces textured like "tooled" leather, not covering the entire plate.  I cured the plate again (about 15 minutes 1st time and about 20 minutes the second time).  You have to be careful of air bubbles with the first layer. But it's easy to pierce them with the Xacto knife since this layer is textured as it is.  It's like camo for any puncture holes!

Be sure to cut out the screw  holes before curing...not so easy afterward and it looks neater if you make the holes in the soft clay.  You can use the screw head to make an impression and measure to be sure the opening will accommodate the screw.

After curing I gave a gloss coat to only the "tooled" leather parts. But you could clear coat the entire plate if you wanted.  I like the difference between the gloss and matte finish...visual interest.

An inexpensive way to upgrade your decor...if you make them yourself.  

A little time consuming, but worth the end result!!!

Bottle Stoppers

Bottle Stoppers are always a nice gift for the wine enthusiast or someone who likes to decorate.

Whether a seasonal theme, a hobby theme, or just a pretty design....

...whether small or large...

...there are so many options for creativity with bottle stoppers.
These stoppers are double sided for more clay-tivity!

These are stainless steel mini stoppers.  

Also available in Chrome.

Custom Orders Available.

The clay is cured directly on the stopper for a perfect fit.  All designs, powders, inks, or what-have-you are all placed on the clay while on the stopper.  The rubber withstands the curing process -- but don't forget about your stopper and leave it in the oven too long. That may dry out the rubber and cause it to crack.  Follow the instructions for baking the clay based on its thickness.  If you have clay so thick that you are concerned about the rubber piece, with a little effort you can remove the rubber piece and then replace it after curing or if you have a round cutter the same size as your stopper, you could cure the clay separately and not have the stopper in the oven at all -- then glue your clay medallion to the stopper.

Did you know that cured polymer can be carved??  This method lends to even more options for a bottle stopper.

There are other styles of bottle stoppers as well. They pose a bigger challenge to create, but it can be done!

Some Fun Figurines...

I am dabbling in a little "sculpting" (if you can call it that...) with the clay.  The Bunny was the first one and I think he turned out  pretty good.  I'm thinking of some other animals to try to improve on my skills!

Glass beads were used for the eyes and a couple toothpicks as "bones" in the bunny as a neck and ears support system.  Everything else is clay (except for the bunny's whiskers and the mother of pearl chips on the turtle's shell). 

Stay tuned...hopefully I'll have some time to play with "sculpting" more soon...

Oh My Goodness!

Oh my goodness...it has been WAY too long since I've posted anything here on the blog.  It has been a great time since Christmas (with the new addition of the niece and nephew to the family), and it has been a stressful time (at work and with some home repairs).
I haven't done as much with the clay as I had planned over the winter months, but some badly needed organization has been completed and am hopefully going to be in a position to do a lot of creating this spring...and hopefully get the home repairs completed at the same time!  Whew!  A busy time!

Easter has come and gone...I hope everyone had a blessed day yesterday! It's still not very warm here where we are, but the grass is getting green, so hopefully it won't be long before it feels like Easter!

So, in honor of Easter, here's one of the creations I was able to complete this past weekend...

 

This bunny is all clay except for the whiskers (fishing line) and the eyes (glass beads).  Oh...and a few toothpick halves inserted to secure his head and each ear.  Other than that...solid clay.  This bunny was made with pearl white clay, which I probably will not do again.  The pearl clays are so soft that it is more difficult to retain the shape while holding the figure and keeping fingerprints out of the clay.  

I only gloss coated select parts of the bunny - the pink portion of the ears, the cheeks, the nose, the teeth, the egg, and the paw pads. 

He is my first animal "sculpture."  Not too bad for numero uno.  But I do (as will always) see areas that could use improvement. 

Instructions:  He was simply built by shaping the body first, adding the feet/legs and shaping the toes, then adding the "arms" and shaping the fingers.  Then separately the head was formed, the cheeks added and the teeth.  The triangular pink nose was attached and then the strip above the nose to round out his forehead.  The eyes were added by sinking glass seed beads into the clay and then fishing line inserted into the cheeks.  The whiskers were removed for curing and then glued back into the holes once hardened.  The head was then attached to the body using a piece of toothpick to serve as a small "spine."  The ears were formed with pink clay added and shaped before being gently attached to the head, again, using pieces of toothpicks for support.  And finally the tail.  The tail is the same white/glitter clay the cheeks are made with. Many tiny holes were made in the tail before attaching.  The hands were pulled away from his body enough to insert the clay egg.  As he is pretty thick, I baked him for more than an hour -- keeping watch on his ears as they are thinner and didn't want  them to burn.  You could cure the body partially then complete the curing once the head is attached. Just watch your series of bake times based on the thickness of the head.

I"m debating on what do make next -- a frog, turtle, maybe a mouse??  Stay tuned...

Halloween Punkin' Picks

BOOOOOO!

Halloween Decorations! 

These Punkin' Picks are glo in the dark ghosties made for a customer as a custom order.  They sit (and wrap around) copper wire cut to a point for easy insertion through the pumpkin skin.  They are clear-coated with polyurethane.  These are not hard to make, but are a bit time consuming due to the number of coats of glo paint and clear coat and drying times in between.  Also, the copper wire is purchased with a coating that has to be stripped off.

These can also be stuck down into a mums pot if you don't have a pumpkin.

These can be used for outdoor decoration for a time.  Most clay items can withstand quite a bit of the elements outdoors, but can fade over time in the sun and become brittle (depending on thickness) in the cold.

*** I would, however, keep them out of reach of dogs and other animals that like to chew on and eat plastic. My dogs love to eat the clay.  This is not good for the decoration, jewelry, etc., and is definitely very BAD for the dogs!  This certainly applies to any item made with PC, but with holiday decorations coming out of storage, it's a good time to remind!

Fan / Light Pulls

Fan/Light Pulls!

These are a great home decor addition!  

They come in a chrome or a 24K gold finish.  

They can be made in a set of 2 or 3...or a single pull.  

It's a subtle change in your decor, but a nice one!