Samstag, 22. Juni 2013

Shiny leaves - polymer clay, new molds and how to make them



I nearly forgot to take a picture from this pair! The earrings are already sold at the fair last saturday I attended. The first one in this year. It was the Happy Pop-Up Market in Leipzig. The distraction was perfect for my mind. Something else beside my normal work (don't get me wrong, I love the work in the lab, but at the moment there is a lot going on in my mind) and especially besides my worries for my little one, my cat Bisu. 

The leaves were made with polymer clay. I used Fimo effect in jade. One of the new colours that is a mix of translucent, colour and some mica powder. The original colour is beautiful but still... I need more layers of colour, more depths... Therefore I added some dark green acrylic paint (Reeves) and Inka gold (Viva) in copper on top. They are very thin and a little bit bendable therefor not fragile!

Centi (have a look at her blog!) liked my leaves and letters earrings but said that she would prefer some more natural, leaf-like structure. That was motivation enough for me to make new molds. Okay, I already have a lot of molds... but of course you can't ever have too many molds... and also I now have a clay / pasta machine! This allows me to make even thin sheets of clay. I made thin sheets at setting 5 or 4 because I wanted to press the finished molds together with clay through my machine. 


After I made the sheets with polymer clay (I always prefer Fimo classic, Fimo soft don't gets all the small details and even "melts" a little bit while baking) I pressed plants on top. 


The little flowers I pressed again and again in the polymer clay to create a big pattern.


The leaf was pressed carefully but still firm on top of the sheet...


I removed the leaf before I baked the clay. 


Not every leaf has veins strong or big enough to create good molds. If I see interesting leaves I just take some with me and test the leaf by using a small ball of polymer clay. I just fold the leaf around the polymer clay ball... 

...and press gently.


After this you can see what kind of pattern a mold made with this leaf would make. I also like this way to get a small bead "stamped" on both sides. Just bake it and drill a hole in it later using a dremel!


Can you see how different in details, in pattern and especially also in depth the impression of the leaves are on the polymer clay?


Of course I wanted a lot of different molds! 


This are some of my molds. I really love this one for all it strong veins and the pattern they create!


A lot of long leaves pressed on top of each other...


...this one is rather a "typical" vein structure... the one most children would paint if asked to do so.


Even the molds are beautiful...


The other good thing with Fimo classic compared to Fimo soft: You can use water for your molds so the new polymer clay won't stick to them. But I prefer talcum powder. I use the one from penaten (intended for babies). But I also always paint the beads I make. The powder sticks a little bit to the polymer clay surface and if you use translucent polymer clay or a special colour it may be a problem. But the powder works way better than the water!


Here an example of two more beads I made with my new molds. I just have to bake, drill and paint them! Oh, and add several layers of shiny gloss...


Very simple molds to make, a lot people make them with leaves, my own drawers are already full with molds... but still every new mold has its own special beauty! And these mold sheets I can use with my clay / pasta maschine!


11 Kommentare:

  1. Love those teeny tiny round pills, Claire - and that mold with the tiny flower structures is quite beautiful. I'm glad you got a chance to distract yourself with the pop up market - somehow that makes it sound more fun than just a regular market!

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  2. Wundervolle Werke.
    Lieben Gruß, Kerstin

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  3. Very lovely earrings! Thank you for showing your mold making process!

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  4. Vielen Dank für die Anleitung! Sowas muss ich auch unbedingt ausprobieren. Besonders die Ohrringe finde ich wunderschön!

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  5. Love your earrings and your method, Claire. Isn't polymer clay amazing? Thanks for sharing your pointers!

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  6. Thank you for the great tutorial! I would love to try to make a mold and work with the polymer clay. Soon perhaps!

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  7. Just amazing! Love these earrings!Thanks so much for sharing the making process! Would love to have you visit me sometime :)
    Have a fabulous week!
    Hugs from Portugal,

    Ana Love Craft
    www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com

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  8. These are beautiful! I just adore the shape and the color is amazing!
    Thanks so much for sharing with the Pink Hippo Party~
    xoxo
    Amie @ Pinkapotamus

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  9. Super interesting to see the process behind these pretty earrings! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Fun! I think I will have to try this!

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