Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra Cheryl Smeja05/14/13

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Polymer Clay Plant Markers

I decided to make plant markers for Shake Rag Alley’s Garden Art Sale coming up in June, and settled on using polymer clay and a wire hanger. I have a lot to make, so I purchased plain old inexpensive white Sculpey™. It is not as strong as more expensive clays, but it’s OK. This project would be fun to do with kids if you are careful with the slicing blade.

To prepare the clay you cut or peel off a chunk of clay and either roll, fold, and roll it through the pasta machine a few times, or roll it into a ball and knead it with your hands. You need to get the plasticizer fluid distributed through the clay and warm it a little. My clay is new, and very soft and sticky, so the first thing I needed to do is “leach” out some of the plasticize fluid. Roll the clay through the pasta machine on the second largest setting, or about 1/8 inch thick with your acrylic roller, and put it between paper sheets for a while until you like the feel of the clay. I like it not so sticky but not so dry it cracks and crumbles. You can see the wet mark on the photo where the plasticize fluid has leached out.

Work Surface-plastic or glassSculpey™ ClayCookie CutterLetter StampsAcrylic plate for stampTexture Sheets50 grit SandpaperSpray Water BottleSlicing BladePasta Machine or Clay roller

Oven, oven thermometerDrinking StrawTile for BakingBrown acrylic paintSponge BrushPaper TowelsProtective Gloves400 grit wet-dry sandpaperBraising Rods

Tools and Supplies(see details and suppliers at the end of this article)

Texture the Clay Sheets

Make 2 sheets of clay large enough to fit your cookie cutter. Texture one for the back by spraying the 50 grit sandpaper with water and rolling the clay on it through the pasta machine. Texture the front piece with a texture plate or rubber stamp. Some are thin enough to put through the pasta machine with the clay, or you can put the clay onto the sheet and roll with your roller. Some sheets need water or cornstarch to release. When in doubt, give it a spray.

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Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra Cheryl Smeja05/14/13

Cut and Slice

Make the Hole and Bake

Put the sandpaper textured slice with the textured side down on the work surface. Cut your shape from the top texture, and slice it in half with the blade. I slice mine on an angle because odds of me getting it straight are slim to none. Assemble the top pieces onto the bottom piece, “pat” them gently together so they stick, and re-cut with the cookie cutter shape. Make sure all the clay is dry on the sides you want to stick together. Slide your cutting blade under to release it from the work surface if necessary. I like to very gently drag my finger along the edges of the front and back to smooth them a little.

Put the piece on a tile or foil lined pan for baking, and make the hole with a soda straw. The clay must bake for 30 minutes at 275-300 degrees F. Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature of the oven while pre-heating. Some folks have a toaster oven or convection oven dedicated to clay. If you use your regular oven you might want to cover the clay with an aluminum foil tent to keep the fumes from sticking to your oven walls.

Word Stamp

Make your word stamp by putting double stick tape on an acrylic plate, and assemble the letters for your plant name. Roll out a little sheet of untextured clay and stamp the name. You may need to damped the stamp, or put a little cornstach on the clay so it will release. Slide your blade under the clay to release it from the work surface first, and then trim it to a strip longer than the width of your cookie cutter.

Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra Cheryl Smeja05/14/13

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Hanging Wire

Paint

I used burnt sienna brown, but you can try other colors. I liked that the markers look like carved bone. I start with the back side, and brush on paint with the foam brush and wipe it off with a paper towel. When they are dry I do the same with the front. If you “wipe off” with a dry foam brush you get some nice little stripes that look like the striations in bone or ivory. You can stop here, or once it’s dry you can sand the top with 400 grit wet-dry sandpaper in water to improve the contrast and smooth the top. Be careful not to breath any dust from the sanding.

For the hangers I bought 3 foot lengths of about 16 gauge brass brazing rod from the welding supply shop. It is pretty stiff so I made the spiral top with the help of a jig, which is just a couple of screws put close together on a board that is clamped on the table. I slide the wire between the screws and then wind the wire into the spiral. The trick is to keep your “winding” hand far down the wire from your “holding” hand, and let the wire arc into the spiral. If you hold it too close you will get crimps. Then I trim off the straight part that was between the screws. You get better with practice.

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Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra Cheryl Smeja05/14/13

Here are some links to where I got my supplies.

Alphabet stamps - it was hard to find some small enough. They don’t “cling” well so I use double stick tape on my acrylic block.http://www.lawnfawn.com/products/rileys-abcs

Acrylic stamp blockhttp://www.createforless.com/Inkadinkado+Clear+Stamp+Blocks+Large/pid146506.aspx

Sculpeyhttp://www.createforless.com/Sculpey+Original+Clay+1.75lb+White/pid29639.aspx

Sculpey toolsslicerhttp://www.createforless.com/Sculpey+Clay+Tools+Super+Slicer/pid181708.aspxrollerhttp://www.createforless.com/Sculpey+Clay+Tools+Acrylic+Roller+8/pid181707.aspx

Texture Sheets - there are many out there, but these by Helen Breil are thin enough to go through the pasta roller with clay. Two sites:http://www.artclayworld.com/ProdList.asp?scat=617http://shadesofclay.com/products/Exclusives/Helen%20Breil/Helen%20Breil%20Designs%20Texture%20Stamps.htmAnd there are a bunch here from different vendors:http://www.munrocrafts.com/Texture%20Stamps.html

Cookie Cutters - these don’t have a joint seam, so they are better than what I have in the photos.http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Daddios-7-Piece-Football-Cutter/dp/B004M6IFGE/ref=pd_sim_k_3

Work Surfacehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BGY7A4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Pasta Roller - don’t bother getting a cheap one as they will break. You can use the acrylic roller and roll out the clay between two stacks of about 4 playing cards taped together until you decide to invest in a good machine dedicated to clay. You can also find these on Amazon and on Donna Kato’s site (http://prairiecraft.com/).http://shadesofclay.com/products/Tools/Machines%20and%20Extruders/Machines%20and%20Extruders.htm

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