Summer Haze

Hello dear friends, 

I have just finished a tutorial inspired by  the ArtBeadScene June challenge. It was supposed to be finished and posted before the end of June, but inspiration comes and goes and it’s not something we can control. Anyway, even though it’s too late for the monthly recap on the Artbeadscene  blog, I wanted to show you the result of my work and I hope you will find it inspiring!

“Literary Poster for the Century Magazine”, 1896

by John Louis Rhead

20.5″ x 11″

Original Lithographic Poster Printed in Colour with Letterpress

Materials and tools used: white Fimo Professional polymer clay, chalk pastels (turquoise, yellow and orange), Liquid Fimo, golden wire, 4 mm Tcheque bicone beads, a Lisa Pavelka texture plate,  a rigid blade, a ruler, a brush, the pasta machine, gloves, the round end cap of a push pen.

I conditioned the clay. I prepared a sheet of clay passing the clay through a thinner setting.

I used a ruler to cut the shape of the bracelet. I put the ruler on top of the clay and cut all around it. 

Then I checked the length against the soda can on which I would bake it. Then I trimmed out the excess clay. 

Next I used the end of a push pen to cut little holes into the polymer clay.

I used a Lisa Pavelka texture plate (called Bloomin’) to texture the clay.

 

 I shaved turquoise chalk pastel and mixed it with Liquid Fimo and using a brush I colored the polymer clay. 

I put the bracelet shape on the soda can, joined the edges neatly and then I put the bracelet in the oven for 30 minutes at the temperature recommended by the polymer clay manufacturer.

After cooling down, I decided that the color was too soft and I applied another layer of turquoise chalk pastel and Liquid Fimo and decided to use the heat gun to cure it.

Then I mixed white polymer and yellow chalk pastel ( I mixed the chalk pastel with a tiny bit of water and then mixed it into the clay until the clay was uniformly colored) and then I rolled the resulting clay into a log. I cut rather thin slices of clay and I rolled each slice into a round bead. I flattened it and pulled from both ends to elongate it (I used gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints). Then I rolled the clay from one site to the other into a flower shape. 

I used orange chalk pastel to color the outside margins. Then I cut another slice of polymer clay, rolled it into a bead, flattened it and pulled on the sides to elongate it and then I used it to wrap it all around the previous flower. 

 

I made a hole placing a toothpick in the middle of the flower. Then I placed the flower on the baking “rack”.

 

I put everything in the oven for 30 minutes.

I prepared the wire, the 4 mm bicone beads and golden seed beads and started to decorate the bracelet with the polymer clay flowers and the beads. 

I decorated the bracelet all around. 

 

Not really a pretty look. 

I mixed the remaining of yellow clay with some white clay to have a lighter yellow. I passed it through the pasta machine through the same setting and then I textured it using the same texture plate (Bloomin’ by Lisa Pavelka). I colored the clay with turquoise and yellow chalk pastels (mixed with a drop of water).

 

I used Liquid Fimo and I put this texture sheet on the back of the bracelet, pressing well (I used gloves to do this).

I trimmed off the excess clay.

 

I put it in the oven for 45 minutes. I was very happy to have finished the project. I started it before the end of the month of June, then I had to put it aside, hoping to be able to finish it some other time. But I liked this idea so much, that I returned to the project and I finished it anyway. In a sense, the ArtBeadScene challenge is a starting point and it has always been a wonderful inspiration for me. 

(Music: Mattia Vlad  Morleo- Edge)

Thank you for appreciating my work! I truly hope that I inspired you to take out your polymer clay and start experimenting with it and with its endless possibilities!

My best to you!

Mihaela 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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