Materials and tools: |
Descriptions: |
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Polymer clay feels and molds amost exactly like the modeling clay you
used to play with in grammer school...=) However, it can be baked to
a durable hard consistancy with your home oven or toaster-oven. Sculpey
III bakes to a nice bisque finish, very hard but brittle. The others still feel a
little "plasic" after baking and are more durable.
Sculpey III is rather soft, but will work in this method because we will be working with small pieces which won't have any stress placed on them. Prices range from $1.29 to $2.59 per color in 2 oz. blocks. Check your local craft store or online catalog for availability. |
| Metalic Powder | Used to highlight and add sheen; optional. I recommend Pearl-Ex powders or metalic "Pulver" (made by the Fimo company). But you can also use eye shadow! |
Brayer
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A hard plastic brayer for rolling flat sheets of clay.
Good substitues are a glass jar with straight sides at least 4" tall; a toy wooden rolling pin (clay might stick to this, though); or for true polymer clay enthusiasts, use a pasta machine! (but don't ever use it for pasta again!) |
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(1 ft. sq. or larger)
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Glass works best. My craft table is covered with a large pane of flat, auto safty glass. I work on the surface, but I can also place paper patterns under the glass for easy use. Be careful of certain types of plastic surfaces... the plasticizer in the clay can literally EAT through some kinds of plastic (like the hard, clear plastic of Rubbermaid drawer carts!) |
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Modeling Tools 
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You can find these handy-dandy clay tools in any craft store or
catalog. Plastic ones are OK, but I had to trim off the mold seams in
order to make them work nicely....so I recommend wooden ones. Notice
that these are the ones with a different tool at each end of the
handle.
A good substitute would be an ordinary table knife, using the blunt side. Not as easy to manipulate and not as versitile, but it'll work...=) |
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Tapestry Needle and Straight Pin 
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These two tools are just about the most important ones to have around for scupting small things like these earrings. Used for details and the fine work of smoothing rough edges, you could almost use them exclusively for this project! |
