Polymer Clay Plant Markers - Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts

Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra 05/14/13
Cheryl Smeja
Polymer Clay Plant Markers
Tools and Supplies
(see details and suppliers at the end of this article)
Work Surface-plastic or glass
Sculpey™ Clay
Cookie Cutter
Letter Stamps
Acrylic plate for stamp
Texture Sheets
50 grit Sandpaper
Spray Water Bottle
Slicing Blade
Pasta Machine or Clay roller
Oven, oven thermometer
Drinking Straw
Tile for Baking
Brown acrylic paint
Sponge Brush
Paper Towels
Protective Gloves
400 grit wet-dry sandpaper
Braising Rods
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.
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 05/14/13
Cheryl Smeja
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.
Cut and Slice
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.
Make the Hole and Bake
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.
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Shake Rag Alley School of Arts and Crafts Workshop News Extra 05/14/13
Cheryl Smeja
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.
Hanging Wire
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 05/14/13
Cheryl Smeja
Resources
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 block
http://www.createforless.com/Inkadinkado+Clear+Stamp+Blocks+Large/pid146506.aspx
Sculpey
http://www.createforless.com/Sculpey+Original+Clay+1.75lb+White/pid29639.aspx
Sculpey tools
slicer
http://www.createforless.com/Sculpey+Clay+Tools+Super+Slicer/pid181708.aspx
roller
http://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=617
http://shadesofclay.com/products/Exclusives/Helen%20Breil/Helen%20Breil%20Designs%20
Texture%20Stamps.htm
And 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 Surface
http://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%20
Extruders.htm
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