I finally got the knack of Liquid Sculpey, so I drank some green beer and made this:



Last month I attended the Craft & Hobby Association national convention in Atlanta to check out the new crafty goodies on the market. One of the shining stars of the show was Translucent Liquid Sculpey, a bakeable liquid polymer clay. It was a hot topic among the crafty attendees because of its impressive versatility. Not only can it be used as a photo transfer and/or decoupage medium, it also does the trick as an adhesive and clay softener. It can be used to add dimensional effects on scrapbook pages, make window clings, faux-stained-glass art and many other dazzling projects. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I created this happy Irish Claddagh picture necklace. The Claddagh, with two hands presenting a heart with a crown, is a symbol of love and friendship.
Claddagh Necklace
Supplies:
Claddagh picture
Inkjet matte finish photo paper
Translucent Liquid Sculpey
Embossing heat tool
Small bowl of water
Premo polymer clay, white and green
Small paintbrush
Brayer
Craft knife, scissors
Small hole punch
Jump ring
Necklace cording

Directions: Size the Claddagh picture to your liking. Print it out on a sheet of the matte-finish photo paper. Cut out the picture and punch a small hole at the top (so you can hang it from a cord later). With the brush, paint on a thick, even layer of the TLS over the entire picture. Turn on the embossing heat tool and use it to dry the TLS until it goes from cloudy to clear. Let the picture cool and then place it in the bowl of water. Rub the back of the picture with your fingers until the paper comes off. You should have a translucent rubbery copy of your picture. Pinch off a quarter size piece of the polymer clay and use the brayer to roll it flat. Cut out a desired shape (circle, rectangle, square, etc.) with the craft knife. Squeeze some TLS on the top surface, lay the TLS picture on it and press in place. Use a needle to poke a hole through the clay, lined up with the hole on the picture. Pinch off a piece of the green polymer clay and roll it into a snake the size of a spaghetti noodle. Use it to outline the shape to frame the picture. Paint on a thin layer of the TLS over the entire surface. Bake in oven according to manufacturer directions. Remove and let cool. Insert jump ring and hang on cord.

Tips and variations: If you do not have a heat embossing tool, you can bake the picture in the oven according to manufacturer directions. For a mosaic look, cut the TLS in small squares, rearrange them on the piece of clay and then fill in the grooves with more TLS. If you plan to make a lot of polymer clay projects, it's best to buy a small toaster oven to be used specifically for the craft, because the clay does have a light odor.

* By Kathy Cano Murillo, copyright 2005. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: jewelry, multi-culti, st. patrick's day, wearable art