Week Three: Ornaments

[Nevermore]

I am behind in posting this: I had hoped to do it at the beginning of the month. However, I have not been able to make a trip for supplies yet. Rather than waiting even longer (being completely uncertain about my upcoming schedule), I thought I would post and state the plans.

I fell in love with inchies. It was love at first sight. I thought that they would make lovely charms. I expanded this thought literally and decided that twinchies or twonchies (whichever you prefer) would be even better (2 x 2). I want to take clay, roll it out, poke a hole in it, bake it. Adhere my twonchies, loop ribbon through the hole and viola! a set of Christmas ornaments.

The digital part has proven too too easy. I have a set of vintage twonchies. They were a little too sepia for my liking and I started to recolour all of them when the designer came through for me and sent me original designs which were not sepia.

As for the clay, I have been given a few suggestions. I will post them here. It should be noted that Miss Bev is an expert and I am sure she can help.

I am hoping to give an ornament to all and sundry this Christmas. If anyone has any tips before I leave for the store, please post them! And if anyone does this project, please post in the Off Screen Gallery.

[kygirl]

I haven't worked with clay in ages. This should be fun.

[Yorkshire Lass]

Oh wow this sounds like fun.

[indybev]

I'm far from an expert, but I HAVE done this one. Poking the holes in the soft clay without distorting the square is the hardest part of all, and takes a little "personal" attention to each square. I used a bamboo skewer, but if anyone comes up with a better idea, please share! Knowing our Miss Kim, I'm sure she will be posting very correct and exact instructions here.
What a timely and great idea, Kim. These will make great Christmas gifts.

[Nevermore]

Knowing our Miss Kim, I'm sure she will be posting very correct and exact instructions here.

Bev, are you taking the mickey out of me? Whether you are jesting or not, I am laughing either way.

I am determined to get to Michaels this weekend for some clay and some adhesive and some glaze and some ribbon and a roller. Turns out the only thing I have is the bamboo skewers! Go figure. Bev has advised not to use your pastry roller to roll out the clay. Since the only thing on the planet I actually bake is apple pie, I am happy to be forewarned sine the only item in the kitchen I use (other than the coffeepot and microwave) is my rolling pin! Thanks Bev, and making sure to pass that tip on. I have a lovely cookbook holder, wood base, glass front but I use that for my art journal. Would be a complete and total waste for a recipe book, lol!

[mizamigo]

Kim,
Instead of using a bamboo skewer to poke a hole in the clay, why not get the metal "pins" and put them through (from top to bottom), so that you can use the circle at the top of the pin for the ornament holder (i.e., the circle is the 'hole' that you put the ribbon through). That way you have the whole twochie for your ornament....????

[Nevermore]

Do you mean the Christmas tree hooks? Or are there pins like you are speaking of that I can get at the craft store? I will certainly check that out! We do have Christmas hooks but we allowed them to mate. When they mate, they get in one huge mass and, unfortunately, do not ever separate again. So, while they are not monogamous, they do mate for life. It would be cool if they spewed out little hooks but so far all this mating has not resulted in any offspring. I would have to pick up some more Christmas tree hooks.

[indybev]

Let me interject here a bit, Victoria. If you make the "tiles" thick enough to put the hole all the way through longways, the tiles have to be thicker, and you are left with a rather heavy ornament. The others are probably no more than 1/4 inch thick and therefore not so heavy. I put the holes in the corner so they hang as a triangle. Of course it would be your choice, if you don't mind your ornaments being rather heavy!

[Nevermore]

I must tell you I always start this journeys full of p*** and vinegar and end up as I did today. I plunked my purchases on the counter at the till and put my head down on my arms. "Are you okay?" the cashier asked. I wearily straightened up and told her "I am so out of my league!" She gave me 20% off everything which was sweet of her as I had no coupon. And she threw another 20% coupon in my bag. "Just in case you ever come back," she said. She really was sweet!

I was not able to get a gel adhesive. They didn't have any and had not heard of them. The one lady suggested Mod Podge and then broke eye contact with me when I stared straight at her and announced firmly that I believed it was the work of the devil. I bought some Sculpey clay. I have no flipping clue how many packets I needed. I was shocked at how small they were. Weensy. I need 1/4 inch sheets and could not envision how many twonchies I might get if I rolled out the wee package. I bought three so I hope it is enough but who the heck knows? I read all the labels of Premo and Fimo and Sculpey but the only information on the label is how long to bake it.

I bought some Sculpey glaze although I think that that is misconceived as my clay will have paper on top. Mind you, if I don't put paper on both sides, I could glaze the back. I will need to get some kind of glaze finish for my paper. I did not even bother to try to find the pins Victoria suggested. By the time I was finished with the clay, adhesives and ribbons I was exhausted. I will try rolling the stuff out tomorrow. Couldn't find a roller so I will either use a bottle filled with water or a brayer.

[indybev]

Oh Kim, there ya go, pole vaulting over mouse turds again. It's supposed to be a fun project!!! I used ModPodge on mine, but when I do it again I'm going to use Diamond Glaze. Just be sure your tiles are dry. I can't wait to read the recap of tomorrow's endeavors. Max will probably get into this!

[Nevermore]

just tell me how much yardage I am going to get out of one pack of clay!

[mizamigo]

Oh Kim, It's such an experience when you venture into unknown territory (even if you have gone to Michael's before!)....

On some of the craft shows, they say to use a "pasta" machine to get your clay worked and thin enough to cut, work with, etc.... (Just don't use the Pasta machine for making pasta after you've put the clay through it.)

I can't wait to see what you make and if 3 packages of clay is enough to make 22/24 twonchies....

Good luck; but most importantly, have fun with the whole thing.

Remember, take notes, you need to create a RAMBLE out of this experience.


PS... those circle thingies I was talking about are for jewelry making. So you might find them in the bead section of the store.

[Nevermore]

professed complete and total ignorance of gel medium-- I don't get it since everyone else I know says they get theirs there. I might need to get Ruth to come down and help! Thanks for letting me know where I could get the hooks with a circle.

I really feel like I need Ruth! As in, at my elbow.

As for a pasta machine, good grief! When I make pasta, I open a can of Spaghetti-O's and heat them in the microwave.

[Nevermore]

there must be something awry with your linking-- I can't see. And I want to!

[indybev]

Yes, there was something wrong with the linking, and I thought I had deleted the message until I sorted things out. I can't seem to figure out how to insert a photo within a comment here. I guess I'll have to post them to the gallery. As soon as I have time today, I'll do that. Sorry for confusion. By the way, I find you can get 4-5 tiles from one small package. I found it easiest to make a 2x2 paper template to place over the clay after it was rolled out, and cut around the template in order to get a "good" square. More later ....
***
Later ... OK, I posted them to the Off Screen Gallery, Kim. I will probably replace the dotted ribbon for solid red or green. Otherwise, I'm fairly pleased with the way they turned out.

[ruthpics]

Glad I dropped in here today! This thread captured me completely and I had to read every word! Full of smiles and chuckles. Kim, I have never done anything with clay other than trying to throw a pot in 10th grade. Don't think I would be much help! Can't wait to see what you create.

[Nevermore]

thanks for the info on the number per package: that helps a lot! And the tip on the paper template, I will do that too. I am going to try to do some today to see how it works. Keep all body parts crossable crossed for me!

[Nevermore]

why are you writing in here when you should be in the car racing to my house to help me?

[kygirl]

I made it to the store and bought my clay. Did you know that Sculpey has a wonderful website (http://www.sculpey.com/projects.asp) with tons of projects? It has lots of great tips and techniques.

[Nevermore]

Thanks Donna, I had that site bookmarked and forgot to share it with everybody.

[kygirl]

Here's mine, http://www.digitalartquirks.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7141&cat=581.

I had white clay so I've been experimenting with adding color to the finished frame. On this one, I used embossing powder and a heat iron. I have another one in the works where I rubbed ink across the textured surface, and I really like the effect. I need to modge podge it and then I'll post.

[Nevermore]

Mine are baking as we speak. My report so far:

I started off using a brayer but ended up using my rolling pin. I know! I know! But I don't see why I can't run it through the dishwasher and the brayer must have had little bits of blue fuzz on it because so do some of my clay bases. We also used cookie cutters to cut out some shapes (no fear there, this family has never made cookies. We have a 5 lb. bag of chocolate chips should the need ever strike us. So far we remain unstruck). We will have to decorate those with some paint. Which we don't have. Max also wants glitter. Which we don't have.

I found that the clay is uber sensitive. My template (thank the stars I had one--that is one great tip!) had a slice across the bottom (still having a lot of control problems with my exacto, lol) and when I put the template on top of the square to cut it out, they got marked with that little slice. At first I was cutting with the steel edged ruler on top of the template. Those ones got marked with the template slice and the ruler which had a depth differential because it is cork backed. I flipped it over and cut with the steel side pressing down and that solved that problem.

So, my observations to date: the clay is impressionable. I did use bamboo skewers to poke holes. So did Max. I told him his was off centre. They will hang crooked. "That's what makes 'em cute" he fired back. We'll see.

I have no idea how long these should cool so will leave them overnight. Which is how long it will take me to print out and cut out my twonchies. Tomorrow will adhere and photograph. Then will glaze.

I concur with Bev: I got about 5 twonchies per package--one per precut bit and one from all the leftovers. I may buy some coloured ones. Will wait and see how this actually works. I am baking mine on pantyhose cardboard. Someone said it wouldn't burn and gives a nice flat surface. So far, no fire alarms.

[indybev]

OK Donna, did you just cut a frame from the clay and put a backing on with the photo? I'm still trying to figure out your frame!
Also, guys, if you roll thin and stack different colors, then pick up and twist, then roll back into ball and re-roll, you end with a delightful and fun marble or tortoise effect. I made clay beads, skewering them with the bamboo skewers. They're great for embellishing "danglies" on journals, etc.
I can't wait to see how yours turn out, Kim!

[Nevermore]

I think I will call them Duchess of York ornaments.

[kygirl]

Bev, here's the rubber stamp I used. It's from Club Scrap.

http://www.clanmacale.com/cs-stamps/clubscrap/2001/1201all-that-glitters.jpg

The box in the center is 2x2 so this was perfect for the project. I dampened the stamp and stamped it into the rolled-out clay, and then used my X-acto to cut around the edges of the middle frame, discarding the outside frame. I used the edge of the knife to smooth out the textured surface in the middle of the frame (where the picture would go). It sounds more difficult than it was; I don't think it took more than 10 minutes to complete the frame.

BTW, I used a straight pin with a circle on the top (designed for beading) and inserted it into the wet clay before baking for the ornament holder.

[Nevermore]

Before I try this funky stamping exercise, I must finish my twonchies!

[Nevermore]

I just hit another big 5-0, as in 5000! Will ya look at the mouth on her!

[kygirl]

So I rolled out the clay, embossed the frame image, and baked it. All is well. I use my little cat's eye ink pad to add color. Fantastic! The ink catches just the top of the texture, adding just a bit of oomph. I go to get the Mod Podge to attach the picture and add some luster.

Where is the Mod Podge? I just bought a huge bottle last week. It's not in the craft room; it's not in the supplies I have stashed downstairs; it's not in the car. How frustrating. So Barry offers to drive me out to Hobby Lobby, and buy me dinner. I can't turn that down.

Home at 9 p.m. with Mod Podge and a full stomach. I pull out my handy-dandy sponge and proceed to attach the picture. It doesn't want to stick, but that's okay. I'll just cover the entire frame, and it will be alright. That's when I learned an important lesson. Mod Podge makes ink run. My beautiful frame is now an ugly gray mess. A shiny mess, but a mess nonetheless. Back to the drawing board.

Congrats on the big 5,000, Kim!

[Nevermore]

grave: MOD PODGE IS THE WORK OF THE DEVIL.

[Nevermore]

It is all working like a charm so far. I printed out the twonchies this morning, cut them out with scissors with no fuss. I used watercolour pencils to colour the edges of my tiles, spray adhesive and they are now drying between two sheets of wax paper under a load of books. I will poke holes in the paper, loop some ribbon and take some pictures. Then I will glaze them.

Here's hoping the wax paper doesn't stick to them. That is my only concern right now. I am reluctant to say this at this point because I fear it will hex me BUT I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kygirl]

Tell me more about the about the wax paper and books. I've not heard of that technique before.

[Nevermore]

You mean I am not supposed to do that :confused::confused::confused::confused:
running downstairs to rescue them RIGHT NOW

[Nevermore]

They are fine!

Donna, mine are Duchess of York ornaments: uber thin. They are not completely flat so the paper had a few contours to manouevre. I thought smushing them underneath books would be helpful and it was!

Now I am going to poke holes through the paper, string 'em and take a picture. Then I will glaze them.

[indybev]

Oh, Donna, what a disaster with the ModPodge. That stuff should carry a warning label! I didn't use it because it leaves brush marks that I don't like. My local art/craft stores (Michael's and JoAnn's) didn't have Diamond Glaze, so I will have to go to the far northeast opposite side of the city to get some at Archiver's. Drat!! I just want a clear acrylic effect, and I'm
hoping to get it with the Diamond Glaze. My intent was the simple photo squares for the parents of my great grandchildren, but our art group is having an ornament swap next month, and I'm looking to the rest of you for inspiration!!

[PlumTuckered]

Donna, your ornie is adorable!!! You gals have me wanting to pull my clay supplies out and play :-) I have that very same club scrap stamp, love it!

Michelle