June Pavelka Project: Inro Amulett

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June Pavelka Project

Polymer Clay Inro Amulet Tutorial

The 2015 Pavelka Project by Lisa Pavelka & KatersAcres

Welcome back for month 6 of our project. For you mixed media and jewelry lovers out there, this polymer clay Inro Amulet project is sure to be a winner.

Polymer Clay Inro Amulet Tutorial

June Pavelka Project - Polymer Clay Inro Amulet Tutorial

The Project:

Materials Needed:


What Is An Inro Amulet?

Polymer Clay Inro Amulet by KatersAcresThat’s a great question and I’m glad you asked! Inro is originally a Japanese form of art made of a box with a sliding lid. Sometimes the boxes are stacked. Originally they were made to carry small objects such as medicinal herbs and were attached to kimonos as they lacked pockets. Traditionally the inro’s were made of ivory or bone. Today inro’s are often made as necklaces to wear around the neck as a element of decor. Traditionally these small boxes would be a complete shape (think square box, round cylinder), but for our purposes today we are making them flat-backed … a little amulet!

Unlike previous months, this tutorial is almost identical to the one presented in Lisa’s book. Please refer to her complete tutorial on page 176-180 in The Complete Book of Polymer Clay.


Polymer Clay Inro Amulet Tutorial

Part 1: Making the Body of the Inro

  • June Pavelka Project - Polymer Clay Inro Amulet TutorialTurn your oven on to let it preheat.
  • Condition some black polymer clay on the 2nd thickest setting of your pasta machine.
  • Trim LARGER than you want your final pendant to be.
  • Wrap your sheet around a bottle or other rounded object.
  • Add mica powder to the surface of a texture stamp using your finger.
  • Place the texture stamp down firmly on top of the clay and press onto the side of the bottle.
  • This will cause your clay to distort slightly.
  • Use your blade & trim your clay to the size you’d like now.
  • Add an image (I chose a waterslide transfer from Lisa’s fine art series) to your shape.
  • As I “bent” my image to fit on the curve, it cracked slightly. I thought this gave a great vintage look to it.
  • Gather some old petal and leaf canes (or make new color coordinating ones like I did).
  • Add all around your center design to add balance & interest.
  • Top your image transfer with a thin layer of liquid clay (I chose fimo as it dries crystal clear).
  • Quick set your liquid clay with a heat gun while gently holding the bottle. (Note: You are NOT baking the clay here. You are simply heat setting the liquid clay so it won’t drip as it bakes.)
  • Now pre-bake this portion of your pendant in the oven for 10 minutes. This will secure everything so you don’t squish it in the following steps.

Part 2: Finishing the Amulet

  • June Pavelka Project - Polymer Clay Inro Amulet TutorialOnce your piece has cooled from the oven (remember that we will bake it longer in the end, this is just to firm up the curve & arched design.
  • Now place your curved piece down onto another sheet of black clay.
  • Trim to fit.
  • Join the seams.
  • Bake for another 10 minutes.
  • While this piece is baking, go ahead and make your tassel using embroidery floss in matching colors. There are free tutorials all over the internet if you do not know how to do this on your own.
  • Now cut & measure two components for both the top & bottom portions of your necklace.
  • Cut an inside piece just slightly smaller than the outside for the top.
  • Add holes in both the top & bottom pieces to add your string.
  • You will need 2 holes in each piece and they will need to be centered for balance & wearability.
  • Finish decorating your amulet with your cane slices or any other components that you might have little around.
  • Do not forget to use your cane scraps to make several beads for your project too!
  • Bake the entire piece (without tassel) in the oven for 45 minutes.
  • When your piece is baked & cooled you may choose to seal it with a protective coat of varnish.
  • Make sure your beads were drilled properly. If not, redrill them now.
  • String your amulet & beads onto necklace cording of your choice.

A Note on Time: Due to the time involved in this piece & the multiple bakes. Including additional bake time, this piece took me 3.5 hours to make (but I made the canes new & fresh too)…


The Pavelka Project

The Pavelka Project is done in conjunction with Lisa Pavelka. All tutorials are retaught here with her expressed permission. Please make sure to read the FAQS here.

Until next time, Happy Claying,

2 thoughts on “June Pavelka Project: Inro Amulett

  1. I want to see the slicer in action, but clicking link does not work.

    help

    1. I’m not sure where you are looking for the link. You can type “slicer” into the search box at the right of the page. But here’s a direct link for what you’re looking for: https://katersacres.com/polyclay/polymer-clay-cane-slicer/

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