I hope each and every one of you had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did. I even was able to count my blessings. There are so many though, that I actually lost track.
This is the last and final project in Christi’s “Polymer Clay & Mixed Media Together at Last” book. Next week we will begin the final stages of our year long project by working on the final book, “Flourish.” There are some great projects here that I’m sure you will enjoy.
Materials:
“Polymer Clay & Mixed Media Together at Last” by Christi Friesen- Oven safe bowl
- Pasta Machine
- Your choice of polymer clay (I used scrap clay for my base)
- Beads to use for decorations
- Stone chip beads to use as a “base” for your pond
- Tiny sea shells.
- Bake & Bond or Liquid Polymer Clay
- Mica Powders (Several Options – My preference is a Perfect Pearl Set as they are permanent & do not require a varnish due to the resin ) or blending chalks
- Needle Tool
- Baby wipes or soft sponge
- Varnish
- Sculpting tools
- Exacto Knife
- Oven – to bake your finished piece in
Instructions & Additional Tutorials:
Turn to page 95 in Christi’s Book & follow her detailed steps to make a mixed media pond.- First begin by making a “lookat blend” of your polymer clay
- Using a JUMBO cookie cutter (mine is 6″ across) cut a large round from your blend.
- Pick one side to be the “bottom” and make sure you sign your work.
- Center your round in the bowl and gently press all sides.
- Smooth out the upper edge so that it doesn’t look “cut” but rather formed. Do this by making some edges higher than others.
- Add a thick layer of bake & bond to the bottom of your round.
- NOTE: I added a large mirror to fine first for a cute added charm.
- Use stone chips & sea shells to decorate the bottom of your bowl.
- Make sea things or other items to go in your pond (tutorials linked below):
- Make sure to place everything tightly together.
- Add a coat of fimo deco gel covering your stone and other items to create a clear resin like finish
- Note: I added tiny hole-less glass beads (also called microbeads) to mimic the look of bubbles on the surface of the water.
- Note: You can also use real resin after baking to do this same thing.
- Add mica powders on flowers, starfish, and other items
Finishing Your Pond
- Finishing your piece is the most important part!
- Remember to bend, twist, & tweak any seaweed, flower petals, or other objects before baking!
- BAKING INSTRUCTIONS: FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON YOUR PACKAGE. This being said, I bake ALL my pieces (mostly Premo! clay) at 275 for an hour or more each. Sometimes they bake for an hour, twice!
- NOTE: Get baking tips here.
- If you choose, use this tutorial to add a patina to your piece to bring out all those interesting parts you couldn’t see earlier!
The Friesen Project
The Friesen Project is done in conjunction with Christi Friesen. All tutorials are retaught here with her expressed permission. Please make sure to read about the project here, and get answers to the most common FAQS here.
See you next Friesen Friday,
Until then, Happy Claying,
