July Pavelka Project

Polymer Clay Sutton Slice Technique

Polymer Clay Covered Birdhouse Tutorial

Welcome back for month 7 of our project. This month finds us with another tutorial that is based around a technique. What does this mean? It means that you can make whatever you want and enter it to win, as long as it uses the Sutton Slice Technique.

Polymer Clay Sutton Slice Technique

The Project:

• Book Being Used: The Complete Book of Polymer Clay by Lisa Pavelka
  • Page: 182
• Project: Sutton Slice Technique
• Project Due Date: July 31, 2015

Materials Needed:

• The Complete Book of Polymer Clay
• Your choice of polymer clay
• Item to Cover (if you are covering something)
• Transluscent Liquid Clay
• Mica Powders
• Texturing Stamp that is deep set
• Baby wipes or soft sponge
• Sculpting tools
• Varnish
• *Salt scrub to clean your hands (Get my recipe HERE)

What Will You Make?

It’s summer time here in the US and I’m in a flowery & summer mood. This usually happens to me this time of the year, so ever day, I follow my instinct and indulge myself in following the lead of my heart.

To be entered in the contest to win this month, all you have to do is make something using the Sutton Slice technique. You can make a pen, beads, box, pendant, or so much more. The field is wide open for this.

Please refer to her complete tutorial on page 176-181 in The Complete Book of Polymer Clay.

Polymer Clay Sutton Slice Technique

Part 1: Completing Your Sutton Slice

• Turn on your oven on to let it preheat.
• Decide what you are going to make or grab the item you are going to cover.
• If you will need to cut precise shapes, make templates now.
• TIP: You can make templates using just notebook paper if this is a one time piece.
• Prepare a coordinating color palette. If you need help with this, see this post on how to do it easily.
• Choose your clays to place in each ‘well of your stamp by pressing the clay firmly into the crevice and trim off the excess with a blade by gliding it over the top. (See Lisa’s book for detailed instructions & pictures).
• NOTE: You can place the same color clay in every well or you can use multiple colors as I did.
• Once your selected portion is filled, take another color clay and press it down over the stamp.
• TIP: Be sure to press hard enough that the clay in the stamp will pick up the clay in the recesses of the stamp and to pick up the additional lined details of the stamp.

Part 2: Covering Your Object

• If you have already made templates for the item you are going to cover, use your fingers to smear some liquid polymer clay over to object you will cover.
• Very carefully take your clay (still on the stamp) and place it face down on a deli sheet, so that the stamp side is up.
• Take one brief moment to push down on your stamp.
• Gently bend the stamp completely backward and pull the stamp off the clay.
• Once your clay is removed from the stamp, use your templates to cut the pieces for your project.
• NOTE: You may have to make 2 sheets of clay for your item depending on the size.
• My sheet completely covered my birdhouse, except for the roofline.
• To make the roofline: Marble ALL your scraps together. Form the scraps into a log. Rub mica powder all over the outside of the log. Shape into a flat sided oval. Cut equal sections and use as roof “tiles.”
• Add any additional details at this time.
• Bake the entire piece in the oven for 45 minutes.
• When your piece is baked & cooled you may choose to seal it with a protective coat of varnish.

A Note on Time: Depending on the details of your stamp & the type of project you will be doing, this piece will vary in time for completion. This birdhouse shown above took me 2 hours to make and did not include bake time.

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,