Washi Tin Gift Box and Flip Flop Earrings

Materials and Tools:

2 oz. black Premo! polymer clay
2 oz. white Premo! polymer clay
2 oz. pearl Premo! polymer clay
2 oz. cadmium red Premo! polymer clay
red and yellow floral cane with translucent clay background
small mint candy tin (mini)
translucent liquid clay medium
Perfect Pearl gold metallic powder
rubbing alcohol
paintbrush
Piñata fabric inks
two eye pins
two earring findings
8-10 lb. test monofilament fishing line
red seed beads
Locktite Gel Super Glue
cotton "box filler" for inside gift tin
variety of deckle-edged paper scissors
pasta machine
bone folder
clay cutting blade
brayer
Shade Tex brand texture sheets
parchment paper
spoon
baby powder
needle tool
ball tool
oven
round nose pliers
Kemper cutter, bent to resemble a flip-flop sole

Figure A

Steps:

Washi Clay Tin

1. Condition white clay and roll it into thin sheets (#4 or #5 on the pasta machine). Cut one sheet of clay to approximately 4" x 4" and set aside. Roll two more sheets of clay approximately 5" x 5" and coat with piñata inks.

• For one sheet, add drops of mostly blue and purple inks and spread across the clay sheet with a paintbrush.
• For the other sheet, add drops of red, orange and yellow inks and spread them across the clay sheet with a paintbrush (figure A).

Figure B

2. When the ink is dry, use deckle edged paper scissors to cut strips of the inked clay (figure B). Lay the strips in a randomly crossed pattern on the 4" x 4" sheet of plain white clay. Roll with brayer to secure and then run through a pasta machine in two directions.

Figure C

Repeat adding strips of inked clay, until you have a pleasing pattern, brayer down and run through the pasta machine in two directions (figure C).

Figure D

3. Make very thin slices of the red and orange translucent flower cane and apply randomly to the decorated sheet of clay (step 2) (figure D).

4. Use parchment paper and a bone folder (or spoon) to burnish the cane slices onto the decorated sheet of clay. Set the sheet aside.

Figure E

5. Condition white clay and make a thin snake. Cover it with conditioned blue clay, then cover it with a sheet of translucent clay. Cut the snake into five equal pieces. Roll a thin snake of white clay and surround it with the five blue canes to form a flower (figure E).

Figure F

Reduce the flower and cut thin slices. Place randomly on the decorated sheet of clay. This becomes the Washi sheet used for the top of the mint tin (figure F).

6. Condition black clay and form into sheets of clay (on the #3 setting on the pasta machine). Cut one sheet approximately 3" x 3" and press a texture onto the clay (any Shade Tex texture sheet). Dust the clay with baby powder so that the texture sheet won't stick to the clay. Set the sheet aside.

Figure G

7. Apply a texture to a larger sheet of black clay with an unmounted rubber stamp. Cut the textured sheet into 16- to 18-inch diagonal strips that are 1/2 inch wide using a clay-cutting blade (figure G).

Figure H

8. Attach the 3-inch textured sheet to the bottom of the mint tin and trim it flush with the sides using a needle tool. Wrap the sides of the lower half of the tin with the 1/2-inch strips and trim flush with the bottom. Gently press the joint between the side and the bottom to secure (figure H).

Figure I

9. Attach the Washi clay sheet to the top of the tin. Cover the sides of the tin's top with a black 1/2-inch textured strip (figure I).

Figure J

10. Run another sheet of black clay through the pasta machine with the Shade Tex Asian fan texture sheet. Cut out one fan piece and highlight the raised area of the fan element with metallic powder. Add the textured black clay to the bottom and sides of the tin (figure J). Attach the fan element to the top of the tin with liquid clay and bake at 270 degrees for 30 minutes.

Flip Flop Earrings

1. Condition pearl clay until smooth and shiny. Form a sheet using #4 thickness on the pasta machine. Cut a 2" x 2" square. Thinly slice translucent floral cane and apply slices randomly to the clay square. Smooth the slices into the clay with parchment paper and a spoon. Run through the pasta machine on #4 to further smooth the clay.

Figure K

2. Condition and roll red clay to #5 on the pasta machine. Cut a 2" x 2" square. Layer the pearl sheet on top of the red sheet. Roll a sheet of black clay to #4 on the pasta machine, then run it through with a texture sheet on #4 again. Cut a 2" x 2" square and place the texture down on the table. Add the red and pearl squares, making a sandwich with the decorated pearl clay and the textured black clay on the outside and the red clay in the center. Adhere all three sheets of clay with a brayer (figure K).

Figure L

3. Cut out the foot bed of the sandal with a modified Kemper cutter. Make three divots in the bottom (black layer) of the sandal with a ball tool. Pierce a hole in each divot through to the top of the sandal with a needle tool (figure L).

4. Trim an eye pin to approximately 3/8 inch. Dip the straight end in instant glue and insert it in the toe of the foot bed. Bake at 270 degrees 30 minutes.

5. Cut an 8-inch piece of monofilament fishing line. String one seed bead on the monofilament and thread both ends up through the toe hole so that the bead sits in the divot on the black side of the sandal foot bed. String both ends through two seed beads on top of the sandal to form the toe thong.

6. Separate the two threads and string five or six seed beads on each to form the sandal straps. Put each thread down through a side hole and pick up another seed bead on each thread.

7. Bring the thread back up through the side hole, so the bead on the bottom seats in the divot and string the thread back through the five or six beads that make the strap of the sandal. The threads will meet at the toe thong.

Figure M

8. Gently pull both sides snug and tie a square knot and an overhand knot. Secure knots with a dot of instant glue. When dry, trim excess thread away and touch up knots with a permanent marker to make it unnoticeable. Attach earring findings to eye pins (figure M).

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