Bead Embroidered Heart Brooch

Materials:

Kato polymer clay (one color and translucent)
copper and silver leaf
Faux Dichro Liquid Glass
pasta machine
hand roller
marble surface
toaster oven
latex gloves
flexible tissue blade
paintbrush
baking dish
E6000 epoxy
220- 400- 600- and 1500-grit sandpaper
plastic bag or wrap
Lacey’s Stiff Stuff
tacky glue (thick white glue)
marker
leather
combo brooch/pendant finding
Japanese seed beads - sizes 15, 11, 8, and 6 (in several colors to match and contrast with polymer cabochon)
Silamide thread
size 12 beading needles
accent beads - metals, semi-precious and Czech glass

Polymer Cabochon

1. Condition 1/2 oz. of blue clay on setting #5 on a pasta machine. Condition 1/2 oz. of translucent clay on setting #5 on the pasta machine. Cut each sheet of clay into quarters.

2. Working on a marble surface, layer a quarter sheet of blue clay, a piece of copper leaf and a layer of translucent clay (figure A).

• Place a piece of silver leaf over the translucent clay unit (figure B).
• Repeat the layering again, color clay, copper leaf, translucent clay and silver leaf.
• Continue the process until there are 16 layers.
• Cut the piece in half and stack the two halves, producing a finished block with 32 layers (figure C).

3. Reduce this finished block slightly using a hand roller or glass jar (figure D).

4. Using the flexible blade held slightly curved, carve or shave into the block. This will reveal a grain of clay layers (figure E).

5. Base Bead:

• Roll a piece of clay into a round shape for the base bead (figure F).
• Cut two or three shaved pieces from the block using the tissue blade.
• Cover the base bead with the shaved pieces (figure G).
• Put on gloves and flatten the bead into a cabochon on the marble surface.
• Remove the cabochon piece from the marble board with the tissue blade (figure H) and transfer it to an ovenproof, clay-dedicated dish.

6. Heat the oven to 275-degrees and bake the cabochon for 25 minutes. Let cool.

7. Wet-sand the cabochon beginning with 220-grit sandpaper and work to 1500-grit paper. This removes any fingerprints or other imperfections in the surface. Tack the cabochon onto a piece of plastic bag or wrap using scrap clay. Apply Faux Dichro Liquid Glass to the surface of the cabochon using a paintbrush (figure I). Let dry 45 minutes. Apply another coat and let dry for 2-3 hours.