Liquid Clay Image-Transfer Purse

Materials:

1/8 block black Premo
1/8 block silver Premo
1/3 yard 3/8" wide gold trim
1-1/4 yard 1/8" thick gold cord
6" gold/red beaded fringe
tapestry needle
tissue blade or craft knife
clay-dedicated oven
oven mitts
flat baking tray
oven thermometer
waxed paper
scissors
Craftsman contact cement
red 6 mm round glass stone
2 red 6mm x 10mm pointed oval glass stones
two 2 oz. bottles Translucent Liquid Sculpey
2 drawn pattern pieces, front and back
two 8-1/2"x11" transfer images *
two 9" x 12" light/medium pieces fabric **
dark gray embroidery/heavy-duty decorative thread
self-adhesive 5/8" round hook-and-loop fasteners
work surface (marble, tile, granite, acrylic)
extra-fine-point permanent marker
white Walnut Hollow oil-based colored pencil
1mm hole punch
2 goldtone 1/4" grommets
3-4mm hole punch or leather hole punch, pad and mallet
grommet (eyelet) setting tools

* Can be clip art, stamped image, hand-drawn image. For this project, size adjusted to fit purse pattern pieces, non-directional (no words), photocopied on a black and white copier with toner.

** cotton or cotton/polyester blend for best results, well pressed, light gold color with subtle print

Steps:

1. Place the transfer image picture side up on a sheet of waxed paper (figure A). Pour about a tablespoon of the translucent liquid polymer clay onto the transfer image. Spread it with your fingers into a thin even coat over the entire image. Extend the clay beyond the image at least 1/4 inch on each side (figure B).

2. Starting at one edge of the rectangle of fabric, carefully lay the well-pressed fabric over the image. The fabric should extend at least 1/2 inch over the edges of the image on all sides. Pat the fabric gently to allow the clay to soak through the fabric. Starting from the center of the fabric and working towards the edge, press the fabric into the liquid clay using even pressure with your fingers. This will help remove air pockets. If the fabric is not entirely saturated, squeeze a small amount of liquid clay onto the unsaturated areas and spread it evenly with your fingers (figure C). You will see a slight sheen on the side of the fabric that is facing up.

3. Bake paper and fabric on a flat tray at 265 F degrees for 10 minutes, watching closely to prevent fabric from burning. Do not let cool--see next step. Tip: A regular toaster oven works best for this, since a convection oven blows air that may disturb the fabric.

4. Immediately after removing the fabric from the oven, while the paper and fabric are still hot, peel the fabric away from the transfer image (figure D). If it is difficult to peel, try warming the fabric and paper up again, and try a second time. Lay the peeled fabric on a flat surface, and allow it to cool.

5. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to create the second piece of clay fabric.

6. Repeat baking and peeling steps for the second piece of fabric. Tip: If you are unable to remove all the paper cleanly after several attempts at re-heating, allow fabric to cool and soak in a basin of water. When remaining paper is saturated, scrub off with fingers and sand lightly with wet sandpaper.

Note: If you do soak the fabric, allow it to dry before using it for the project.

8. On the back side of the larger of the cut-out purse pieces, realign the pattern piece 1/8 inch from the edge. Following the markings on the pattern, dot the punch holes on the back of the fabric with the extra-fine-point marker (figure F). Repeat for opposite edge and bottom edge of the pouch.

9. Next mark the grommet holes for the purse strap. Repeat marking the punch holes for the second piece of the purse (figure G).

10. Use a 1mm hole punch to punch out all of the marked holes on both pieces (figure H), except for the two purse strap holes.

11. Align the 3 to 4mm leather punch with the grommet hole markings, and tap firmly with the mallet (figure I). Make sure to use the protective pad under the leather punch. These holes can also be made with a 3 to 4mm hole punch.

12. Turn clay fabric wrong side up and insert grommet from the bottom (right side) of the clay fabric (figure J). Insert the grommet-setting tool into the center of the grommet and strike firmly with the mallet while the fabric is placed on top of the protective pad.

13. Thread a tapestry needle with embroidery or heavy-duty craft thread doubled over, and knot the end. Lay front and back pieces of the purse together, matching up the punch holes. Starting at the holes at the top of one side of the purse, stitch through the first hole twice to secure the thread (figure K). Whip stitch all the way around both pieces to the bottom center of the purse (figure L).

14. Take one running stitch to the next hole at the bottom center of the purse, so you can reverse the direction of the whipstitch on the other side of the purse.

15. When you reach the final hole on the other side, stitch to secure the knot, and clip the thread. Use a dot of glue on the starting and ending knots to permanently secure the thread.

17. Apply contact cement to the bottom edge of the purse, both to the back of the purse and to the front over the tape edge of the fringe. Spread contact cement on the back of the gold decorative trim (figure N). Allow contact cement to set. Press gold trim all the way around the bottom of the purse, folding raw edges under and cutting off the excess trim. The fringe can also be applied with double-stick tape made for fabric.

18. From the outside of the purse, pull one end the gold strap cording through each grommet hole to the inside of the purse, and knot the cord ends (wrap with tape the ends of the cording so it will fit through the eyelets). Knot the two sections of the cord together under the purse flap (figure O). Center the hook section of the self-adhesive hook-and-loop pieces 1/2 inch from the tip of the inside of the purse flap and attach (figure P). Fold over flap and mark center of where the fastener sits on the purse. Attach the loop portion of the fastener to the purse.

19. Mix black and silver clays together completely. Form a 1/2-inch ball with the clay. Flatten ball slightly to make a dome. Roll a small piece of clay into a thin snake, and wrap around the dome to form a decorative edge. Trim the excess clay off where snake ends meet.

20. Cover top of clay dome with a very thin coat of liquid clay. Press three glass stones into the dome. Bake the clay and stone embellishment for 18 minutes at 275 F degrees; allow the button decoration to cool.

21. Place a dot of contact cement in the center of the front of the purse flap 1/2 inch from the tip of the flap and on the back of the decorative button. Allow cement to set and press clay button onto the flap of the purse.