Gold-plated Pendant Carol Duvall Show : Episode CDS-725 -- More Projects »
Project designed by Esther Anderson. Materials:
40 to 50 grams of Silver Artclay depending upon thickness of sheet or 1 ounce size of Precious Metal Clay
Stamp Zia small ginkgo leaf rubber stamp
plastic rolling pin or pasta maker
stainless steel clay knife with blunt edge
two freshwater pearls - two different sizes
seed beads in your choice of color
8" length of beading thread same color as seed beads or Soft Touch Very Fine Clear Wire .010
beading needle or Soft Touch Very Fine Clear Wire .010
one gold tone spacer bead
one gold tone jump ring
8" length of 28-gauge gold tone beading wire from The Beadery
round needle file
flat needle file
fine steel brush
water, hand lotion, and clear aloe vera gel (use to restore moisture to silver clays)
ceramic kiln with controller
Tips: - Do not place the silver metal clays in contact with aluminum objects. Silver metal clay that is exposed to aluminum may not fuse properly during the firing process in the ceramic kiln.
- If the silver metal clay is dry and cracking, mix in some water, hand lotion and some clear aloe vera gel to moisturize it.
Steps: - With a plastic or Pleixglas rolling pin or pasta maker, roll out the silver Artclay or PMC (Precious Metal Clay) into a sheet about 1/8th inch thick. Before rolling the silver clay through a pasta maker to create silver clay sheets, clean the rollers with rubbing alcohol, so that the silver clay is not contaminated by any residue.
- Use the Stamp Zia rubber stamp to stamp the ginkgo design
- Cut out the gingko leave pattern with blunt stainless steel clay knife
- Allow the silver clay gingko leaf to thoroughly air dry. If the silver clay is not thoroughly dry when it is placed in a conventional oven or in the ceramic kiln, it may curve or warp because of the sudden contraction caused by the rapid evaporization of the water. Place it on a ceramic tile and bake at 500-degrees in a conventional oven, to make the silver clay more durable, before you sand the edges.
- Sand the edges using a flat metal needle file, or an emery board.
- Twist or rotate the round needle file to pierce and drill the holes in the stem, one at the top of the stem, one at the bottom of the stem. Also pierce a hole at the center of the top edge of the pendant. (See photo of pendant) Later, you will use these holes as a method of attaching the seed beads, and pearls.
- Place gingko pendant in a cool ceramic kiln which has a controller. For silver Artclay, bring the temperature up to 1600-degrees Fahrenheit and fire or bake the pendant for 10 minutes at the 1600-degrees Fahrenheit. For silver Precious Metal Clay bring the temperature up to 1600-degrees Fahrenheit and fire the pendant for 2-1/2 hours. After the firing, the surface of the silver clay pendant will be a whitish color.
- After allowing the silver clay gingko leaf to cool, or quenching it in water to quick-cool, use a fine steel brush to clean and polish the surface to create a matte finish.
- Clean in ultrasonic jewelry cleaner or boil in water. Remove pendant from pan, and let cool. Put on clean gloves, and place in envelope and send pendant to gold plating service such as Red Sky Plating in Albuquerque, NM, or Gold plate it yourself with the systems such as the Wizard pen and TivaGlo pen solutions.
- Cut off an 8" length of the gold beading wire. Pass one end of the wire through the back of the pendant through the hole at the top end of the gingko stem. Next, pass the wire through the amount of seed beads necessary to cover the entire stem. Use about 16 seed beads. From the front of the pendant, insert the free end of the wire through the bottom hole of the stem.
- Bend the wire so it now appears on the back side of the pendant. Twist the wires together so they are taut, feed one end of the wire through one hole of the stem and the other end through the other hole of the stem so that the wires are on the front side of the pendant. Next, feed the ends of the wire through three beads and trim the wire so that the ends of the wires sink into the cavities of the beads.
- On the back side of the pendant, use a knot to attach the beading thread or Soft Touch .010 wire to the section of the gold wire, that going through the bottom hole of the gingko stem. Pass the beading thread or Soft Touch wire through about seven seed beads, then through a larger fresh water pearl, through two seed beads and then through a small freshwater pearl, then through a gold spacer bead, then finally through one seed bead. Pass the thread or Soft Touch wire back through the last seed bead and the spacer bead then knot the threads together, and cut off ends of threads. The ends of the threads or wire should recede into the gold spacer bead.
- Add the gold tone jump ring to the hole on the top edge of the pendant.
Resources polymer clay--AMACO
American Art Clay Co. Inc. (AMACO)
Website: www.amaco.com
rubber stamps - Stamp Zia
Stamp Zia
Waterford, WI
Phone: 262-534-6039
Toll Free Phone: 866-550-1017
Email: zana@stampzia.com
URL: www.stampzia.com
metal clay products, kilns, videos, books
Jubilee
Phone: 630-832-9394
Email: estheranderson@mediaone.net
Porcelaine 150 paint markers and paint
Pebeo of America
Website: www.pebeo.com
Red Sky Plating
Gold Plating Service
Red Sky Plating
Albuquerque, NM
Phone: 505-243-6600
Email: info@redskyplating.com
URL: www.redskyplating.com
Guests Esther Anderson
Artist and owner of Jubilee
Contact guest for metal clay products including gold and silver metal clay, books
and instructional videos.
Phone: 630-832-9394
Email: estheranderson@mediaone.net
Also in this Episode
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