Polymer Clay Faux Wood Inlay Pin

Materials:

Premo polymer clay: gold, silver, pearl, black, red pearl, green pearl
baking and cutting surface
clay blade
craft knife
clay shaper tool
Shapelets rounded square template
pasta machine
straight edge
brayer
High-Temp Brush-On Poly Bonder
parchment paper
pin back

1. Condition all clay before using by rolling through the pasta machine several times on the thickest setting. The mica clays should have a solid sheen when fully conditioned.

2. Beginning with the gold clay, roll a sheet into a log being careful not to trap any air. Twist the log into tight twists by twisting small sections at a time. Continue until the entire log is thoroughly twisted. Ideally, the twists should be 1 to 3 millimeters apart (figure A).

3. Set the pasta machine to its thickest setting. Lay the log parallel to the rollers and run the clay through the pasta machine. Reduce the setting to the desired thickness and run the clay through again in the same direction. This produces the medium yellow wood (figure B).

4. Repeat the above steps using the following blends (figures C and D):

equal amounts pearl and gold clays for a light wood;

equal amounts of gold, red pearl, and green pearl clays for a dark brown wood; and

equal amounts of black and silver clays for a black wood. (For this project, both a thick sheet of black wood and a thin sheet are needed.)

5. Put the piece of the medium wood on a sheet of parchment paper. Put a piece of the dark wood on top of it. Make two intersecting straight cuts through this stack. These cuts should not be at right angles (figure E).

6. Remove two opposing pieces of dark wood and set them aside. Also, remove the two medium wood pieces that are below the remaining dark wood pieces and set them aside (figure F). Reassemble the remaining four pieces of clay and press lightly together. This assembly is part A (figure G).

7. Next cut a strip that is about 1/4-inch wide from the light wood (figure H). Also cut two strips that are about 1/16-inch wide from the thin sheet of black wood.

8. Put the light wood strip on a sheet of parchment paper and gently press the black wood strips onto either side of the light wood strip. Use a straight edge to press these pieces together so they will stick. This assembly is part B (figure I).

9. Carefully pick up part B and place it over one of the cuts in part A. Using the clay blade, carefully cut part A along the edges of part B (figure J). Then carefully lift part B and remove the clay that was underneath it. Put part B into the space that has just been created. Lightly press all of the pieces together. This is the surface veneer (figure K).

10. Place a rounded square template over a thick piece of black wood and cut the clay using the outline of the template (figure L).

11. Using the same template, select a portion of the surface veneer for the pin (figure M). Put the thick black clay over this location. When placing the background, it is best to roll it into place. Pushing down gently as the clay is laid into place. This will help to reduce the trapped air.

12. Remove the template. Using the thick black wood as a guide, cut the veneer (figure N).

13. Turn the assembly over and lightly roll over it with a brayer to press everything together and to remove any air that might have been trapped. Be careful not to distort the shape.

14. To frame the piece, roll a long piece of dark wood through the pasta machine on one of the thinner settings. Fold this in half along its longest axis and run through the pasta machine again on the next thicker setting. Carefully wrap the strip around the piece, making sure that the fold is even with the top face of the pin (figure O). This is easiest if the pin is face down. Trim the strip to fit the pin and cut the excess off of the back (figure P). Use a clay tool or fingernail to smooth the seam.

15. Bake the pin according to the manufacturer's directions (figure Q).

16. To attach a pin back, apply the High-Temp Poly Bonder to a pin back and press onto the back of the piece. Roll a thin piece of black wood through the pasta machine and cut a rectangle from it that is about 1/2" x 1/2." Open the pin and place the rectangle over the pin back. Press it onto the piece.

17. Bake again to cure this last attachment. Finally, sand and buff.