Materials:
FimoSoft polymer clay - Purple Violet #62
Paper Mate Flexgrip pen
NuBladeKato and Marxit Kato clay tools
Pearl-Ex pigment powder - Mica
rubber stamp
UltraGloss enamel paint and brush
Fimo Gloss glaze
Steps:
Conditioning the Clay
Polymer clay must be conditioned prior to use. Fimo Soft is easily conditioned by either kneading and warming in your hands or by rolling slices through the pasta machine, then folding and rolling until the clay is soft and pliable.
Preparing the Pen
- Remove the ink cartridge from the pen barrel (figure A). Set aside; you will not bake them.
- The Paper Mate Flexgrip pen is a soft-sided pen with a slightly textured surface. Paint the pen with the Ultra Gloss enamel paint and allow to dry before covering the pen with clay. The paint provides a better surface to which the clay will adhere.
Pen Barrel - Roll a sheet of Fimo Soft through the thickest setting of the pasta machine. Make sure the sheet is long enough to cover the length of the barrel.
- Lightly dust pigment powder onto the rubber stamp. Blot the stamp on a piece of paper to remove the excess powder.
- Reset the pasta machine and roll the sheet through, stretching the pattern. Trim the sheet sides with NuBlade.
- Lay one edge on the pen barrel. Wrap the clay around, then trim the sheet so that the seam edges meet neatly and there is no overlap (butt joint). Note - To prevent additional smearing of pigment powder, place the sheet face down on a piece of tissue and wrap.
- Press seam closed lightly with fingers (figure B). If necessary, trim the clay at the closed end of the barrel then press clay over the end.
Pen Top - Roll a 1/4" diameter ball of clay. Roll the ball in powder to coat, then cut in half. Place one half on top of the pen.
- Roll a tapering snake of clay, then coat with powder. Cut in half along the length then wrap below the ball and around the pen barrel, positioned so the flat side is making contact with clay-covered pen (figure C).
- Place the pen on a sheet of polyester batting and bake at 265 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool then reassemble the pen.
Pen Stand - Roll a large ball of clay and cut in half. You will only use half.
- Prepare another stamped sheet of clay as before or use the remaining sheet from the pen.
- Drape the sheet of clay over one half of the large ball (figure D) . Cut excess clay away from the base of the ball then pick up and gently push the sheet beneath.
- Push the assembled pen into the stand and wiggle it slightly (figure E) .
- Bake the stand at 265 degrees for 30 minutes.
Finishing To seal the pigment powder, brush a light coat of Fimo Gloss glaze on both pen and the stand. Allow glaze to dry completely. Place the ink cartridge back into newly decorated pen barrel.
Resources Fimo polymer clay, Marxit Kato, NuBlade Kato - Prairie Craft
Prairie Craft Company/Kato Polyclay
Website:
www.prairiecraft.com
or
Website:
www.katopolyclay.comThe Art of Polymer Clay: Designs and Techniques for Making Jewelry, Pottery and Decorative Artwork
by Donna Kato
Watson-Guptill, 1997
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Prairie Craft Company/Kato Polyclay
Website:
www.prairiecraft.com
or
Website:
www.katopolyclay.com Guests Donna Kato
Artist and owner of Prairie Craft Company
Website:
www.prairiecraft.com
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