Clay Basics
Polymer clay is a material that is similar to plasticine. The difference is that the clay hardens through heat treatment - baking in a regular oven or a special oven for polymer clay. However, you shouldn’t buy the latter right away; for the first experiments, a regular oven will suffice. The temperature and time required for baking are always written on the packaging of polymer clay, since the requirements may vary among different manufacturers.
So, polymer clay has been purchased, what else might you need? To work, you need a flat, smooth surface, for which you can use a smooth cutting board, a piece of PVC, or glass. You can roll out the clay with a special small rolling pin or a flat bottle. It is also recommended to work with gloves, as polymer clay follows the texture of fingerprints. It is also important to understand that this material gets dirty easily and absorbs all the dust and hairs, so the workplace must be perfectly clean.
You may also need:
- needle and toothpick to create texture
- acrylic paints and brushes for painting
- napkins and glue for decoupage
Selecting the material
You can buy clay in a store or collect it yourself. The natural material purchased at retail outlets is distinguished by a variety of colors and plasticity, thanks to the addition of special technological additives to the composition. This clay has a high purity class and meets the parameters for the production of various items.
An alternative option is to collect raw materials from the slopes of ravines or quarries. Then it will be necessary to prepare the working mixture, since clay contains many sandy impurities that affect its workability.
The collected material should be poured into an enamel basin and filled with clean water, in which it is mixed and infused. Then the mixture should be rinsed well. Then she carefully goes over: foreign bodies and voids are removed. The result is a working “clay dough” that is homogeneous and elastic in composition. To achieve the best state of the mixture, it is recommended to leave it to “rest” for about 7 days.
Making a plate
Plates made of polymer clay can be very diverse. For example, it can repeat the shape and texture of a plant leaf. To do this, you will need to roll out an even rectangle or oval, outline a real or cut-out sheet of paper, give it a texture with a needle or toothpick, and then bend the edges a little.
You can make a plate in the shape of your favorite animal - a cat, puppy, fox or cartoon character. Children especially like such plates, because it is much more pleasant to eat from an unusual plate. The principle of operation is the same as with a leaf, we give the plate the shape of an animal, and then bend the edges.
You can make a traditional round plate. The easiest way to do this is with another plate of the required volume. The clay needs to be rolled out in an even layer, and then placed in a plate so that it completely repeats the shape of the finished ceramic or porcelain product. It is important to ensure that the clay is the same thickness throughout the entire product.
Once the plate has the desired shape, it must be baked in the oven. Requirements for temperature and baking time must be specified on the clay packaging.
Unusual ideas
The design of bottles for the New Year can be completely different and depends only on the imagination of the master. For example, by choosing napkins with designs on a beautiful blue background, painting the rest of the bottle in the same beautiful “winter” shade and adding everything with snow-white details, you will get a very stylish, almost icy decoration. Crumpled paper will make some parts of the image three-dimensional: Santa Claus's beard, the edge of his suit and the snow underfoot.
This decor with an abundance of white is suitable for a classic champagne bottle, which does not even have to be decorated with the top golden part, since it will fit well into the planned picture.
New Year's bottles will become a real work of art if you additionally decorate them with artificial fir branches and berries or full-fledged artificial floral arrangements with toys, balls and pine cones.
Another stylish solution would be to use transparent rhinestones of different shapes and shades that imitate pieces of ice. The design of a wine bottle with an image of Santa Claus on a snow-white background can be completed by placing miniature red Christmas hats with a white pompom on the top.
In general, adding voluminous standard parts always transforms a craft. As an option, you should put a wooden fence made of flat planks along the bottom of the container, and attach garlands of light bulbs on top.
Plate painting
After baking, the plate should be inspected for defects. Polymer clay can be sanded with regular sandpaper, so irregularities can be easily removed. If desired, you can apply the desired design to the finished plate. These can be watercolor stains, eyes, contours of paws, if it is a plate in the shape of an animal. After painting, the product must be varnished to secure the result.
Polymer clay is a magnificent material that can create incredible masterpieces. Moreover, you can decorate finished products with clay. For example, mugs with figures of animals, favorite cartoon characters and much more on the outside are very popular.
Photo of New Year's decoupage
Sources
- https://megamaster.info/kak-sdelat-dekupazh-butylok-svoimi-rukami/
- https://podelochkin.ru/novogodnij-dekupazh
- https://dnevnikmastera.ru/novogodniy-dekupazh
- https://gidrukodeliya.ru/novogodniy-dekupazh
- https://stranamasterov.ru/node/284436
- https://www.passionforum.ru/posts/84558-novogodnie-svechi-dekupazh-tarelki.html
- https://happymodern.ru/dekupazh-tarelok-svoimi-rukami/
- https://www.maam.ru/detskijsad/master-klas-novogodnii-dekupazh-bumazhnoi-tarelochki.html
- https://sdelala-sama.ru/dekupaj/4311-dekupazh-elochnyh-igrushek.html
- https://vplate.ru/dekupazh/butylok-novogodnyi/
- https://tytmaster.ru/novogodnij-dekupazh/
Decoration
Decorating is the creative part of pottery making. There are many decoration methods:
- relief;
- painting;
- glazing;
- inlay;
- embossing;
- seal;
- reservation;
- openwork;
- silkscreen printing.
Clay plate with painting.
Any chosen option will turn the product into an unusual, unique work of art.
