Strawberries in the Spring!

    Strawberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits.  I especially love them combined with rhubarb, but         really, fresh strawberries and cooked strawberries; straight out of the field or frozen…they are all good! 

   When I mixed this red polymer clay with gold and yellow and added green, of course, strawberries came      to mind.  This is my interpretation of a strawberry fruit with its goodness inside and out!

     I've never used the manufactured paper balls that I bought somewhere (guess we all know about that!)     and started reading about them.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/115947922/cotton-paper-balls-for-polymer-clay?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product_listing_promoted&utm_campaign=supplies_low&gclid=CKTouvLDhL4CFQpgfgod0jYA3A

     First I wrapped the cotton paper ball in foil to keep it from sticking to the clay. 

    I cut triangles for the petals and placed them on the ball keeping in mind that it needed to be flower like.  Then I put the green leaves at the base.  I had some really stiff crinkly copper paper and used it for the texture.  I could press hard since the core was so stable.  I placed it in baking soda and cured the piece in the convection oven.  The baking soda kept it from flattening by giving it extra support.

     When the flower cooled, I used my pliers and water to pull out the cotton.  It worked like a charm. 

   Then I drilled a hole and used a head pin to hold the glass bead in place.  It was such fun to be able to use one of my stash beads!  The head pin was extra long allowing me to twine the wire outside the flower around the bale and pretend it is a tendril. 

 

   This is such fun to wear this spring reminding me to smile and think of strawberries!