Second Generation Sun Catchers


Sometimes a special person asks for something and even though you had not planned on doing it, you say ‘Yes, of course, I will’!  That is how the second generation of polymer sun catchers came to be. 
It’s been a while since I made the first batch when I was experimenting with polymer clay and alcohol inks.  I should have made some notes but of course since it was an experiment that expanded into a dozen eye catching dangles I just did not think I’d need them.  Previous post - http://www.lindabrittdesign.blogspot.com/2015/08/making-sun-catchers.html

I started conditioning several packages of translucent polymer clay (Premo) and found that some were crumbly.  I softened those with Sculpey Clay Softener and continued to put them through the pasta machine.  (For those of you who do not work with polymer, conditioning the clay usually required putting the clay though the widest setting on the pasta machine many times).  Then I divided the white translucent clay in to sections and spread different colors of alcohol ink on the clay and let it dry.  It goes back into the pasta machine for color mixing and more conditioning.

Translucent Clay Colored with Alcohol Ink ready to go into pasta machine
I took before and after pictures of shapes with alcohol ink so you could see the big difference between unbaked and baked colors.  It is good to do some testing if you want any control over those colors!

Alcohol Ink on Uncured Clay

Alcohol Ink Cured on Clay - same pieces of before and after curing
I like to stack the different colors, make designs that cut through the clay, turn some of the pieces upside down and then chill the stack in the refrigerator.  Using this Mokume-gane technique allows me to make very thin slices and each of these slices will be very different.  I lay them on waxed paper to use later. 
Stacked and Design Cut into Clay


2 Layers of Thinly Sliced Designs (Mokume-gane Technique)

Next I make a thin sheet of white translucent clay and start arranging the colored pieces in patterns.  Cookie cutters, small shape cutters and molds are used to make the individual shapes to be used in the sun catchers.  Don’t you just love the giraffe and the elephant?  The shapes are cured (baked in a convection oven at the manufacturer’s specified setting – in this case 265 degree F. 


Now comes the sorting of the pieces.  I started to sand first and realized that I could be sanding pieces I would not even use!  Not wasting that much time! It was fun to select the pieces and find a few beads for enhancement. 

Then I used my Jool Tool (JoolTool.com) for sanding in 3 stages, polishing and buffing.  I figured this finishing process took about 10 minutes per sun catcher. 


Assembling - I decided to use 20 gauge copper wire instead of jump rings to connect the pieces.  This allow for more freedom to incorporate the beads. 



As you can see I have several sun catchers to assemble.  I’ll share photos as I finish.  And I’ll have some in my etsy shop www.etsy.co/shop/lindabrittdesign after my special friend gets the 6 she ordered! 
Labels:
Location: Prescott, AZ, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning As We Go!

Image
Viking knit is the oldest method of chain making and I've become fascinated by it.  Once I conquered the single knit, I decided to add beads.  I could have googled or asked how it was done but it seemed like something I could just figure out.  And I've learned a lot as I proceeded first with tumbled turquoise beads and then with pearls.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I've learned.   Iif you want a great tutorial on viking knit technique, Trina Ann at http://blog.trinaann.com/  has written a clear concise easy to understand tutorial.  I highly recommend it.    Tumbled tuquoise beads in viking knit  I used tumbled turquoise beads in the first viking knit chain and I did not really know what I was doing.  But I went right ahead and as it turned out, I liked the end result.  Since the beads were irregular in shape there was a random quality to the finished product. During that process, I began to really understand the technique of viking knit.  Loo
Read more

Polymer Clay Conversation

Image
One of the polymer clay groups on FaceBook is 'Polymer Clay Collective'.  This is a group of artists working in polymer clay who share ideas and support each other.  I'm so glad to be a part.  A new feature of this group is the 'Polymer Clay Collective Conversations' where a different member answers a set  of questions.  I get to be first - the trailblazer! I hope you enjoy learning a little more about me and in two weeks I get to learn more about someone else. • Tell us a bit about where you live. I live in Prescott AZ right next to the national forest.   When I look out my studio windows, I often see large black ravens swooping between the pine trees.   Binoculars are always available for close viewing of our smaller forest birds.   You’ve probably read about the forest fires we have had in our area this summer.   The monsoon rains we are having are so welcome. • What do you do when you're not polymer claying? As of 2010, I became a retired interi
Read more

Giving New Meaning to UPCYCLE!

Image
My first ever ‘Do Over Challenge’ was such fun!  I signed up to participate in Jeannie K Dukic ’s 6th Do Over Challenge not really knowing anything about how it worked.  I received a necklace that was very sweet with copper wire connections and pinkish pearls.  It sat on my work space for a couple of weeks while I pondered my next move.  One day I opened my polymer bead collection and was drawn to the pinkish and green beads.  They really looked good with the pearls.  I found some green crystal beads and a few other contenders.  But when I tried the small striped beads, I knew my combination!  This is the finished product for most of the pearls in the original necklace. It was the week to finish some of my long term projects.  I kept the wires with the red and green rubber bands from the braces I wore for 3 years.  When they finally came off, I asked the orthodontist if I could have them.  He wanted to know why since almost NO ONE wanted them and I told him I wante
Read more