Making a Simple Heart a Bit Fancy

Hearts have always been one of my favorite things to make...well, hearts and flowers.  I can remember playing in mud when I was a child and making flowers and hearts. I loved playing in mud!  This is a simple little tutorial on how I throw a heart together.

I used Premo! Peacock Pearl right out of the package.  After conditioning the clay, I took about 1/8th?

of the package and chopped it up with my blade.

Pick up all the little pieces and smoosh them together.

This will give your heart a lot of depth and marbling from the mica

that is in the pearl clay.....LOVE IT!

 Roll them into a  smooth ball.

See the blues/turquoise and greens? Yummy!

With the ball of clay between your palms, roll it back and forth putting more pressure

on one side of the ball to make a teardrop shape.

I made this funny little tool to help create the cleft in the heart, I also use

a needle tool on occasion, it just takes a bit more smoothing to get the lobes

just right.

You just press the tool in to the wide part and toggle it back and forth until

you get it opened up to your liking.

 Notice that it isn't perfect, but it is a good start. :)

Smooth out and round the lobes

Until you get them to the shape you are happy with.

Next you need to decide where you want the hole. For this heart, I wanted the hole

straight through the lobes. You could also go straight down through the cleft and out the

point...or any which way you want your heart to hang.  Also,  you can insert a bail for hanging

if you so wish.

To pierce a bead it is best to use a drilling motion starting on one side and piercing part way 

through, turn it over and line up your needle and work the other side in the same way

until it comes out the first hole.  

I enlarged the hole with a bamboo skewer, then left a piece of a skewer in to keep the hole

and to hold as I decorated it.

At this point, smooth your fingertips over the heart like you are gently petting it

to erase the fingerprints.

 Collect some canes and clay to see what you want to use to

decorate your heart.

I chose a pink flower cane and a purple flower cane that were sitting in my

cane box just waiting for their moment in time.

I can't tell you how old these are...probably 5 years old or so.

 I like to do a bit of manipulation to the cane slices.

My "tools" are actually handmade glass ink pens from Italy. :)

Make up some bitsy little leaves from green.

Sweet!

Roll out a thin snake/vine and lay it on the heart then decorate with

cane slices and leaves to your heart's desire. hehe...get it?

Cure it according to the package's direction, put it on a ribbon and wear it proudly.

If you make a heart, I would love to see it!!
Check out my About Page and let me know what you think.

blessings, Zuda Gay

How To Make A Hibiscus

I have been working on a custom order this week making some hibiscus pendants in several different colors. I made my first hibiscus as a special request for a customer because it was one of her favorite flowers. It has never been one of my favorite ones to make. But! as I was working on them this week I came up with a different way to put them together than what I was doing and now I am enjoying making them. :) Yay! So, I just thought I would share my newly found process on how to make a polymer clay Hibiscus Pendant.

As with every pendant/focal I make, I begin with scrap clay. I have decided that this pendant will take the amount of clay of one 40mm circle and one 30mm circle of clay rolled on #1 of my Atlas Pasta Machine.

Smoosh the two circles together and roll into a smooth ball.

I take my petal cane and cut off several slices then run them through
my pasta machine on #5 or so.

Then use the flattened slices to cover the ball.

Roll it smooth.

Flatten the ball into about a 1/4" thick disk.

Using a rounded end of a tool or pen? make a crater in the center.
Insert bails. (I use the plastic from a bacon package to build my flowers on)

Cut five petals from your cane. (about 2-3mm thick)

Flatten out a bit with your finger tips then lay the petal in your hand.

I use a moistened nightlight bulb to rub across the petal to flatten it a bit more and
smooth it out.

Make waves or scallops around the edge of each petal by pinching and twisting a bit.

Over lap the side edges of the petals lightly pressing to get them to stick together.

When you get to the last petal, tuck it under the edge of the first petal to
complete the circle.

Center your circle of petals on top of your base making sure you have them
arranged in the way you want them.

Using the end of a tool or pen push the center of your petals down into the
crater you made in the base.
Gently press your petals down onto the base.

Make a pistil and put the end in the hole you made in the center arranging it the way you want.

Finished Hibiscus Pendant ready to be cured.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. The techniques I used to make the petal cane may be found in many places online. Here is a great link: Donna Kato Petal Cane

blessings, ZudaGay

Beads

A customer recently asked me if I would make some beads. What a novel idea!! I have made beads practically since I began this fascination with polymer clay. I've always made beads out of scraps of veneer that I made to cover things or Mokume Gane. Scraps make lovely beads!!!! But...there hasn't been too many times that I made beads as the goal rather than an after thought. I suppose that most of my hearts are actually focal beads as they have a hole that runs through them. I mostly make pendants. I love making pendants!!!! I don't really know why pendants fulfill some basic need in my creativity ....at least at this time in my life they do. All things are subject to change at this stage in my life.......pun intended. Oh yeah, this post is about beads. Anyway, this lovely customer wanted me to make beads, focal beads to use in bracelets. Here are some of the beads that I actually made on purpose to be beads.







blessings, ZudaGay

Speaking Of Treasuries...

I got lucky Friday evening and got a Treasury slot!!! This is so exciting when it happens. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I'm not alone in this affliction. I don't know why it is so fulfilling to pick out pictures and put them together. But it is just as cool to create a Treasury as it is to be chosen to be in one. So, without further ado.....I bring for your viewing pleasure......The Talented Color Mixers of Polymer Clay. (if you click on the picture it will enlarge)