So I wanted to make something spesh from polymer clay for my good mate Jo for her birthday. It had to be a bangle, something a bit funky. I got practicing and before I knew it, I was smack bang in the midst of a bangle-making frenzy! And every time I sat down to my clay table to try something new, that old song Mr. Bojangles would start up in my head!!
The first thing I had to do was find a mold to make the right sized base. My hubby found me skulking about in the kitchen pantry looking at various tinned goods with a maniacal gleam in my eye.....
I have used food tins, drink cans and scone cutters to make various sizes of bangles. As well as covering a wooden blank from a craft shop and metal eggrings with polymer clay.
Jo's bangle (Image 1) was made by paneling rectangular kaleidoscope cane cutouts onto a baked clay base and then laying a thin layer of clay over the edges. I've since used the same technique to make a few more bangles (Images 2 & 3). Deb Crothers kindly provided me with her own tutorial for making sculpted eggring bangles - these are just so fun to make, you can really add just about anything you want to them. This is definitely one of the most fun things I've tried in clay techniques (Images 4 & 5). Since writing this post, Debbie Crothers' sculpted bangle tutorial has been published in Australian Beading Magazine. Do yourself a favour and check it out!!
 |
| Image 1: Polymer clay bangle made with kaleidoscope cane panels |
|
 |
| Image 2: The first kaleidoscope bangle I made - my mould was a bit too big! |
 |
| Image 3: I've since made another version using an extruded cane to make the panels (this was my birthday present to myself...I'm good to myself, aren't I?!) |
 |
| Image 4: Sculpted eggring bangle with playful dolphins |
 |
| Image 5: Sculpted eggring bangles - mum's birthday present!!! |
Very cool, I like the intricate design, a lot finer than you could paint.
ReplyDelete