Materials:

• Premo! Sculpey Cadmium Red 5382
• A plain plastic or metal switchplate
• Flecto Varathane, a wood finish Available at hardware stores
• Black acrylic paint
• Rubber stamps in a variety of motifs, or other impressing items such as Scratch-Art texture sheets
• A pasta machine or acrylic brayer for rolling flat sheets
• A craft or X-Acto knife
• Small plastic paintbrush
• Toothpick or skewer
• Soft rag (old t-shirt) for wiping stain
• White PVA glue, like SOBO or Aleene's tacky glue

Directions:

• Prepare the switchplate by lightly coating the front face with glue. Allow to dry, or apply the clay while still tacky -- the glue helps bond the clay and plate while baking.
  

• After conditioning the clay, roll it out to a #3 thickness on the pasta machine, or 1/8" with an acrylic brayer. Use stamps, a texture plate, or other items such as lace and woven fabric to impress into the clay. (Note: Shown here are stamps from Uptown Design Company, unmounted stamps, and a matrix plate made from my own drawings, free designs from the Dover Pictorial Archive series, and from a Chinese font. These were made for me by Ready Stamps, a workshop for the Cerebral Palsy Association.)
  

• Lay the switchplate lightly face down onto the patterned clay. Use the knife to cut around it, leaving a 1/4" allowance around the entire rectangle. Pick up the plate and clay, and apply the clay to the front face of the switch plate. Make sure there are no bubbles. Carefully bring the edges down over the switchplate. Trim off excess clay all around.
  

• Lay the clay and plate down flat on the worksurface, with the back of the plate showing. Cut out the hole for the switch, and poke holes to mark the screw holes with the toothpick or skewer. Turn over the plate, and smooth any ragged edges with a fingertip. Don't forget to poke the holes for the screws again, from the front.
  

• Bake the plate and clay according to package directions, 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 30 minutes per 1/4 inch of thickness. (NOTE: If living at high altitudes over 5000 feet, bake 5 or 10 degrees hotter for optimum strength. Monitor for any color darkening, however.)
  

• After the clay has cooled, mix some Flecto Varathane and black acrylic paint in a jar lid or other small container.
  

• Use about half and half of each, or more Flecto to dilute the consistency if needed, and make a black stain. With the paintbrush, apply the stain to the plate, making sure to get the mixture down into all the recessed areas. Use the cloth to wip the stain from the surface, leaving the stain in the deeper parts, giving an antiqued look. See how this brings out the impressed details!
  

• Allow the plate to dry completely before sanding lightly on the raised surface with wet/dry sandpaper at a 2000 grit. Use with cool water and use to clean up any too-dark areas on the surface. But, don't take off too much. After installing on a wall, you can touch up the screws with red, gold or black paint if desired. Make plug plates to match using this same method, and "pull together" your décor. Faux cinnabar beads (made by rolling the clay tube beads over stamps or other texture items, can be used in decorative ways as well--new pulls for miniblinds, or a decorative pull for a fan or lamp!!! Insert

NOTE: For more examples of jewelry and home décor items, watch for Sarajane Helm's new book, Create a Polymer Clay Impression available September 2001 through Krause Publications.