Scrapbook 101 - 3 Dimensional Embellishments

by Lauren Van Hemert

Are you one of the many creative Scrapbookers looking for new ideas? Are you ready for 3 dimensional embellishments you create in the colors and sizes you want? Never settle again!

Premo! Sculpey is available in an array of colors, and if you don’t see one you like, mixing is so easy. Used on its own or with our easy-to-use Push Molds, Premo! Sculpey and accessories are for you!

Our testing indicates that cured (baked) Premo! Sculpey polymer clay has a neutral PH (Acid FREE). . . . and it’s Lignin FREE!

Polymer clay is an exciting medium for scrapbookers. Push molds and rubber stamps can be used in creative lettering and framing techniques, as well as making embellishments for a fraction of the cost of expensive metal or sticker embellishments.

With any push mold, press conditioned clay into the mold, flex the mold, and release. Bake per clay package instructions. No release agent is needed.

[Cadminium Red Premo, Alphabet Theme Push Molds]

In addition to the Alphabet Theme push mold letters, you can create your own custom letters using other push mold theme sets. In the example below, I created my own texture plates using Superflex clay and the African theme push molds. I simply created a clay stamp using the border mold in the African theme push mold set. Once baked, I rolled out a thin sheet of Superflex clay, spritzed my clay stamp with water to act as a release, and stamped the clay stamp onto the Superflex clay to create a custom texture plate.

[Premo Copper, African Theme Push Molds, Gold Powdered Pigments]

Texture Plate Instructions

1. Press “junk” clay into the border push mold, flex the mold, and release.
2. Bake the mold per package instructions.
3. Once cool, roll out Superflex clay on the thickest setting of the pasta machine (or use an acrylic roller).
4. Spritz baked border mold with water (to act as a release agent), and randomly stamp baked border mold onto rolled out Superflex clay.
5. Bake the stamped Superflex clay per package instructions. Once cool, the Superflex clay can be stamped onto colored clay or rolled through the pasta machine with desired color clay (here I rolled the texture plate with Premo Copper clay through the thickest setting of the pasta machine).
6. Use letter stencils or templates to cut letters out of texture stamped clay.

Finally, stamping on clay can create popular wax seal effects. In the example below, I stamped “Women” in Premo Gold using Hero Arts Alphabet Shadow Stamps. Stamping the shadow stamps on clay, creates a raised letter effect. Remember to spritz the stamp with water to act as a release, otherwise, the stamp will stick to the clay. You can also use pigment ink or heat set ink to stamp onto clay.

[Premo Gold, Hero Arts Alphabet Shadow Stamps]

Framing Pictures

Some push mold sets, such as the Victorian Decor push molds, include frames. Most of the sets contain border molds that can be pieced together to frame pictures.

In the tag example below, I used the Victorian Décor frame push mold on a stamped clay tag to frame a photo transferred baby picture of my grandmother. The entire tag is made of clay!

[Premo Gold, Victorian Décor Push Molds, Stamps Raindrops on Roses,
Galaxy Gold Brilliance Stamp Pad, Translucent Liquid Sculpey]

In the example below, I used a border mold from the African Theme push mold set to create a frame.

[Premo Copper, Gold Powdered Pigments, African Theme Push Mold]

Embellishments

From stickers to metal, embellishments are popular. However, sticker and metal embellishments can be expensive, and metal can cause abrasions in your scrapbooks. Polymer clay is the solution. It is lightweight, thin, won’t cause abrasion, and inexpensive. Various finishing techniques and surface treatments, such as using powdered pigments, can be used to create the look of metal.

In the tag example below, the Victorian Décor push molds are used to create gold embellishments. Premo Gold clay is enhanced by the use of powdered pigments to create a metallic look. Again, the entire tag, including the photo, which is a photo transfer, is made of clay!

[Premo Gold Clay, Stamps by Stampers Anonymous, Vicorian Décor Push Molds, Script Stamp Hero Arts, Coffee Bean Brilliance Stamp Pad, Galaxy Gold Brilliance Stamp Pad, Translucent Liquid Sculpey]

Glues & Adhesives

I experimented with several different types of glues and adhesives. All adhesive is acid free and safe; however, for clay embellishments and letters, Polyform recommends Crafter’s Pick Ultimate. For kids or teen scrapbooks, I found that Aileen’s Tacky Glue worked well. It is non-toxic, safe, and dries clear.

Keep in mind, when adhering either baked or unbaked pieces of clay to clay, you should use Translucent Liquid Sculpey. This acts as a strong adhesive when adhering clay to clay; however, it must be baked per package instructions. Since I would not advise baking your scrapbook pages, I would not recommend using Translucent Liquid Sculpey to adhere clay to paper or clay to pages.

If you are new to clay, be sure to check out Syndee Holt’s article Sculpey 101 to get you started.

For more information, e-mail stampin_nc@yahoo.com.