It is easy to change your furniture or the mood of a room by changing the knobs on your furniture or cabinets. Here we used ceramic two-part knobs, but metal knobs are also available. Avoid using any plastic for replacement knobs because of the oven baking.
Materials:
* Ceramic or metal replacement knobs with or without backplate or escutcheon plate
* Premo! Sculpey clays in colors used in each of the knob projects (see individual projects: Football Knob, ABC Knob, Apple Cane Embellished Knob, Rose Decorated Knob)
General Instructions:
* Knead the clay for your selected knob until it has a smooth texture.
* Roll clay to 1/8" (3 mm) thickness. A pasta machine, PVC roller, or brayer can be used.
* Place the sheet of clay over the top of the knob and press it down to remove all air. Using an X-Acto knife or Sculpey Super Slicer, cut away the excess from the base of the knob, leaving a 1/8" (3 mm) border of ceramic free of clay.
* Cover the back plate (escutcheon) with clay, trimming out the opening where the pull knob fits through. Then, trim at the edge of the ceramic plate as well.
Football Knob:
Materials:
* Oval shaped ceramic two-piece knob
* Premo! Sculpey in the following colors:
o Green 5323
o Raw Sienna 5392
o White 5001
Instructions:
* Cover back plate with green following General Instructions.
* Cover knob with Raw Sienna following General Instructions.
* Cut very thin strips of white and place on handle for lacings and stripes.
* Indent and texture football with the rounded handle end of a thin paintbrush or use a ball stylus.
* Bake in a calibrated oven at 275 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes.
ABC Knob:
Materials:
* Oval shaped ceramic two-piece knob
* Premo! Sculpey in colors of your choice. (To mix pastels, add small balls of white to the Premo! Sculpey colors, and mix well.)
* Kemper cutters in star and heart motifs
Instructions:
* Cover the knob as in General Instructions.
* Roll out little logs of clay about ¼" (6 mm) thick. Shape into letters and cut with an X-Acto or craft knife. Apply to top of oval knob.
* Cut out hearts and stars colors of your choice. Apply evenly around the backplate.
* Roll out a long coil of another color about 1/8" (3 mm) in diameter. Fold in half and twist together to create rope border.
* Apply rope border around edge of knob and edge of backplate, pressing firmly to adhere.
* Bake in a calibrated oven at 275 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes.
Apple Cane Embellished Knob:
Note: See Faux Enamel Ware with Apple Canes Project for instructions for making apple canes.
Materials:
* Oval shaped ceramic two-piece knob
* Premo! Sculpey in the following colors:
o Cadmium Red 5382
o Ecru 5093
o Fluorescent Green 5521
o Ultramarine Blue 5562
* Verdi Gris Embossing Powder
Instructions:
* Mix about ½ teaspoon embossing powder into 1 oz. of Ultramarine Blue Premo! Sculpey. Mix well and knead to fully intermingle the embossing powder.
* Cover the knob and the back plate as in the General Instructions.
* Prepare the Apple Cane as explained in an earlier project, Faux Enamel Ware with Apple Canes. Click here to view the project.
* Slice your apple canes about 1/16" (1.6 mm) thick with a Sculpey Super Slicer tissue blade.
* Cut canes in half and place around the base of the back plate, overlapping slightly. Refer to photo for placement.
* For the top of the knob, slice off full apples and place around the top of the knob. Have them nearly touching.
* For the leaves, pinch off tiny balls of clay about 1/8" (3 mm) in diameter. Roll into a little teardrop shape.
* Wipe off the lead from the end of a pencil and place the leaves on by putting the lead into the fat end of the teardrop.
* Pinch off little balls of raw sienna. Also roll into a teardrop shape and place the pointed end into the indent of the apple.
* Bake in a calibrated oven at 275 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes.
Rose Decorated Knob:
Materials:
* Oval shaped ceramic two-piece knob
* Premo Sculpey in colors of your choice. You will need a base color for the knob itself, a color for the roses, two colors for the small flowers, a green for the leaves, and a bit of raw sienna for the vines.
* Small circle and leaf shaped Kemper cutters
Instructions:
* Cover the knob and backplate in the color of your choice as per the General Instructions .
* Roll the green clay to a thin sheet, roughly 1/16" (1.6 mm)in thickness. Cut out ten or more leaves with the Kemper cutter.
* Using a needle tool, vein each leaf.
* Place the leaves on the backplate, with the point facing the edge of the backplate. Set aside.
* Randomly place 3 or more veined leaves on the covered knob.
* Roll a thin sheet of your rose color, roughly 1/16" (1.6mm) in thickness. Cut out ten or more circles with the Kemper cutter.
* Building Roses:
o Take one of the circles, and roll up to form the rose center. Taper one end and leave the other end more open.
o Take a second clay circle, and while holding the "rose center" secure the second petal around the center. Bend the top of the petal down slightly. Continue in same way two more times to complete rose.
o Make a total of three roses. Carefully trim the tapered bottom with flat with X-Acto knife or Sculpey Super Slicer. Press onto leaves.
* Making tiny flowers:
o Pinch off small balls of clay about 1/8" (3 mm) in diameter. Roll into a little elongated circle. Roll into a little teardrop shape.
o Wipe off the lead from the end of a pencil and place the tiny flowers on by putting the lead into the fat center.
o The flowers should have 5 petals.
o Roll tiny balls of yellow for the center of the flower. Place in center of petals.
o Roll a thin snake of raw sienna. Drape in curlicue fashion around the tiny flowers.
* Bake in a calibrated oven at 275 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes.