Premo Sculpey® Honeycomb Sun Catcher

Getting Started:

Please make sure your work area is covered and you are not working on an unprotected surface. We recommend working on the Sculpey® Oven-Safe Work Mat, wax paper, metal baking sheet, or disposable foil. Uncured clay may damage unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Be sure to cover your crafting area appropriately.

Start with clean hands, unwrap and knead clay until soft and smooth, or condition by running clay though a Pasta Machine. We recommend using a designated machine for clay purposes only. When working with multiple colors, clean hands with soap and water or baby wipes (we have found that baby wipes work best) before switching colors. Shape clay, pressing pieces firmly together. Wash hands after use.

Baking:

Begin by preheating oven to 275 °F (130 °C). After you are done creating; for best results bake clay on an oven-proof surface such metal, aluminum foil, an index card or the Sculpey® Clay Mat at 275°F (130 °C) for 30 minutes per 1/4" (6 mm) thickness according to package directions. Oven safe glass or ceramic surfaces are also acceptable for baking; however please note that the baking times may take longer as the glass or ceramic surfaces take longer to heat up. For best baking results, use an oven thermometer. DO NOT USE MICROWAVE OVEN. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME.

Sheet the entire bar of Amber Premo through the pasta machine on the third thickest setting or roll to a thin sheet with the Acrylic Clay Roller. Make a large rectangular sheet.

Burnish the clay sheet down onto the piece of glass. If your glass has a textured side, burnish the clay to that side. If it doesn’t have a textured side, that’s okay too. Your back side will turn out really shiny which will be a nice contrast to the scored lines as well. Score shallow lines across the top of the clay sheet using the tip of a needle tool.

Place a small amount of alcohol in the bottom of a well in a paint mixing tray. Add one drop of brown alcohol ink.

Mix the brown into the alcohol completely by stirring it with the knife tool.

Spread the brown tinted alcohol in a very thin layer over the surface of the clay with a paintbrush. Allow the brown to seep into the shallow lines made in Step 3.

Fold a paper towel into a thick pad. Douse the pad with a little more alcohol. Use the pad to squeegee off excess ink from the surface of the clay but allowing it to remain in the shallow lines.

Make more shallow lines perpendicular to the first set. Make a mixture of alcohol and a drop of white alcohol ink in another of the paint wells. Spread the white alcohol ink over the surface of the clay with the paintbrush. Make another paper towel pad, douse it with alcohol and remove extra white ink from the surface of the clay.

Cut out as many hexagon shapes as you can with the Large Hexagon Mosaic Cutter. If you are very careful, you can step the cutter over right up to the edge of the previous cut and have absolutely no waste.

Remove the little partial pieces from around the edges. Bake the hexagon shapes on the glass following the baking instructions for Premo.

When the pieces are completely cool you can snap them apart if they are sticking together. Experiment with how you would like your finished shape to look.

In this photo you can see how nicely the textured side of the clay pieces look up against the scored side. These two patterns create a pleasing randomness next to each other.

Build your design once again on the glass. To lay out my design, I started with the row right down the middle. I placed the hexagons very closely together but not touching. Some of the pieces are lines facing front and some are textures facing front.

Next, I added a row on either side of the middle row.

Then I added shorter rows on both sides finishing up with a very fat plus sign. Place the design back in the oven for a few minutes so that it will get warm and stick to the glass again.

Remove the cap from the bottle of Silver Liquid Sculpey® (LS). Stir the liquid with the knife tool. Replace the cap. Very carefully squirt thin lines of the Silver LS between all the hex shapes and around the edges. >br>
Carefully place an eye pin in the grout lines on each side of the top most hexagon. Make sure the little eyes in the pins are sticking out past the Silver LS. These will be used to create a hanger later. Bake the piece again following the baking instructions for Premo.

Allow the mobile to cool. Remove the entire piece from the glass and flip it over on top of the glass.

Trace all the lines once again on the second side with the Silver LS. Make sure the tails of the eye pins are completely covered with the LS. Bake one more time following the baking instructions for Premo.

Allow the sun catcher to cool completely and then attach the short chain with jump rings to the eye pins for hanging.