Sculpey Premo™ Sutton Slice Garden Bracelet

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.

Conditioning and roll out your scrap clay first. The scrap clay should be mixed until it has a even, solid color. Roll it out at the thickest setting of your Clay Conditioning Machine. Now you need to make your template: use a piece of card stock , your pen and ruler for that. My bracelet will be 1 1/2 inch wide. The length of your template needs to be once around your jar or can, that is used to cure the bracelet base on. Of course that has to be also the size that fits your arm! My jar has a circumference of 10 inches and that fits my wrist perfectly! Measure both your arm and jar to find out how long the template stripe need to be for your template. My card stock was not long enough, so I glued two pieces together to make it longer. TIP: keep the template in the jar after finishing this project, so you have it ready for any bracelets you want to make in the future!

Place your template on the rolled out scrap clay and cut along the long sides of the template. Trim the short sides a little so it is easier to handle them.

Then cut the short sides at an angle so they will over lap when you wrap the clay stripe around the jar. The angles on both sides have to go in the same direction!

Now wrap the clay strip around your jar, if needed trim the edges. Watch that the clay is straight on the jar and close the touching edges carefully with your fingers in a stroking motion. Cure the clay according to the directions above in Step 1.

Condition the three of clay colors you are using. Roll each of them out on thickest setting. Prepare them and have your stamp ready.

Fill the design of the stamp with colors: decide which color you want to use for each detail on the stamp design. Roll out little balls and press them onto the first detail. I used wasabi green for the centre of the flowers first (see where the needle tool points at in the first picture). You do not have to roll out the clay balls exactly the size of the design. They will overlap a little and that adds to the painterly impression you will get in your design. So don’t worry too much about filling the right spaces of the stamp too much! Find all of the same details (e.g. the centers of the flowers) on the stamp plate and fill them in the same way. Change colors and fill in the next round of details. I used the Cadmium Red Hue for the flower petals and the single tulip flowers. If you have a design that builds up on each other (like the flowers) start with the center and then work your way out! Fill all the same details with your second color.

Change color again and fill the next details: I filled the single leaves in the greenery with the Spanish Olive clay. Then fill the background. You could use a different color for that, if you like. I am using the wasabi green from the flower centres again. Fill all spaces that are still uncovered! Make a frame around the rim of the stamp design! That will help you with the next step.

Now press all clay balls and pieces really strongly into the stamp! Stand up to have more strength if you need to. Use your acrylic roller to make sure the clay is pressed down hard enough and evenly into the rubber stamp plate.

Now use your sharp blade and carefully cut off the clay that is above the stamp design. Position your blade on the clay and shave of layers until you reach the top of the stamp design peeking out. The stamp will not be hurt if you have red or grey rubber stamps and work carefully! Cut in little sections. Don’t lift the clay out of the stamp design while cutting off the top parts. Work your way through all over the stamp plate. Be careful at the edges not to lift the clay out of the design. Keep the cut of clay pieces! We need them in the next step. Try to have all pieces of the rubber stamp design showing after you are done with the cutting off of the covering clay layer. Set the stamp with the clay in it to the side for now.

Collect all the clay pieces that you removed from the stamp and roll them with your acrylic roller out flat enough to be feed into your clay conditioning machine. Roll it through the clay machine and mix the color until you have a even solid color. We will use that clay color to cover the inside of the bracelet. You need to roll it out in a long strip, a bit larger that your template size at the third largest setting of your clay machine.

When your scrap clay base bracelet is cured remove it from the jar. Do that while it is still is a little bit warm (not hot!). Use your needle tool to insert it in between the jar and the bracelet base to loosen it from the glass. Now we will wrap the base on the inside with the new color we just mixed. Roll out a long thin strip of clay (3rd thickest setting of the clay machine). Use your template to see if it will fit. Insert it to the inside of the bracelet base (see picture) and cut off the overlapping pieces in the length.

Now use your round Kor tool (or another round texture tool) to press the fresh clay to the cured base and texture it at the same time. Only go round once and press it down so it will stick to the base. If you press it down evenly and go round the inside of the base with your texture tool you will be able to reach all parts of the inside! Then trim the pieces that are wider than your bracelet base. The bracelet should now look as shown in the right picture. Cure it a second time and let it cool completely after curing.

While you cure your bracelet prepare the veneer for the outside of it. Condition your black clay and roll it out on the 3rd thickest setting of you clay machine. It should be the same size as your stamp plate or a little bit bigger. Trim the black clay if necessary. Place it on top of the stamp and smooth it out. Turn the whole packet (stamp plate with the clay and the black clay on top) round, so you have the black clay on your work surface and the stamp plate on top. Start tapping the stamp plate with your fingers. Do this hard and long. This will help release the clay from the stamp plate.

When you have tapped the stamp long enough, start peeling the stamp plate off on one side. If the clay is not released completely, bring the stamp back in the original position and tap some more! This way you will be able to get an imprint that is as flawless as possible. When the clay has been released completely lift the stamp plate slowly of the clay all the way. Now you should have a clay veneer that looks similar to the picture

Now use your template to cut stripe just a tiny bit wider than the template itself. Trim the short sides of your strip straight. Prepare them so they can be placed on the bracelet base, once the base has completely cooled after baking.

Apply liquid clay on half of the bracelet core and spread it out evenly with your fingers or a small piece of kitchen paper towel. Lift your first veneer strip and place it carefully on the bracelet core.

If you have enough veneer to cover exactly half of your bracelet, place the second exactly next to the first one in the same manner. You might have not enough veneer to do that though. For my bracelet the veneer was just a little to short! In that case place the second veneer strip, with the same distance on both ends, to the first stripe. You still can position it carefully on the liquid clay a little bit! Trim all the pieces that might be too wide for the bracelet base or that are not straight at the end of the veneers stripes. When you have done that, cure the bracelet again for at least 30 min. at 275°F (130°C). Let it cool completely after curing.

Roll out the rest of your black clay on the second thickest setting of you clay machine. Use a piece of coarse sanding paper to texture it well. Use your bracelet template to cut a strip in the width of your bracelet. Cut one edge straight on your stripe. When your bracelet has cooled completely, fit the prepared piece of black clay in between the two veneer strips that are already on your bracelet. Press the side that has not been cut straight down a little to get an impression on the back of your clay. When you take it off again you will see exactly where you need to cut it so it will fit in between the two veneer pieces. Trim the black clay there. Apply liquid clay to the base and insert the small strip of black clay. Adjust it with the sanding paper if needed. Trim any pieces that are wider than your bracelet. Do the same on the other space between the bracelet veneers. Then cure again for at least 30 min. at 275°F (130°C). Let cool completely.

Meanwhile load your extruder with black clay and insert the disc with a small stripe opening (see tool list). Extrude enough of the black clay stripe to cover both sides of your bracelet with it.

Add a little bit of liquid clay to the sides of your bracelet and place the black clay stripe on top. The width should be enough to cover the sides of the bracelet and make a nice clean finish for the sides!

Trim the length of the black stripe so it will exactly touch and close it carefully with your fingers gently smoothing it out. Carefully turn the bracelet round and cover the second side of your bracelet in the same way. Then cure again for at least 30 min. at 275°F (130°C). Let it cool completely before trying your new bracelet on!