You Will Need
- Thick paper/ card
- Clear book covering
- Large paperclips
- Polymer clay
- Acrylic paint
- Varnish/resin
- Sculpting tools, craft knife, paint brushes
I suppose you could call this a master post of all the polymer clay paperclip bookmarks that I made a while ago. I've combined all the different animal bookmark DIYs together here, with brief tutorials and links to their original posts. You Will Need
Making the bookmarksCut card into long rectangles about just big enough to slip into a small paperback. Cover both sides of card in clear duraseal/book covering. Sculpt clay into little animal figures. Cut into the base of each figure and add a paperclip. Bake clay following the guidelines. Paint clay figures and leave to dry. Varnish the clay figures. I use Craft Smart Liquid Gloss. Its a two part hardener and resin. Its very forgiving, closing over brush stokes leaving a smooth surface. And it does dry hard. But it doesn't work on raw polymer clay. The oils in the clay cause it to dry in patches, so if you prefer to use coloured clay over painting clay you'll need to be careful with what you use to seal the clay with. And there we have a little book guardian. clay animalsA collection of various animal sculpts and painting DIYs. Below each set is a link to a longer blog post about each creature. Fox /Cat - Animal look-a-likes, a different paint job results in an entirely different species.
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Polymer clay has become my go-to, "quick fix" craft. Whenever I want a quick craft I go to the clay draw. The things you can do with polymer clay. Here I have a multi tutorial/DIY for making polymer clay jewellery pendants. Things to stamp the clay withShells, beads, buttons, stamps and pieces of jewelery can be used to leave an inpression in the clay and later glued into place. Metal pieces like cogs can be baked into the clay. Getting Started . . .Start by conditoning the clay, working it and rolling it until its smooth like a good pastry dough. Then roll nice and flat and thin. Sometimes the clay will stick to the board/paper making it hard to remove small cut pieces, so roll it out then lift off the rolling board and place it back down. It shouldn't get too sticky this way. I like to use beige super sculpey and colour it later with paints. Using whatever you have to hand, create impressions in the clay creating shapes and textures. Cut out squares (or ovals/circles if you prefer) and bake. Follow manufacturers instructions. Roll out another length of clay. Place baked clay pieces on top. Cut out a second piece of clay, this will act as a backing. Take a head pin (found in the jewellery making section of any craft store) and press it firmly into the freshly cut piece of clay. Press the baked piece of clay onto the freshly cut piece of clay, sandwiching the headpin between the two. Trim the edges and bake. All polymer clay is different some clay will bake and stick together, others won't. After baking check that the two pieces have bonded together. If they haven't stick them together with glue. Time to add some colour. Give each piece a colour wash. Dilute acrylic paint with a splash of water and paint over the clay, wipe away excess paint with a cloth/sponge (I use my thumb) Leave to dry. Highlight some of the details. Here I've gone over the impression of the leaves with a darker wash to make them standout more and highlighted the wings of the butterfly with a fine tipped brush. Lastly, I gave the piece a light brush of metallic paint. Very, very light. Dip the brush in metallic paint then wipe it clean until only a whisper of paint remains then lightly sweep the brush across the clay. Paint the back and sides black. Lightly brush whte acrylic paint onto a stamp and stamp the back of the clay pendant. Brush with varnish to protect the paint. Hang on a clothes airer with paper underneath to catch any drips. And there is the finished piece. Showing both front and back pieces. Other notes....You can also add interest by adding beads. Create a trench for the beads to sit in, bake the piece, paint, then glue the beads into place. Another look at paint washing and adding colour. This piece also had beeads added to it. Additional Ideas
I have been working on polymer clay sculpted dog breeds. These make Pur-fect Christmas ornaments and I was going to post these for Christmas but I ran out of time. It's sort of, kind of, sadly good I didn't post it then. Just into the new year our beloved Beagle boy Oscar became (unexpectedly) very ill and we had to let him go. It was a shock. His passing was very sad and very unexpected but now I have this post and I can post it sort of as a memoriam to him (though, really I think he would prefer an ever-lasting biscuit or the worlds largest pigs ear) I made Oscar a mini-me Christmas ornament for the tree. Oscar loved Christmas. He would receive Christmas presents from Santa, they'd be pulled out of his Christmas sack on Christmas morning, and he'd excitedly unwrap each one. The Blueprint To Over 20 BreedsThere are two basic bases that can be made into over 20 different breeds of dog by changing up/adding - ears, eyebrows, beards, moustaches. Hopefully this will be a tutorial you come back to for reference. This tutorial only focuses on sculpting not painting. I prefer to use beige uncoloured clay. My usual method is: sculpt, bake, paint, varnish. Base OneBase One can be used to make the majority of dog breeds. By changing the ears, nose length, and adding cheeks, beards, and moustaches you can make Labs, Dalamtians, Hounds, Spaniels, Scottties, Westies and more. Or any of the Hound breeds. CheeksAdd a small triangle of clay to each side of the face and blend to add prominent cheeks. Long NoseSome dogs are just long in the face. Elongate out the nose/snout of Base One. Beard/moustache/EyebrowsForget the eyebrows on the Westie and you have a Maltese, or even some poodle cross-breeds. Base twoBase Two is for the brachycephalic dog breeds. Look out for an update on this. I haven't worked out super fluffy dogs yet. I tried to make a Bichon Frise and it came out more swamp monster than dog.
I'm sure I'll be back once I get it all sorted out. Snow globe idea 2!! I made a winter wonderland scene of my cats with the second make-your-own-snow-globe. I filled the globe with miniature polymer clay figures of my cats, a mini Christmas tree, and battery powered string lights. In life my two cats, Figwit and Tonks, do not get along. They live completely separate lives. But in Cozy Christmas Winter Snow Globe Land they are great chums. A little while ago I did a bunch of tutorials on polymer clay paperclip bookmark animals. I used the same kitty shapes in this DIY. I don't go over how I made the kitties in this tutorial but I have provided a link and added a condensed tutorial above. I'm also doing a polymer clay dog post later on for those who are more dog people. Yule Need . . .
Snow globe Along . . .I traced the outside of the snow globe and cut out a disc of card for the cats to sit on. I drilled hole in the lid and punched a hole in the disc I cut out above. the lights will be threaded through these because the battery pack is too big to fit in the snow globe. I gave both the disc of card and the cardboard tube a lick of paint. I wanted the cats to sit higher in the snow globe so I glued the disc of card to something to give it a bit of elevation. (I have no idea what that blue plastic thing is, leftover trash from something, no doubt. I think a bit of card or polystyrene would do the trick too) I glued my kittties and a mini tree to the base. Next I threaded the string lights through the lid and the base behind the cats. After a play around with the placement of the string lights, I ended up wrapping the lightaround the tree. I screwed the snow globe top into place.
The last thing to do is add the cardboard base and turn out the lights. The battery pack fits nicely in the cardboard underneath the snow globe. I've got one last Harry Potter Christmas craft to share. I made these Hedwig ornaments for my friends for Christmas. I painted Hedwigs wings to co-ordinate with their Hogwarts house. Sculpting . . .Follow the steps above to make your owl post delivering owl. Push a jewellery headpin through the middle of the owl. Then bake in the oven. I gave the owls 2-3 coats of white paint. I framed the face and eyes with black paint, and added headwigs famous snowy owl spots. I have one friend who can't decide what Hogwarts house she belongs in. I made her a Hogwats Hedwig. The wings have been painted in the colours of all four houses. I have one Ravenclaw friend, and one Slytherin friend. They got silver and blue, and silver green respectively. I'm the Gryffindor of the group, I'll have to make myself a red and gold Gryfindor Hedwig. And I have an other friend who can't decide between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. She got a Slytherin/Ravenclaw Hedwig.
Break out the whiskey! Beware the Jackalope! Hark the Harpy! Slay a Dragon or Two! I just hope you have your Unicorn Hunting License handy Trophies for the mystical monster hunter. This is how I imagine the home of Van Helsing. Small Halloween monster plaques adorn the walls of a spooky Halloween-esque mansion. Made out of clay, these plaques can be used in miniature halloween displays, or worn on a necklace. Hunt Down. . .- Polymer clay - Card - Acrylic paint Magicing . . .I started by sketching out some plaques of different shapes and sizes. I rolled out a thin layer of polymer clay and cut out two plaques. The idea was to sandwich the card between the two layers of clay. I had hoped this would keep the plaques flat and prevent the edges from curling. It didn't work quite as expected. Cutting out a single thicker layer would probably work better. I rolled a thin layer of clay to run along the edge of each plaque. Then I baked all the plaques in the oven before adding the monsters. I have done a quick DIY for each monster below. UnicornThe unicorn. A mystical, and most elusive, woodland creature. This is probably th easiest of the monster heads to complete. JackalopeBeware the Jackalpe! For it shall tear 'yer leg off! And break out the whiskey! The Horned Hare; A wonderful woodland combination of deer and rabbit, with a heck of a lot of spirit. (I had a pet rabbit with spirit and fully believe all claims that bunnies and their kind are fearsome beasts) DragonYou know what they say, two heads are better than one. These two lizard bros are inspired by the two headed dragon in How to Train Your Dragon, or in this case How to Capture Your Dragon. HarpyHuman-bird hybrids this snatcher was snatched before she could snatch. I can definatley see Van Helsing hunting down a harpy for his wall. Once the heads have been sculpted, bake the plaques again, then paint to your hearts desire. Varnishing the pieces will protect the paint. Happy Halloween !!!!!!!
Giant Panda PaperclipsThe final polymer clay paperclip animal is the Giant Panda. I've saved the easiest for last.Which is a good thing as I find myself in the middle of a book binge. Two novels plus two novelas in two days. Collect . . .- Polymer clay* - Acrylic paint and bushes - Varnish/resin** - Sculpting tools - my two favourite sculpting tools to use are: a skewer and a sewing pin. - Paperclips *Obviously any polymer clay can be sculpted but I prefer to use Super Sculpey (beige) It's lovely and soft and creamy, and I find it isn't as brittle as the smaller squares you can buy. It's not coloured but I prefer to paint polymer clay rather than use/blend different colours. ** A clear coating of varnish will always improve the look of your sculpt. I use a two part resin varnish. Some varnish won't work on polymer clay. The oil in the clay causes the varnish to split and dry in patches. This is another reason I paint my clay. Start by sculpting a small amount of clay into a tallish gumdrop. Add a paperclip to the base by cutting a hole into the base with a craft knife and inserting a paperclip. Add a round head. Blending away any join lines. Add two discs for the outline of the eyes. Roll out two balls for the eyes. Press holes for the to sit in. Add a disc for the muzzle. Add a small ball of clay for the nose. Add nostrils to the bottom of the nose using a skewer. The ears are made by rolling out two balls, squashing them into discs. Wrap each disc around a skewer. Add the ears to the head. Roll clay into a long fat noodle. Cut four limbs. Flatten the end of each limb and blend onto the body. Add a button tail and bake. Follow mafufacturers instructions. Paint a base coat of white acrylic paint. Use a sponge to blot out any brush marks. Leave base coat to dry then add a second layer of white to the body. Paint arms, legs, nose, eyes, and ears black. Leave to dry.
Varnish the finished panda to seal in the paint. Red Panda PaperclipFoxes and Felines look pawfully furmilia, and so do Raccoons and Red Pandas. Not only do they look similar in make they are both too, too adorable. Forage . . .- Polymer clay* - Acrylic paint and bushes - Varnish/resin** - Sculpting tools - my two favourite sculpting tools to use are: a skewer and a sewing pin. - Paperclips *Obviously any polymer clay can be sculpted but I prefer to use Super Sculpey (beige) It's lovely and soft and creamy, and I find it isn't as brittle as the smaller squares you can buy. It's not coloured but I prefer to paint polymer clay rather than use/blend different colours. ** A clear coating of varnish will always improve the look of your sculpt. I use a two part resin varnish. Some varnish won't work on polymer clay. The oil in the clay causes the varnish to split and dry in patches. This is another reason I paint my clay. Sculpt a gumdrop for the body and a soft triangle for the head. Add a paperclip to the body, cut a hole in the base with a craftknife and insert a paperclip. I use a small piece of wire to attatch the to the body. Add two large eye holes to the face. Fill these in with two discs of clay. Add two smaller holes for the eyes to sit in. Place the eyes close together. Start off the muzzle with a disc of clay. Finsh off the muzzle with a nose and mouth. THe nose is a small bead of clay added to the muzzle. Nostrils are added with skewer. Make two small triangles, wrap them around a skewer to create a crease. add to the head, blending away all the join lines. Roll the clay into a long rope, cut two arms. Flatten one end and add the arms to the body, smooth them out at the back. Add two round button feet. Add a bushy tail then bake the clay (follow manufacturers instructions) Paint a coat of white base paint over the baked clay. Paint the main body red/orange. Paint the muzzle, eyes, and front of the ears white. Add black paint to the arms, feet, nose and eyes. Paint the tail white and orange. Leave to dry.
Varnish the piece. I use a two part craft smart liquid gloss. It dries clear and strong. It doens't coat bear clay very well. I hang my varnished pieces upside down as they dry, the paperclip is useful for hanging. Gravity pulls the varnish down toward the head and it might drip. Watch for dripping and excess varnish for about an hour / hour and a half after varnishing. Wipe away the excess if you can. Paperclip RaccoonPolymer clay sculpts move on from cats to cats with hands. Raid The Craft Store For . . .- Polymer clay* - Acrylic paint and bushes - Varnish/resin** - Sculpting tools - my two favourite sculpting tools to use are: a skewer and a sewing pin. - Paperclips *Obviously any polymer clay can be sculpted but I prefer to use Super Sculpey (beige) It's lovely and soft and creamy, and I find it isn't as brittle as the smaller squares you can buy. It's not coloured but I prefer to paint polymer clay rather than use/blend different colours. ** A clear coating of varnish will always improve the look of your sculpt. I use a two part resin varnish. Some varnish won't work on polymer clay. The oil in the clay causes the varnish to split and dry in patches. This is another reason I paint my clay. Crafting . . .Sculpt the body into a large gumdrop, Add a paperclip to the bottom. Make a head roughly the shape of a triangle/trapezium with blunted corners. Add a small piece wire into the body and add the head. Smooth out any join lines. Create two big eye sockets, bigger than you need the eyes to be. Roll two balls and squash into discs. Fill in the eye sockets above. Then create two smaller eye sockets. Add the eyes, they sit quite close together. Roll out a ball and flatten into a disc. Place under the eyes to start building the muzzle. Roll out a ball for the nose and add to the muzzle. Create nostrils by poking a skewer into ether side of the nose. Make an "O" shaped mouth. The aers are added next. Roll balls and flatten into discs. Press round the pointy end of a skewer make a cone shape. Roll out long arms. Blend the arms at the back. The feet are two discs that have been shaped with a skewer. Lastly add a bushy, bendy tail. Bake the clay. Once the clay has been baked and cooled give the raccoon a base layer of white acrylic paint. I remove brush marks with a dry sponge. Leave to dry. Paint the main body a bluish grey. Paint the nose, ears, eyes, feet and tips of the arms black. Add a line of white around the eyes. And of course paint the tail black and white. Leave the paint to dry then give the raccoon a coating of varnish. The very last thing to do is to pick up a good book.
Paperclip Fox/CatFoxes and cats look remarkably similar, who knew? At least they look awfully (pawfully) similar in this sculpt. The distinction between the two purely comes down to paint and colour. Scavenge . . .- Polymer clay* - Acrylic paint and bushes - Varnish/resin** - Sculpting tools - my two favourite sculpting tools to use are: a skewer and a sewing pin. - Paperclips *Obviously any polymer clay can be sculpted but I prefer to use Super Sculpey (beige) It's lovely and soft and creamy, and I find it isn't as brittle as the smaller squares you can buy. It's not coloured but I prefer to paint polymer clay rather than use/blend different colours. ** A clear coating of varnish will always improve the look of your sculpt. I use a two part resin varnish. Some varnish won't work on polymer clay. The oil in the clay causes the varnish to split and dry in patches. This is another reason I paint my clay. Start by sculpting the body into a pear shape, make it lean to one side a little, these foxes and felines are sassy. Now the head. Roll a ball into a rugby ball. Press a dent into the rugby ball, I used a skewer, this is where the eyes will sit. Add a triangular wedge just under the dent. Blend away the join lines. This creates the nose. Add a second triangular wedge under the nose to create a chin. Blend away the join lines. Add two small eyes and a triangle nose. Define the mouth. Using a sculpting tool/paintbrush/flat end of a skewer press out a surprised "O" shaped mouth. Add the head to the body. Because the head is so big and the neck is so small I add small piece of wire to keep the head and neck secure. Now the head and body are assembled I add ears. The ears are big triangles, fold the two bottom corners inwards to the ears a 3-D look. Add a teardrop patch under the chin. It looks kind of like a bib. Using a pin add detail to the bib to turn it into a ruff of fur. Just work in long lines from top to bottom. Poke some whisker holes next to the nose. Roll out two long and skinny forelegs. Fold the very tip of each leg to create feet. Add a little back foot to each side of the forelegs. Add a curvy bushy tail, detail the ends with a pin like the ruff. Insert a paperclip. Cut into the base with a craft knife. Open up the cut with a skewer and add the paperclip. Blend the clay back over the base. Bake the clay, following brands instructions. Painting FoxesGive the baked piece a base layer of white acrylic paint. Blot away any brush strokes with a dry sponge. Leave to dry. Add an extra layer of white to the bottom half of the face, the ruff, and the tip of the tail. Paint the rest of the body orange. Add brown points to the legs and ears. Paint the eyes black and add pink to the nose. Give the "Fox" a slightly different paint job and you end up with a cat. Once the paint is dry give the sculpt a layer of varnish. The varnish protects the paint and helps to prevent any feet/ears from breaking off.
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Author - JEBARSBY TUTORIALSHere you will find craft ideas, tutorials and fandom crafting. Maybe some recipes Archive
May 2018
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