DIY Network

Polymer Candleholders From "DIY Crafts" episode DIC-106

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Cover a glass votive candleholder with clay, and decorate with a clay fish. Use tin molds of flowers and leaves to decorate another candleholder. Figure A Figure B Figure C

Today's high-tech clays come in many beautiful colors and can be baked in your home oven. Gina Ward of the Polyform company shows how to make votive candleholders using a modern clay called PremoB. from Polyform. Even after baking, it remains flexible.

Fish Votive Candleholder

Materials:

Polyform Premo clay (blue, yellow, orange, green)
Pasta machine or roller (Note: After a pasta machine has been used to condition clay, it cannot be used in food preparation.)
Glass globes or candleholders
Fish-shaped cookie cutter
Needle tool

1. Condition blue clay by gently squeezing it in your hands. Run the conditioned clay through a pasta machine to make a sheet about 1/8" thick. Condition the other colors of the clay too.

2. Lay the strip vertically on the outside of a glass globe or candleholder (you could also use recycled items such as glass bottles), starting at the rim and bringing the strip down to the bottom of the globe. Trim the clay even with the top of the rim. Lay another strip of clay next to the first strip, slightly overlapping the first strip. Blend the edges by pressing with your fingers until they are smooth. Continue to cover the entire globe with clay.

3. Use a fish-shaped cookie cutter to cut a fish from a sheet of 1/8"-thick yellow clay (figure A). Cut a small triangle-shaped piece from a 1/8"-thick sheet of orange clay for the fish fin. Use a needle tool to make scales on the fin. Position the fin on the fish, either as the tail or in the center of the fish. Place a small ball of blue clay on the fish for an eye. Place the fish on the globe. To make seaweed, make a small snake of green clay. Fold the snake in half and press together (figure B). Use the needle tool to make a few indentations for leaves. Place the seaweed on the globe behind the fish.

4. Bake in a 225-degree oven for 25 minutes. Most glass globes will not be harmed in the oven.

Materials:

Polyform Premo clay (blue, pearl white)
Pasta machine or roller (Note: After a pasta machine has been used to condition clay, it cannot be used in food preparation.)
Hurricane-lamp candleholder
Tin flower mold
Tin leaf mold
Spray leather protectant (Armor AllB.)
Craft knife
Needle tool

1. Condition the clay and run it through a pasta machine to make a sheet 1/8" thick.

2. Spray the tin leaf mold with spray leather protectant to prevent the clay from sticking to the mold, and press the blue sheet of clay into the mold. Remove the clay from the mold. Trim off the excess clay with a craft knife. Use a needle tool to make veins in the leaves. Make 10 to 12 leaves.

3. Spray the tin flower mold with spray leather protectant, and press the pearl sheet of clay into the mold. Remove the flower from the mold. Trim away the excess clay with a craft knife (figure C). Make three or four flowers.

4. Place the leaves and flowers around the globe and base of a hurricane lamp in a pleasing arrangement. Bake in a 225-degree oven for 25 minutes. After the lamp cools, glue the leaves in place around the base, if necessary.

RESOURCES :

Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay, Texture Sheets, Translucent Liquid Sculpey, Oven Thermometer, Sculpey Clay Blades (Sampler Pack)
Polyform Products Company
Website: www.sculpey.com
Polyform Products Inc.
Website: www.sculpey.com