Holiday Ornaments – Clay Sculpey
Sculpey III Holiday Ornaments –
You will need:
- Aunt Chick’s Cutters (only use these for doing ornaments – NOT FOR FOOD)
- Sculpey III (comes in multiple colors)
- Acrylic Paint (whatever colors you like)
- Artist Brushes
- Fine glitter
- Craft Snow
- Craft Glue
- Self-stick felt pads
- 1/8” satin ribbon
- Oven, glass baking dish, or cookie sheet (aluminum foil)
- Index Cards
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- Remove the portion of clay you wish to use from the package and knead it in your hands for a moment. This will help redistribute the plasticizers and polymer fibers in the clay. This is often called “conditioning” the clay. If the clay feels flexible and can be pulled easily without breaking immediately, it is ready to roll out to 1/4″ thickness. Push in the cutter like you would when you make a cookie to get shape cut. Flip the cutter over and press Sculpey into the cutter to get the shape. Gently slap cutter against your hand to get Sculpey to come loose (like dough). Poke a hole into the Sculpey for where you would like the ribbon to go through.
- BAKING – The baking directions are on each package. Basically, you will be baking at 275 degrees for 15 minutes for each ¼ inch of clay thickness. Always use an oven thermometer to accurately maintain these temperatures. A glass baking sheet or dish is recommended, however, you can use a cookie sheet, covered in foil. I work on index cards, which I can then transfer, card and all, to the cookie sheet for baking. The card will not burn. This way both sides of my clay have an even, matte surface. Always allow the clay to cool completely before handling it, you can damage your designs while they are still warm and flexible. Make sure the area is well ventilated.
- DECORATING – When cool, decorate your ornament with acrylic or puffy paint, glitter, beads, cotton, and just have fun and be creative! When you are finished and the decorated ornament has had time to dry string ribbon into a hole for hanging. The kids will love it!– It has come to my attention that some artists only use an oven or toaster oven that is used for this purpose. It does not say this on www.sculpey.com but if you want to be extra cautious you can take these measures. In any case, make sure the area is well ventilated.