Polyclay Cuff Bracelets

So, I've worn the cuff off and on over the past couple weeks.  I've got to say, it turned out better than I expected.  That being said, I say there's room for improvement!  Polymer clay is a very versatile, and that's one of the reasons I love it.  But... it's not very comfortable!  Having that hard plastic press against my wrist for several hours a day got to be painful.  It felt like I had a bruise on my wrist. 

If I wouldn't like wearing it, I'm certainly not going to make it for other people!  That would just be... well, wrong.

So, I'm modifying the design.  I'm going to make large polyclay squares with stamped designs and I'll lace it all together with leather lace.  I think it'll be awesome.  I really do.

Well, that's that for the experiment.  It was fun and I learned quite a bit from it. 

Polyclay Cuff Bracelet, Pt. 2

Ok, so I think I'm making progress!  I took the polyclay blank that I made the other day and tried to superglue some wire to it.  Yeah... not so much.  It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, mainly because the superglue took SOOOO long to dry.  So I gave up on that.

I rolled out another 'slab' of polymer clay.  This one was a little bit thicker than the base I made and with colors!  Of course, I'll put more work into this layer if these things actually get off the ground.  Into this layer, I embedded the two thin wires.  I learned that I have to just embed part and leave a curve to the wire, otherwise it blows out the topside of the fresh clay when I try to wrap it around the blank.

So I got it wrapped around.  It looked good.  I took a Bic pen and just made some knicks in the clay and some small slices with the blade to make it look a little worn... "stylish" if you will.  *grin*  I made sure the wire was bent so that the cuff would be a small size while baking.

Then I put it in the oven.

I let it cool for a half an hour in the oven after it was done cooking and then pulled it out to let it cool the rest of the way.  I'm wearing it right now.  I was afraid to put it on.  It was really small, but it bent very well to go on my wrist.  It's stayed on for at least 20 minutes.  The only thing I'm noticing is that, since it's plastic, my skin isn't breathing very well.  I'm not really concerned with that at the moment.  The thing is pretty comfortable.  It's gripping my arm well.  It even felt tight a little bit ago, but I think it's conforming a little to the size of my wrist.

So... this part of the experiment is done.  Now to see if it stands up to a weeks worth of daily use!  Stay tuned...

"Same Cuff time!  Same Cuff channel!"

 

Polyclay Cuff Bracelet?

Can it be done?  I'm determined to do it!  There has to be a way to get a quality cuff bracelet made from polymer clay.  I've seen quite a few people put the clay over a metal blank... but I'm too unique to do that! 

I began experimenting with it tonight.  I first made a form out of folded aluminum foil with some wire running through it to help it hold the shape I wanted.  I rolled out a sheet of polymer clay and applied it to that form, the baked it.  Once it cooled, I peeled the form off the inside.

I immediately saw that I've got a problem.  The Sculpey Premo that I used has a good amount of flex to it.  That's the reason I used it for this project.  It's too much.  I put the basic cuff on and it falls right off.  It's own weight makes it open and close.  I need some wire in it to help it keep it's shape. 

I see the wisdom in using the metal blanks.  But I'm still not going to give up on this and use them!  Not yet, anyway.

So... here's the plan.

1.  Roll out another sheet of clay to put over the basic cuff.  I'll stamp designs and such on it.

2.  Put wire in between the second sheet and the basic cuff.  This should help it keep the form I want.

3.  Bake it and finish it.

4.  Wear the darn thing for a week!  I need to see if it's durable enough.  If it breaks because the clay can't support the daily use then there's no point in going any further.

Ok, now.  GOGOGOGO!

Alone Again

Well, it's 1230am my time, and I just dropped Miss Karla off at the airport. So, I'm going to be alone again, all alone, again for a month. Well... we know what that means. I get to do whatever I want! *evil laugh*

I'll still be making new jewelry and posting it. I'm on a polymer clay craze right now, so I'd expect to see more things like the wristband pop up. I'll get to check out all those mountain trails here in Vegas now, even though I'll probably have to take a gallon of water with me due to the intense heat! Karla doesn't want me hiking the mountains alone, so don't tell her!

Polyclay in the HOUSE

I've been wanting to try to make a bracelet or wrist band out of polymer clay for quite some time. It's an idea that keeps coming to my mind and I had to try it out. So, last night, I finally broke down and started the project. It was a little more complicated than I anticipated and took some more thought than the initial idea, but I think it turned out really well! The one I listed in our online store, I have on hemp cord. I'm not sure that I like that look, but I didn't have anything else to use and it looks decent. I'm thinking it would be better with leather cord. I have more ideas for wristbands that I'm going to implement.

And Karla is going back to Mexico to visit her family again, and this time, I'm going to join her there! She's lucky and will get to go for over a month, and I can only take 2 weeks vacation. So I'll join her down there later and then we'll come back with new toys!

Our Fourth of July sale is still going on, buy one, get the second at HALF PRICE! You just can't beat that. We'll see you 'round!

It's May

Goodness, we're already welcoming another month here. (Did you notice? I started this post with "Goodness" instead of "Wow"...)

Karla is still organizing all the cool stuff she brought back. I think we're going to take some pictures tonight to list the new items she got. I've been experimenting with epoxy resin and have some pieces curing in the garage as we speak! Or rather... as I type this. I'm excited to see how they turn out. I'm planning on turning them into pendants using Sculpey.

So, that's all the news I can think of. There may be more of interest and I'm sure it will make it's way up here. So, TTFN!