I began prepping for this project a while back.
In March I made a bunch of polymer clay molds for some of the upcoming projects. This was one of them.
I did something kind of stupid, I used “whatever” as the circle bases when I created the original. So when it came time to cut these earrings out, I had to wing it. I should have based the mold on cookie cutters I currently own, that would have made the cutting out part easier.
I don’t think my mold provided enough of a detailed image. I blame that on the tools I selected, as well as my dimensional thinking process (I’m really good with 2-dimensional spaces, and Im good with 3-D if Im adding, subtracting and carving, not so much).
I added more detail by carving on the dry clay- I used a linoleum carver.
I used the base metal CopprClay. I really like its ease of use. I admit, when I first started with copper clay I was hesitant, but I now prefer it over silver. It’s incredibly easy to work with, it maintains some flexibility in thinner pieces when dry, and it carves so nicely. The two-step firing process works every time, so I no longer even bother with a one-step firing even on simple pieces.
It does shrink quite a bit. 20%
mold versus, out of the kiln (it still has some carbon dust on it in this picture)
