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by Donna Concha
edited by Sunni Bergeron
I hope you enjoy the quick and easy ornaments I cobbled up for Christmas. The technique can be used for many applications and your imagination is the only limit on what you can make!! If you want a closer view in any step, just click on the picture you're interested in.
Supplies:1. A clay gun with a shape
disk of medium size. (I used the triangle one and
the medium round shapes) |
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) Step 1. Condition your clay and fill the clay gun 3/4 full. Using a disk with medium sized hole, extrude the entire contents of the clay gun. |
) Step 2. On your tile, form pleasing shapes that have closed areas that can be filled in with TLS. ***Don't forget to form a loop for hanging at the top of each shape. Cut the excess clay strand neatly. Press to cut end to the ornament to attach it securely without squishing it! |
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) Step 3. The pinecone is just a big squiggle that gets smaller as you go down and is then pushed up to close the loops. The round one is a loose concentric spiral where all the loops touch at the top and in the teardrop we will add a filigree shape that "floats"in the center. |
) Step 4. In a small cup add about 2 teaspoons of TLS and a squirt of gold acrylic paint (this isn't rocket science so add enough paint to get the color that you want. I just squirted some in and it looked good to me!) Mix thoroughly. You will notice that it thickens a bit once you add the paint. [Note from Sunni: oil paints, Pearlex, pulvers, eye-makeup and other powders are all media you can use to color TLS.] |
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) Step 5. This is the tricky part! Get that TLS paint mixture into the loops of the pinecone without making a big mess! :-D I plopped some in with the paintbrush and then spread it into the corners with a toothpick. Fill the loops almost to the top for a neat "puffy" look! ***Do NOT fill in your loop for hanging!!! |
) Step 6. For the Teardrop, make sure your filigree shape is well centered and paint around it with TLS straight from the jar. About 2 coats, one right after the other, is about right. If it's too thin it will be too fragile, and if it's too thick you lose some of the translucency. (Again, it's not an exact science here so don't sweat the small stuff!) You can also paint the whole teardrop interior with TLS first and then add the filigree piece. Either way is ok! |
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) Step 7. For the Round shape, paint in some TLS as in Step 6, and then dip your brush into some Pearl-ex powder and swirl in some color! Do as much or as little as you like! |
) Step 8. Decorate your ornaments with some Glitter Glue! I decorated on the raw clay and then baked. The Glitter Glue hardens up and doesn't peel off so easily that way! I made little dots along the edges of the Teardrop and Round shapes and for the Pinecone I traced inside each loop with gold. ***Don't make the Glitter Glue too thick or else it will bubble in the oven! |
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) Step 9. Bake your ornaments on the tile at 275 degrees for 15 minutes (or whatever temp. is recommended for your clay). Let them cool down and then GENTLY slide your blade underneath to release them from the tile. TA DAAAAA! They're done! |
) In this last picture are the completed ornaments along with several other different shapes that I've made. Be creative! Almost any shape with closed areas for filling with TLS will do! For the translucent ones, be sure to position them on your tree with a christmas light directly behind each one. They look totally awesome that way! Enjoy! [Note from Sunni: If you bake your ornaments on a piece of glass instead of tile, you can also stick them right on a window as a window cling.] |
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