Barbara's Tips and Techniques for June

Hey there, Creative Paperclay® fans!  Welcome back to the blog.  I am so glad you decided to stop by today.  I have a really cool technique I want to share with you.  It is a continuation of my last post, which you can view by clicking here.  As I said earlier, I love ancient artifacts, and I am really enamored with ancient Egypt.  I knew I wanted to add a label of some sort to my ancient jar, so I dug out (no pun intended) one of my Egyptian hieroglyph rubber stamps.

Supplies Used:

Creative Paperclay®

FolkArt acrylic paint - Seamist, Solid Bronze Metallic

Egyptian Hieroglyph rubber stamp - Judikins

Two 1/4" brown eyelets

Natural twine

I rolled out a small piece of Creative Paperclay®, and then I placed that piece on top of my rubber stamp, choosing a section I thought would be interesting.

Very important tip:  Roll your brayer or clay roller over the clay only once, using steady, even pressure.  Do not try to go back and forth.  The clay tends to move, or stretch, as you roll it, giving unclear images.  However, if you do not get a clear image, just knead the clay again, and start over.

Pick a section of images that you like, and use an oval clay cutter to cut out your label.

Simply smooth any rough edges with your fingers, or sand it after it has dried.

Insert 1/4" eyelets on both sides of your label.  Your eyelet color does not matter.  You will be painting over them.  (If your eyelets fall out, simply glue them in.)

Use an awl to remove the clay still inside the eyelets.

Allow label to dry thoroughly.  You can carefully use a heat gun to speed up the process.  Paint the label with bronze paint.  Use a scrubbing motion to get the paint down into all the crevices.  Allow to dry.

Use a dry brush technique to add highlights the with Seamist acrylic paint.

Run twine through hole on one side of eyelet, around the jar, and back through the eyelet on the opposite side.  Tie off.

Now your jar is labeled.  How fun is that?  And since I cannot read hieroglyphs, I can put anything I want to in this jar.  I really do like how this turned out.  I think the label adds just a bit more excitement to the piece.

Thanks again for joining me on my journey into Ancient Egypt.  I hope you have been motivated to make something fun that really inspires you.  Maybe your preference is Asian, or Greek, or something from the good ole' USofA.  Whatever your pleasure, Creative Paperclay® can help you make it all come true.

So until next month, have fun, and be sure to visit the Creative Paperclay® blog for more inspiration and tips from the rest of the wonderful design team.

Barbara