Paper Clay Jewelry Experiments
I’ve finally gotten a few paper clay jewelry experiments finished, and I think the results are promising. I’m not 100% happy with the results yet. I think I still have that learning curve thing going on; therefore, my finished pieces are a little rougher than I’d like them to be - nothing at this point do I feel is polished looking enough to sell or even give as a gift.
Pictured is an example of what I’m talking about, my Painted Paper Clay Pendant project. This is what I came up with after playing around with rubber stamps and using one to press an impression into the clay (see my Asian Paper Clay Stamp Charm Pendant project).
Granted it looks better in person, but there is still a very “hand-made” quality to the piece, and not necessarily in a good way. If you look at the paper charm closely, the paint job isn’t that good (probably should have used another coat or two) and the actual shape of the charm is a little uneven.
I’ve also been playing around with making paper clay beads, and that (so far) seems a little more doable. Pictured is a whopper 30mm bead I made after kneading paint into the clay and then just using my hands to form it. I’m thinking of making a bunch of smaller beads now so I could use this one as the focal bead and string up a necklace, though I wasn’t real keen on the paint into the clay thing - what a mess!
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POSTED IN: Paper Clay
4 opinions for Paper Clay Jewelry Experiments
Cynthia
Dec 18, 2006 at 9:11 pm
I really like those beads/paper elements. The shine is quite nice, and the stamping is an interesting detail.
Tammy
Dec 19, 2006 at 10:40 am
Thanks. Yes, the glaze gives them a nice shine, though I could probably use gel medium matte finish too I guess.
Miachelle
Dec 23, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I like your paper clay work here. Addressing your comment about the shape, when I work with paper clay, I take fine sandpaper and sand uneven shapes. The paper clay sands down quickly and nicely, so it’s easy to correct any issues. I would like to have heard specifically why you aren’t happy with the paint job. As a guess and a suggestions, if the gold wasn’t bright enough, instead of painting the gold in the character, try goldleafing instead. Then you can spray clear acrylic over it once everything dries. You don’t get a bright glossy effect, unless you add lots of coats, but the gold will stand out nicely, and even give that more aged look, which with your Asian theme would really look lovely. Just a suggestion, not knowing specifically what about the paint job you weren’t satisfied with.
Regards,
Miachelle
Tammy Powley
Dec 23, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Gold leaf is a good idea. I think as far as the paint job, I needed to just maybe add a few more coats. I rushed this. I will consider using sand paper. I did use a finger nail file (it’s listed in the instructions that are linked in the post), but I think it would take more than filing. The piece isn’t flat when you set it down. Granted, I may be overly critical. Hand-crafted jewelry will never look like a machine made it, nor would I want it to.
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