2015 #2 Shiny Clay {by Lin Brown, PA Signature Designer}

Hi, Lin here this evening to share a project using some of my brand new stamps!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am by this new release and am delighted not only to be able to show you a project, fitting in with the shiny theme on the blog this week, but also ahead of the official launch of my new lines which is scheduled for next week.

My new stamps are completely influenced by my holiday in Tobago at the end of last year. I was amazed and completely blown away by the tropical plants, wild life, breath taking scenery and colour, particularly the colour of the sea........crystal clear water and turquoise, simply beautiful!

Today, my project uses some of my new botanical stamps, black polymer clay and mica powders, the shiny element. I really prefer using black clay when using mica powders, it really highlights the true colour of the mica.

Before you start working with your clay, you need to condition it. This is done by either kneading the clay with your hands or putting it through a pasta machine. I prefer to use the pasta machine option. I have one that I keep just for clay, please don't use the one that you keep in your kitchen for making pasta!!! 

Simply keep folding the clay in half, and pass through the machine, taking care not to trap air bubbles in the clay. It is not always easy to see them at this stage but the pesky little things will rise during the baking process!!! The clay will become more pliable and have more of a sheen to it when it is ready to use.

After rolling my clay through the pasta machine for the final time, I took the stem image from ELB15 and flower head stamp from ELB16 and pressed them firmly into the clay.

Before opening the mica powder, please put your stamps away. If you get some mica on the back of the stamps, the cling foam will need cleaning as the mica stops them sticking to the storage sheet or acrylic block.

Take a small paint brush and paint the flower with the Mica. I used Dreamweaver Metallic FX but there are other brands on the market such as Ranger's Perfect Pearls or Jaquard's Pearl Ex.

Here's a close up shot so that you can see how gorgeous the colours look, specially where two colours are blended together.

I was going to leave the background black but sadly, I managed to spill some mica powder on it and decided that it wouldn't be the end of the world if I coloured the background with mica powders too. 

One of the things that I love about working with clay is the ability to manipulate the shape. I really like the ragged/torn edge look, not only for the more aged appearance of the piece but it also reveals a black edge, which I really like. You can see in the photo below that I have torn a few splits into the clay  as well as pricking some background texture and piercing a couple of holes which I will use to dangle embellishments from.

Here's a close up

...and another

It is also possible to embed things into the clay. I like to use metal embellishments so that I can bake the clay with the embellishments in place. Most of the time, they stay put and don't need any glue. If you do need to use glue, a dot of superglue will do the trick properly.

As you work with the clay, you will realise that the mica can start to lift off the surface of the clay, leaving behind your finger prints. If this happens, not to worry, you can always pick up a paintbrush and fill in any gaps but my recommendation would be to seal the clay. I personally like to seal the clay after it has been baked to avoid any additional fumes. If you were using clay on a regular basis, you might like to invest in a small toaster oven that would be dedicated to baking clay. In reality, most of you are not going to do that and will bake it in your kitchen. Always follow the manufacturer's baking instructions and I would suggest making a tent of tin foil over the clay to contain any fumes.

OK, going back to the sealing of the clay. I ran a little experiment with different mediums that could possibly work as a good sealer. The Treasure Gold sealer worked really well and dries by evaporation quite quickly so if you want to build up a deep shine you could keep adding layers. Having said that, I personally struggle with the fumes of this product as I have very sensitive skin. I tested PaperArtsy Gloss, Satin, Pearl and Metallic glazes. I chose not to test the Matte one as I wanted to keep the beautiful shimmer of the mica. For me, the Gloss ticked all the boxes. Satin would be my second choice but of course the Pearl and Metallic glazes are not as clear as the others because they also have mica particles in those glazes.

Now for the background. I recycled a paper covered canvas for my background. I chose completely contrasting colours and stamped a few of the new images from ELB15 with Jet Black Archival ink. 

I added a splash of colour to the dandelion heads with a Fibralo pen and stamped my message on some masking tape. I love this shabby look, you can still see the images underneath the tape. 

A few more pieces of masking tape and washi tape for decoration.

To frame the piece, some black ink around the edges.

Finally, sorry it's been a bit of an epic post, a few close up shots to show you how nice the dangly embellishments look.

I hope that this will inspire you to have a little dabble with clay. I'm pretty sure most of you will have some mica powders somewhere in your stash so you can join in with the shiny theme here on the blog. I can't wait for next week when I'll be back to share the rest of my new products with you.

Wow, a big thanks to Lin for this wonderful post. I'm sure we all have plenty of mica powders lurking about to try this technique with. Back in the day we also used to cover little wooden boxes with stamped clay, just like this. Lin's panel is a stunning way to make a feature piece!

If you fancy joining PaperArtsy challenge #2: Shiny Stuff, then you can link up your creativity HERE.  

NB.  you will get 3 weeks to participate in this challenge, as we will interrupt the usual schedule for our New Product Announcements which starts Feb 1st for a week.

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Shiny Stuff link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Feb 8th, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.