Festive Flower Picture Frames - Sculpey Clay Projects

May - Festive Flower Frames
by Amy Koranek

Some Basic Information:

Sculpey III, Bake & Bend, and Amazing Eraser Clay should be conditioned before using. To condition, roll and squeeze each color in your hands until the clay becomes soft and pliable and an even consistency.

It's important to bake projects for the right amount of time and at the right temperature. Once your project is complete, follow these baking instructions for each type of clay:

Sculpey III bakes in your home oven for 15 minutes at 275 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).
Bake & Bend bakes in your home oven for 20 minutes at 285 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).
Amazing Eraser Clay bakes in your home oven for 10 minutes at 250 Degrees F (130 Degrees C).

Line your baking sheets with aluminum foil or index cards when using them to cure (bake) polymer clay projects.

Always assist children during the baking process and never touch a clay project until it is completely cool. You should use an oven thermometer to make sure the oven temperature is accurate. Overheating polymer clay can cause it to become discolored. In the case of Amazing Eraser Clay, the eraser may not erase well if it's over baked.

Good working surfaces include a large piece of glass, wax paper, marble, or an old baking sheet. It is important that you not place unbaked polymer clay on any good furniture surface. Do not use everyday cooking utensils with clay if you are going to continue using them for preparing food.

Shapes:

All of the projects in this series can be made from the following shapes:

Ball - Take a lump of clay and roll it in your palms until it's smooth.

Teardrop - Start with a ball of clay and then taper it on one end with your fingers.

Coil - Roll a lump of clay until it¹s long and skinny.

What you'll need:

1 oz. of Sculpey III Mint, Yellow, and Atomic Orange, and some Sculpey III in Hot Pink and Violet
Scrap paper cut into 3 circles about 1-1/2" wide
White glue
Photos which are all right to cut

Instructions

Yellow Cosmos:

1. Divide Yellow into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

2. Place the balls around the outside edge of the paper circle. Flatten each ball so they all touch each other around the circle.

3. Roll a tiny coil of Atomic Orange, and place it on the inside edge of the petals.

Orange Sunflower:

1. Divide Atomic Orange into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Shape the balls into teardrops.

2. Place the teardrops, points out, around the outside edge of the paper circle. Flatten each teardrop so they all touch each other around the circle.

3. Roll a tiny coil of Violet and place it on the inside edge of the petals.

Mint Daisy :

1. Divide Mint into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball that¹s kind of long.

2. Place the balls around the outside edge of the paper circle. Flatten each ball so they all touch each other around the circle.

3. Roll a tiny coil of Hot Pink and place it on the inside edge of the petals.

4. Bake the flower frames at 275 Degrees F (130 Degrees C) for 15 minutes in your home oven. Do not handle the frames until they are completely cool. Use the paper template to trim out a photo for each frame. Attach a photo to the back side of the frame with a little bit of white glue.