Saturday, July 24, 2010

Polymer Bracelet

Above is the finished polymer bracelet. Below on the right is the Goodwill bracelet that was damaged. It had two cracked pieces and the elastic was frayed, but I loved the shape.
I made a two-part silicone mold of one of the pieces. After the mold had set up, I placed my conditioned scrap clay in my mold and patted it down firmly. Popped it out, poked two holes, distressed it and made 6 more.
Above--I got bored while the mold was setting up and doodled on the top of it. What can I say?
After the baked pieces were cool, I experimented with paints. Above was too dark so I added some buff glaze. I baked the glazed pieces again to set the paint. Then I sanded them and gave them a quick buffing on the electric buffer. Strung them on Beadalon elastic, tied the knots and pulled them inside the holes. I want to try this again, but will pay attention to the layering of the ivory and not over-distressing the pieces. A little goes a long way. And, of course, have to make one with bright colors.

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