Had a Polymer Clay request for how to make legs for a box, bowl or tile. This one is for you, Vanessa :), but also for anyone else who stumbles onto this blog, is new at claying or is just plain curious....Merry Christmas! Forgive me, if I'm not super accurate with describing in more detail, but made this tutorial in a couple of hours.....rush rush rush, lol.
I chose to make a tile stand for one of my crystal balls, using a 3" CD, black premo, translucent liquid sculpey, silver mica or pulver and a texture plate.
Step 1: Condition clay, roll out on #3. Brush some armour all onto the texture plate. Lay sheet of clay onto texture and run back through at #3. Make 2 sheets.
Step 2: put CD onto the non-textured side of clay sheet and trim around CD. Then cover other side of CD with textured clay and trim.
Step 3: After covering both sides of CD, use blade and trim edge.
Step 4: You may want to decorate the edge of the tile with a trim of sorts. Either just roll out a long snake and use this plain, or roll out a snake and prepare a mold with armor all as shown, using a brush. Use very little armour all, you don't want to saturate your mold with it. You can also use water or corn starch. I prefer armour all as a mold release.
Step 5: Press snake into the mold evenly and firmly.
Step 6: Trim along mold, removing excess layer of clay, then carefully remove decorative trim.
Step 7: cover edge of tile with decorative trim.
Step 8: I pressed my crystal into the clay to give it a bit of a 'bowl' to sit in....
Step 9: Apply mica or powder with finger for an antique kind of finish by letting the black of the recesses show.
Step 10: For Legs....Roll some clay with your fingers into a long tube or snake. Use Kato Marxit ruler.... and lightly press into clay to score/mark clay.
Step 11: Cut scores at equal intervals.
Step 12: Cut 4.
Step 13: Roll each end of legs to a point. Try and make them as equal as possible.
Step 14: Start coiling the tapered ends into snails.
Step 15: Try and coil them to about the same length.
Step 16: Lay a coiled leg onto texture plate and gently fold plate over to texture both sides at same time.
Step 17: Use mica/pulver to coat the legs.
Step 18: Apply liquid sculpey on the flat part of the leg. Press a short piece of wire into that part of the leg also, letting just a little stick out (not shown) . This will help adhere it to the base of the tile.
Step 19: And apply each one to the bottom of the tile, gently pushing down on each leg. After you've applied all 4 legs, turn tile over and carefully stand on legs and gently push down. This will help adjust any 'wobble' in the legs and correct unevenness. A leg may fall off, just reapply. Bake in this position. You may need to use little props so legs don't fall over, but the short pieces of wire should help prevent them from falling over.
Step 20: There you have it. You can make little trivets this way with larger CD's and not cutting out the centre hole. You can make legs like this for boxes....whatever tickles you!
