DIY Network

Polymer Clay Skull Belt Learn the techniques for creating this polymer clay skull belt. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-240

Guest Ann Mitchell joins host Jennifer Perkins and shows how to make a polymer clay skull, then uses that to create the mold for the other skulls. Then, they create all the other pieces for the medallions on the belt.

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Polymer clay skull belt project designed by Ann Mitchell.

Materials:

3 blocks silver Premo polymer clay
1 block fuchsia Premo polymer clay
4 oz. (about 2 blocks) scrap polymer clay (or any color)
2 oz. bottle translucent Liquid Sculpey
2 oval cutters: 1-1/4" x 2-1/8" and 2-1/2" x 3-1/16"
aluminum metallic leaf
6 small pink glass or crystal stones (3mm x 5mm)
polymer clay friendly varnish
1 sheet of paper
cornstarch
brush for cornstarch
brush for clay varnish
Shade-Tex rubbing plates texture sheet — nature series — gravel
clay shaper
4-5 wooden skewers
pasta machine (clay dedicated, Atlas brand recommended)
acrylic rod
Sculpey Super Slicer clay blade
scissors
ruler
paper towels
craft knife

Steps:

	Figure A
	Figure B

1. Condition clay with hands and a pasta maker.

2. Roll a 1-1/4-inch ball of scrap clay and form it into an oval. At the center of the oval, make two indentations for the eye sockets of the skull (using the back end of the clay shaper handle). Centered below that, make an indentation for a skull nose. Also make two diagonal indentations on either side of the lower half of the oval to form the jawbones. Use a craft knife to form the lines for the teeth (figure A). Pinch the jaw area so that it is narrower than the forehead. Once you like the look of your skull, bake it for 45 minutes at 275 degrees and allow it to cool. Now you are ready to make the mold.

3. Form an oval disk mold that is larger and deeper than the clay skull. Dust both the surface of the disk and the skull with cornstarch and tap off the excess. Press the skull all the way into the disk, bringing the scrap clay up around the edges (figure B). Carefully pull the skull out of the scrap clay disk. Bake your skull mold for 45 minutes at 275 degrees. Allow the mold to cool. The mold is now ready to use.

4. Make a 1-1/4-inch ball of silver clay. Cover ball completely with aluminum leaf and burnish between your palms to remove excess leaf. Roll one ball into an oval and pinch one end of the ball to make it more skull shaped. Repeat twice for three total balls.

5. Dust the inside of the skull mold with cornstarch and tap out the excess. Press the first silver oval into the mold completely. Trim the excess clay off of the back of the oval, removing the metallic leaf. Remove the skull from the mold. Repeat the molding and trimming process for the other two silver ovals. Make sure to use cornstarch each time. Roll 2-1/8-inch balls of clay.

Figure C

6. Place a small drop of liquid clay into the eye sockets of each skull. Drop a ball of fuchsia clay into each socket and gently press in place. Swipe a small amount of liquid clay on the surface of the fuchsia clay in each socket. Press a pink glass stone into each fuchsia ball and sink it in. Repeat for three skulls, bake them for 45 minutes at 275 degrees and then allow them to cool (figure C).

7. Roll a rectangle of fuchsia clay on a #1 setting (thickest setting — about 1/8-inch) on the pasta machine.

8. Dust the top surface of both the clay and the texture sheet with cornstarch, and tap off excess. Roll the clay and the texture sheet through the pasta machine on a #1 setting.

Figure D

9. Cut a 1-1/4" x 2-1/8" oval out of the textured fuchsia clay and set aside (figure D). Repeat for total of three ovals. Roll a large sheet of silver clay at a #1 setting on the pasta machine.

10. Cut rectangle in half, and layer one sheet on top of the other. Stick the sheets together by rolling with an acrylic rod to get rid of any air bubbles. Apply aluminum leaf to the entire surface of the silver clay sheet.

Tip: The best way to do this is to lay a sheet of aluminum leaf on your work surface, and to lay the clay on top. Trim the excess aluminum leaf with a craft knife. Turn the clay sheet over and burnish the leaf onto the clay with your fingers.

11. Cut out a 2-1/2" x 3-1/16" oval from this sheet of clay. Repeat for a total of three. Roll silver clay scraps together. Form a 3/4" by 1-1/2" cylinder of clay. Cover the cylinder with aluminum leaf and remove excess leaf.

Figure E

12. Pierce the cylinder lengthwise with a skewer. Set the cylinder on your work surface and roll from the center working outward, making the cylinder 3/8-inch thick. Trim off excess clay if the cylinder is longer than the skewer. Make sure the holes are large enough for 1/8-inch thick leather lacing. You could cut the beads before baking or once baked, you will be cutting 3/8-inch long beads. Make enough 3/8-inch thick aluminum-leafed cylinders to cut 30 beads. Once you cut the beads, just leave them on the skewer to bake them (figure E). Bake the cylinder for 30 minutes at 275 degrees. While still warm, cut your 3/8-inch long tube beads. Allow beads to cool, and apply a coat of polymer clay friendly varnish to each bead.

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