Cold clay gift tags

I had my first attempt at cold porcelain {also known as cold clay} this week.  And I'm going to share my "cold clay experience" with you. :-) I bought a packed of clay, if you search, all over the internet you'll find recipes  to make your own clay {cost wise it's not that much of a difference and just seem to be so much more trouble, but i suppose if you are in the mood and you want to make it from scratch, you can give it a go}

FYI...

• You do not bake it, it's air dry only and takes at least 24hours to dry... but it is best to leave it two days for it to dry out properly {the time it takes to dry also depends on the thickness and the size of your piece}
• Do not refrigerate {finished or unused}
• Once the pieces are dry it is hard, but don't wet it {thus you need to made things that don't need washing, or have to hold liquid}
• If it is too sticky you can dust the clay with corn starch.  You can also use cornstarch to dust the mold so that it doesn't stick {but it's not needed}
• Just pinch off a small bit and work with that, as it dry's out very fast.  If you have a piece that you still need to work on, you can leave it under a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out too fast.  What's left in the packet, seal it well and store at room temperature
• You can paint the finished piece with watercolour or acrylic
• Cold clay can be stamped, molded, rolled, cut anything you want to do with it... here you need to use your imagination.  {I used things around that house, but I'm sure plastic icing molding utensils will work very well}
• Before using it work the clay with your fingers a bit to eliminate cracks and to make it a bit elastic.  But not too much that it dried out
• When making jewellery, seal the piece with a clear acrylic sealer spray lacquer {or Sculpey sealers} before wearing it to protect from sweat and getting wet. 
• When using a stamp, don't stamp too hard, as the stamp sticks to the clay and when pulled off it deforms your piece.  But experiment, you can always work it through the fingers and start over again. :-)

So my "theme" was gift tags.  {and by the way you can write on the gift tags with a permanent marker it works well and then the tag is for keep sake} So this is what I experimented with...

firstly = the stamp

Roll out your clay on a flat surface.  Before doing anything, lift your clay from the surface that you have rolled it out on.  If not you will damage your creation when trying to lift it when done. 

Stamp...

And cut out around the stamped part.  if you want to use it as a gift tag you can make a hole with a straw {works well and is a good size}

Secondy = rolling {of a textured object}

See what you have lying around the house, and roll it out over your rolled out clay.  Experiment with different textures, I found this doily that I have used.

Thirdly = Cutting

I used an old gym card to cut out a form that can be used as a gift tag, to write a lovely message on.

Lastly = Molding

Using my hands I molded a little bird. I then used the heart cutter and lightly stamped the tummy if the birdie on both sides.  I then used a skewer stick to make two eyes as well as a little hole through the tail to put the twine through when putting it on a gift.

I really enjoyed working with this medium... and I have LOADS more ideas that I will try out soon and share with you.

Happy crafting :-)