Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Hey guys :)

Today I want to show you how you can decorate a very pretty frame with polymer clay that is inspired by an old manuscript.

Tools and Materials:

polymer clay
picture frame (make sure it's bakeable)
clay shaping tools
roller or pasta machine
blade or x-acto knife
liquid clay
gold leaf
black alcohol marker


Instructions:

First decide on a design you want to have. I wanted to have a sort of piece of parchment with the phrase 'home is where the heart is' and a lot of flowers and vines around it. Look at some pictures on the internet for inspiration. Pinterest is a really good source for this :) Here my Pinterest board for this project.

So to imitate a manuscript, mix some sand colour and white with translucent. Don't worry if you get any lint and dirt on there. This actually helps to achieve an aged look. Mix everything together and roll it out. Then roll out another sheet of translucent really thinly and place it on top. Roll it out again, making sure, it fits your frame.
Place it on the frame decide how big you want it.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Cut it to size. It's nice to have some ragged edges to make it look worn.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

To have a really pretty illuminated initial I made a square template with some indents and placed it where it should go to see where to write everything else. Then I indented all the other letters of the text into the clay in Gothic script. It's a little hard to see here. I recommend practicing the letters first, if you're not used to this. You can also make some lines first to know where to write out your letters

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

I placed my template for the initial on some clay and cut it out. Take some gold leaf and carefully put it on the clay and smooth it out with your fingers. Make sure to also cover the sides. I recommend a short pre-bake of 10 minutes at this stage because the more you move the sheet with gold leaf, the more it cracks.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Now cut out a very pretty initial from red or blue clay or whatever colour you like. Check the internet or my Pinterest board for shapes of pretty initials. Place your initial on your gold-leaf clay, attaching it with liquid clay.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Position your finished initial piece on your frame, again using liquid clay underneath. You can also make a design into the initial. I chose some simple leaves that I indented with my clay tools. You'll see it better once I add the colour. You can then pre-bake the whole frame again to make the next step easier. This way you don't have to worry about distortion. Unfortunately, I got some air bubbles under the big parchment sheet, that went upwards in the oven. But don't worry, if this happens. Just put something heavy (like a big book) on top of your frame once it's out of the oven. It will even out this way.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Now the vines. Around the texts of manuscript folios you often have these beautiful floral decorations. To imitate those, start with rolling out some black clay into very thin snakes and put them on your frame in swirls. To help them stick, first trace the swirly vine with liquid clay and then put the snakes on top.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

I discovered that it's easiest to start at the end of the swirl (check the picture). Simply stick the end down and then let the rest sort of fall into place naturally.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Here you can see again how I start a swirl. I also made a cute heart on the right side.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

I made the same leaf design on the heart as on the initial. Also make small swirls attached to the bigger swirls and simple stems so add flowers and leaves later.
Here I also have already coloured the letters in black. I used an alcohol marker for this.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

For the flowers, roll some logs in the colours you want the flowers to be, and you'll also need a sheet of black clay.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Wrap the logs into the black sheet, cut the excess and smooth out the seams.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Reduce your new canes to the size you want your flowers to be by rolling them on your table and carefully stretching them. Then pinch one side between your fingers to create a teardrop shape. Cut slices from that, three for each flower, and attach them on your frame with liquid clay.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

To make the golden leaves, I covered some clay with gold leaf again and cut out the shapes with a very small cutter. I made the cutter from the metal part of a paint brush on which I pinched one end with pliers. To see in detail how to make these small cutters check out my circle cutter tutorial.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

Bake your frame one last time according to the instructions on your clay package or for 30 min at 100° C. Then colour the inside of your initial and heart with white acrylic paint.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

You can also paint a border around the golden leaves with a black marker. Put varnish on the whole piece to protect it and that's it.

Tutorial Manuscript Frame

So what do you think? I'm quite pleased how it turned out :) I hope you like this tutorial and give it a try. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments :)

See you soon

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Hey guys :)
Today I want to share how I designed my new shoes :) I simply drew on some zentangle patterns, choosing only the ones that resemble flowers and leaves. It looks really complicated but actually isn't. You just need a cheap pair of white shoes and a black waterproof pen.

Materials: 

bright shoes
black waterproof pen

Instructions:


Actually you're not supposed to draw out your designs in pencil first in zentangle art but I'm not a spontaneous person and since this is only my second try, I just had to draw it in pencil first.

Here an overview of the zentangle patterns from my sketch book. I needed them as reference, they're not stuck in my head, yet.

Zentangle Patterns

You should of course come up with your own design that suits you and not just copy mine. But I'll still show you the process of how I did it. It's pretty self-explanatory but I still try to say a couple of things :)

I decided to draw a flower first, starting with the centre. Draw a circle and a larger circle around it. I filled the ring with small circles and made a dot in the centre.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Then draw petals around it. You can make them round or leaf shaped. In between those I made more petals. Into the first layer of petals I drew some lines and just one line with a dot at the end.

Then I started with some leaves. You can make a line first for the stem and then draw on petals. See the start of it at the right side.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

You can draw in lines for the veins and a dot if you like. This pattern is called Flux, in case you want to see some more examples. I also added some vines (Opus) between the leaf pattern.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

At the back of the first shoe I added another flower. Start with two circles again and then draw round petals with lines inside. I then added lines with dots at the end.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

I also added lines between the petals that are shorter. Then you can draw more 'petals' around the lines.
Also make a design at the top. You can go with the stitching of the shoe. Make a line around the stitching  and then half circles. Make a dot inside. Trace around them with another line. I had some more space, so I added some circles.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Trace the other stitching line as well. Make another pattern in between like little lines. Add more patterns on the sides. Like some more leavy/ feathery patterns. This one is called Verdigogh. I drew it on both sides.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Now the next shoe. Here I started with some leaves. First the outlines of the leaves, I have three here but I added two more at the sides. Uneven numbers usually make it more pleasing to the eye. Add another leaf shape inside the first and another very small one. It's pretty to colour the inner leaf in and then you can add some lines on the outer one.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Now time to add some flowers. Draw the centres first again and then the petals. This flower there is called Henna Drum. It's like a daisy and I think it's really pretty but easy to draw. Here is the first layer of petals.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

To make it fuller, I added another layer of petals in between the first one and lines into the petals.
I then added some more vines going upwards.

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

At the side of the shoe I drew a combination of Zinger and Poke Leaf. With both patterns, you start with the stem. Then for Poke Leaf, just draw a leaf around the stem. For Zinger, draw a ring around the stem. Draw another ring on top which is bigger and repeat. Then draw smaller rings until you come to a point. Make sure that the patterns overlap to make them look pretty.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

On the other side, I drew out flowers. I chose Dyon and Cyme for this. For Dyon, draw out about five curved lines in a star shape (see the one on the right). Connect those with more curved lines (see the third from the right). You can then add some more lines inside the flower (see the one on the left). Cyme is also easy. Draw out a four-petal flower (see second from the right). Add more petals in between the first ones (see third from the left) and make a dot in the middle. You can then draw in some lines (see second from the left).

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Draw in stems underneath the flowers and then leaves. It's prettier if they overlap. I chose to make round petals for the dyon-flowers and pointy ones for the cyme-flowers.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

At the back of this shoe I also drew out another flower. As before, start with the centre by drawing out circles. Then add the petals. This time I chose some daisy petals.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

You can then fill it with patterns again. The petals got some lines as veins and the inside of the centre some small circles. I drew some more veines to fill the space, too.

Here you can see both shoes from the back.

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

And a picture from the front of both shoes:

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Here they are from the side:

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

And from the other side:

Tutorial Zentangle Shoes

Now what do you think? Do you like them? I think, they turned out pretty good for my second attempt :) I mean you can buy shoes like this for a lot of money. But you can just make them yourself :)
Let me know what you think in a comment :)


See you soon

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Hello guys,

this time I want to show you, what I made for my mum on mother's day. I couldn't show you any earlier, because she reads my blog :D
My mum loves flowers and decor so I attempted to make a primrose that was as realistic as possible. I think it turned out quite nicely for my first attempt :)
You don't need to make any canes for this, Just have a little patience :)

Materials:

polymer clay
real primrose and leaf if possible
pasta machine or roller
blade or xacto knife
water or baby powder
chalk pastels and/or acrylic paint
paint brush
eye or head pins
tooth pick
needle tool
aluminium foil
cardboard
decorative stone

Instructions:

Try to find a real primrose and leaf (hopefully in your own garden :D) If you can't find one, you can use pictures but it's easier with a real one. This way you get the size, the colours and the textures right.
Here's mine:

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Now we start with the flower. Roll out some clay in the colour you want your flower to be. Make a really thin sheet. I think I used 7 on my pasta machine (9 is the thinnest). Trace a heart shape with a stem into your clay and cut it out. Use the first one as a template and place it on your clay again to trace the other four. If your clay is really sticky, you can also make a template from paper first. Cut out all five petals.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Cut out some strips of yellow with points at one end. Place them on your petals with the pointy end about one third on the petal.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Take a toothpick and drag lines on your petals from the outside to the inside to blend the clay together and create texture at the same time.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Carefully take your petals from your work surface. To do this, you hold your blade at an angle and slide it underneath. That way, they don't rip apart.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Flatten the borders of the petals between your fingers to make them thinner and not as regular. Then place it on your work surface again and make veins on both sides of the petals with a needle tool or wire brush. Then at the back side, brush on some colour by scraping off pigments off a chalk pastel with your blade. If you don't have chalk pastels, you can use acrylics, too. You can also brush on some yellow if you like.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Now make the stem. It has to be very very small, so take a head or eye pin or a piece of wire and place a very small piece of light green clay on top. Liquid clay can help it stick better or glue it on after baking if it falls off. Then paint the wire in light green acrylics.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Now it gets a little bit difficult. Take your time for this. Take your first petal and place it on your wire and wrap the long strip at the bottom around it.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Take another petal and wrap it around as well, making sure they overlap. Continue until all five petals are on there. Make sure that once you place the last petal, it overlaps on one side as well and on the other side it goes underneath, it shouldn't just lay on top.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

To secure everything, twist the stem between your finger until it's smooth. Take a dotting tool and shape the middle with it, so the hole around the stem gets a bit larger. Make sure the stem doesn't stick out too much.

Now you need a base to bake your flower on. You can make one out of clay (then you have to make sure to have something in between, so it doesn't stick together) or aluminium foil. Make a ball first and then an indent inside - using a ball tool for the indent should make it easy.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Make some really small leaf shapes and fold them on a needle tool. They are for underneath the flower. You need five for each flower.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Place them carefully on the flower stem underneath the petals. and then twist them with your fingers again to connect them. Cut off any excess and paint the rest of the wire green. If you don't succeed with those little leaves, just skip them, they're not as important and really difficult to attach.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Then place your flower into your foil indent and bake.

Now the leaves. Mix some green clay. Add in a little bit of brown to not have a bluish green. You can mix a lighter shade and then brush on pastels on the high points or acrylics if you like. Or just mix the right shade and then paint the veins lighter after baking.
Roll out your clay very thinly, like you did with the petals. Mist your leaf with water or baby powder and press it into your clay carefully with your fingers. You could use a roller but I found that the indent gets blurry if you do. Then cut it out. Don't make the edges too straight.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Slide your blade underneath and turn your leaf around. place an eye pin or head pin were the stem is (check the picture) the thick part should be on the leaf, so that it doesn't slide out. Cut a strip of clay to secure it.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Place your strip of clay on the back of  your leaf all the way up to the end, to support the middle vein, as the clay has most likely become really thin at that part. Now you can dust on some chalk pastel to give it some colour (or do it after baking with acrylics). Twist the ends a bit.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Make another base from foil to bake it on and place on your leaf. The sides shouldn't lay too flat but have ridges and be a bit wrinkled. Depending on how many leaves you make, you will have to make more bases. Or bake it on there for just a couple of minutes and then remove it and bake until fully cured. This way, you can use the base for the next leaf. After baking, you can add some more clay to the stem. It's better to bend the wire into place (a slight curve) before adding the clay.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Don't forget to fix the colours after baking. I diluted some really light green paint with water and brushed them into all the little crevasses. I wiped away the excess and let it dry. Then I used a darker green and dry-brushed it on the leaf. To do this, wipe off almost all the paint from your brush and lightly drag it over the surface. A stiff brush works nicely for this. Let dry.

To make a base for your creation, choose a large pretty stone and make a base from cardboard. Don't make it too regular. Of course you can also place them in a vase, then you don't need a base.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Spread some clay on your cardboard, press your stone into it and make the clay higher in front of the stone to be able to push in your flowers and leaves. I used air-dry clay as I can get it much cheaper than polymer clay.
Now texture it. I found this amazing hairbrush cleaner to create which I couldn't walk past and this is the first time I used it for texture. I just scratched and wriggled it over the surface. It's very easy and much faster than doing it with a needle tool, but you can definitely use one, if you don't have anything else.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Remove the stone and paint the base green. I painted it before it was cured because I couldn't wait. It worked fine :)

Tutorial Primrose Decor

Once the paint is dry, place your stone back on the base. Then stick your flowers and leaves where you want them into the little hill. The stems of my leaves were unbaked at this point, I figured they would hold better this way. The picture below shows how it came out of the oven... Two leaves broken off :( I had to remove them, superglue them back together and support them at the back with more clay. Then I baked them for about 15 min separately, Stuck them back in the base and baked everything again for 30 min.
So, don't make the same mistake as I did and place some tissue in between the several layers of leaves and flowers before baking. This way you support the clay.

Tutorial Primrose Decor

And this is the finished project:

Tutorial Primrose Decor

What do you think? Did I succeed in making it look real? I think the leaves could be better but otherwise I'm pleased.

My mum loved it :)

Are you gonna make something like this, too? I'd love to know and see some pictures. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have :)

See you soon