strawberry

Project: Roses

Step 1: Make the fruit

Cut each floral wire into 3. Each measures approx. 10-12cm long. Cut floral tape into 3 in width...so that the floral tape is thin. Use this thin tape to twist tightly around each wire. ( approx. 3/4 of the wire should be covered with tape) Using pliers, make a hook at the top of the wire. Repeat for each wire and make 12 in total. These are the wires for the strawberry.

Step 2:

Take approximately 1/4 of the Masko clay pack to make the strawberry fruit. Seal the remaining clay tightly by wrapping Gladwrap around it and storing it in an air-tight container. The clay you have taken out....put a little " Lemon Yellow" oil colour into the clay and mix it with your hands thoroughly. The clay should become slightly yellow ( TIP: The colour should be very light...as when clay dries, the colour gets darker) Once the clay is mixed, carefully wrap it with GladWrap to ensure that it remains soft, until further use.
The clay is non-toxic...so it should not cause any allergy to hands. But remember to wash your hands before & after handling clay.

Step 3:

Use this clay - roll out a ball of approx. 1.5cm in diameter. To ensure that the ball is round & smooth, make sure you use both hands to roll the ball.
Then, clasp both hands slightly at one hand and roll the roll, so that one end becomes longer and sharper. The clay should now be approx. 2.2cm long in length. (i.e. the strawberry measures 2.2cm long) This clay shape is: Rope shape
At the round end, insert the Blunt workstick slightly to make a small hole.
Make some impressions on the body of the strawberry using the same workstick. Don't make them too deep.
Apply some glue on the hook of the wire and insert 0.5cm -1 cm of the wire into the top round end of the strawberry.
Leave the strawberry to dry. You can insert the wire onto a foam to dry. Vary the sizes of strawberry. Make some smaller, some larger.

Step 4: Make the leaf

Cut some floral wire into 4 parts. Allow approx. 2cm of uncovered wire, then cover the rest of the wire with floral tape. No hook is required. Make 25 pieces.

Mix another 1/4 of clay with " Sap Green" and " Terre Verte" colours. ( just a few daps of each colour. For a deeper coloured leaf, you can certainly add more " Terre Verte" colour. You can decide on your colour shade.) When clay is mixed thoroughly, wrap it in GladWrap.

Roll out the green clay using a roller ( you can easily use a wooden stick roller..) between 2 pieces of clear folder...this prevents the clay to stick to the roller.
Apply this rolled clay sheet onto the leaf mould and press slightly. Remove excess clay along the sides of the lead mould. Then, remove the clay slowly from the mould and you should see leaf patterns on the clay.

Use the Blunt workstick to roll the sides of the leaf to make it look natural.

Apply glue to the uncovered part of the wire and allow to dry for 1 minute. Then, insert the uncovered part of the wire into the middle of the leaf and press slightly. Using fingers, close the leaf slightly by snipping the back of the leaf. The wire should be covered by clay. Leave to dry. Make 25 leaves.

Step 5: Make the calyx for the fruit

Using the same green clay, roll out a ball of 1.0cm. Then make it " Rope shape". The clay should measure 1.5cm in length. At the tapered end, use scissors to cut 8 parts. ( approx. 3/4 of clay length).
Using the Blunt workstick, roll open the clay so that each of the 8 petals are flat. Apply some glue onto the middle of this calyx and insert into the wire of the strawberry. The calyx should be shaped such that the petals of calyx fold away from the fruit slightly. Repeat for each fruit.

Step 6 : Colour

You are now ready to colour.

Strawberry: Colour only half of the fruit with red colour. Leave the top yellow looking still.
Calyx: Use a mix of " Sap Green" and " Terre Verte" colours.
Same colour for leaves

Allow 3 -4 days for colours to set & dry. You can assembled into your desired pot.

Materials:

Masuko Art Clay ( 1 pack)
Work Stick
Scissors
Strawberry leaf mould
Floral wire - green #26
Floral tape - green
Craft glue
Oil colours: Lemon Yellow, Crimson Lake, Sap Green, Terre Verte, Zinc White

Project: Strawberry Plant

Materials:

Masuko Art Clay ( 1 pack)
Work Stick
Scissors
Rose leaf mould
Floral wire - green #22, 26
Floral tape - green
Craft glue
Oil colours: Zinc White, Sap Green, Terre Verte

Step 1:

Mix clay with Zinc White colour - to make white coloured roses. If you want another colour, mix the colour you like accordingly. This project is for white roses. Wrap it up when you are finished mixing colours.

Cut the floral wire # 22 into 2 parts. Make a small hook at the end of one side.

Floral tape the whole floral wire, except the hook section.

Step 2:

Roll a ball of clay and roll it in your palm to form a " Rope" shape measuring 1.5cm tall. Insert this clay into the hook section of the wire you have prepared, with the sharp end of the rope at the top.

To make the petals, use the petal pattern of rose and cut off portions of rolled clay.
Gently roll the sides of the petal with the work stick until sides are thin and natural looking.
Apply some glue on the lower edge of each petal and attach it onto the clay one by one.
Shape the petals accordingly as you focus on the top view of the flower. Some slightly closed and slowly opening up like a real flower. Depending on the size, you can apply 10-15 petals to form 1 flower.

Step 3:

Mix clay with Sap Green and Terre Verte colours. This colour is used for calyx as well as leaves.

The making of calyx is very similar to that of strawberry, difference is you only cut 5 sections for rose calyx.
Apply some glue and apply it onto the bottom of the petals. Roll using workstick slightly so that it is tightly attached and look natural.

Step 4:

Leaves - use the rose leaf pattern to make the leaves. There should be small, medium and large leaves. Roll the clay thinly and cut them to the shape of the leaves, place them on the rose leaf pattern to form impressions. Cut the sides of the leaves using workstick to form sharp edges and then roll it thin and a bit wavy. Insert #26 wire ( cut 4) into the centre line of the leaf using some glue, and pinch the clay slightly to hid the wire.
Dry the leaves on some tissue underneath so that there is some cushioning.

Make 2 branch sets per rose. Each branch set should contain 1 large size leaf, 2 medium size leaf and 2 small size leaf.

Step 5:

Leave all the above to dry for a day or two . You are ready to colour.
Use Zinc White colour to colour the roses, and sap green + terre verte mix to colour the calyx and leaves.
You can now attach the leaves to the flower.

** Clay 200g - US$ 20.00 a pack ( does not incl. shipping costs)

If you wish to order, just send me an email and pay by credit card. I can arrange for Paypal email payment, so you don't even need to have a Paypal account.