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| How to construct a purse pendant/amulet |
My pendant is comprised of two parts, a bottom cavity and a top cavity, both of which are comprised of an interiour lining and an exterior skin, with a lip (which is part of the lining) to prevent the cover of the vessel from slipping off. Because the lip is designed first, it can be any shape, e.g. a v-shape with the upper cavity also a v-shape cutting down over the bottom lip. Here is how it is done. Designing your vessel Take time to determine the shape of your vessel, including the width and shape of the lip. For the sake of simplicity, we'll make the shape of the lip a straight edge, half an inch in width. The depth of the lip will be about an eight of an inch. See the vessel next to these instructions. Making your mold Use scrap clay and form a solid mold for the vessel. Bake the mold for 20 minutes, and then let it cool. Making the lining Roll out a sheet of clay 1/8th of an inch for the lining. Set it aside. Cover the mold with one layer of aluminum foil, smoothing it over with your fingers. Dust with baby powder, and then lay your first sheet of clay over this mold to form the lining. Smooth and trim any excess lumps with your tissue blade. Slitting the top inside lip and baking the form Once the sheet of clay is applied, slit a horizontal line in the raw clay with an X-acto knife where the top of the inside lip will be, and then put the whole thing back into the oven, mold and all, for 20 minutes. After the lining is baked let it cool. Remove the mold and aluminum. You now have the top cavity and bottom cavity inner lining to your vessel. Set aside the vessel and mold. Construction of the outer skin The outer skin (layer) can now be added, this time, though, taking into account the position and width of the lip. Roll some clay through the pasta machine to an eighth of an inch in thickness. Decorate it if you want. Set it aside. Cutting out two paper shapes the size and shape of your lip Rag paper is used as a means of protection against sticking to the uncooked outer layer. (You can find it in finer arts and crafts stores, or artists stores). Tracing paper will be used later on to guide where you cut. Take your scissors and cut out the intended shape and size of your lip from some rag paper and tracing paper alike. Set the tracing paper shape aside for later on. Gluing the rag paper in place Place the rag paper on the lip of your purse, and secure the paper with Sobo glue to keep it from slipping off the lip. Re-inserting your mold into the vessel The mold at this stage is not essential but I like to use it because it steadies the whole form while I continue to work on the project. As before, take your mold and wrap it in aluminum foil, dust it, and re-insert it into the cavity of the vessel. Place the lid back on the vessel. Applying the raw clay to the vessel and marking a point of reference with a dot Take your clay which you set aside and gently place it over the whole vessel marking a spot where you see the upper lip of the rag paper. Smooth and cut away any lumps and air pockets with your X-acto knife. Applying the tracing paper over the vessel The reason for applying another piece of paper is that you need a point of reference as to exactly where to cut. It might not be essential with a simple piece, but as I mentioned before, if you have an irregular shaped lip, it would be important to know the exact width and outline. Apply the band of tracing paper over the clay which you know directly covers the rag paper. You know where it is because you marked a spot which is an uppermost line on your lip. Make sure to glue the two edges of the tracing paper together so that it won't slip. Slitting the bottom part of the lip Once the layer of clay is applied to the form, and the tracing paper is glued in place, take your X-acto knife and slice into the clay along the bottom line of your tracing paper. This is the bottom part of your lip. Remove the tracing paper. You can trace or stamp in details here if you want. Bake for 20 minutes. Removing your vessel from the oven Remove your vessel from the oven and let cool. Slit the seam with your X-acto knife, if necessary. Open the vessel, remove the mold, aluminum foil, and rag paper. Sanding and buffing your vessel Sand and buff your vessel to a high sheen with a buffing machine.. If you don't have a buffing machine, you can use Flecto Varathane. Your vessel is now ready for embellishment and stringing. Aside from creating the shape of the purse, I find this part of the project of constructing a purse the most exciting. Here I get to add moldings, tassles, more layers, beads, fastenings. It is here that your purse takes on a personality of its own. E-mail me some pictures of your little purse. I would like to see your creations and put them on the web. My e-mail is teddybelle@yahoo.com Regards, TeddyBelle |
| THE LIP IS THE INNER LINING OF BOTTOM CAVITY |
| THE TOP CAVITY CONTAINS A HIDDEN INNER LINING |
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| What you need The purse can be any size scrap clay (for mold) clay for inner lining clay for outer layer small amount of contrasting clay for outer decoration aluminum foil corn starch rag paper pasta machine (preferred, but not essential) glue x-acto knife |
| One of these days I'll do a step by step picture instructon on how to make my purse, rather than describe the process. It'll be easier on all of us. I promise, I promise, I promise... |
| Tip: How I got that kind of web-like contrasting layer was by running yellow fimo through the pasta machine, then running again through the pasta machine with lace! Try some other textures. You don't necessarily need a pasta machine! |