Hanging out dirty laundry...on your neck!

So you know how one thing leads to another. Browsing through etsy for a double brooch I stumbled upon this quirky brooch that brought a smile to my face made by a Lithuanian artist by the name of Hairysock.

I really really wanted it and was THIS close to getting it when reading through the description saw that it was made from polymer clay, coloured with acrylic and varnished. Most things, with a bit of trial and error and creativity you can try to make yourself. Googling polymer clay, I found out that it's a modelling clay you can get at any craft shop which will go hard either just by exposure to air or oven baking. This project took me around 6 hours in total (most of which was waiting for paint to dry). Here's the recipe.

I used:

-1/4 x Fimo 56g soft modelling clay (oven bake) in white

-28 gauge silver craft wire

-wire cutters (pair of sturdy scissors will do)

-regular acrylic paint (whatever colours you like) + paint brush

-oven

-Derivan Matisse clear sealer

-two safety pins or any other form of brooch backing to secure it

-sharp blade

All these products you can get from Eckersley or Riot! Art and Craft.

1. Start by cutting the clay into slices about 4mm thick. Cut out the various pieces roughly. You can smooth it out with something blunt afterwards (I used the round end of the safety pin). This is the most time consuming step but take the time to get the details right because once you bake it there's no going back. Remember to add little tabs at the top of each piece as pegs and use a pin to push holes through for the wire. 

2. Preheat the oven to 120 C. Place the safety pins onto the back of the window pieces and secure in place with some extra clay over the top. Place all pieces on some aluminium foil and place on a baking tray. The clay will soften a bit in the oven so place the window pieces face down (shown below).

3. Bake for about 30 minutes. The thicker the pieces the longer you need to bake it for. Once done take them out and cool.

4. Paint the pieces anyway you want. You can see that I added some more colour variation to the clothing.

  

5. Thread the wire through the holes and knot it through the hole of the safety pins to secure it on each end. To tighten the knots twist it at the base.

6. Varnish pieces with the clear sealer (if you don't have any, this step isn't really necessary but adds a nice shine to the clay).

I think it came out really well and the only thing I would change is to use a beading wire rather than the craft wire as it would be more malleable and not sit so stiffly. It's also a bit difficult to pin the brooch to your collar using the safety pins and I think the round pin that Hairysock had used would attach a lot easier. Other than that, I am very much looking forward to taking this baby out for a spin the next time it's windy.