by Mitsy of ArtMind
Today (well this month), we're in for a treat! Mitsy of the lovely shop and blog ArtMind will be sharing some of her fabulous tutorials with us. If you haven't visited her site, it's a must see, as not only does she make beautiful wares, she has an amazing tutorial section. Click here. Today she is showing us how to make polymer gift tags, perfect for a valentine! Thanks Mitsy! Click below to read:
In July, I saw the new exchange program on Totally Tutorials. The idea behind it is that suppliers offer supplies in exchange for a tutorial. As you all know, I love making tutorials & I love supplies so I didn't have to think twice. I applied for the nice set of 1.5mm letter/number stamps from Evie's Tool Emporium. They arrived very soon after she decided who was going to get them, but I was so busy preparing for the craft fairs that I didn't have much time to play around with them. Well, time has come to show you what I did with them...
I used polymer clay (Fimo) to create gift tags from them. I decided to try white and black and see what the results were.
Here is what you need:
Take a piece of polymer clay and soften it while kneading.
Put the flat wooden sticks on the ceramic tile (makes it easier to transfer to the oven) and roll with the rolling pin over the clay so that it's nice, flat and even.
When you rolled out a piece, lift it up carefully and transfer it to another tile so you can roll out more little clay slabs.
Punch with your cookie cutters, figures out of the polymer clay slab.
I made two sets in black and white clay.
Before you stat using your letter stamp set, wipe it off with a soft cloth. The stamps are a bit oily to make sure they don't start to rust.
Before you start stamping, try your stamp on a sample of Polymer clay.
This way you know how hard you have to press the stamp to get result and it will also be good to see if you're not holding the stamp upside down.
Hold the metal stamptool as straight as possible and press lightly into the clay.
Here is what I stamped...
If you click on this picture below, you will see better what I stamped on the clay.
Take your embossing tool or needle to punch a hole in the clay.
Carefully take the piece of clay off the ceramic tile and punch with your embossingtool or needle on the backside of the clay so that the hole can be used.
Preheat your oven to 110°C or read the instructions on the packaging of the polymer clay you are using.
Put the ceramic tiles with the clay pieces in the oven for 30 minutes
and let it cool down afterwards. It's ready to use when they feel cold.
Put some acrylic paint on a paper plate and paint the sides and front of the clay.
Let it dry for a while.
When it's dry, rub it with a damp cloth so that most of the paint will come off again.
The harder you rub, the more paint will come off.
Here is another example with gold acrylic paint. Paint it.
Rub the paint away with a damp cloth.
Ready!
Here are some results on the white and black clay. On the white ones, the paint doesn 't look really good I think but I love the black ones. On the white ones, the paint just looks a bit dirty... It obviously is best to use this technique with colored polymer and contrasting paint.
I made a little package with very thin metal wire. I twist the wire around a needle to create a tiny spiral.
I used chrochet thread to wrap double around the package.
You can also make it an ornament.
Wrap lots of chrochet thread around the package and add the clay label.
Only wrap thread around one edge and attach the clay gift tag.
In case you have a hard time getting the thin thread through the little hole, here's a tiny trick that makes it super easy...
Cut a small piece of metal wire.
Fold the metal thread in half and put the thread in between.
Stick the metal thread through the little hole of the clay.
See how easy it is, you don't even need glasses for that! :)
I love the white, untreated gift tags best, they kind of look like porcelain clay...
There are lots of possibilities with this metal letter stamp set and I can't wait to use it for my ceramic work too. If you like to try it for yourself, don't hesitate and order a set of your own at EviesToolEmporium. I garantuee you lots of pleasure with it! :)
Michele from EviesToolEmporium also gave away a metal letterstamp set to a jewelry designer who used it to stamp metal. She made a little video montage and it's awesome, you can find that tutorial here.
Today (well this month), we're in for a treat! Mitsy of the lovely shop and blog ArtMind will be sharing some of her fabulous tutorials with us. If you haven't visited her site, it's a must see, as not only does she make beautiful wares, she has an amazing tutorial section. Click here. Today she is showing us how to make polymer gift tags, perfect for a valentine! Thanks Mitsy! Click below to read:
In July, I saw the new exchange program on Totally Tutorials. The idea behind it is that suppliers offer supplies in exchange for a tutorial. As you all know, I love making tutorials & I love supplies so I didn't have to think twice. I applied for the nice set of 1.5mm letter/number stamps from Evie's Tool Emporium. They arrived very soon after she decided who was going to get them, but I was so busy preparing for the craft fairs that I didn't have much time to play around with them. Well, time has come to show you what I did with them...
I used polymer clay (Fimo) to create gift tags from them. I decided to try white and black and see what the results were.
Here is what you need:
Metal stamping letters/numbers set, polymer clay, acrylic paint, flat wooden sticks, ceramic tiles or glass, cookie cutters, rolling pin, embossing tool or fat needle, paper plate, paintbrush and a cloth.
Take a piece of polymer clay and soften it while kneading.
Put the flat wooden sticks on the ceramic tile (makes it easier to transfer to the oven) and roll with the rolling pin over the clay so that it's nice, flat and even.
When you rolled out a piece, lift it up carefully and transfer it to another tile so you can roll out more little clay slabs.
Punch with your cookie cutters, figures out of the polymer clay slab.
I made two sets in black and white clay.
Before you stat using your letter stamp set, wipe it off with a soft cloth. The stamps are a bit oily to make sure they don't start to rust.
Before you start stamping, try your stamp on a sample of Polymer clay.
This way you know how hard you have to press the stamp to get result and it will also be good to see if you're not holding the stamp upside down.
Hold the metal stamptool as straight as possible and press lightly into the clay.
Here is what I stamped...
If you click on this picture below, you will see better what I stamped on the clay.
Take your embossing tool or needle to punch a hole in the clay.
Carefully take the piece of clay off the ceramic tile and punch with your embossingtool or needle on the backside of the clay so that the hole can be used.
Preheat your oven to 110°C or read the instructions on the packaging of the polymer clay you are using.
Put the ceramic tiles with the clay pieces in the oven for 30 minutes
and let it cool down afterwards. It's ready to use when they feel cold.
Put some acrylic paint on a paper plate and paint the sides and front of the clay.
Let it dry for a while.
When it's dry, rub it with a damp cloth so that most of the paint will come off again.
The harder you rub, the more paint will come off.
Here is another example with gold acrylic paint. Paint it.
Rub the paint away with a damp cloth.
Ready!
Here are some results on the white and black clay. On the white ones, the paint doesn 't look really good I think but I love the black ones. On the white ones, the paint just looks a bit dirty... It obviously is best to use this technique with colored polymer and contrasting paint.
I made a little package with very thin metal wire. I twist the wire around a needle to create a tiny spiral.
I used chrochet thread to wrap double around the package.
You can also make it an ornament.
Wrap lots of chrochet thread around the package and add the clay label.
Only wrap thread around one edge and attach the clay gift tag.
In case you have a hard time getting the thin thread through the little hole, here's a tiny trick that makes it super easy...
Cut a small piece of metal wire.
Fold the metal thread in half and put the thread in between.
Stick the metal thread through the little hole of the clay.
See how easy it is, you don't even need glasses for that! :)
I love the white, untreated gift tags best, they kind of look like porcelain clay...
There are lots of possibilities with this metal letter stamp set and I can't wait to use it for my ceramic work too. If you like to try it for yourself, don't hesitate and order a set of your own at EviesToolEmporium. I garantuee you lots of pleasure with it! :)
Michele from EviesToolEmporium also gave away a metal letterstamp set to a jewelry designer who used it to stamp metal. She made a little video montage and it's awesome, you can find that tutorial here.
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61 comments:
Wow! Thanks for the info..going there right now. ^^
They look beautyful!
I made something similar for christmas but I used screws, nails and knobs to press simple pattern:
http://homemademess.blogspot.com/search/label/Weihnachten
What a great tutorial! such a good idea to paint the Fimo, I had never thought of that before. The black and gold are a really lovely combination.
thanks :)
Brilliant tutorial - I now have to have a go!
I love these super photographed tutorials!!
and will have a look at the others promptly...
Thank you! Your blog post will be advertised on the CraftCrave Handcraft Items search engine today (look for timestamp: [22 Jan 10:00am GMT]).
So simple and so precious. This is a magic place where come back when you wish a magic moment. I'll follow you surely, from now, from my blog. Thank you
Anna
Stunning! I'm going to have to try this.
Such a fantastic idea! Thanks for the tutorial. Will save this idea for sure!
-Betsy
Thanks so much! They are wonderful and beautiful. Can't wait to try it. :-)
Thanks for these lovely ideas!!
I love working with clay, and these little hearts and stars are truly special!!
Thanks for taking the time to post the photos of the whole process as well!
All the best,
Marija
Very nice stepped out tutorial. Thank you!
Great tutorial! I am definitely trying this out.
What a lovely idea and great tutorial!
Thanks for such a great tutorial!!!
STUPENDI!!!!
Fabulous tutorial. What a fun project!
one can buy the metal letter stamp set at EviesToolEmporium
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EviesToolEmporium
Beautiful stuff!
BRAVO!!!!
Great Tutorial! I have to go find my clay...
Love it!
The strange thing is that I already have everything to do this craft, yes, including the stamp set. So, I guess that I can get started right away.
Love this! I hold an art camp at my house in the summer for my daughter and her friends. This is definitely on the list for next summer.
Oh ~ they're wonderful!! LOVE, love, LoVe, them! thank you so much
Wow that is so awesome!! beautiful! thanks for a great tutorial :)
Beautiful!!. Great work. Thank you
Very clear tutorial and enjoy reading this instruction. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
So lovely, thanks for all the work with the detailed tutorial, awesome!
I'm always game fro tutorials..... Thanks for the very clear, instructive & guiding pics to help you with the construction of these creations.....
Looking forward to more of such tutorials..... GOD BLESS!!!!
Ash...
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)
Lovely tutorial!! Thanks so much for this.
This is terrific -- thank you!
This tutorial has the BEST instructions! I'm so gonna try it.
Love, love, love this tutorial Mitsy!
Thank you so much for your shout out about our store! We currently are sold out of the metal stamp sets, but should have them back in stock shortly! Please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as they come in!
Michelle @ Evie's Tool Emporium
this is an amazing idea...
Great tutorial and awesome tools! I have never used polymere clay and your post makes me want to run out and buy some and those clever metal stamps!
Kelly
Amazing! I've been wanting to start working w/polymer clay again and your tutorial has inspired me :)
great tutorial! love this idea. the black ones are my favorite, too.
Those are the cutest tags ever. Great idea and great job!
WOW--absolutely elegant...so beautiful and creative. Thanks for putting together such an accessible, inspiring tutorial!
Lovely! And a really great tutorial from our adorable Mitsy!
sooooooo good!!!!
Wow, thanks for the great little tutorial! These would definitely go great on gift bags!
We now have the metal stamping sets back in stock! Thank you for your patience!
Michelle @ Evie's Tool Emporium
hi hi, i stopped by ur blog lately & can't wait buying the same brand polymer clay to try, however, the clay sticked on the tile (w/ a smooth surface, similar to the one u had used), do u think i have missed some procedures? thank you so much!
fish from hong kong
Awesome... I am amazed with the tutorial. I will try to create such a thing in the next valentines day for my hubby.
Montreal gift baskets
Thanks everyon for such nice comments on my tutorial - I'm so happy that you enjoy it all! :)
Fish, when you have rolled out the clay, and pressed the cutter in there and you want to move the tags around to another tile, you can place the entire tile in the fridge for a while so that the clay becomes hard again. Then it should be easy to take it off and place on another tile.
But normally you can just stick the entire tile in the oven.
Once it's baked, it will come off easily. Hope this is helpful.
If you need more help, please don't hesitate to contact me at mitsy@artmind.eu
Thank you! :)
spring in hong kong this year is so "wet", i'm not sure if the humidity affects...
thanks for your tips, i'll try again tomorrow :D
u're soooo generous to share ur precious experience w/ us!
Nice blog.
I liked it.
http://taettag.pressesite.dk/forside/tag/
Wow, I´m going to buy fimo right now!!!
Great tutorial! Thank you so much for taking the time and describing everything so thoroughly. I have bookmarked your entry, have to try making your tags!
thank you for this great tutorial, wunderfull made, best wishes from janine from Germany
Your tutorial is an awesome inspiration! Many thanks for sharing. I would like to feature your designs at http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/
Contact me here if you have a concern.
Jane
http://diylessons.org/
So cute!
What a lovely idea!
Greetings from Cologne,
Britta
Great tutorial! Thank you very much! Brazilian kisses...
These are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing : )
Hi to all
Do you know where to buy Fimo Clay in Hong Kong?
Thanks
This is a fantastic tutorial!
I have a question though (and I'm sorry if it's already been asked/answered!) Can wooden letter stamps be used instead of metal? I have a set of wooden rubber letters which are the ideal size for this :-) Would it just be a case of applying a little more force than you woul with the metal stamps?
Thank you!
Emily
emilysummers-desinger.blogspot.com
I so want to do this but instead make a light switch plate.
It's super ! Tks !
I wonder if making the tags with black clay, you could write on them with chalk so you could erase it afterwards to write something else?
Thank you for this very helpful tutorial. I look forward to giving it a try!
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