Fake Gold (Polymer Clay)

I have mentioned before that I am subscribed to Meg Newberg's polymer clay tutorials. I have made a few canes based on her tutorials so far and have been wanting to try her technique to make plain non metallic/mica clay look like shining gold metal via color. I was waiting for a good clay sale to get the colors necessary, finally finished up a few other projects and had a chance to try it. It was another gift I made for my aunts. I can't divulge the technique because these are paid tutorials but I am allowed to show the results! I can't say that they are fantastic but I was pretty happy with it for a first try. Meg not only shows you the techniques, she shows you how to use them and gives examples to try. I had this glass from a thrift store ages ago and loved the black. It had some engraving on it but I covered it in clay.

There was a lot of blending colors and cane making involved, which means a lot of pasta machine rolling! I would never have come up with this idea on my own, that's for sure! I rolled a few of the canes the wrong way but that was my own fault! The project still came out pretty much the way I intended!

I think I got a little too small on this butterfly's wing cane. I embedded wire into the butterfly heads for their antenna and then spiraled the ends. 

The other side of the bottom. I made a cane of the leaves, as well.

Another side of the glass.

The shine on the clay is Sculpey gloss varnish. These are not for drinking. I suggested they fill it with flowers. I really loved this red butterfly. And I liked the way that one tendril right below the blue one's wing is lighter at the end, like gold would do in the light...that is the technique that I was trying to explain!

'Scuse the flash but this is the only picture of the entire glass that came out well. :) They really liked it.

I still had (and have!) a lot of the various canes from the glass project on hand so I decided to try putting the clay on a large Christmas ball. It looks more like a Spring ball than a Christmas one! 

I didn't know how to color the glass and didn't want to leave it natural so I used some faux etching paint...they call it "Frost" paint. It looks pretty good and no nasty chemicals...If I were smart, I probably would've coated the INSIDE with something...oh well. :D

I probably should have painted it before I put the clay on but sometimes I do things and THEN think about it...learn from my mistakes, like I always do! :D

I used Sculpey gloss again to coat the clay after baking. 

Can't wait to see it on the tree. :) I think it will look nice with Christmas lights shining through.

The directions for the paint said to wait several days before baking. Luckily the curing temperature was the same as the clay for about the same length of time, so it was perfect for this project. In reality I normally would cook the clay a little longer but the pieces were thin and 1/2 hour was fine. 

I already have a vase that I coated with the faux etching in preparation to use up the last of my canes.  :)  Thanks for looking - make sure to stop by my Pinterest page to see a lot more of my creations, and please like my Facebook page, Karmic Confetti!