Polymer Clay Techniques - Faux Turquoise
Supplies needed
- conditioned polymer clay in shades of blue and green, and possibly also white or translucent
- dark brown acrylic paint
Procedure
1. Mix the blue and green clay until it's the shade of turquoise you like. Remember that natural turquoise comes in many different shades. If the color is too intense add a bit of white, ecru, or translucent clay.
3. Let the clay firm up. After mixing the clay will be warm and too soft for the next step, so let it "rest" for a while. The fastest way to get it firmer is to put it in the refrigerator or freezer.
4. Process the clay into small roundish chunks. You can do this in a dedicated food processor (used only for clay, not food) or by chopping the clay into pieces yourself with a dull knife. If you're doing this by hand don't aim for even shapes and sizes; variation is more natural.
5. Apply the chunks to the surface of your object without allowing them to mix together too much. You don't want to create a solid surface of clay; that's not the way real turquoise looks. But you can smooth the clay a little if that would make the object stronger or more attractive.
6. Cure the object as directed for the brand of clay you're using.
7. After the object has cooled, dilute the paint with a bit of water and "wash" it over the surface of the object. Then quickly wipe it off the surface, leaving it to settle in the crevices.
Options
- Add a bit of gold or black embossing powder to the clay as you're mixing the colors. The embossing powder will melt and expand a bit during curing, giving a slightly speckled appearance to the faux turquoise.
- Some artists use common dirt mixed with water for the crevices, instead of paint. They believe it makes the final effect more realistic.
- If you like you can finish the surface with a coat or two of varnish, or you can polish it with wet sandpaper (clay must be sanded under water) and buffing. But the unevenness of the surface can make sanding and polishing difficult, and the faux turquoise looks good without finishing.
Final notes
As with any polymer clay, you can use your faux turquoise to cover just about any surface that can withstand the heat generated during curing. That surface could be metal, glass, or more clay. You can also just form chunks of clay into beads and pendants.
What can you do with this faux turquoise? Jewelry is probably the first option, but there are others:
- covered pens (see this article for more information; just don't smooth the clay much)
- picture frames
- makeup cases
- handles of brushes, combs, and other utensils
- hair ornaments, like barrettes
- cabinet handles
- switchplates
Turquoise is one of the easiest gems to simulate with polymer clay. For a little money and time you can have items that look like they're worth a lot more - but without breaking your budget.
Published by Meg Adamik
Meg Adamik's main interest is crafting, especially fiber crafts and jewelry making. She also writes about what she knows, like traditional and alternative medicine, and what she believes in, like ecological... View profile
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- Natural turquoise comes in many different shades, so play around with proportions of blue and green.
- The chunks of clay must not be too smooth or even.
- Dark paint added to the crevices helps make the chunks stand out.
1 Comments
Post a CommentWow, I'm one of those people who are using turquoise in my jewelry creations. Interesting to note that some of it might have been made in the kitchen. That said, the technique you describe is nice to know for giving a turquoise look to objects that cannot accommodate the real stone. Nice to know this. Thanks for sharing! And check out my AC article on White Turquoise.