Polymer Clay Holders

I’m one of those people who works really hard to have a clean desk but almost always fails. There are just too many things sitting on it. Paper hearts from Valentine’s Day, eye drops, coupons, 6 notepads, each with something scribbled on it, a bottle of glue, a sheep hand puppet and seam ripper. It’s an odd collection of items. Plus, there is usually a couple of character figurines, animals and cars on top of it all as well. While I can’t help the large items, I did figure out a way to take care of the small items, the notes, the business cards, the photos. Using simple shapes and details, I created polymer clay holders for my itty bitties.

You know I love polymer clay. The longer you read this heart of mine the higher the chance you will try it which you totally should do!! If you can sculpt play doh, you can sculpt polymer clay. It takes more muscle and some fine tuning, but it’s sculpting nonetheless. I intentionally used few tools for these to show it doesn’t take much to make cool things.

I’ve experimented with a few versions of this in the past few months and I landed on simple geometric shapes with simple lines and dots. Obviously, if super detailed and really intricate is your thing, go for it. Invite me over. I like that stuff. But I reigned it in this time. Very simple and they turned out really cool.

Supplies:
-polymer clay
-pasta machine, brayer, rolling pin
-texture tools (can be official clay tools or utensils around the house)
-aluminum foil – optional

To begin, the clay must be conditioned from its packaged state. Whether you use a pasta machine, dedicated only to polymer clay, a brayer or rolling pin, the clay must be worked to soften it and make it more pliable. I put together a tutorial about conditioning clay with a pasta machine.

Once the clay is conditioned, the creating is up to you. The possibilities are endless; it can be as detailed or as simple as you want. One option is to use aluminum foil as a space filler around which you can build the card holder. When tightly pressed into a ball, the foil acts as a sturdy base to build on and allows for shorter cure times and less clay. If you do use the foil as a space filler, do make sure to make the base thicker or heavier than the rest so the statue will do it job and stay upright. Without a weighted base, the form could tend to topple over.

You can also make the card holder out of solid clay. It will require a longer curing time and uses a lot of clay but it works. To lessen the time, you can carve out the center of it like I show below.

You can add texture, simple or intricate before curing.

Also before curing, cut notches for the items to sit.

Bake the completed form according to the manufacturer’s directions. Allow to cool completely.

Then add your things. I call this one, Ode to Myself. :)