Hello World!
A few weeks ago, I attended a friend's wedding, and for their wedding, I was commissioned to make another item! This time they asked me to make a ring bearer bowl for the wedding... and I decided to take up the challenge. I hope my friend is okay with me showcasing this item... Haha. XD Anyways, dunno how well it turned out, but you guys can be the judge of that!
Originally the tutorial came from here. My friend sent me the link to the website. The concept is quite simple, and the outcome quite stunning.
Looking back, I think it would have been wise to do the following:
- Buy a rolling pin for clay
- Buy and use a doily
- Buy a separate bowl to use as a mold for the clay
- Start making the bowl earlier...
Looking back, I was glad I did the following:
- Create my own design
- Use gloves because... let's face it... white clay + dirty hands = no good
Let's get started, shall we?
First, I started with a generous amount of white clay, which I softened by repeatedly kneading. The only time I've ever used so much clay for something was for my friend's wedding cake topper, and other times I've worked with actual clay -- not polymer clay. So... I had this incredible urge to slam the clay down on the table repeatedly (when working with ceramic clay, you do so in order to get out air bubbles). Unfortunately, I didn't have a sturdy enough working space... Nor did I find it appropriate to slam clay on a table at 10:30 PM.
I'm not even sure if slamming polymer clay actually helps to get out bubbles out, but in any case, I was left with clay that had bubbles in it, which was kinda annoying to work with.
Once the clay was soft enough I rolled it out (annnd, since I didn't have a rolling pin... I used a glass jar that I happened to have lying around. Resourceful, no?) to the desired thickness.
After flattening out the clay, I used a circular template to trace out a circle.
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| This is actually the first bowl that I made... and some of these pictures are my 2nd attempt at making a bowl... Haha. |
Then I took the clay and placed it into my mold in order to hold its shape while I worked on the design. My mold actually is the cap of one of my food bowls.... which I now kinda regret because... it feels "unclean." Haha. I'm pretty sure as long as I wash it a few times with hot water and soap it won't be a huge deal... but I still recommend purchasing a separate bowl to use specifically for crafting.
Oh right, I almost forgot. Before I placed the clay into my mold, I used the end of one of my tools to make two holes in the circle. This is where the rings could be secured to.
Next comes the creative part! When I first made the bowl, I didn't have a doily... and I was far too lazy and cheap to purchase a doily... so I thought it might be easier to "create" my own design...
I actually spent a lot of time carving these images out... Haha. But at least I entertained myself by watching dramas while I worked. XD
I started by tracing out a rough outline of the feather/leaf image. And then I decided I didn't like it being such a flat image, so I started carving out the body of the feather. The hardest part was making sure that I carved out an even amount of space. I left the center of the feather untouched so that it would give off a 3D feeling.
The initials were another issue. I originally wanted the entire bowl to be pure white, but I decided, last minute, that I would add some color to the bowl by coloring in the initials. The initials were originally carved out, and I carefully inserted the appropriate color into the hollowed out space.
After everything was completed, it was only a matter of baking it and sanding it down. I'll admit, I didn't do a very thorough job of sanding it down.... :/
Also, I wasn't super careful of making sure that the bowl was completely flat against the mold when baking... which lead to a bubble forming at the underside of the bowl, making it tilt to the side. When I first saw that imperfection, I wanted to re-do the entire bowl... but my friend told me (graciously) that the imperfections would make the bowl unique. And, at that point, I was so tired that I quickly accepted that excuse without hesitation.
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I would have liked to spend more time on this piece. Although I like the general result of this bowl, I think I would have been able to do a better job, had I given myself more time to make practice bowls. But... knowing me, I procrastinated and waited until the last minute to start working on it. :/ Even though I graduated college, procrastination still haunts me. Haha.
Anyways, what do you guys think?
Thanks for reading!
:)
