Things You'll Need:
- Polymer clay, 1 block each of Blue, Black, White Cabochon frame Metal skewer Pasta machine Craft knife Acrylic roller Ceramic tile work surface
-
Step 1
Manipulate the individual clay blocks until they are pliable. Knead them with your hands or run them through the pasta machine on the largest setting. Your clay should be soft and easy to work with before taking the next step.
-
Step 2
Take one-fourth of the blue block and roll it on the tile until you have one and one half-inch snake. This is the center of your cabochon.
-
Step 3
Mix together one part blue clay with one part white clay to make light blue clay. Create two separate layers of light blue clay by rolling sections through the largest setting on the pasta machine.
-
Step 4
Wrap the blue snake in both layers of the light blue, one layer at a time. Cut off any excess light blue clay with your craft knife.
-
Step 5
Create pale blue clay by mixing five parts white clay with one part blue clay. Roll the new blue clay through the largest setting of the pasta machine. Wrap the pale blue clay around the snake. Cut off any excess clay. You now have a cane with a dark blue center, wrapped with two lighter blue layers, then the palest blue layer.
-
Step 6
Create another layer by rolling the black clay through the pasta machine on the fourth largest setting. Wrap the cane with the black clay. Cut off any excess clay.
-
Step 7
Insert the skewer or other needle tool into the center of the cane, all the way through. Remove it.
-
Step 8
Roll the cane between your hands and the tile, stretching it until it is seven inches long. Trim off the ragged ends and cut the cane into six one-inch sections that are equal in length.
-
Step 9
Create a one-inch section of darker blue cane, the same as in step 1, reduced to the same size as the six mixed blue canes. Place five of the mixed blue canes around the darker blue cane.
-
Step 10
Make a snake of white clay that is a bit smaller than the center blue cane. Pinch the white clay until you have a triangle shape. Cut the pinched white triangles into five sections. Place them, pointed side down, into the V sections of the blue cane, in between each of the mixed blue canes. Pack them in firmly, creating a circle.
-
Step 11
Roll a layer of white clay through the fourth-largest setting of the pasta machine. Wrap the packed cane in the white clay. Cut the wrapped cane in half, then roll and stretch one section until it is reduced to 3/8 of an inch in diameter. You now have a cane that looks like a flower.
-
Step 12
Roll two sections of blue clay through the largest section of the pasta machine. Place them on top of each other and cut a 1x1 inch square. Slice a piece of the flower cane and place it on top of the square.
-
Step 13
Cut five equal slices of the sixth mixed blue cane that was left over in Step 8. Place the slices on top of the center cane slice, between the flower petals. Smooth the clay with an acrylic roller until the piece is flush and fused to the blue square.
-
Step 14
Press the cabochon frame on top of the center of your square, until it is resting on the tile. Trim away the excess clay and remove it from the cabochon frame. Insert a skewer through the frame and the clay to create a hole for your cabochon. Leave the skewer in while you bake your clay cabochon.
-
Step 15
Bake the cabochon for 40 minutes at 275 degrees. Remove the skewers when the cabochons have cooled.
