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loobyvee
11-05-2010, 11:45 PM
It's my Mum's 60th birthday in a month and I have would love to give her a fingerprint charm bracelet but the amount of grandchildren she has would make the price of having someone make one for me prohibotive! I did a GCSE in jewellery many moons ago so have had a little training in classical silversmithing, and got married a year ago and made my tiara and jewellery, made my mini me cake toppers out of polymer clay so thought maybe I should have a go myself.

I have read as much as I can about pmc, have bought the clay and fetched my tools down from the loft and I have come to the point where I have to actually do it! On one hand I am really excited by the thought of trying a new medium and on the other I am feeling a bit nervous about it. Something that looks homemade just isn't going to cut the mustard for such an important pressie and sadly I don't have the spare cash or time to play with the pmc in advance to get the feel of it. Eeeeekkkk!

Anyway, just thought I would say hello and hopefully I might have something half decent to show you in a few weeks time.

Lucy

caroleallen
12-05-2010, 08:56 AM
Good luck with it Lucy. Looking forward to seeing the finished article.

Kwant
12-05-2010, 09:08 AM
Somebody on here a while back suggested getting the little blighters to dab their fingers into polymer clay to get the impression and then moulding the PMC from that, this might be a way for you to minimise the risk of wasting PMC. :0)

FVT
12-05-2010, 09:32 AM
[QUOTE=loobyvee;36368]
Something that looks homemade just isn't going to cut the mustard for such an important pressie and sadly I don't have the spare cash or time to play with the pmc in advance to get the feel of it.

I think something homemade is FAR more meaningful and special to a mum than something you've just bought in the shops, good luck with it! :-)

Gemma
12-05-2010, 09:52 AM
:welcome: Lucy and good luck. Lets see the results when you're done!

loobyvee
12-05-2010, 01:50 PM
Thank you for the welcome :-)


[QUOTE]

I think something homemade is FAR more meaningful and special to a mum than something you've just bought in the shops, good luck with it! :-)

I totally agree with homemade presents being much more meaningful than a shop bought one, I made just about all my Christmas pressies this year - well the adults presents anyway, not sure my son would have appreciated a sewn light sabre!!! However I am my toughest critic and I won't give anything unless I am 100% happy with it, I know how finishing a piece to a decent standard always takes much longer than you think and I am a bit time deficient at the moment as I have just got another genealogical commision.

I am going the polymer clay root with my neice but I am going to have a bash at direct impressons for my children as I want them to really connect with making the charms.

lorraineflee
12-05-2010, 02:50 PM
My grandson (aged 7 at the time) Christmas before last, made his dad a pair of silver clay cufflinks - did all the work himself, rolling out, cutting, finger prints, even putting the fittings on - he also made his mum a necklace of butterflies and flowers (using canape cutters) again, though, doing all the work himself, and although they weren't perfection I think that they meant an awful lot more to his mum and dad because he'd done them himself.
Depends on your children's ages I guess though.
Lorraine

MuranoSilver
12-05-2010, 03:03 PM
Hope it goes well for you - to help get good results dont skimp on the clay
roll at least 6 -8 playing cards thick (that way you'll not have the print go all the way through)
How old are the children?
nic x

loobyvee
12-05-2010, 05:14 PM
Thanks for the tip on the thickness, I did read previously 4 cards thick, which I thought would be dreadfully thin to take imprints. My kids are 11, 9, 8 and 6 so should have decent enough prints. Actually I know they do as they are all up my stair walls ;-p

How big do you make your charms? I don't want them to be too big but obviously they need to be big enough to take a print. Oh I wish I had thought of this ages ago and given myself a bit of time to make myself something first to practice.

elliboo
12-05-2010, 05:30 PM
Good luck - I'm sure you'll be fine.
Not sure what I can add to the advice already given. You'll probably get a clearer impression with a direct fingerprint into the clay and I think your kids will love it.
I remember my first time with metal clay I was surprised at how quickly it dried out. If you want to be careful make sure everything is set out and ready before hand, and if it doesn't go right first time, try again. After a couple of goes the clay will probably be starting to dry out (maybe after the first go depending on what you've bought) pop the clay on a piece of clingfilm and fold the cling over it. Roll it out thin and dip a fingertip in water to smear over the surface (not too much, you can always add more later if you need to). Use the clingfilm to help wrap it up (fold it back together) and squidge, squidge, squidge.

Good luck - I'm sure you'll be fine.

MuranoSilver
12-05-2010, 05:49 PM
I make the charm to fit the print so I'd get a set of small/medium cutters
Ovals & circles work well on bracelets, hearts are gorgeous too but you need a bigger cutter to fit the print onto.
Suggested tools - slats, roller & non stick board (glass chopping boards work well) some small tiles or plates (for drying)
*Well conditioned clay (not sticky & not cracking at the edges) shouldn't stick to a plastic roller or glass board.
To help with this you can rub a little olive oil or badger balm onto the roller/rolling board then wipe off (it shouldn't be an oil slick!)

Instructions
1) Roll out clay using roller & slats on your rolling mat
2) Lift onto your plate/drying tile
3) Take print
4) Use cutter to cut print
5) Remove excess clay and leave print to dry on the plate
6) *repeat*
For the best results work fast.
Once dry drill pilot hole for jump ring (tiny drill bit) then enlarge using a 2 mm bit
Make sure you drill at least 1 1/2 - 2mm from the edge as fine silver is quite soft & you want a decent amount of metal for it to hang from.

Troubleshooting
If clay is sticky leave for a minute or so and it will dry out
Wrap in cling film when not using so it doesnt dry out
If it gets dry then flatten into a disk between your fingers
Slick some water accross the surface (drops not buckets) and fold into the clay

Storage
Store incling film in zip lock bag (or packet it came in) with moist kitchen towel.
If you think of any questions you need answering pop them up here & we'll try our best :)
There are a few print bracelets in my photo stream if that helps....
Bracelets & Bangles - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/muranosilver/sets/72157623148516142/)
Nic xx

loobyvee
12-05-2010, 07:58 PM
Fantastic tips, I don't think it would have occured to me to transfer the clay onto a drying tile before taking the print. I've just had a nosey through some of the work all of you have done and there are some stunnning pieces. I am going to wait to see how the charms turn out before making the bracelet -if they are a bit iffy I can make it more 'rustic' and make out it's a design feature *grin*. I think I will have to cheat and buy ready made loose chain because of time restraints but reserve the right to run out and get a ready made one at the last minute ;-)

I'm actually really looking forward to getting the charms done and dusted so I can move on to more creative things.

FVT
13-05-2010, 01:04 PM
Yes...having all your equipment ready to hand is really important, as you can't waste time once that clay is out in the open air :-O I always try my best to visualise the steps in advance, just to make sure I haven't forgotten any necessary tools or badger balm etc! I like the tip of Nic's about putting moist kitchen towel in with the unused clay...sometimes even if you think you've tightly wrapped it in cling film, and in a zip lock bag, it can dry out more than you would expect :-(

elliboo
14-05-2010, 05:09 PM
I often work on a plain white tile - the kind for decorating kitchen/bathroom walls. Cheap as chips at B&Q etc and the clay can be left to dry right on the tile. I usually pop mine into the oven on low if I'm in a hurry. Because they're so cheap I have a steady stream of clean work surfaces ready to go all the time. I find that when work is dry or nearly dry it slides off the tile without any problems. I use a light touch of badger balm (try boots) on the tile and a teeny bit of olive oil on texture sheets in a water brush.

Good luck