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Monday, December 28, 2009

For a First Try.....Not Bad....

It worked! Yesterday I showed you the first step of the cupboard covered with Fimo.

I kept working after you left and this morning I "fired" it. I put it in the oven, wood and all, at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.

The tools with Tessie in the first photo are the ones that I used. I used what I had as far as rubber stamps. I used just sections of the ones that you see and repeated the designs.

I then cut the pieces to size and stuck them to the cabinet with the liquid Fimo that is hiding behind Tessie's left elbow. That's so that you will be able to find it in the store. Red label....Small bottle, but it goes a long ways. There are many uses for it.
After it came out of the oven, I painted it with Antique White Ceramcoat. I used what I had. I let that dry and whilst it was drying Tessie said, I don't know how many times, "It needs glass or something in the windows. My stuff will fall out!"

I did repeat that it wasn't hers. She didn't seem to hear that part of the conversation...Ever.

Oh! The feet. I forgot the feet. As I remember, this particular armoire had a skirted bottom. No feet. Just some boards were around the edge.

I found four wooden pieces that I think may have been meant as candlesticks. The small end was hollowed out. I upended them and glued the wide part to the bottom. Hey! This is an experiment. I am not going to get all fancy. I used what was there in the drawer. It was either these or some that were twice as tall....Not good.

Next I pulled out some sage green glaze. I can't say that it is my favorite, but again, it was what was there.(Aren't you getting tired of hearing me repeat that?)
I painted it on, one section at a time and wiped it off with a paper towel, leaving the green just in the lines of the imprint.

"Yes, Tessie. I know that there isn't anything in the windows!"

I don't have time to mess with that now. I also need to put a coat of varnish on it to protect the finish.

We are going to see "Avatar" at noon and I have to get ready. She will just have to wait until I get back to do the "windows".

All in all, I think that the technique is viable for a number of applications. The only drawback is, you can't do a wall or a roof. It has to fit in the oven..... And you can't do it on any kind of plastic. Deadly fumes and melting would ensue.

"No Tessie. We will not be covering Spiderwort Manor in Fimo. It won't fit in the oven!"

See you tomorrow.

9 comments:

Kim said...

This has officially moved to first on my list of things to try out when I get to drag out the clay! Have to go shopping first for the liquid Fimo stuff- I can resist no more!! I'll post pictures if I try it out- thank you Casey for a wonderful idea and fabulous instructions- as always:)

KathieB said...

What an intriguing idea. Fantabulous! And why not do walls or ceilings by making tiles to glue on a template?

TreeFeathers said...

Looks great, Casey! Have you tried Translucent Liquid Sculpey? Do you like the Fimo version better?

- Grace

Deni said...

Man that looks great! Worth the effort I would say!
Very Impressive I can see why Tessie would love it!

Oh "Avatar" I saw that yesterday what did you think?
I loved it!
I don't know how they make all that up....just brilliant!!!

Kathi said...

Hmmm... very clever! Did you stamp the clay and then cut it and "glue" it to the hutch? I'm putting liquid Fimo on my shopping list now!
I can see me stamping away with sea shells, textured beads, anything else I can find around here! I don't have any glaze either or maybe I do?
I'll have to go look outside in the storage room... you never know what might be out there!

Caseymini said...

KathieB, I have done tiles on templates before. I was just being silly about sticking the whole house in the oven.LOL

Grace, the Translucent Liquid Sculpey is not as clear as the Fimo seems to be when it is cured. I have both and just use them interchangeably.

Deni, James Cameron is the one that made it all up. I guess he has had the idea for this story since he was a boy! What an imagination!

Kathi, it is easier to stamp and then cut. You get a more accurate piece. If you cut then stamp the clay changes shape and you have to trim it again.If you don't have pre mixed glaze, you can always just do a wash of watered down acrylics. You will have to work fairly fast before it dries though.

DLSarmywife said...

Wow Casey, you never cease to amaze me! I have done rubber stamping, I've done polymer clay, and now I'm doing miniatures..but I NEVER thought to put them all together!!!! oooh man must go to the garage tomorrow and find my stamps!!! The cabinet looks awesome!!!

Norma Bennett said...

This looks very interesting Casey, I don't have time to look properly at the moment but I'll be back (have just a few minutes of internet access). I particularly wanted to let you know about the images at the Graphics Fairly blog at the moment - Steampunk! I've never heard of it before except on your blog but when I had a quick look at new posts on blogs I follow it caught my eye so I had a quick look and picked up the link for you - might be useful, might not, but you can decide :)

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2009/12/free-vintage-clip-art-steampunk.html

Have to run....

MiniKat said...

Casey.... Did you realize with your statement of "we won't be covering Spiderwort Manor with FIMO. It won't fit in the oven," Tessie may think you're going to build it for her?

I think she's wearing you down! ;-)