Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Polymer Clay Skull Cane.


I only used black and white polymer clay for this one.
Make a cylinder of white clay that is two inches wide and one inch deep. Cut it in half using a razer and push two indentations into the flat edge for eyes.
(Ignore the little rectangle cheeky bits, I ended up not using them.)




Put worms of black clay in the pencil indentations and cover the flat edge with a 1/2 inch sheet of white. Cut a triangle shape in the middle of where the eyes are and fill it with a triangular worm. Cover this with a 1/8 inch sheet of white.




Make five or six rectangular worm shapes that are about an inch long. cover every other one in a thin black layer. Stack them together and cover any white edges with more thin black. put them where the teeth go under the nose.




Pack black pieces into the cheek area and under the teeth. try to make it be roundish when done like the top of the skull. You should have a cylinder again with a skull inside.




Cover the white sides of the cylinder with a thin sheet of black.



Squish it in the center, gently pulling to make the cane longer as you squish.




After you have it about 4 inches long you can start to roll the cane to make it thinner.




Try to maintain the same thickness all along the cane as you go. Cut the cane to more manageable lengths if you need to.




You can make it as thin or as thick as you'd like. I made mine for nail art so it's about a 1/2 an inch thick.



Finished skull cane!

If you're using this for nail art, cut the cane into three or four inch lengths and bake it at 260 for 15 minutes. After it has cooled off you can use a razer to cut it into paper thin slices. It's easier to cut if you tape the cane to your cutting surface.

4 comments:

Marlena said...

This is so cool!
Thanks for the tutorial,
i'm definitely gonna try this out.
<3

Kellie Mowat said...

Thanks, and no problem.

I'm working on a new skull with a bit more detail, maybe a rose on the side ala Ed Hardy. It's on my things to make next month.

Unknown said...

Hi Kelli -

LOVE your tutorial here. It looks so "easy". Having created my very first ever polymer cane beads today, I know, it is not.

I was wondering, did you ever create new skulls? Do you have any photos? I just would love to see them. I am pretty much obsessed with skulls.
And polymer clay. And craft :)

Kudos to you and what you're creating.

Lots of love from New York,
-- Elke

Kellie Mowat said...

Hey there Elke!
I did make another skull cane tutorial.
Here's a link to the youtube video tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8CwzWstd8
If you type canes in the search box at the top right of the page you'll get more cane tutorials, sand dollars, roses, citrus.....

Thanks for writing!
Glad to meet another clay enthusiast!