Make a Crab Pendant from Polymer Clay

Before: spool and clay

My daughter asked me if we could use polymer clay for one of our NJAD projects. Tough call. Polymer clay usually is not considered a found object. Polymer clay is usually considered an alternative material. We decided to include polymer clay in our arsenal of NJAD materials since we have a lot of polymer clay in our studio and the goal of this year long project is to use up stuff we have and not buy more for the year.

After: Crab Pendant by GeltDesigns.com

Located in the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, our art is often influenced by water and water life. Today's project is a tribute to the humble and very yummy Maryland blue crab.

Materials 
Casting wax
Super Sculpey or other molding compound
Sculpey Premo!
18-gauge round brass wire
Gold embossing powder

Tools
Pasta roller
Oven
Sculpting and shaping tools
Cookie cutter
Straw

Step 1
Select and condition the clay. We selected Sculpey Premo! in black and we used a pasta machine picked up at a yard sale dedicated to clay.

Crab mold created by GeltDesigns.com

Step 2
We carved a mold of a crab with a wave background out of casting wax. Then we made a mold of our carving using Super Sculpey. We've used a lot of different mold making materials over the years and Super Sculpey remains the favorite.

We baked the mold in our toaster oven dedicated for crafts.

Step 3
We made an impression of the black clay in our mold and used a cookie cutter to create the shape we wanted. We used a straw to cut a hole in the top of the pendant to use for a pendant bail.

Step 4

Remove clay from oven

Color the clay. We covered the top (but not the depressions) of the clay with gold embossing powder (leftover from invitations we made years ago).

Step 5
Bake the clay. We used a toaster oven dedicated to polymer clay and other craft projects.

Attach the bail

Step 6
Make and attach the bail. See Make a Pendant Bail.

Step 7
Hang the pendant on a chain or other stringing material. We used black imitation leather to create our chain.

Related Tutorials
Make a Pendant Bail 
Wire Wrapping For Beaders 
Polymer Clay Tips 

Further Reading
"The Art of Jewelry: Polymer Clay: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration"; Katherine Duncan Aimone
"Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay + Wire Jewelry"; Ronna Sarvas Weltman
"The Polymer Clay Techniques Book"; Sue Heaser; 1999.
"The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques: Projects and Inspiration for Creative Canework"; Donna Kato; 2008.
"The Complete Book of Polymer Clay"; Lisa Pavelka; 2010.

Day 77.  Month 4. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: embossing powder, polymer clay, brass wire
New Jewelry a Day.