And what's winter without some snow?
No matter what the weather, you can make snowflakes using
polymer clay. The picture below shows snowflakes made of polymer clay by
artist Dawn Naylor. They were featured the Winter section of my book "Celebrations
With Polymer Clay", as were the other photographs on this
page.
x Polymer clay can be rolled into flat sheets. It is easiest
to do this using a pasta machine, because you can get even, thin sheets of
clay easily once the clay is conditioned, warmed, and put through the roller
There are many kinds of cookie cutters available, and one of my favorites is
the snowflake set (shown with an Amazon link at the bottom of the page). There are three different snowflake
shapes in this set, plus smaller
pieces for the "cutout" sections. These can be varied and used with
other small cutters , such as Kemper tools, to create an amazing variety of
snowflakes! Use thin sheets (around a #3 or #4 setting on the pasta machine)
along with well conditioned clay in white, pearl, or whatever color you like!
It is also fun to make sheets of clay using slices of canes, and then cut the
shapes from that. Or, use glitter or textures impressed into the clay an
pearl-ex powders to give shimmering or metallic effects to the clay.
Snowflakes made with polymer clay are light weight. Use strong clays like Kato
Polyclay, Classic Fimo, or Premo and even delicate flakes with wear well. They can
be used on a holiday tree, hung in a window with crystals, or to create
beautiful winter themed wearable art.
Dip the sharp edges of the cutters in some talcum powder or
cornstarch to prevent sticking and make it easy to remove the clay. You can
use the smaller cutters or edges of cutters to modify centers and edges of the
snowflakes.
Cut and embellish the snowflakes as desired. Barbara
Trombley's Art Institute Glitter is my favorite glitter, and comes in
many colors and sizes--it can be baked without melting. Opalescent, silver and
gold are more traditional, but all the colors are fun!
Have a snowflake party with your friends at Winter Solstice
and make wintertime ornaments.
Here's an example of the snowflakes used to embellish a winter
themed mask made of polymer clay.
I love using polymer clay to create images that can then be edited into more
complex art! And below is a face pin that uses one
of the snowflakes as a background. Textures are impressed into the raw clay
and then emphasized after baking using stains made
with Varathane and acrylic paints and pearl-ex
powders. Always bake your clays according to the package directions. Bake on
paper or cardstock to avoid shiny spots on the back of the snowflakes.
