PTI Stampafaire... Rolled Dough Designs

Happy Stampafaire!

 

It's time for my first post and it's a doozy, folks. 

I'll be showing you some super simple Christmas ornaments and tags using some simple PTI die cuts and stamps, along with paperclay. 

 

Lots of pictures, for those of you who just like to see how things are done.

If you've ever rolled and cut out sugar cookies, you are overqualified for this tutorial :)

 

Here's what you'll need...

 

Paperclay (this is a very light, moldable, air dry clay made of paper)
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters (not mandatory, but helpful)
Anywhere hole punch (also not mandatory, but helpful)
PTI die cut (I used Parisian Lace)
PTI stamps (I used Bells & Boughs, Simple Alphabet, and Library Ledger Year Additions Mini)
wax paper

We're going to be following the same basic process for both the large ornament and smaller tags, so here we go!

• First up... roll out your paperclay on some wax paper.  The paperclay is like regular clay in that it will pick up dust, etc, from whatever you roll it out on, so I just used the wax paper to keep things clean.

 

• Lay the die cut over the clay and roll over it again with the rolling pin.  The goal is to impress the die cut into the clay a bit and get a nice, deep image.  I tried this process by just rubbing the die cut into the clay with my hands, and I was much happier with the impression when I used the rolling pin.

     

         Here's what it will look like...

• Next, you'll want to choose the best area for cutting out.  Just use the cookie cutter as normal, leaving the cutter in place while you then pull the rest of the clay out from around it. 

• Time to stamp!  You might want to practice on a few scraps of clay, but really, it's super simple.  You just want to find the right amount of pressure to use so that you get a clear image.  I had no trouble with the stamp sticking to clay, however, if that does happen, I would recommend inking it first with some VersaMark.

• Go ahead and add a hole using an anywhere hole punch.  If you don't have one, a skewer, stick, needle, etc, will work just fine.  This way your ornament will have a spot for a hanger :)

• That's really it!  Just leave your clay items out to dry for a day or so... mine dried even more quickly than that.  I did clean up the edges a bit by sliding a part of the ornament off the edge of my work table and smoothing the cut edge out.  That could also easily be done by sanding it a bit once it's dry. 

The best thing about this project is that at any point, if you don't like what's happened, you can just roll the clay back out and start all over again.  I so love that.  Pretty much fool proof, accident proof, etc.

I went ahead and painted my dried ornaments with a inexpensive pearl colored craft paint that I had on hand.   Gives it a little sparkle and finished it off a bit in my mind. 

I even made this one in preparation for a wedding this fall...

I thought it would be sweet to use it as a tag on the wedding gift, write a few words on the back in gold pen, and leave a note in the card that it's also a Christmas ornament to celebrate their first holiday together. 

I love dated ornaments :)

I choose one ornament a year to buy and save for my kiddos... the idea is that when they leave home - which, at this point, is never, because I'm not allowing it ;) -  I'll send them off with lots of special ornaments that they can fill their tree with.   I think I'll make some for them this year for a change.  Or, better yet... this project is definitely easy enough to do with the kiddos. 

This would also be a fantastic way to do some personalized baby/childhood ornaments with handprints... just use the alphabet stamps to personalize them.

Nichole has the list of all the other rolled dough projects today, so be sure to check in at her blog.  That's where you'll find the entire list of today's Stampafaire activities... there are *so* many things being baked up at PTI today :) 

Until later...