Clay buttons/embellishments - air drying - HELP

[tekiegirl]

Hi all,
I have seen buttons online which have been hand made using clay, then kiln fired and glazed.
I haven't worked much with clay before, and as such I do not have a kiln.
I would like to make thin clay embellishments/buttons to use in jewellery and to decorate journals.
Is this possible with air drying clay?
Also, can I glaze air dried clay?
Is there a better material for what I want to do?

As you can tell, I know very little about clay and ceramics.

Many thanks for your help,
Jacqui

[Chicita]

You could try using polymer clay. It is available in lots of fab colours.

[ejralph]

I would definitely recommend Polymer clay (http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=17).

I carry both Fimo and Cernit brands, both would be suitable for making small embellishments such as buttons, card toppers etc.

Polymer clay is ideal for what you want to do - it is easy to use and comes in loads of colours. You can embellish it further with glitters or powders and paints (http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=115). It is acid-free and lignin free, so excellent for papercrafts.

Just roll out your clay on a ceramic tile, shape and form the clay how you want and then pop the clay, in place on the tile, into your kitchen oven to bake. Baking on the tile will keep it all nice and flat and once cooled, you can pop it off the tile and use in your projects.

[ejralph]

I forgot to mention - you can also use polymer clay to replicate the look of glazed pottery very well.

Just get some white polymer clay. Form the buttons you want to create (or whatever other project) and make sure they have lots of interesting texture. So you can use texture sheets or stamps (http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=93) to do this.

Once they have baked, paint over them with some coats of varnish (http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17_32&products_id=278), mixed with a little alcohol ink (http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=17_138). This will give you a very good glazed look.

Don't forget there is a polymer clay section here on this forum. If you want any help using polymer clay, it would be a good idea to pop your question there as there are lots of clayers who can help who might not necessarily read this section.

EMma

[tekiegirl]

Thank you very much for your help.
I will head on over to the polymer clay forum. :jippie: