Thursday, September 6, 2012

Polymer Clay Roses ~ Tutorial

 
Today I am sharing another Alice in Wonderland page that I created.  Just like last time I wanted to pick a scene that is not commonly depicted in art so I selected "Painting the Roses Red."
 
 
I had a better idea how to make this theme work for two reasons.  I knew Alpha Stamps had a wonderful image of Alice with the cards and I had already tried my hand at Polymer Clay Roses. 
 
 
Instead of telling you how I created the entire piece I am going to focus on the Polymer clay roses, for more information about how I did the other steps just leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you.
 
Supplies
Polymer Clay
Oven/Toaster Oven
Paints
Brushes
 
 After you have softened your clay by squishing the mess out of it (yes that is all very technical) form about 10 or so small balls. 
 


 
Next you want to flatten out those balls.  I do this by just pressing them in between my fingers until they are oval shaped.  Also, try to keep the thickness of each fairly close, the thinner they are the harder they are to work with. 


 

 
This step may take you a few tries.  That's fine (hell it took me about a million and then my little sister showing me what she was doing).  You want to roll one of the ovals tightly to form the center of your rose. 
 
Kind of pinch one lower corner of the oval and roll it towards the opposite sides middle.
 
 
It should look something like this.
 
 
Now it's time to start adding the petals.  Pick up another oval and affix it to your center so that the top of the oval is slightly higher than the center.  Then gently press the bottom of the oval (long ways) against the center until the oval is entirely on the center.  Do not worry if it overlaps or is short. 
 
 
To make it look more petal like carefully pinch and pull at the edge that is sticking out above the center.
  
 
Attach the next oval so it is slightly above the previous one and starts a little bit before the previous petal ended.  Follow the same procedure explained above to attach each petal.
 
 
Keep working your way around until you like the way your flower looks.
 
 
Your flowers will not be exactly the same.  Which makes them look more natural.  Bellow I have two full flowers I made in the same sitting and one rose bud.  To make a rose bud just keep everything tighter and attach fewer petals.
 
 
When you are shaping all your roses follow the polymer clay manufacturing instructions to bake. 
If you over bake a bit and they turn a little brown that's fine because you are going to paint them.
 
 
I used 3 different shades of pink, spritzed this with walnut ink and then sprayed it with a high gloss sealant (just because I wanted a shiny finish).  You can paint yours any color combination.
 
I hope my instructions are helpful, I know explaining this can be a bit tricky.  I've created a video that may help.  Please excuse the kids, wandering husband and nosy cat. 



 
 
 Thank you so much for visiting my blog.  I hope you have a great time creating your own roses. 
 
Now onto some fun stuff. 
It's a giveaway with everything you need to make your own Alice page!


Collage Images
Roses (unpainted)
Ribbons
Leaves
beads
Mini playing cards


And they will all show up to one lucky winners home nicely packaged. 

How to win???
Leave a comment with the following
1. Name
2. Way to contact
3. MOST IMPORTANT, that you want to be entered in the giveaway.
Winner will be announced Wednesday
  September 12th

 
 
 
Good Luck and thanks for visiting. 

29 comments:

HI! I'm Tabitha said...

pick me pick me...you have my info...oh im crossing my fingers and toes...luv the tutorial....hugs

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

I of course would love to be entered in the giveaway. But I have to say that you did such a lovely job of explaining the how to. So many times I feel like Alice down the rabbit hole when reading a tutorial....but this was great. Thanks so much. OmaLinda turtle8603 at comcast dot net

Beverly Sager said...

Caroline, this is wonderful! I've been wanting to try my hand at the polymer clay roses for a while now - so now maybe I will! Please enter me in your giveaway. My birthday is Sept 13 - this would be an awesome birthday present!

Tarnished Rose said...

Thank you for the wonderful tutorial!

Please enter me in the giveaway.

Marilyn
mcgoo4(at)gmail(dot)com

Ivy said...

They're beautiful, thanks so much for the tutorial!

Linda said...

I can't wait to try making these...thank you for the tutorial. Please include me in your giveaway...what a treat!

Linda
freeman5262atgmaildotcom

Diane at Craftin Your HeART Out! said...

What a great Tutorial!!! Your instructions were perfect!! Please include me in your giveaway, as I would love to recreate an Alice themed project which I'm sure won't be as good as any of yours. Thank you for sharing your techniques.

Take care,
Diane

Diana said...

Oh Caroline, What great ideas you have! I would love to have that lovely package you put together. Alice has always been one of my favorites. I love your work. Thank you for sharing.
Diana
dikelly456@yahoo.com

Lynn Stevens said...

Great tutorial Caroline, Would love to be include in your giveaway. The best part is you've already created the roses. TFS
hugs Lynn

lilyandthelotus.blogspot.com said...

Oh my gosh caroline..how wonderful ..I love your roses..but i think you make it look easier than it is...but..I am going to try this..but I seriously doubt if they will compare.
hugs,
susan s.

my cup of tea said...

Thanks Caroline for the great instructions! Please enter me in your wonderful give-away!
~Donna~

Carole said...

Loved the tutorial for the roses. So pretty! Your LO is awesome. Please enter me in the give-away. Thanks!

Carole G

MysticalGlass said...

Hi Carolyn - thanks for sharing the rose tutorial -- Love it! Would love a chance to win your Alice giveaway!
Karen kdowns8@cfl.rr.com

Lisa Stallingsworth (aka Tweetybassmom) said...

You made that look so easy! I can't wait to win the "Giveaway" package so that I can try it myself!

1. Lisa Stallingsworth
2. tweetybassmom65@yahoo.com
3. Yes, I want to be entered in the giveaway! :)

trisha too said...

Very fine tutorial, thank you for sharing!

Well certainly, I'd be delighted to receive the Alice goodies, with some of your lovely roses--
trishatoo at hotmail dot com

:)

Heather said...

Um ... ME ME ME!! And you'd better know how to contact me, woman ... ;-)

Beth said...

Caroline,
Love the roses...and the video - calmly creating amid family chaos!

Please include me in the giveaway too.
Beth

bpowel2915@aol.com

DIYDesignStudio said...

LOVE the project! Jean M.

Monica said...

Love it Caroline. I was just trying to show something like this today to kids with regular clay in class, didn't work as well though...! :) Totally enter me into the drawing!
Monica

Alice said...

Love your roses! I also would love the chance to win your giveaway:-)
Thanks!
Alice
speadskates@att.net

Dena Cottrell said...

Please enter me in the Alice giveaway. I would very much like to win your beautiful set.

I love your roses and will have to try to make some myself and see how they turn out.

Thanks,
Dena Cottrell
Dena.cottrell@cox.net

Jess said...

Hey Caroline! love this piece! I would love to be entered into the giveaway. Jess Moore jessica.m.moore@gmail.com. Thanks!

Thryth said...

I would love to be entered in your give-away. I really love how you added the paintbrush and partially painted roses on your Alice page. It really makes the page come to life! And your tutorial is for making polymere roses is easy to follow and quite informative. Great job!

BR said...

Please include me in the give a way. The roses are spectacular.

Mrs. B said...

Thanks for the great tut. I am a huge Alice fan and often use "painting the roses red" in my creations. Now I can make my own roses to my hearts content and paint them any colour I choose, thanks to your very clear instructions. Please enter me in the giveaway.

Cheers,
Barbara Hodges
bandkh1@bigpond.com

Dame Jeanne Marie said...

Thanks so much for the tutorial - I love these roses - now I have tutorials for paper, fabric and clay roses - lookout world, here I come!!!

Birgit said...

Caroline,

First of all, a big thanks for leaving such a sweet comment on my Practical Magic post last year -- so very much appreciated.

Your artwork is lovely. By the way, if you used red FIMO, you could create those rose even easier! I made such flowers as a teenager. One of these days, I have to take pictures of the bouquets I made back then. Anyway, your giveaway is lovely, but I would like to play for one of your participants -- Oma Linda (# 2 of the comments). She is such a sweet lady, and I would love to raise her odds a little if that is okay. :)

Of course, I would love to welcome you back to my blog. Currently, I even have two giveaways -- details are on the sidebar of my blog.

Sunny greetings from Munich,
Birgit

Cathie A.K.A. said...

Just brought out my polymer clay to play with too. Thanks for the inspiration. I love Alice. Please enter me in the give away.
If I win you can find me here:
cathiesparties@gmail.com
LOL : )

diane said...

Oh! To win something for once in my life ... LOL
Diane (me) would love to win....something....anything....and I can be found at seaya2@cox.net. Please include me in the "giveaway" :-D