Clay Stamping

It's such fun to try new techniques, things that I may never have tried before. One of my Yahoo groups, "Art For The Creative Mind", offered an opportunity to participate in a Technique Book. We were grouped into teams of eight and we needed to create one page for each member in our group describing a technique from a random assortment. I selected clay stamping. I chose a stamp that was deeply etched to get a good impression.

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I felt a red heart was very appropriate.

This past weekend I sat outside and played with the clay, kneading it until it was soft and pliable. Firm pressure of the stamp onto the clay gave a nice result.

I cut the heart out with a craft knife and then baked it on a cookie sheet in the oven for about 15 minutes at a low temperature. The clay darkened significantly from the baking. I could've painted it or dusted it with Perfect Pearls, but I chose to leave it in its naked beauty.

This was a fun, new technique that I plan to experiment with for a variety of results. Gosh do I love to create!