Make a chandelier from polymer clay. DIY polymer clay lamp. Master Class. What is needed for making

It's hard to believe that a clay product can look as delicate and airy as a lampshade made of polymer clay, which you can make with your own hands according to these instructions.

For this you will need:

papier-mâché base;

two packs of polymer clay;

knitted lace doily;

metal tubes of different diameters;

rolling pin;

stationery knife.

The shape of the lampshade depends on the shape of the object chosen to create the base. You can use this flower pot:

Using PVA glue, you need to cover the pot with pieces of newspaper, making at least 8 layers, and let it dry well.

Now, with a stationery knife, you need to make 2 vertical cuts on the sides of the base, and remove the two halves from the pot.

Place the halves together and glue them with PVA glue, secure with tape for security. The base for the product is ready.

Now you need to roll out one package of polymer clay with a rolling pin into a large layer 3 mm thick, like dough for dumplings or dumplings.

This must be done quickly, otherwise the clay may begin to harden (after 15–20 minutes it begins to lose its elasticity, by this time the clay should take the required shape, and you must have time to apply a design to it).
Place a clay “pancake” on half of the base.

Now roll out the second package in the same way and place it on the other side of the base.

Connect the edges of the clay, smoothing the joints with hands moistened with water. Excess clay beyond the edges of the base must be cut off with a knife. There is no need to waste time making the future lampshade ideally smooth; it is better to start applying the design right away. To do this, you need to place a knitted napkin on the base and lightly press it into the clay so that the design is imprinted on it.

In those places where circles are imprinted on the clay, it is best to remove the clay with tubes of a suitable diameter so that neat round holes are obtained.

Now you need to use a sharp knife to cut out holes that repeat the fragments of the ornament. The holes should not be too large, otherwise the still damp clay sheet may become deformed or even tear.

In order not to spoil all the work while drawing, you need to do it at the right time. If the clay is too wet, it can “crawl” down the base, and the voids in place of the cut out fragments will facilitate this process. In order to prevent such developments, you should start cutting out the clay from the top. You can also lightly dry the clay with a hairdryer, but do not keep it close to the lampshade, otherwise the product may become covered with cracks.

The easiest way to hang a lampshade is to use a silver chain, securing it to the lampshade as follows:

Instead of a chain, you can use a decorative cord woven from twine of a matching color.
The result is an elegant lampshade that can decorate and refresh the interior of any room.

“It’s actually very easy to make a lamp with your own hands. I’m offering a small master class on this topic. At the same time, they also look very original: floor lamps, table lamps, all kinds of candlesticks.

A minimum of imagination, a little manual labor and you get a whole direction in the topic of interior lighting. And most importantly, you don’t have to pay money for it! It is enough to arm yourself with your own imagination and the necessary materials. We will make a lamp from plastic, or as it is also called - polymer clay.

Sculptors from the Aton studio (Canada) have come up with an interesting and very simple way to make designer lamps. Haven't you figured out how to make them yourself yet? I'm telling you!

There is now such a material - plastic clay. It comes in different consistencies, including in the form of a paste. You can buy it in art supply stores. There are such stores in any more or less large city. As you can see, there will be expenses, of course, but not as significant as if you decided to buy a ready-made lamp in a store.

So, what do we need to make the same lamp with our own hands?

And so to make one like this lamp we need:
No. 1: cardboard milk carton, you can use some other packaging, for example a juice box. If you plan to make a cylindrical lamp, then in such cases use a tube, a vase or a simple bottle of something.
No. 2: polymer clay.
No. 3: fantasy.

Let's get started with the creation itself.
We take the box and wrap it with film so that the clay does not stick and so that there are no problems when we remove the creation.

Then we take polymer clay and squeeze it in any direction onto the outer part of our workpiece (a cardboard milk bag).

After our box is beautifully coated with clay, we let our work dry.

Then we carefully remove the box from under the shell of our resulting lamp.

We install the lamp shell on the structure with the light bulb. The lamp is ready - you can start using it.

It happens that you want to do something similar, but you can’t find clay. There is a way out: it can be replaced with liquid nails or hardening sealant. Here's an example:

LIGHT YOUR CHRISTMAS LIGHT!

We all, regardless of age, education, social status, love the warm, cozy light of candles. The circle of light formed by a candle becomes that magical family circle that protects us from small and large problems imposed on us by life, from troubles at work, from the winter cold.
Live fire is an indispensable attribute of the New Year's holiday, and the more candles, the better, so there can never be too many candlesticks and lamps in the house!
Do you want to make a unique ceramic lamp with your own hands? To create it, I propose to master the age-old and quite accessible technology of creating three-dimensional forms from layers of clay.

To enlarge any photo and view details, click on it!

In order to make a delicate openwork lampshade, you need two packages of polymer clay, a papier-mâché base, a knitted napkin, a rolling pin, hollow metal tubes, and a knife.

For the base of the lampshade, I used an old flower pot without a bottom, the kind my flower girl friend brought to the workshop a long time ago: “Maybe it will come in handy someday...”

I covered it with eight layers of newspaper using PVA glue and dried it well.

Then I made cuts on the base with a stationery knife - we got two halves of the future papier-mâché lampshade.

I glued them together again with PVA glue and tape - now I have a ready-made base for work in my hands.

You need to work quickly, since the clay, being in the open air, begins to harden after 15-20 minutes, and before that you need to have time to give it a shape and make a drawing on it. Place one part of the clay layer on the base.

Then we roll out another pack of clay and wrap it around the second part of the base.

We wet our hands in water and smooth out the joints and irregularities. We cut off the remaining clay along the edges of the base with a knife. The surface was not perfectly smooth, but this will not interfere with further work. At the next stage, we apply a knitted napkin to the base and “sink” it into the clay, carefully making sure that the design is printed.

Using hollow tubes of different diameters, we take out the clay in those places where circles are knitted according to the napkin pattern.

Then, using a sharp knife, we cut out fragments of the design - they should not be very large so that the clay canvas does not tear.

I would like to warn you about one danger that may await you if you decide to do such work: you must ensure that the clay mass does not slide down (while the clay is wet, a “landslide” is possible). In general, you need to try to make the drawing quickly and ensure that the clay does not settle. After I made the impression, I turned on the hairdryer and began to dry the clay - but only from afar, because if the hairdryer is brought close to the product, the clay will begin to crack.

All that remains is to make the mountings for the lampshade. I had a silver-colored chain in my workshop... And it was possible to weave decorative cords or something else out of white ropes, but, as our great poetess said, “... I was too lazy to think further.” Really lazy. The work turned out to be very painstaking, and I wanted to finish it quickly.

People bursting with creative ideas always inspire admiration. It would seem that they make unique, exclusive things from unnecessary trash. What is an empty juice carton used for? Or a paper roll core? For ordinary people who do not have a creative beginning, the answer is obvious - they can only be disposed of. But there's no need to rush. From such unnecessary everyday things, you can try to make clay lamps with your own hands, and get an absolutely incredible thing.

To make lamps from clay, you can use both ordinary clay and polymer clay.

The material for the model is polymer clay, or, as it is also called, plastic. It is a mass that looks like plasticine. Some types need to be “hardened” at home by baking in the oven. But there are also clays that dry naturally. They can be painted in different colors or have a natural base. Clay lamps can be used in rooms with high humidity, which allows you to beautifully decorate a bathroom, sauna and other rooms.

Plastic clay first became widespread in the 30s, in Germany. At first, doll heads were made from it, which were completely identical in quality to porcelain. The use of clay then spread throughout the world. Products made from it amaze the imagination: dolls, Christmas tree decorations, fairy houses, lamps. Completely different things are made from clay; mass production is rare. The mass is available in packages in a separate piece or in tubes similar to toothpaste. It is convenient to apply such material with fancy strokes, and the clay lamp will be made of pieces.

In order to create an unusual interior in your home, add romance and coziness to it, handmade clay lamps are just the thing. A beautiful chandelier can be successfully replaced. You can see examples online, but it’s better to create your own.

What will be needed for production?

Clay lamps can be used in rooms with high humidity, which allows you to decorate a bathroom or sauna.

• clay;
• paper knives for cutting, film to protect the table from dirt, patterned stencils, you can make them yourself, which will completely eliminate the similarity of copies;
• a shape for a future lamp made of clay, boxes and bushings are just right, bottles and cans from drinks are also good;
• fine sandpaper, sand the clay lamp to a mirror finish;
• needle, a shoemaker's needle is ideal.

Workflow Stages

You need to start working by warming up the clay with your hands. This is done exactly as with plasticine. The amount of clay depends on the size of the mold. It should be enough to completely wrap the desired caliber. While working, your hands need to be moistened with cold water, then the clay will not stick to them, and its particles will not remain on the table or oilcloth.

Plastic clay is available in individual packages or in tubes similar to toothpaste.

Next, the clay dough is rolled out using an ordinary rolling pin, specially purchased for this purpose. If you use your own kitchen product, there will certainly be clay particles in the pies. The clay is rolled out to a thickness of no more than 5 mm. The edges can be made thinner to create a wrap without a thick seam. Then the workpiece is tried on the template and the excess is cut off; in the future, they can also be used.

Then the clay sheet is laid out on oilcloth and creativity begins. The stencil is applied and pressed slightly so that the design is not imprinted from the inside out. Stencil templates can be purchased at craft stores, or they can be made from the canvas of plastic bottles with curved edges.

After this, points are pierced along the contours in increments of 5-10 mm. What is it for? When the clay lamp is ready, the light from the lamp inserted inside will pass through the holes, drawing the outline of the ornament. For an interesting color combination of the lamp, holes are made with a needle, at the end of which there is a drop of paint. Then mixing colors gives an interesting result. You can experiment endlessly.

The clay begins to harden within 20 minutes after heating.

After all the manipulations with the pattern, the workpiece is wrapped around the mold and the edges are fastened. This is done like this: you need to moisten your fingers with water and carefully cover the seam. The bottom is cut out of a layer of clay of the same thickness using a mold, it is simply outlined and then attached to the workpiece in the same way. Now the clay needs to be allowed to dry. You should immediately make a reservation that the clay hardens quickly, this will begin approximately 20 minutes after the start of work, so you should hurry. Finally, the product can be dried with a hairdryer. Check for hardness and only then remove the mold. After this, the almost finished clay lamp can be polished.

A clay lamp can be varnished.

It looks especially beautiful in combination with lamp light. Also, for the desired shape, the papier-mâché technique is used, then clay lamps can be made in the form of anything: flowers, patterns, animals, fairy-tale characters and other fantasies.

Lace lamps made of clay are very popular. The work of making them is more painstaking than if you make something that does not require complications. To do this, use cardboard ornament templates or even knitted napkins. The difference between making lace lamps and simple ones is that the ornament is cut out in the right places with a sharp object, that is, something like a clay napkin is made, then it is wrapped around the desired shape and left to dry.

Some nuances and tricks of the work

If you don’t have a special tool, you can cut out ornaments using a scalpel.

1. You need to immediately decide on the purpose of the lamp. If it is a stand for a candle, it is one thing, but when an electrical part is provided, then it is completely different. The base for the electrical part must coincide with the circumference of one of the sides of the product.
2. The oilcloth for work should be marked into 1x1 cm cells. This is convenient for knowing exactly the size of your own workpiece. You can take a base of decorative self-adhesive paper to work with.
3. It is very convenient to make punctures with toothpicks tied together if you need to outline small circles.
4. It is convenient to cut out the details of the ornaments with a scalpel. The circles are extruded using a pencil eraser holder or a felt-tip pen cap.
5. A dry eyeshadow applicator will help you carefully seal the seams. You can carefully place the varnish in hard-to-reach places using a syringe.
6. A hair dryer will help dry the workpiece faster. You just need to turn on the moderate mode, otherwise the product will crack due to sudden drying.
7. Use old “pendants” for additional decor: they looked good on the chandelier, and can be suitable here too.
8. We must not forget that hardening will begin 20 minutes after the start of work. We need to meet this time.
9. Before starting work, a bath of water and a towel should be ready.

You can put off shopping trips in search of “zest” for your interior if you try to use your own hands and imagination. Exclusive handmade items are expensive, so you can reduce costs by using materials that are freely available from the manufacturer; their cost is low. Let clay lamps become your first creative discovery.