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Creep-a-Day Challenge Day 31

Polymer Clay Fingers
Can you point me in the right direction?


Happy Halloween! Thank you so much for following me through this magical month of crafting insanity! I'm glad and sad to see it come to a close, but hey, there is always next year!

Since this is the last night and we'll have trick-or-treaters and other fun things going on, I thought I'd do something simple, yet fun. Behold...polymer clay fingers! These awesome candy molds have been tucked away in a closet, waiting to be used for at least five years. FIVE YEARS! Well, they shall wait no longer.

Cautions: Polymer clay can give off fumes--make sure you are in a well-ventilated kitchen. They say it is best to keep your polymer clay tools strictly for polymer clay.

Supplies:
Polymer clay in various colors (I used Sculpey)
Candy mold
Baking dish
Parchment paper

The How:
Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure your candy molds are clean and dry.

Select the fingernail color and break off a piece of clay, kneading it into a ball roughly the size of a hazelnut. Once it is softened, press the ball of clay into the mold, filling in the nail area.

Select another color and knead the clay to condition it. Roll it out into a snake shape and lay it into the mold.
Someone chipped a nail!

Making a finger
Press and stretch the clay to fill out the finger, making sure you have a nice point of contact with the nail color.

Turn your mold over and on the plastic until the finger is free. Flip the finger over and press the nail carefully to make sure the two clays have bonded. Smooth out any rough edges.






Place the clay finger on the parchment-lined dish and bake for about 15 minutes. You can bake more than one finger at a time. Let the fingers cool off before handling.

If you want, you can poke a hole in the base of the finger before you bake it (some might call it a proximal phalanx or phalange...) so that you can put a wooden dowel or stick in it for decorating purposes later on.






Remember: the mold you use cannot be used for food so no melted chocolate or fondant or anything. Sorry, thems the breaks.

If you have leftover clay, you can store it in a zipper bag.

She needs to tidy up her polish...
Happy Halloween!!!!

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