Cool Tools | Floral Bouquet Pendant using FS999™ Fine Silver Clay by Karen Trexler

If you are interested in the products used in this video, click here: www.cooltools.us/Floral-Bouqu...
Karen shows step by step how to create a variety of flowers, and position them into a bouquet. Each flower is delicately shaped and assembled. This video is a great way to learn how to create a variety of flowers using just your hands and a few tools!

[@marinamarioni6384]

You have my dream job, go to work and design and create jewelry all day, with an endless supply of tools and materials!

[@vanny416]

Beautiful piece with such well-articulated instructions! This is one of the best jewelry-making tutorials I’ve seen and I’ve watched a lot! Thank you so much :)

[@user-zb2pz3sn5j]

It’s so beautiful! Thank you very much! 🌸💕🌸

[@moonbeammimi]

Beautiful!!!

[@damnimsolucky7]

You’re an amazing artist💯

[@ruthdederich3622]

Thanks Ms Trexler. Wonderful work you do. Slava Ukraini! Thanks again.

[@dawndigsby]

Awesome!

[@CKILBY-zu7fq]

Nice work. I have wanted to do somthing in gold clay. But I have never used it and don't want to waste it. But I have a quarter size dark red garnet That was split in half that makes a heart. And I want to join them with a gold crack and backing.and a loop. It would look cool.

[@user-zb2pz3sn5j]

Очень изящная! 🌸💕🌸

[@liessmeekens7579]

So lovely, can you put this piece in pickle? Thanks for answering.

[@cooltoolsvideos]

After metal clay has been fired, yes it can go into pickle. Hope this helps!

[@marlinkhoshababratdeel2250]

Hi Karen, my name is Marlin I love your show , and I buy a lot of Metal clay from cool tool and I have a question for you, I have a problem with copper clay and white copper clay when I finish bracelets and I put it on the wood bracelet mandoline so dry after a while you see the edges cracking. what is the problem. And another question when I do the bracelet from the copper it seems sometime dries very good there no cracks around the edging but when I put it in the kiln The piece comes out from the coconut carbon either cracks on the sides or into pieces, I called the office and they gave me the right temperature , and each clay it comes with instruction how to fire it but I don’t know if it is something wrong with clear itself or am I doing something wrong 😑, I do not know what is the problem , please Can you tell me what is the problem.

[@cooltoolsvideos]

Hi Marlin, I haven’t worked much with white copper clay, but if I had to guess, those clays are shrinking a bit as the moisture dries out of the clay, causing them to shrink some and crack when they come up against the mandrel and try to shrink some more. I would recommend allowing them to dry a bit, and then putting the mandrel on it’s side (I usually prop both ends up on a couple of books or bricks- anything to elevate the mandrel so the clay on it won’t get pressed against the surface it is on) and then slide the bracelet up some to a thinner part on the bracelet mandrel. The bracelet should be resting on the mandrel with some room to shrink to the smaller size if it needs to continue to shrink as it dries. This will allow the bracelet to continue to shrink as it dries without cracking around the drying form. If a base metal piece goes into the kiln looking whole or without cracks but comes out with cracks or broken pieces after its fired, it’s possible the piece had stress or was worked in a way that created a weak spot while it was in the greenware phase. For example, maybe the cuff distorted a bit while it was drying and you tried to adjust the shape of the piece to be more of the intended cuff shape while it was in greenware. If the piece was moved too sharply or without moisture being added back into the clay to allow for flexibility again, this could create a spot that would be weak, and when the clay shrinks again as the binder burns away, the clay could break at that spot. To avoid this, I recommend making sure you are supporting your edges and the shape of your bracelet if you sand or refine them. Finally, if your piece does distort some as it dries, I’d recommend leaving it as is and correcting the distortion after the piece has been fully sintered. For example, I had a piece that was mostly dry on the mandrel, and I took it off and put it in the dehydrator or on a hot plate to finish the drying. When I checked in on it to sand it, it had curled to be mostly closed and the form had distorted a bit. Even though the clay I was working with was fairly flexible, I knew that if I tried to bend an edge or do anything to correct the shape of it I could be potentially creating a weak spot where the clay could break upon firing, and that my bracelet could distort while it’s firing in the kiln anyways, so I left it distorted and sanded my piece in the shape it dried to be. Once it was sintered, I gently formed it on a mandrel to correct the shape to be the correct bracelet shape. Hope this helps! Karen

[@evepearson3491]

What do ypu do with all the dried clay cut offs? Can you add water and return to the wet clay?

[@cooltoolsvideos]

Yes, you can either use these pieces to attach to the wet clay, or even dried clay with paste or water. You can also reconstitute the dried clay and turn it into usable clay again!

[@WizardKitty723]

Could this piece be burnished with a wire brush?

[@cooltoolsvideos]

Yes, this piece could be burnished with a wire brush, but it may be hard to get into the petal areas of the flower. Tumbling would be best. Thanks for watching!