Metal clay – a revolutionary material

Your house is a real treasure of textures

You will see that it is not at all difficult to create a texture. In addition, it does not require any investment, because we can use a lot of objects in the house and outside.

Do you have scraps of lace, trimmings, embroidery, textiles? Excellent! Either print them directly into the metal clay, or make a mold (negative) and print the structure with its help. If you put your imagination to work, you will discover many objects that have the ability to provide textures. You just have to look carefully at the surface of objects and study their "relief", hills and valleys, elevations and depressions.

Sewing kit

Have you ever thought that you can print an interesting pattern with the help of a fingerprint? Use the side with which you press the needle or the side surface, if it also has a pattern, rolling your finger on the flat clay surface. You can also use andres to print trenches and geometric patterns.

Textile waste

With the help of a sackcloth or a piece of denim, we can create interesting textures. We obtain a refined texture if we press a piece of lace in the metal clay. Caution: porous materials must be sprayed with moisture before printing them on metal clay or taking their imprint!

Stoppers, lids and other small items

The cork from the toothpaste tube and the caps of the medicine bottles have streaks that can be used to texture the clay. Place the stopper or side lid on the metal clay and roll with your fingers or make a hole in the center of the stopper / lid, insert a needle, toothpick or skewer through the hole and roll on the metal clay.

A small comb can be used to create parallel depressions (grooves). You can also use the comb to create a texture in a mold. Press holes in the mold with it and fill them with metal clay. You will get clay bumps, with which you can decorate your pieces. Old or mascara toothbrushes (of course thoroughly washed before) can be used to create recesses in the wet clay surface.

Kitchen drawers

Is the garlic press lying forgotten in a corner? Don't throw it away! Use it as an extruder for metal clay.

Even the sides of a scraper can be used to create interesting patterns in metal clay. Or you can shave off pieces of metal clay dry with which to decorate a piece, gluing them with clay paste. Plate holders made of synthetic material can be used to create a texture directly in metal clay or they can be imprinted on the mold.

With drinking straws you can make holes in metal clay or you can use them as a support to make rings.

With the help of a patterned vegetable cleaner you can easily create patterns either parallel, or perpendicular or both.

The refrigerator and the pantry

Citrus peel can be a very interesting organic texture.

Also, fresh spices can be printed in metal clay. Press them onto the surface of the metal clay and do not remove them, as they will burn in the oven. If you burn the pieces with the burner, you must remove the respective spices. You can also take a mold after them. They can be removed from the mold with the help of an old toothbrush, holding them under the water jet. Try making a texture with the help of dill, the result will delight you! Peppercorns, cloves, dill seeds, cumin seeds or coarse salt can also be used with success.

And the different forms of raw (and dry) pasta are great for textures. Use fusilli or rotini, gemelli, rigatoni or penne rigate to create interesting textures, rolling them with a toothpick. You can also press an uncooked piece (eg farfalle) into metal clay.

Rice grains or bulgur (uncooked) can be pressed into metal clay and burned in the oven. If you do not have an oven, you must remove them before burning.

The polystyrene trays from the food pans (well washed) can be carved or you can draw different models with the help of a pencil or pen, and their negative will be printed on the metal clay.

You can make your own shapes from cans of beer or juice. Rinse them well, cut into strips and shape them into the desired shape.

Patterned cutlery

You can use patterned cutlery to create original ornaments directly in metal clay or you can take molds after them. And the silver trays have interesting reliefs after which you can take the mold.

Tool kit

Small parts, such as screws, nails, washers, gaskets or cross-shaped screwdrivers can be printed directly into metal clay or molded.

If you cut the head of a screw you will get a textured roll with which you can make interesting patterns.

A mosquito net or other nets are perfect for creating a grid-like texture.

Large-grained sandpaper is also a good tool for creating textures.

You can take molding after leftover tiles with embossed pattern, wooden boards, wallpaper and other materials.

Even a wire can work wonders! Take a thick wire and file both ends. With the help of a pair of pliers, form a spiral, an S shape, a zigzag or any shape that inspires you in the center. Bend the ends at 90 degrees and use them as handles with which you press the wire shaped into metal clay.

With the help of a special linoleum knife, you can carve original shapes from linoleum scraps to use as textures for metal clay.

The jewelry drawer

You can make interesting textures by printing chain bracelets or chains with different styles of links in the mold.

You can also take molds for the charms of a bracelet or for rings, buttons, earrings, brooches, pendants and even for the fragments of a piece of jewelry.

You can also take molding after bead caps, metal plates, separate beads or bead strings.

Office accessories

Office clips, pen mines (cleaned), a pen bow, staples lying on the side, marker covers and many other office accessories can be used to print them into the molding material.

With an old credit card you can print lines or cut metal clay.

Rubber stamps with letters, numbers or other symbols can be cleaned and used by pressing them on the clay clay.

Open your eyes, there are treasures everywhere!

Nature is the greatest artist and the textures it offers us are the most beautiful! The leaves, for example, can create excellent textures. They can be frozen on a straight surface in a sealed bag or box. Remove from the freezer briefly before using them to print the texture.