polymer clay berry pins
My cubicle at work needs some personality, so I made these berry pins to brighten things up. They are made from FIMO polymer clay, although I did cheat a bit by using a mould. I embedded long pins in the back before baking, and then varnished them with Varathane.
Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries… yum!
Valerie said
I love these pins! They’re absolutely darling. I haven’t had a lot of luck with polymer clay, but maybe I’ll give it another go – I didn’t know you could get molds (it’s been many many years… hehe)
do you need to use special pins? or will any straight pin do?
June said
Valerie: I use 2cm straight pins, which I embed in the clay after shaping but before baking. It’s a bit tricky to embed them firmly without smushing (technical term) the clay. I tried map pins (with the plastic covered heads) but the plastic melted in the oven and cracked the clay.
You could also probably use a strong glue to glue a thumbtack onto the flat side after baking, but I haven’t tried it myself – I’d be worried that the glue would give when you pull the finished pin out of your corkboard.
I definitely recommend going back to polymer clay – I returned to it about 3 years ago after a break of over a decade, and it’s a lot more versatile than I remember. If you live near a Michaels, keep an eye on their flyers – they have a PC sale every month or two (e.g. FIMO down from $3.69 to $1.19 last week – I love a bargain!)
sesiber said
super idea, thanks