

Blended Filigree Egg

by Kellie Prather Robinson Materials Needed: One blown out egg

Glass sead beads, or uncooked rice

Pasta machine

Scrap clay

1 block of Premo Gold

1/4 block of Premo Blue Pearl

1/2 block of Premo Copper

Needle tool Tissue blade

Clay gun with 7-hole spaghetti disk

Clay gun pusher

Wet/dry sandpaper in 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1500 grit

Old soft toothbrush

Soft paintbrush or sponge paint applicator

Future acrylic floor finish Step 1: Poke some seed beads or rice into the egg using the blow holes. Condition the scrap clay and roll out a medium thick sheet using the pasta machine. Cover the egg with a sheet of scrap clay. Take darts in the clay to remove excess. Blend the seams together to get an even covering of clay over the egg.

Step 2: Blend 1/4 block of Blue pearl clay with 1/2 block of Gold. Blend until you have a nice green pearl color. Condition your Copper clay, and the other 1/2 block of Gold. Roll each color into a log about the diameter of your clay gun. Cut off 1/8th inch slices from each log of color.

Step 3: Stack your slices of clay into a log about the length of your clay gun. Roll and compress this stacked log to remove air bubbles.





Step 4: Load your striped log into your clay gun and extrude long strands of clay using your clay gun pusher. Slice off your strands and get ready to filigree!

Step 5: Coil strands of clay in your fingers, and apply to the egg (below left). Surround the coils with additional strands of clay (below right). Handle your egg gently, so you don't mush any of the filigree that has already been applied. Step 6: Fill in any left over spaces with balls of your scrap filigree clay. Poke indentations into these balls of clay with your needle tool (below left). Randomly apply a coin edge to some of your strands with your needle tool (below right).

Step 7: Bake at the manufacturer's recommended time and temperature. You can stop now and enjoy your egg as it is. Here is how it looks without sanding.

Step 8: Or you can sand your egg, and really bring out the colors in your filigree. Start with 400 grit, and slowly work your way up to 1500 grit. Do not oversand! You don't want to loose all the detail on your egg! Under running water, use toothbrush to remove any clay particles that have settled into the grooves of your filigree. Allow to dry, and apply one or two coats of Future.

Closeup of the Filigree Egg

"Thanks to Nan Roche and Donna Kato for all the

inspiration they give me." - Kellie ©2001-Kellie Prather Robinson Thank you, Kellie! You can Email Kellie at kellie@polymerclaycentral.com or visit her Website at http://www.kelliesklay.homestead.com/



Filigree Egg Tips

From Jeanie Bruner Tip: "I had an Easter moment when I was at my moms. She had an ostrich egg that had been blown out and she kept her feathers in. I asked if I could filigree her egg for Easter and she said sure why not. I had the gold and i added pearl to teal green and burgundy and it turned out just gorgeous. After finishing what I called crop circles, I cooked the egg in a bed of fiber fill, sanded it, and added some emerald swarovski flat backs with a dab of liquid sculpy. Cooked it again for 10 minutes to set the glue on the flat backs. Be careful if you decide to take on a large egg like this. It holds the heat for a long time after cooking. I cooked at 235 and cooling time took a couple hours. I put the crystals on here and there, not to many and I amazed myself at how nice it looks. Now I am going to put on the Future floor finish. I love that stuff. Thanks for a great tutorial."

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