We set up our messages with Small Grunge Red Letters on a Simple Mount and proofed them with ink on scrap paper before stamping.
Don’t forget to clean the ink off before stamping into the clay.
(The Small Grunge Alphabet is half off - see the Subscriber Specials page.)
Tap the stamp into the cornstarch powder before stamping the clay. Only gentle pressure is necessary to impress the letters. Too much pressure will also impress the edges of each individual letter block - which you don’t want to happen.
Bake your finished clay tiles according to package directions - unless you are using the new Sculpey Ultra Light (see my earlier comments regarding time and temperature).
High Desert PolyGlazes are applied after the clay is baked and cooled. Work on waxed paper to avoid the tile sticking when dry.
A little goes a long way. Use a wet mop brush to slather the glaze over the surface of the clay, making sure it gets into all the impressions.
You can get rid of most air bubbles by picking up the tile about an inch and dropping it back on the worktable. Poke any stubborn bubbles with a needle.
The tile will look like this when finished but still wet. (Adobe Dust is the color shown).
The glaze will air dry (in a couple of hours) to a waterproof, matte finish resembling a cameo.
A high gloss finish can be had by applying a coat or two of Future Acrylic Floor Polish after the Glaze has dried.
For brighter colors, the High Desert White Wash can be tinted with a drop of silk dye, water soluble dye reinkers, or liquid watercolor.
Use very little color and mix into the glaze thoroughly before applying.
The look of the brighter color is nice, but the tile must be sealed after drying because the water soluble paint or dye is still prone to smearing if re-wet. (See the next page for a waterproof method of tinting.)
Use a commercial polymer clay glaze (not water based) in matte or gloss finish.
