My Home, My Oasis: Polymer Clay Petals

Greetings, folks!  This weekend, let's make a bold new floral arrangement...with polymer clay!  Polymer clay is available at most craft stores, is inexpensive, and comes in a wide variety of colors. It's also very easy to work with, and the kids can help, too!

First, you'll need supplies. You'll need:

Polymer clay (at least two different colors)
A baking sheet (I have one that I don't use with food anymore, it's an older one specifically for crafting)
A few plastic knives
Wax paper/Plain paper for your work surface (don't use printed paper, as the ink may transfer)
An old towel, just in case things get messy
Green or silver floral wire
A strong glue (I prefer Aleene's Tacky Glue)

First, prepare your work station by laying out the wax paper or plain paper.  Next, open up your different blocks of polymer clay, and cut off a chunk of two different colors.  Make one chunk larger than the other, as you'll want one color to be the dominate color.  In this case, I wanted black to be the dominate color.

Roll each of your two chunk of clay into a ball, and then into a 'snake.'

Roll your 'snakes' together to form a chain.

Begin to roll your chain back and forth, like a rolling pin, to lengthen it and help the two pieces of clay bond.

Fold the chain in half, then in half again, and squish it together with your hands.

Roll the piece of clay into a new ball.  You should be able to see the different variations of color.

I did another one, in teal and black, but didn't roll it as much as the red and black for more contrast.

 Next, divide your ball into four pieces.  Flatten each piece out, and form into an elongated diamond shape, like this:

Gently fold up the sides of each piece, and pinch the ends together to form a petal shape. Note: on one end, don't pinch the ends too much, as you'll need to be able to insert a piece of your wire in the end.

Once you've shaped all of your pieces, bake them in the oven according to the package instructions on the polymer clay.

Once they've cooled down, cut your floral wire to the desired length and glue into one end of each petal.  You may need to double up on the wire, depending on how big your petals are.  If that's the case, just twist two pieces of wire together, then glues the twisted pieces to the petal.

 And, tada!  They're done!  Aren't these neat?  You can put them in a vase with other faux or real flowers, or make an arrangement with just the petals alone.  Tell me how you'd use them, or what color combinations you think would be fun!