Magic Wand Paintbrush

Elisabeth's Magic Wand Brush

At our playshop with Elisabeth, we brought a few things to place on the altar (hmm, I 'forgot' mine there; will just have to return!!) and one of the items Elisabeth had already placed is her Magic Wand Paintbrush!

It is covered in Polymer clay with glitter, & a crystal at the end, which may also be used to scratch or incise paint! When she posted this picture, I wanted one of my own!!

Covered with clay

My first thought was to ask my dear Daughter-in law Angie, who loves creating things with Polymer clay, to make me one ... so she & grandson Gregory began playing with their supplies ....

Of course I quickly realized I wanted to make one as well! Especially after Elisabeth called my attention to the crystal tip.

So I shopped for some crystals, along with a few more art supplies. I had taken a bag of Fimo to my daughter's, so found some appealing colours in that stash this AM, & this tutorial for covering Crochet hook handles with polymer clay! I noticed similar clay coated crocket hooks made by a local gal at our Crafter's co-op yesterday!

I also stopped by a local thrift store, & picked up an old baking pan, as it's not recommended to use your cookware for baking craft clay items. If you do much craft baking, it's good to dedicate a toaster or craft oven for those projects, & use it outside.

After getting home I began, first kneading and rolling the clay, as suggested in the tutorial. Turquoise, Lapis, dark purple, a bit of 'stone' look (grey) & a bit of fuscia. I soon had nice swirls, & wrapped the paintbrush, then secured a bit of Oregon Sunstone for the tip.

Burnished Brush

I used the lid of the art supply box as my rolling surface, then Perfect Pearls powders in 'Blue Smoke' & 'Forever Violet,' burnishing them into the surface with the back of a spoon. This article gives suggestions for working with powders and the polymer clay! It gives a different, more metalic, look, & the swirls aren't as prevalent, though they are still there!

Just out of the oven, cooling

 As suggested in the Tutorial and comments, I used an old sock to rest the brush on while it baked, & covered with an aluminum foil 'tent.' 15 minutes at 275*, & it was ready to take outside & leave awhile to cool down.

Since I'd used the pearl powder, I gave it a clear coat of craft sealer, & let THAT dry before bringing it back inside.

  When it seemed sufficiently dry, I brought the Magic Wand Brush inside, & placed it on the little altar by Gabriella and the Red Thread from the class. Now I have a Magic Wand brush of my own!!

Magic Wand brush on altar with Red Thread from our class