bang! zoom! off to the moon! - amazon s3 · get ready for a blast from the past when you create...

Get ready for a blast from the past when you create this steampunk rocket ship pendant from polymer clay.

In the late 1800’s people’s imaginations were fired up with the idea of travel to the moon, and beyond. This project takes a look back to a time when all eyes were on the future!

CONDITION CLAY AND MIX COLORSWe’ll create this pendant from polymer clay. Before

using polymer, it’s best to condition it by rolling, twisting and folding the clay until it’s soft and pliable. I also like to create the project colors while I’m conditioning. To make the color for this project, I suggest mixing equal parts of Gold, Antique Gold and 18k. Gold (these are Premo™ brand polymer clay colors). You can stop conditioning/mixing while there are still a few streaks in the blend, it’ll look better that way.

Bang! Zoom! Off to the

Moon!by Christi Friesen

©2014 Christi Friesen, www.ChristiFriesen.com All rights reserved. Please do not reprint this project without written permission from the author. Absolutely feel free to create and sell your own work as influenced by this project! (but please use a “inspired by Christi Friesen” in the display, because it’s just polite ;-D) It’s considered rather uncool to reproduce someone else’s work for a contest or in publication (that’s when your own creative innovations should shine!) but if you’re not sure what’s cool or not, just email me, we’ll chat!

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For This Project You Will Need:

þ . polymer clay – I suggest Premo™ in Antique Gold, Gold and 18k. Gold (about 1/4th package each) OR similar colors

þ . wire – 20gauge, aprox. 6cm þ . steampunk embellishments – any small

gears or interesting things that could accent the rocketship – you will be making molds of some of these pieces. You will especially need 2 opposite-facing vintage pocketwatch ‘bridges’ (those curved pieces that look like fangs – if you can’t find any, use any item that looks like a rocket ship fin) (see Resources)

þ . 2-part silicon mold-making material (see Resources)

þ . liquid clay – I suggest Translucent Liquid Sculpey™

þ . glue – Lisa Pavelka’s PolyBonder™ þ . ball-tipped headpins – 3 (preferably in an

antique brass finish), long – at least 2 inches or longer

þ . acrylic paint: dark brown (Burnt Umber) þ . clear glaze: (Sculpey Satin glaze) þ . jump ring and chain for hanging (optional) þ . tools: craft knife (or cutting blade),

needle tool, sculpting tool (I suggest the “Can’t Live Without It” CF tool – (see Resources), wire cutters, pliers (round-nosed pliers preferably), paint brush, sponge, oven & oven thermometer

MAKING THE ROCKET BODYTake a bit of this clay mix and roll it into a ball about the size of a large grape. Form the ball into a long, narrow teardrop. Use your finger to flatten the larger end of the teardrop, so it looks a bit more like a bullet. This will be the body of the rocket.

MAKING STEAMPUNK ACCENT MOLDSIn order to create all the mechanical, steampunky details for this rocket project, I found the best thing to do was to assemble an assortment of vintage watch parts and make molds of them. Then it’s easy to make a clay version of the needed parts and simply press it into position on the clay rocket. If you don’t want to make a mold and create clay replicas, you can use the vintage pieces themselves instead. But making a mold allows you use a copy of the vintage piece again and again (and since vintage watch pieces are getting harder to find and more expense, it’s a smart way to do it, don’t you think?). I’ll assume you’re going to make molds with me, but if you decide to use the actual pieces, just ignore the mold details, and instead secure your metal pieces with wire or glue (use Lisa Pavelka’s PolyBonder™).

The most important vintage parts for this piece are the watch bridges (larger curved, fin-shape pieces from pocket watches), since these will become the fins of the rocket. You need a pair about the same size aimed in opposite directions so that they’ll look correct when attached to the rocket sides.

If you chose to make molds of your own steampunk parts, it’s a very simple process! First press the pieces to be molded into a layer of polymer clay so that they are halfway embeded. This will stop the mold-material from getting underneath the piece. Use clay to fill in any gaps where the mold-material would get caught, like holes or undercut portions.

Once you’re prepared, follow the instructions and create the mold. Any two-part silicon mold-making material will work wonderfully (I carry a wonderful mold-making product, with instructions for use, on my site – it’s just right to use for this project! See Resources.)

Peel the mold off when it’s firm (usually about 20 minutes), then you’re ready to go!

MAKING THE ROCKET FIN IMPRESSIONS Let’s start by making clay impressions from the rocket fin molds. Since nothing sticks to a silicon mold, there’s no need to use any kind of a release agent. Just roll out a small ball of clay and press it into the mold. Press firmly so that you will make a good impression! Use a small bit of clay so you don’t overfill the mold and have too much to easily trim.


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There will still probably be some extra clay around the edges where you don’t want it. Use a sharp craft knife to remove the excess. Create both fins.

To add a bit more of the hint of metal to the clay, I like using a touch of mica powder. Dip the pad of your fingertip into the powder, then tap it on paper to even up the powder (no clumps!), then tap the clay piece gently to add the powder just to the tops of the clay details.

To make sure the fins stick out nice and straight (no one wants a limp rocket), let’s bake them before adding them to the rocket body. First add a bit of wire – that will help attach them firmly to the rocket body later. Snip off about 1-2 cm of 20 gauge wire and add a small bit of Lisa Pavelka’s PolyBonder™ glue to the end of the wire, then press it into the end of the fin where it will eventually be connecting to the rocket.

Press in the wire in so that half is embedded. Repeat with the other fin.

BAKING THE FINSTo bake the fins, preheat your oven to 275ºF (130Cº). Use an oven thermometer to make sure the interior temperature of the oven remains accurate. Use adequate ventilation. You can bake your clay inside an oven roasting bag to contain any smells/fumes.

This is just a partial bake to firm up the clay, so bake the fins on a piece of stiff paper for only about 20 minutes. Let them cool completely.

ADDING MORE STEAMPUNK DETAILSNext I added another detail to the end of the rocket that was part of my steampunk mold set – a flared knob kinda’ thing. Use clay to press a duplicate of the shape, then add it to the bottom of your rocket. I found it helpful to use a tool to press an indentation into the backside of the rocket so the knob would fit in more easily.

Use a drop of liquid clay on the stem of the knob to help it connect to the underside of the rocket so you don’t have to squish anything to attach it.

Use a needle tool to press in some lines at the bottom of the rocket, just for fun.


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ADDING A HANGING HOOKBefore we get too far, let’s add a hook for hanging when we’re all done. Cut off about 4cm of 20gauge wire. Use pliers to bend a hook on one end. Use pliers (preferably round-nosed) to bend the wire in half, like a “U”.

Press the wire, hook-side-first into the body of the rocket, just a little more towards the point of the rocket

than in the middle, so the rocket will zoom upwards when you wear it. Press it in slowly so you don’t distort the rocket.

Roll out some of the clay into a flat sheet, about 2mm thick (if you’re using a pasta machine to roll the clay, use the second-widest setting).

Use a blade to cut a thin, long strip of clay. It should be thin enough to fit inside the wire hanging loop.

Wrap the clay strip around the rocket body, through the loop.

Use your blade to slice away the excess clay from the backside of the rocket.

Add more strips if you like – I did!

Add more details too, from the steampunk mold options. I thought a long, piece down the middle looked interesting.

More details can be added with your tools – it looks great to press lines in with a needle tool edge. I also added a round steampunk gear as a window. Every rocket ship needs a window, right?


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ADDING THE FINSFinally, it’s time to add the fins. Add another drop of glue to the end of the wire and press it firmly into the rocket, towards the bottom. Doesn’t that look great, now?!

MAKING WIRE ZOOM CURLSOne more feature you can add if you want to – some zoom curls! Use pliers to bend curls in the ends of three ball-tipped headpins.

Put a bit of glue on the ends of each pin and press them into the end of the rocket. Make sure each of the zoom wires is a little different length, and aimed in different directions. Doesn’t it look much zoom-ier now?!<020zoom>

ADDING POWDERSFinally, let’s add more mica powders to increase the look of metal. I used gold, silver and antique copper. For this part, use a brush to lay a thick covering of mica powder on the surface of the clay. You can cover all of the rocket, or just accent certain parts. I did parts.

BAKING Now it’s time to bake it completely. Preheat your oven again and bake as before, but this time for at least 45 minutes. Let it cool completely.

ANTIQUING THE ROCKET AND ADDING GLAZEOne final touch will add the look of aged patina to your piece. Paint your rocket with dark brown acrylic paint, then use sponges to wipe away the paint from the surface, leaving it just in the details. It’s easier to paint just a little bit at a time. Make sure you wipe the paint off all the surfaces, so the rocket will look old, not dirty.

Now you can add a clear satin glaze to protect the mica powder and painted surface finishes. Let everything dry.


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ADDING A CHAIN Add a jump ring to the hanging loop and slip a chain through that to make a necklace that’s really outta’ this world!

Alternatives:. Instead of using mica powder to add the look of metal to your piece, you could coat your finished rocket ship with metal coatings and add patinas for a realistic aged-metal look. (I recommend using Swellegant™ Metal Coating in Brass, combined with Swellegant™ Tiffany Green and Darkening patinas).

. You could make your rocketship in silver tones instead of gold!

Or bring the project into the 1950s and take inspiration from TinTin’s Destination Moon adventure and make it red with white trim!


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Resources. Mold-making material, steampunk accents, sculpting tools, mica powders, clay supplies, PolyBonder™glue - www.ChristiFriesen.com

bang! zoom! off to the moon! - amazon s3 · get ready for a blast from the past when you create...

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