Polymer Clay Easter Box

Easter crafts for adults can be fun and functional and this Polymer Clay Easter Box from Candace Jedrowicz is a great example. Just don't get confused - these clay figures may look edible, but they're actually made from polymer clay!

Materials:

Polymer clay - brown, white, yellow, pink, purple, orange, green & aqua
Aluminum foil
Craft knife
Pasta machine or rolling pin
Satin-finish sealer (brush-on)
Brush

Instructions:

Condition the polymer clay until it's soft and workable. Mix white into each of the colors to get the shades you want.
Form an egg shaped ball of aluminum foil slightly smaller than your desired box size. Wrap a single layer of foil around the ball, so you'll be able to get the box off of the mold easily.
Roll out the brown clay on the thickest setting of the pasta machine, about 1/8" and begin to wrap it around the foil.
Smooth the clay as you wrap it. In particular, smooth out any folds so that it stretches to fit the form.
Cut off the excess clay and continue to smooth the clay until you're satisfied with the appearance of the egg. Continue to smooth clay until egg has a smooth appearance.
Roll out the colored and white clays. The white clay should be about half the thickness of the colors.
Stack the colors in any order you like with layers of white in between. Cut a piece about 1/2" x 1".
Gently pinch the end colors together. You can see in the side view that the stack is now eye shaped.
Work the eye shape into round roll.
Roll to reduce the diameter and lengthen. Twist as you roll to get the look of stripey candy.
This is going to wrap around the egg, so it will need to be pretty small.
Wrap the thinned roll around the egg a little above the egg's half way point.
You can see that I've attached the roll to the egg by pressing a diagonal pattern into it that follows the twist.
Now it's time to cut the box just below the roll. Carefully press the craft knife into the clay until you feel the foil.
Roll short lengths of the twisty roll into coils for the candy flowers and form leaves from the green clay. Press center vein into leaves.
Secure the flowers and leaves on the egg with gentle pressure.
Bake according to clay package directions.
After baking, while the clay is still slightly warm, use the craft knife to trace the cut line and very gently begin to pry it open with the blade.
Remove the mold and foil.
The box top will need a flange to help it stay in place. Cut a 1/4" strip of brown clay to attach inside the rim of the box top.
Press the flange into place, frequently checking the fit with the box bottom.
For grass, flatten a small ball of green clay and use a pointed tool to drag up through the clay.
The chick started as an egg shaped ball of yellow clay. I pinched one end to make a tail and added an orange beak and felt pen dots for eyes.
Bake again according to the clay package directions.
To give a slightly shiny finish, coat all the pieces with a layer of satin finish sealer.