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by: Jennifer Tough

This week I pulled out the epoxy clay to create a Valentine's inspired heart project. One of the things I love about the epoxy is that it hardens rock hard without the need for baking. It can be a little tricky to form the clay freeform instead of using a mold, as the clay is quite sticky. It also tends to distort somewhat as you're embedding the stones. If that happens to you, it's fairly easy to  mold it back into shape.

Epoxy clay is a two part compound, and must be mixed in equal amounts. You could certainly measure or weigh - but I just eyeball it.

Once the clay is mixed, you have about 1 hour or so to shape it, embed any stones or findings, and apply the MetalFX powder.

I shaped the clay into a rough heart shape, then embedded a small piece of curved wire to act as a bail. You'll notice in the pics that the ends of my wire are curled. I wanted to ensure that the bail wouldn't be able to pull out of the epoxy. This gives it a bit more 'tooth'.

Using a pair of tweezers, start embedding the stones randomly. Push in gently. You want to make sure they're securely stuck in, but they don't need to be pushed so far in that they distort your shape. Keep going until you're happy with the look. I liked the random look, but you could certainly completely fill the heart with a pattern.

Once you're done, gently mold it back into shape with your fingers.

Place in a small bowl and dump metalFX on top. Using your fingers, or a paintbrush, brush the MetalXF all over the piece making sure you cover all parts. 

Leave it to sit in the bowl of metalFX until completely hardened. I left it over night. Brush off the excess MetalFX, and put the rest back in the container. The MetalFX will not stick to the stones, just the clay.

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		74701010-06 Craft Wire - 20ga - Natural Copper (Artistic Wire)	Price: $ 10.95 per	In Stock
		s28775 MetalFX - Metallic/Mica Powder - Palomino Gold (1 gram)	Price: $ 3.45 per	Sorry, Out of Stock
		11720122175001 Swarovski Rhinestones - ss10 Xilion Rose (2028) - Crystal AB (144)	Price: $ 19.51 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		11720122887001 Swarovski Rhinestones - ss16 Xilion Rose (2028) - Crystal AB (144)	Price: $ 22.60 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		11720123381001 Swarovski Rhinestones - ss20 Xirius Rose Flatback (2088) - Crystal AB (144)	Price: $ 36.20 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		88819030 Two Part Epoxy Clay - [113 grams] Apoxie Sculpt - Super White (Pack)	Price: $ 34.85 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.