Here’s a quick tip on how to make belt buckles out of paper clay and worbla.
1) References! Make sure you have proper references on the piece you want to make. I then sketched a template on regular printer paper, and slid into a plastic folder so that it wouldn’t get damp by the clay.
2) Paper clay time! I molded the buckle onto the plastic folder, so that I would get the right proportions. I used wires on the inside to make it more sturdy as paper clay is pretty fragile. I dipped my fingers in some water and rubbed across the surface to get it silky smoooth~
As you can see the paper clay sometimes cracks when dried. This is alright as it would be covered with worbla.
3) Worbla! I cut out a piece of worbla bigger than the piece, and cut into it so that I’d be able to fold it over. Heated the worbla with my heat gun and used a molding tool (and my fingers, ouch!) to press the worbla down over the piece. I then folded the worbla around the back and cut away the excess.
4) Finishing up Next step is to prime prime priiime~ with gesso. At least 6-10 layers, sometimes I use my fingers to smoothen the paint and speed up the process, but it is tedius and you might as well get used to it. Then it’s about time to use sand paper, which may take several hours to get that perfect smooth finish. I spray painted with acrylic Montana Gold (which I highly reccomend! Fairly cheap, durable and great coverage. In sweden it can be bought at Drewex in Malmö), and then distressed with regular acrylic paints. Afterwards sealed with semi-gloss varnish.
And there we have the finished piece! (which for some reason turns side ways when I upload the image!?).
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