More Pretty Little Containers

If you're looking for something a little more durable than paper covered canisters, why not try covering jar lids with polymer clay? It's really not hard and it will be a bit more long-lasting than other methods. Once you try it though, you might find yourself a bit obsessed. Polymer clay comes in so many colors and is so easy to work with that it's hard not to have fun with it.

To make this covered lid I used:

• polymer clay
• Sculpey Bake N Bond
• an empty veggie jar that I washed out
• acrylic paint
• clear glaze

After conditioning the clay, I started by cutting flowers of assorted sizes out the various colors of clay I used. I dabbed the Bake N Bond on the back of the flowers and began layering them on the jar lid. Once the lid was covered, I baked it according to the directions on the package. Then I cut out the leaf shapes and attached them using the Bake N Bond and baked again, this time turning the lid upside down so that none of the leaves were misshapen. Once it was cool, I used acrylic paint to add the yellow flower centers. I let the paint dry and gave the whole thing a nice coat of clear glaze.

Obviously, you can cover the lid in whatever style you like. Use cutters like I did or just sculpt whatever you'd like. It may take some experimenting to get it exactly right, but that's part of the fun. And, until you bake the clay, you can always start over!