I'm a little teapot short and stout

Check out my latest tutorial on how to make a copper tea pot out of a baby food jar!Yes. I have yet another project for baby food jars. I know I need to think of something else, but this one is super cute and really can be adapted to fit any jar you have ready for trash.

This time, I am using Polymer clay again. It's a little more complicated but imperfection works well in this example.
First things first, You will need:
1. A baby food jar or something comparable
2. One pack of polymer clay
3. A pasta roller (for polymer clay only) or a clay roller
4. A cutting utensil. I used a blade specifically for clay
5. Mica Powder in copper
6. Translucent Liquid Sculpey for added extra strength to attaching larger parts.

Step 1. Condition your clay. I used pink and ran it through my pasta roller several times. It's thickness should be about 3 mm or a little thicker for durability.

Step 2. roll your clay in a long strip and roll it onto your glass. Cut off excess clay and blend in the seems. You can cover the threads of the jar, you will not need to screw your lid on for this project. Cover it all. This par will be the most time consuming. Keep in mind it doesn't have to be perfect. Copper pots, usually have lots of dings and imperfections. You may develop air bubbles. The best way to handle this is to try to work the bubbles out of an opening. If there is no escape for bubble, poke a small hole with a pin and force the air out and seal it back up with your finger.

Step 3. Roll another square of clay out with the same thickness and If you have your baby food jar lid, stamp it out to make a bottom cover for your pot. Blend in the seems. Rest your pot from this point on upside down. The clay on the bottom of your pot will stick to your surface and ruin the work you just did.

Step 4. Roll four balls out of the remainder of your clay. Three larger ones and one very small ball.

Step 5. Roll a snake out of one of the larger balls. This will be your handle. I used a very small minuscule amount of the liquid sculpey to attach the bottom half of the handle and I can't mush it down like the top.

Step 6. Roll another snake. This one a bit a bit fatter. This will be your spout. If it's too long use your cutting utensil and slice on an angle for a better fit. don't forget to poke a hole the size of a pea in your spout to look realistic. Attach the spout, again with a minuscule amount of liquid sculpey and blend in the seems.

Step 7. Roll out last large ball and completely cover your lid. Cut off excess clay

Step 8. Your last small ball of clay, will be your lid handle. Form a snake and make a sharp u shape. Press it firmly onto your lid. Liquid Sculpey is not necessary here, but add it if you'd like.

Step 9. Add your artistic elements and embellishments. I used a stamp here, that I got a while back from a Donna dewberry collection of something I can't remember. I brushed the mica powder lightly on the stamp and pressed it onto my pot. The mica acts like a baby powder to prevent sticking. At this point I added little joints and rivets characteristic of a typical copper pot.

Step 9. Dust your pot with copper colored mica powder. There are safety warnings with using this medium so please be careful and take precautions as suggested.
Step 10. Bake your pot according to package directions. In this case, I like to place my piece in the oven while it heats to 230 degrees on a wooden plank over a cookie sheet I never use for baking. I wait 15 minutes after it reaches it's goal temperature and then turn off the oven and let the piece sit until it's cool enough to handle.

Step 11. optional. You can leave it as is or you can add oxidization. Which I prefer. You will need a minuscule amount of black, green, and blue acrylic paint, brush, dry paper towel and a damp paper towel. Using a dry brush..no water. dab your brush into all three colors and work it in your brush. Then apply the brush to the rivets and imperfections of the pot. This will bring out the stamped design really well. Take your dry paper towel and rub it off. If not enough comes off then use your damp paper towel to wipe off more if needed. it all depends on your style.

So, another piece of trash turned into something resembling an antique! Let me know how yours turned out!