Light switch plates are popular ‘bread and butter’ items that are in my repertoire. They are ideal for experimentation and exploration of materials and design techniques that could be possibly used in other ‘more serious’ art work.

It has been quite a while since I have designed and created my own stamps for making impressions into polymer clay. This year, I hope to make at least six stamp plates. I plan to use silicone mold material as well as both baked and unbaked polymer clay in creating what is truly my own design palette.

This first stamp design was to get me in the groove, so it was quick and easy. I used a slab of unbaked gold polymer clay. 

I gathered as many tools I could think of to start stamping a design into the clay. Then I just wheeled away and started having fun.

It took no time at all to fill up the entire sheet.

What’s cool about this kind of plate is that one section will have an entirely different effect than another. I would term that as being design economical! This thin copper sheet of polymer clay was pressed into the middle section of the stamp.

After applying it to the base clay on the light switch plate, I finished my overall design and cured it in the oven.

Once cured I applied stain to bring out the stamping details and to add a certain depth to the entire piece.

Ta-da! One design plate down, and five more to go!