Pi Medallion: Crop Circle Inspired
Introduction: Pi Medallion: Crop Circle Inspired
This medallion came out of my research on pi because I wanted to make a medallion representing pi as a mathematical concept. Circles make good pendant shapes for necklaces anyway, and since that is what pi is, it felt like a no-brainer (which rarely happens in math).
While looking at diagrams of pi and trying to decide how I wanted to make the medallion, I stumbled across a crop circle that people say is a representation of pi. It was a very interesting design that I could immediately see had jewelry potential. After getting distracted reading about crop circles (super strange), I went to work on my medallion.
Thanks aliens, or whoever...
Supplies
1.Image of the Pi crop circle (courtesy of DuckDuckGo search)
2 Computer and Printer
3 Scissors
4 Clay (air dry or polymer, color of your choice)
5 Clay Tools (roller, knife, stylus, ball tool, circle cutter *optional)
6 Acrylic or glass rhinestones in colors of your choice. They should be a variety of sizes to match the circles on the pi image printout (I'll explain later). If you are using polymer clay you will need to use glass rhinestones or attach them after baking with a strong glue. This article by <PERSON> from The Blue Bottle Tree should help explain why.
7 Glitter in same color (or similar) to your rhinestones
8 Strong glue
9 Jump ring
10 Round nosed pliers
11 Cord or chain to hang your pendant
12 Acrylic paint for antiquing (not totally necessary, but cool). You can use dark browns, blacks, and greys to antique, OR you can sculpt in a dark brown, grey, or black and then antique with another color. I will explain better in the steps.
13 Varnish (not necessary for polymer clay but a necessity for air dry clay. I use Duraclear Ultra Matte.
14 Brush to apply paint and varnish
15 Paper towels or soft cloth
16 A little water
Step 1: Print and Cut
My computer kicked its word processing app a while back and I haven't gotten around to getting another one, so I just had to guess at my print size.
Normally I would insert the photo into a word processing app (like Word or Libre Office Word) and then I would size the photo by making the document set to 100% view and then literally holding a ruler up to the screen and size and resize the photo until it was as big as I wanted. 95
If the document is set to 100% view it is pretty dang close to the real-life size of the printout, so I find this is one of the best ways for me to guess how big I want it.
I highly recommend that method. I don't recommend trying to wing it like I am doing right now.
Once you have the photo printed the size you want, trim it out with scissors.
Step 2: Tracing the Amount of Pi
Roll out your clay as thick or thin as you want.
Lay the paper cut-out on top of the rolled out clay. We are going to be using the paper to help us transfer the image as I outlined in my Instructable "Using Paper for Patterns and Transfers on Clay".
With the paper laying on the clay, use a stylus tool or a dull pencil to trace all the black lines. Press down carefully so that you make a mark on the clay but don't tear the paper. Go all the way around the design.
Once you have traced the whole design, use a knife tool to cut the clay with the edge of the paper as a guide. In this way you will cut out a circle.
(If you have a circle cutter that is the right size, go ahead and use it! I just don't have one.)
Peel off the paper to reveal your tracing. It is probably not very distinct, so go back with the stylus tool and trace your lines, making them deeper and more noticeable. *Don't forget to to flatten the black edge.
Step 3: Add Bling
Your rhinestones should be of the correct size to cover all four of the little dots (the fifth dot will be filled in with glitter). They will go from large to small. They can be whatever color you like, but I chose green to kinda go with an ancient earth statue idea.
Press the rhinestones down into their correct spots, making an indent for each of them.
Now take the rhinestones out and bake your clay, or let it dry. We will attach the rhinestones later.
Step 4: Antique the Medallion
Once the medallion has been baked or dried, it is time to antique it. 636