This speckled canner is setting on top of the stove in the kitchen room box. This canner is made from card stock, it has wire handles and the "jars" of beans are sitting on a piece of plastic canvas. The plastic canvas is round, I think coasters are needlepointed from them.
The jars are from medicine capsules. Our dog was taking medicine that came in clear capsules. Instead of giving her the whole thing, I emptied the capsules into her food and saved the capsules. (Check the Internet for empty capsules, I found them on www.iherb.com, empty capsules (it looks like size #1 by the measurements they give) or ask an independent pharmacist or health food store for them.) By putting a gold painted polymer lid on the rounded end of the capsules they became canning jars. I made beans from leaf green polymer clay. Tip for keeping the beans close to the same size: Roll out the clay with a pasta maker, thinnest setting and use a 3/16" Kemper circle cutter to cut circles. Cut these circles in half, this should give you the right amount of clay for a bean. You can always adjust this. I cut the lids out using Kemper circle cutters, too. Glue the lids on with Tacky glue, let dry. Turn the jar onto it's lid and fill with a little, very little resin. Then fill with beans. Experiment, the beans are going to displace the resin, you don't want spill over. Let dry. I got my resin from Hobby Builders, www.miniatures.com. I didn't put anything on the bottom of the jars, with the resin being hardened that was bottom enough. I was afraid that the resin would melt the capsule, but it didn't, all went well. Linden Swiss, www.lindenswiss.com makes very nice canning jars that you can use.
Back to the canner, the diameter is about 1 1/16" to 1 1/8". I usually look for a small bottle for a form, I save sooo much. If you don't have one you could use a 1" dowel rod and wrap it with wide tape around one end until you have the diameter you want. The width of the card stock is 13/16" and the length is 3 3/8". Wrap the card stock around your form and glue with Elmer's white glue. I use Elmer's on paper projects, it takes a little longer to dry, but when does it's permanent. Tacky is always flexible and can pull apart.
When the seam is dry push the card stock cylinder down and away from the form a bit. Put some Elmer's on the edge and place onto a circle of card stock larger in diameter than your cylinder, let dry. Trim the circle to the edge of the cylinder and now you have a pot with a bottom.
When the seams are good and dry sand them a bit to soften the edges.
The handles are 1/14" x 3/16" and made from wire. I used 26 gauge paddle wire. I buy it in the floral department, it's wound on a plastic paddle and hanging on a peg hook. Use paper and Elmer's to glue on the handles on opposite sides of the pot, see diagram.
Canners have rolled edges and raised ridges on them. We are going to make these with buttonhole thread. Use Elmer's to glue thread around the top of the pot. Glue another piece of thread about 1/4" down from the top, under the handles, let dry.
Lid. Cut a circle of card stock the diameter of your pot. The lids are raised and that's done by making a cone and gluing it to the center of the circle.
**Do you have an architect's circle template? Michael's sells them, they are very useful.**
I used the 7/8" circle, marked the quarters and drew lines to find the center. Cut on one line to the center. Overlap edges about a 1/4" and glue together, let dry. To soften the pointed top, place your finger into the point and press onto a flat surface.
I made a lip on the lid so that it doesn't slip off the pot. This is the trickiest part. The lip needs to fit inside the pot. Cut a strip of card stock 3/32" wide, about 3 1/3" long. Place it inside the pot along the top edge to get a length. Pull it just a smidge more and glue the ends together. Center the lip on the lid/circle and glue with Elmer's, let dry. Flip the lid over and glue the cone shape onto the top of the lid in the center. Glue on the handle at the top of the cone just as you did the handles on the sides of the pot.
For a rolled edge on the outside edge of the lid glue on buttonhole thread.
Your canner is done!
I used Delta's Permenamel Emperor Blue, (a dark, dark blue) and Permenamel Ultra White. I finished with Permenamel Clear Gloss Glaze.
To speckle, I dipped an old toothbrush into the white paint and quickly ran a popcicle stick over the bristles.
If you are going to place jars of beans into the canner: cut the plastic canvas circle the diameter of the inside of your pot. Paint the plastic canvas circle silver. Glue 7 jars onto the plastic canvas, use Tacky for this, it sticks better to plastic. Coil a strip of card stock the width you need to keep the jars up and out of the pot. Glue the card stock into the pot, then glue the plastic canvas full of jars onto it. Take wire, painted silver, if needed, and bend it to resemble the handles on the jar basket of a canner. These can be pinched on or you can glue them.
**You can make these handles actually hold the plastic canvas if you want and discard the card stock coil. Make the handles from 1 piece of wire, bending over one side of the pot, going down and under the plastic canvas and up and over the other side. I have a diagram drawn. Do this and then paint it all silver and then glue on the jars.
At the time of year Wal-Mart should have canners to look at if you are not familiar with what they look like.
Thanks for taking time to stop by, take care and make minis! Kris Compas
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