Month: June 2017

Fixing Chipped China

~ Nadine

http://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/where-to-purchase-ceramic-restoration-supplies.html

How-To: Mend Chipped Dishes

http://miss-beatrix.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/how-to-repair-chips-in-pottery-and.html

You will need:

  • White Fimo polymer clay
  • A fine paintbrush
  • Ceramic paint if your item is anything other than white (you need so little that it’s worth buying those teeny pots in you get in the kids’ section at art shops, or in mug or piggy bank painting kits)
  • Varnish the same finish as your chipped item – usually gloss
Start off by giving the piece a really good wash, as you don’t want to be trapping any germs or dirt into the chips, especially where food is involved. This gravy boat was filthy! With clean fingers take a tiny amount of your Fimo and knead it a little to make it pliable.
All you have to do is use your Fimo as polyfiller. Push it into the chip and smooth it over with your fingers so that it blends flush with the china. Take your time, you can always remove the Fimo and start again until you’re happy with the result. Remove any excess from around the chip; you want as little as possible to paint later.

Pop the item in the oven. You should bake Fimo at 130C for 30 mins, but if your piece is not ovenproof (ie., an ornament) you’ll need to turn the oven down much lower and leave it in there longer. It’s also a good idea to sprinkle some water on it too, avoiding getting the chip wet.
Allow the piece to cool completely, and use your sandpaper or emery board to smooth the Fimo so it’s completely flush. Next, mix your ceramic paint to the colour required. Paint over the Fimo. You may need two coats. It was almost impossible to match the green colour exactly here so I aimed to make the chips as near as possible so they would no longer be obvious. Again, with white you won’t even need paint and the repair will be far more difficult to spot – result!
Now you need to pop it back in the oven, again at 130C, for 20 minutes, to seal the ceramic paint. Once cool, varnish… and there you have it. Much improved!

One last note – if your chipped object has a gold edge which you’re feeling nervous about painting back on, try a Sharpie Paint Marker in gold. You can buy them with very fine nibs and you’ll get a much neater finish – then just varnish over the top.

Humus Yael

~ Nadine

15-20 minutes boil and simmer beans, 2 cans, til soft

Keep some beans for decoration

Blend in food processor:

2 garlic cloves

Teaspoon honey

Cumin, salt, pepper

1 and ¼ cup techina

Water from boiled beans

Drop of lemon