How to Cover a Polymer Clay Box with Extruder Cane Veneers

In my previous post, I showed you how to make a polymer clay box with scrap clay. Now, get ready to give that box a glow-up with a fun mix of extruder cane veneers.

This post turned into a long one with lots of pictures, so in the interest of not writing an entire novel, I’ve pared down the instructions a little. But don’t worry, you’ll still get through just fine. If you need a bit more detail, I’ve listed a couple helpful links at the end of the tutorial.

If you haven’t built your box yet, hop over to Part 1 where we construct it using scrap polymer clay and a peanut butter jar (or whatever kitchen doodad you’ve got handy).

Part 2 (the one you’re reading right now) covers:

• Creating four different extruder canes
  (I’m using my Picnic at Golden Hour color palette, but feel free to pick your own five-color combo)
• Assembling a patchwork veneer
  (I’ll show you how to back it with white clay so your scrap base doesn’t peek through)
• Finishing and embellishing the box
  (Because a patchwork polymer clay veneer deserves a finial with flair)

I’ve also added some texture to the bottom of the box, partly for looks, partly so you have one less surface to sand. You’re welcome 😉

Meet the Extruder Canes: 4 Easy Designs

Cane 1: Random Triangles

• The only cane in the set that uses all five colors—it ties everything together
• Random color placement keeps things dynamic and fun

Cane 2: Itty Bitty Flowers

• Extruded twice for maximum cuteness. Once for the petals and a second time for the whole flower

Cane 3: Floating Oval Rings

• Retro-inspired (and my personal fave)
• Make this one the same width as your final veneer strips to avoid the headache of pattern alignment

Cane 4: Dashes

• Super simple and effective
• Like the ovals, build this to size. Lining up half-dashes seamlessly is not a good time

A note about clay quantities:
I’ve used fractions of 2 oz blocks of clay for measurements. Since I wasn’t using clay straight from the package, I weighed everything using 8 grams for a generous 1/8 block.

Got your polymer clay box made and your color palette picked out? Let’s do this.

Tools & Materials

• Non-porous work surface — I work on either glazed tile or glass
• Pasta machine dedicated to polymer clay use — I use an Atlas 180 and will refer to the settings I use on my machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine an acrylic roller and some playing cards will do in a pinch, it’ll just take a little more work.
• Scrap polymer clay box
• Polymer clay — I’m using this color palette or choose your own five color palette
• Polymer clay extruder & the following disks
  • right triangle
  • teardrop
  • square
  • large rectangle
  • medium rectangle
• Polymer clay blade
• Parchment paper & burnishing tool of choice
• Translucent liquid polymer clay
• Texture sheet
• Acrylic block — not strictly necessary but nice to have for squishing clay balls
• Sanding block or coarse grit sandpaper
• Wet/dry sandpaper — I used 400, 600, 800, and 1000 grits

Directions for Polymer Clay Box Veneer

1. The Extruder Canes

Cane #1 — Random Triangles
Extrude your clay using a right triangle disk. I used approximately 1/8 block of clay for four of my colors and 1/4 block of a fifth, more dominant color.

Cut all of the extruded clay into equal-sized lengths. I wanted a 5 x 5 square cane, so I made sure to have 50 pieces in total.

Pair the pieces together into squares, making sure to evenly mix the colors.

Assemble the squares to form the cane. I kept the color placement somewhat random but made sure each row had a bit of every color. Be sure to alternate the direction of the diagonal line on every second piece.

Set the cane aside to cool and firm up before reducing. Freshly extruded clay can be quite soft and will distort easily, especially if you’ve just mixed the colors.

Cane #2 — Itty Bitty Flowers
Condition and roll 1/8 block of clay into a cylinder. Roll and stretch the cylinder until it’s about 2″ long. Wrap it with a second color, sheeted on the thickest setting (No. 0 on my Atlas).

Reduce the cylinder to fit the extruder, cap it with a circle of the outside color, and load it into the extruder with the capped end facing out. Extrude using a teardrop disk.

Trim the extruded clay and cut the rest into six equal lengths. Assemble them into a flower shape. Fill the gaps between the petals with tiny triangles of clay. Roll to smooth everything out, then wrap with a thick sheet of clay.

Reduce to fit the extruder again, cap with a circle of clay, and extrude through a square disk.

Trim the new extrusion, cut into 16 equal lengths, and assemble into a square cane. Set it aside to cool and firm up before reducing.

Cane #3 — Floating Oval Rings
Condition and roll 1/8 block of clay into a cylinder. Wrap it with a thick sheet of clay in a second color, then wrap again with a thick sheet of the first color.

Reduce to fit the extruder, cap with a circle of the outside color, and extrude using the larger rectangle disk.

Trim the extruded clay and cut it into 12 equal lengths.

Assemble the pieces into a running bond pattern. For every second row, you’ll need to cut one piece in half lengthwise to offset the pattern.

Let the cane cool before reducing.

Cane #4 — Dashes
Condition and roll 1/16 block of clay into a cylinder about 1 1/4″ long. Wrap it with three layers of a second color, all rolled on the thickest setting.

Reduce the cylinder to fit the extruder, cap with a circle of the outer color, and extrude using the medium rectangle disk.

Trim the extruded clay and cut it into 32 equal-sized lengths. Assemble into a long, narrow cane with a running bond pattern.

Let it cool before reducing. For this one, I only reduced enough to close up the gaps between the pieces.

2. Build the Veneer

Build small veneers tall enough to cover the height of your box and wide enough to wrap around the circumference when pieced together. Condition a solid color piece of clay and roll it out to the same thickness as your veneers.

Since my box is dark, I didn’t want it showing through any lighter colors in the veneer. I built my veneer on a thin (No. 8) sheet of white clay to block the darker clay underneath.

Cut strips from each veneer in varying widths. I stuck with straight strips, but angled cuts would add a different look.

Piece the strips together, alternating patterns and throwing in some solid-colored stripes to break things up. Keep building until your veneer is wide enough to wrap the box. Cover with parchment paper and burnish the seams.

Cut a straight line across the veneer to divide it into two pieces—one for the base, one for the lid. Measure first so you know exactly how much you’ll need for each.

3. Cover the Polymer Clay Box

Before applying the veneer, check how the lid fits on the base. If there’s an orientation where it just sits better, mark it on both pieces.

Apply a light coat of liquid clay to the box base. Start applying the veneer at the mark you made (if applicable), carefully aligning the top edge of the veneer with the top of the base.

Smooth out any trapped air bubbles by easing them down toward the bottom edge.

Burnish the seam where the veneer edges meet and trim off any excess clay at the base.

Repeat the same steps for the lid. Check that the stripes line up with the base and adjust before the veneer begins to bond.

Once the box is fully covered and trimmed, bake it at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay for 30 minutes.

4. Top and Bottom Covers

Once the box is cool, sand the edges with a sanding block to clean up any rough veneer edges.

Roll out two sheets of your solid clay on a medium-thick setting (No. 2). If you like, texture one sheet for the bottom of the box. Leave the top one smooth.

Apply a thin coat of liquid clay to the base and lid, then press on the sheets. Ease out any air bubbles toward the edges.

Trim the excess clay and make sure it meets the veneer cleanly without any gaps. Bake again for 30 minutes.

When cool, sand the box with wet/dry sandpaper. I like to do this now before adding the finial which just gets in the way of sanding.

5. Finish with a Finial

Top the lid with a finial. I made a weird swirly thing, but a simple round, teardrop, or coiled topper works too.

For mine, I used scraps from the veneer and rolled them into a log. I covered it with a veneer of the Random Triangles cane and smoothed the seam. Then I pulled the veneer ends over to fully cover the scrap core.

Roll the ends to taper them. The triangle pattern got a bit lost at the ends, so I gave them a couple of extra twists for flair.

Bend the rope in half, cross the ends, then twist and curl. Don’t worry if yours looks different. Go with your gut and have fun with it.

Gently flatten the bottom so it sits nicely and set aside.

Choose a contrasting solid color from your color palette and sheet it on the thickest setting. Cut a piece large enough to sit under the finial. Roll it into a ball and flatten it between sheets parchment paper by pressing straight down with an acrylic block. It should be slightly thicker than the thickest pasta machine setting.

Add texture if you like by pressing a texture sheet into the clay.

Lint check! Use a cotton swab and a bit of rubbing alcohol to clean off any sneaky fuzz before baking.

Apply liquid clay to the bottom of the finial and to the textured circle. Center the circle on the lid and gently press the finial on top.

Bake a final time for 45 minutes.

That’s It! You’re Done!

Here are a couple of links to help you further:

• How to Make a Trinket Dish with a Cane Veneer — find tips for creating seamless veneers and sanding for a beautiful finish
• Polymer Clay Extruder Flower Cane Tutorial — here you’ll find some helpful hints for choosing colors for smaller canes and why you should cap your ends when extruding clay

Your polymer clay box is now bursting with personality, and your scrap pile is a little less intimidating. If you went rogue with colors or finial flair, even better. I love seeing your spin on things! Tag me on Instagram @bysandracallander or show off in the Facebook group.