Wipe the dust off of your work area. Clay has a tendency to pick up dust and fuzz, marring the surface you want to create.
Knead the sterling silver clay between your hands and on the table to make it soft and pliable. When the clay is hard, it has a tendency to crumble and flake.
Sprinkle baby powder or cornstarch onto your work surface so your clay does not stick. With a clay rolling pin, gently roll out your clay so it measures about 1/2 inch thick, 6 to 7 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. While rolling your clay, make sure to remove any bubbles.
Set your clay conditioning machine between four and five centimeters, depending on how thick you want your bracelet to be. Run your clay through the machine five times, folding the clay in half with each pass. This will help with condition the clay and remove more bubbles.
Wrap the clay around your wrist so you can measure how much clay you need for the bracelet. You should have an opening between the two ends that is an inch wide. If you do not have this space, use your fingernails to create notches to indicate where you need to cut for the opening.
Lay the clay on the table. Cut off the portions you created with the clay knife. If necessary, also trim around the form so it's 2 to 3 inches wide. Also make sure the bracelet is 4 to 5 centimeters thick so you have enough depth for your opal pieces. If necessary, you may need to run your clay through the clay machine again to ensure you have the proper thickness.
Dust the glass bottle with baby powder or cornstarch. You want the bottle to be the same size as your wrist, but big enough to create an inch-wide gap between the ends of the clay.
Wrap your clay piece around the bottle. Make sure the clay is not buckling in areas, which will cause the bracelet to be misshapen.
Place the bottle with the clay in the freezer for 15 minutes. This will give the clay a chance to adhere to the bottle and make the clay harder for the opal chip placement phase.
Take the bottle out of the freezer and put it on the work surface. Run your thumb over the top of the clay to warm it slightly.
Arrange your opal chips. Place pieces of similar size, shape and color next to each other for flower petals, and the flower's center can be created with rounder and darker opal chips. Make sure these pieces will fit without going outside of the perimeter.
Place the center pieces of the flowers onto the clay, gently pressing until the opal is flush with the clay while the clay is still on the bottle. These will be the starting points for your flowers. Once you have the centers arranged, begin adding the opal petals around the centers to create daisies or asters.
Remove the opal chips gently using a metal embroidery needle. The needle can get between the opal and the clay with few blemishes. Remove the opal in sections, keeping each flower in a separate pile so you can easily place these flowers in the appropriate spots later.
Place a piece of foil on the grate of a craft or commercial oven. The foil will help prevent dents in the clay during the baking process.
Place the bottle with the clay in the oven. Make sure there is even space between the bottom and top of the oven so you don't burn your clay.
Follow the factory directions for your clay's baking time. Allow the clay to cool for several minutes once baking is complete.
Set up a crock pot used for clay. These pots are sold in craft stores.
Pour two cups of water and two large tablespoons of silver jewelry pickling mix into the crock pot and set the temperature to high so the water boils.
Remove the bracelet from the bottle and place it in the crock pot. Remove the bracelet when the silver jewelry pickling mix turns the bracelet white.
Place the bracelet on the fire brick. Turn your torch on and hold it at a 45 degree angle. Fire around the bracelet first to heat the brick and around the perimeter of the bracelet. The particles will start to burn off. Heat the piece until it turns peach. Keep the torch moving so you don't have an uneven burn, the corners don't curl and the piece doesn't melt.
Allow the bracelet to cool. When it cools, it will turn white again.
Use a metal brush to remove the powder. Be gentle when rubbing the white surface off, because you will be revealing the silver under the powder. Don't scratch the surface of the silver. Move the brush in small circles so you can be sure to remove all of the powder.
Rinse the bracelet under water to remove all the powder after brushing. Polish the silver with the soft cloth.
Fill a plastic cup with water. This water will be used for the paper clay.
Cut an inch-by-inch square from the main brick of paper clay. Place this piece of clay in the water and wait an hour, until the clay is almost liquid.
Place the moist paper clay into the PMC3 9gm syringe. If you prefer to not use the syringe, a paint brush works.
Check to see where each opal piece fits in your prepressed bracelet. Once you determine the correct order, turn the opal chips over to the side you do not want to see on the completed bracelet.
Use the syringe or paint brush to dab the paper clay on the centers of the opal chips. Make sure this clay is on the side that will be hidden. Paper clay dries quickly, so quickly add the clay to the back, then immediately place the chips in their slots.
Press the chips into the slots firmly so they are secure. Allow the paper clay to dry overnight.