Earrings

There are multiple ideas you can come up with when making your own polymer clay jewelry. Unlike with the necklaces or rings, size doesn’t matter as much in this case. As long as you have all the tools and materials to create your own earrings, you’re good to go. In fact, making earrings is less stressful than making a necklace for example because there is less demand for precision and symmetry is preferred, but optional. We’ll share just some of the most useful techniques and tips for you to remember when you are making your own earrings.

Materials and tools you will need:

• Polymer clay – you can choose whatever colors you would like, and you can mix them up in the process
• Rolling pin or a small glass jar
• X-ACTO knife
• Earring posts and backs – you can use different versions of these depending on what you would like to make
• Clay cutters – completely optional
• Cutting surface
• Baking sheet

When you have bought all the ingredients, start out with the surface. Keep in mind the surface should be covered, as clay can damage wood surfaces by leaving small particles. You can use tin foil or parchment paper to work on. After you have prepared the surface, start by working with clay and shaping it. If you plan on mixing colors, go ahead and experiment with them, but remember that once baked and dried out the colors will not be as bright as they used to be.

Once you have shaped the clay into a desirable form of earrings, it is the perfect time to make holes. If you are using earring posts and backs, we would advise you to be careful with this step as you don’t want to ruin the earrings’ unique shape. Pick up the earring gently, and carefully make a hole by pressing the earring post and back. Repeat twice and place the earrings on the baking sheet.

When you are done shaping the earrings and making the holes, you can place them in the oven. Bake the earrings according to the directions on the packaging. If you are not sure about the directions, and threw away the box (happens more often than you think) you can always look up the company that manufactured the clay, and find directions on their website. After the earrings are fully baked and dried out, you can add some glitter to them by using the super glue or you can paint over with liquid gold if you used white clay during the process. Don’t forget to match the earrings to the mechanism used, which will likely be metallic. If you are using posts for the earrings, make sure you use super glue to attach them by holding tight for at least 30 seconds each earring. Your handmade polymer clay earrings are ready, and you can wear them proudly to any occasion!

Necklaces

When you are planning to go out somewhere nice, but don’t want to spend too much money on a single necklace, there is a solution for you. Try making your own polymer clay necklace that you can wear on various occasions. It is easy to make, inexpensive, and you get to proudly wear your own creation, which is sure to be one of a kind. Here are just a few steps on how you can make a beautiful handmade polymer clay necklace.

Materials and tools needed:

• Polymer clay
• Acrylic paint
• X-ACTO knife
• Small paintbrushes
• Clasp
• 2 mm thick chain
• A jar or a rolling pin

Prepare the surface first and make sure it is all clean and perfectly flat. For this, you can use regular baking paper, or you can buy a small cutting board, as long as it is a comfortable workspace. Once you have prepared your working space and turned on the oven to start heating up, you can get ready for the next steps of making your necklace. Remember to follow your imagination and create anything you want. After you achieved the desired shape of the necklace whether it is a small pendant or a string of beads.

Use slightly wet paintbrushes to smooth the edges of your necklace. When you are just rolling out the clay, you can roll it out with a small rolling pin or a glass jar. Don’t be afraid to use your fingertips in the process as well, depending on the type of necklace you are using. Before you put the polymer clay necklace into the oven, make sure you are satisfied with the result, because it can’t be undone once baked.

Bake the necklace according to the guidelines on the polymer packaging. Also, this might come as a surprise that this is necessary to mention but remember that you cannot use the microwave to bake your necklace faster. Have some patience and trust the process. After the necklace is ready, set it aside to cool down. In the meantime, if you are using acrylic paint or liquid gold, you can start preparing the paint and paintbrushes.

Once the necklace is fully dry, go ahead and color it the way you like it. You can also play around with patterns for your necklace. For example, if you are making zebra-striped beads necklace, here’s a tip that will help you achieve it. Starе by painting the letter “Y” directly on the beads with some distance between the letters. Once you have covered the beads in the letters, you can add extra lines to them in chaotic order. This way you will achieve a classical zebra stripped beads necklace. After the paint has dried out you can wear your necklace. Make sure you don’t get the necklace too wet, as the paint might come off with time, and be careful not to drop it.

Rings

Clay jewelry has been gaining popularity in recent years because it is seen as a less flashy way to accessorize. We live in the fashion age of subtle expressions of taste, which is why there has been a shift to the matte finish of certain metals, if metals are chosen. The advantage of clay is that you can achieve both matte finish and glossy finish using the same material and it will fit both the materialistic and the minimalistic tastes in jewelry. To make a polymer clay jewelry, you don’t need many ingredients, and an additional plus is that they are all relatively inexpensive. If you’re not sure what kind of jewelry you would like to make or whether you have enough patience to make it, here is a simple DIY guide on how to make a simple and yet trendy piece of jewelry.

Things you need:

• Modeling clay – you can order it from Amazon or go to your local crafts store and they will help you choose the right clay. Choose any color you feel like choosing, there is no right answer here, the end product will be your own creation and interpretation of your personality.
• X-ACTO knife – used specifically for precise cuts and shaping of the clay
• Liquid gold paint
• Small paintbrushes
• Bamboo skewers

Once you have all the ingredients and tools ready, you can start the work! Prepare a clean surface where you will be rolling out the clay, as you don’t want to get dust or other particles on it. Start by rolling out a piece of clay into a longer shape, and you can adjust its thickness based on how thick you want the ring to be. After you rolled it out, wrap it around your finger to make sure you make it into the right size. Once you have completed this step, you can start shaping the ring.

The imagination is your limit at the next steps, and you can shape your ring to be edgier or softer, it all depends on your taste. Take the X-ACTO knife and start shaping the ring by cutting off or smoothing the edges. Once you have reached the desirable shape, transfer the ring to the oven. Now, different types of clay require different temperatures when baking. Simply follow the instructions on the box.

After the ring has been baked and cooled off enough for you to be able to pick it up, you can continue on to the pre-final step. Take the liquid gold pain and gently apply it onto the ring with the small paintbrush. The gold paint once dried out will give your ring a metallic kind of look. You can also choose another liquid paint based on your taste. The beauty is that you can apply as much or as little paint as you want. Once painted, gently put the ring on the bamboo skewers in a dry place. Let the ring dry out and you can start wearing your handmade ring made out of polymer clay.