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I love this project! It’s easy, it doesn’t take a ton of time, and you can get A LOT of different types earrings out of just a few hunks of clay. Here are some basics on how to make earrings out of polymer clay. This tutorial is meant for beginners but please play with it! I could have spent all day making different textures and color combos. There’s really no limit to what you can make with this.Materials:
- Polymer Clay (I LOVE this set!)
- Cutters (I used a these as well as some fondant cutters)
- Rolling Pin (Here’s the one I use.)
- Small Pliers
- Jewelry Jump Rings, such as these.
- Earring Posts
- Super Glue or E6000 Adhesive
- Paper Clip
- Damp Towel or Makeup Wipe
- Parchment Paper
- Sculpey Glaze (Optional)
Before working with any kind of polymer clay, make absolutely sure the surface area and your hands are clean clean clean! Clay (especially lighter colors) will pick up everything in the universe. After washing my hands 3 or 4 times before switching colors, I came up with the idea to grab a makeup remover wipe and felt like an absolute genius. It works so well! I used it not only on my hands, but on my working surface and the cutters before moving on to another color.
The first technique I tried was marbling. All you have to do is take any two colors, make two “snakes,” twist those babies together, and roll them into a ball before flattening them out with a roller. The more you twist, the more “marbly” your clay will turn out. For all my earrings, I rolled the clay somewhere between 1/8″ and 1/16″ in thickness.
The other technique I used was so fun! Basically you roll out a slab of clay, pop on some mini balls of another color, and roll it! I LOVE the way this slab turned out. You could do this with any shape you want! Even cut out smaller shapes with your cutters and add those.Once you’re done experimenting with mixing and marbling the clay, cut them out! I linked to a few cutters that I really like and use, but honestly any tiny clay, cookie, or fondant cutter will do just fine. I am a big fan of x-acto knives and use them for just about everything, so if you want a little more freedom, this is a great option!
I cut mine out right on a piece of parchment paper because I found that the less I handled them the better! This way I could just pick up the whole sheet of paper and transfer it to a baking sheet when it came time.
Next up, figure out your earring designs and what pieces it will take to make them. Poke holes with a paper clip where you plan on adding your earring jumps. It’s been my experience that you need to make the holes a little larger than you think you should. If you don’t make them big enough, you will need to “blast” a hole with the earring jump when it’s already baked and that will make it jagged. Next up, bake! With polymer clay, you want to bake it at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes per 1/4″. Therefore the earrings only need baked for 15 minutes. When they come out, they should be pliable. They’ll harden all the way when they cool down a bit.
After the pieces are baked, I coated them with Sculpey Gloss Glaze. This is totally optional, but I think it makes them look way more professional and finished.After about an hour, the glaze should be dry enough to handle. Just add the jumps with the pliers. If the jumps you have are too small, you can make a “chain” using 3 small jumps to connect the pieces.After adding the jumps, all you have to do is attach your posts! You can use superglue or E6000, which is what I use for just about everything.There you have it! Look how cute! And the possibilities are endless!
Lacey Barber Creative 