Polymer clay earrings are a fun and creative way to add a personal touch to your accessory collection, and they make a great gift. Plus, making your own polymer clay jewellery is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon with friends.
We’ll walk you through the simple and rewarding process of creating your own beautiful polymer clay earrings.
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Why polymer clay is perfect for DIY earrings
Polymer clay is a widely available type of modelling clay made from vinyl. It remains soft and pliable until baked in a regular oven, which gives you plenty of time to perfect your designs before popping them into the oven to bake.
Polymer clay is also quite a versatile material that allows you to blend different colours, create new shades, sculpt detailed shapes, and add texture. Polymer clay can easily be sealed with UV resin or polycrylic for a glossy, polished finish.
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Choosing the right polymer clay for your earrings
The quality of your polymer clay matters! You’ll want a brand that’s soft enough to work with easily, but firm enough to hold fine details. Sculpey is a trusted brand globally – look at their Soufflè range, which is softer before baked and durable enough for earrings.
Be wary of unbranded clays, as they can be unpredictable – you don’t want to be stuck with brittle, unworkable clay.
Tools and supplies needed for making polymer clay earrings
One of the best parts of this craft is that you don’t need a ton of expensive equipment to get started making polymer clay earrings:
- Polymer clay: In various colours. Consider primary colours for easy mixing
- Earring findings: Posts, hooks, or clip-ons, depending on your preference
- Jump rings: To connect components
- Strong glue: Loctite 60 Second Glue
- Baking surface: Card stock or printer paper
- Clay cutters: A variety of shapes and sizes will expand your design options
- Hole-making tool: Small cutters or a skewer
- Acrylic roller: To create smooth, even clay sheets
- Baking sheet: Any will do
- Tissue blades: For lifting clay without distortion
- Jewellery pliers: For opening and closing jump rings
How to make your own polymer clay earrings, step-by-step
Now that we’ve gathered the materials, let’s get to the fun part – making your own polymer clay earrings.
1. Prep your workspace
Protect your work surface with parchment paper, a ceramic tile, or a piece of glass. Polymer clay can stain, so a dedicated surface is a good idea. Before you begin, wipe down your work area, tools, and hands to prevent dust or lint from getting into your clay.
2. Condition polymer clay
Conditioning is essential! It warms and softens the clay, making it pliable and preventing cracks. You can do so by warm the clay in your hands to flatten it, you can then use your acrylic roller to roll the clay out on your work surface, fold it in half, and repeat until it’s soft and flexible. Using a pasta maker to condition your clay can help you achieve the same results.
3. Mix polymer colours and shapes
Now’s the fun part – mixing and creating your own custom colours, shapes and combos! Experiment with different ratios to achieve your desired shades. For example: 5 parts blue, 2 parts yellow and 1/2 parts black makes a pretty green colour. Or, you can play with marbling different colours of clay by placing them together.
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4. Roll the clay
Once you’ve prepped and mixed your clay, it’s time to roll it out. Use the acrylic roller to roll the clay to approximately 3-5mm. Work on a clean surface to prevent imperfections.
5. Create your shapes
Once you’ve got a flat sheet, use clay cutters to create your earring shapes. Remove excess clay around the design.
6. Make holes for jump rings
Once you’ve cut out your earring shapes, use a small cutter or a skewer to create tiny holes for jump rings. Make sure you create the holes before you bake the clay!
7. Transfer and bake
Using a tissue blade, transfer your design onto a flat piece of card stock or printer paper and bake at 135°C for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Use an oven thermometer to ensure accuracy. The earrings will be flexible when you pull them out of the oven – you want that.
8. Allow to cool
Allow the clay earrings to cool at room temperature or dip them in cool water to speed up the process. You will be able to tell if the earrings cured properly if they still have a good amount of flexibility once they cool off. They should bend and then bounce back to their original shape without cracking or breaking.
9. Assemble
After your clay earrings have cooled completely, assemble your earrings with jump rings and earring findings. You can attach earring posts, or make a pair of dangly earrings.
There you have it! A handmade pair of polymer clay earrings.
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