10 Tips for Perfect Polymer Clay Earrings

Many of my customers and followers love the idea of making their own Polymer Clay Jewellery and I can't blame them because I love it too so I wanted to share my top 10 Tips for Perfect Polymer Clay Earrings:

Use Sculpey Premo of Souffle. Do not use Sculpey 3! Sculpey 3 will be brittle and break easily once baked. Sculpey Premo and Souffle have a nice flex to them once baked ensuring you are making a durable piece of jewellery. Cernit is also highly recommended but these are the 2 brands I use the most.

Condition your clay well to prevent bubbles. If you are using a pasta machine keep running the clay through folding it in half each time and putting it through fold first to ensure air is not trapped.

Cut on a tile. I went to a local tiple shop and they let me grab a couple of tiles for $5 so don't go buying a big batch. Just pop to a small local store and you will get the best service. You can either bake on the tile as it can go in the oven or use a tissue blade to transfer to baking paper. Baking paper will give you a cleaner finish on the back. The tile will give a glossy finish which can easily be removed with sanding and will ensure that your pieces do not lose their shape. There is no correct method, just choose what suits you and your process and your particular design.

Dip cutters in corn-starch before using them and brush it off with a make up brush after. This Stops the clay sticking to the cutter leaving you with a nice satisfying peel.

 

UV Resin is a fantastic way to give that glossy finished look. A dome of resin changes a piece completely but remember, it is not essential. The natural matte finish of polymer clay is beautiful so I save UV Resin for those gem like finishes like below or if I have used a gold sheet or a transfer and want it to seal to prevent anything wearing off. You will need UV Resin (hard), a flame to remove bubbles and a UV lamp for curing.

Tip 6

Drill holes last. This is my personal preference because I find that it gives a super neat finish. If you drill holes before resin you will need to ensure the hole does not fill with resin. In the below example these holes were drilled after resin and I think the finish is cleaner this way.

Don't go crazy buying lots of colours when you are getting started. Sculpey have some amazing colours to get you started but you will find yourself mixing lots together as you have scraps left over. My personal suggestion is to pick some favourites and then but lots of white. Trust me, you can never have enough white!!!

Tip 8

8: Storage and organization is key. It can be overwhelming when you see videos online with people have entire rooms dedicated to their Polymer Clay business or hobby and, although this would be amazing, it is absolutely not necessary. I started with this trolley and it is still part of my setup today. 

These storage tubs below are from Supercheap Auto, small is $3.59 and bigger one is $6.99 (Australian). If you look for this type of thing from a craft store they would be much more expensive so think outside the box.

Liquid Polymer Clay is your friend! It can help soften clay but I mostly use it to bond pieces together. For example, I used it in my Macrame Collection to bond the 2 parts seamlessly together. I also used it for my bunny earrings.

You can use it on baked or unbaked clay, you just need to rebake your pieces once you have applied the Liquid Polymer Clay. It is fine to rebake pieces multiple times and is common for complex designs. Below is the Liquid Sculpey Translucent I use the most as it bakes clear.

Finishing off your pieces with quality Stainless Steel pieces and findings makes all the difference.

 

The most important thing is to enjoy your journey, find the styles you like to make and practice, practice, practice. There are endless techniques and tools to explore so have fun. If you love this article please follow me on Instagram and Facebook and let me know if you would be interested in more articles like this. Happy making!

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