Friday, December 24, 2010

Tutorial - How to Make Polymer Clay Disk Earrings


I thought I would share this tutorial as our Christmas gift to all of our polymer clay followers.  We've been creating these fun disc style earrings in different styles and in custom Pantone colors for several years and are a lot of fun to make.  I've mixed up the top ten Pantone Spring 2011 colors including Honeysuckle which has been declared as Pantone's color of the year.  These earrings are created in this vibrant color but of course can be done in any other color or pattern of your choice.

I used Kato clay to create the honeysuckle color.  Measure out your clay by rolling each color out to the same thickness and using the same shaped cutter, cut out the number of pieces that are in the recipe.

You will need:  10 parts magenta, 1 part orange and 3 parts pearl


Mix your clay thoroughly and roll your clay sheet out on the 2nd thickest setting of your pasta machine (# 2 on an Atlas).  Create a pattern in your clay with a stamp or texture sheet.  Cut out two pieces by first laying plastic wrap down and using a 3 cm circle cutter.  The plastic wrap creates a nice bevelled edge.

  

To make the curved form I use the metal pieces from buttons you cover that are found in any sewing notions department.  For the disc earrings I'm using the 1-1/8" (28 mm) diameter size.


Centre each clay piece over a button form.  Gently pat down and smooth the edges.


You can highlight the raised areas of your piece with mica powders or leave them as is.  I'm using Pearlex in Flamingo Pink on these ones which will give a little more shimmer.


Bake your pieces right on the button forms for 20 minutes at the temperature recommended on your clay package.


After the pieces have cooled, pop them off the forms.  On the reverse side, spread a very thin layer of liquid clay (Kato, Fimo or Sculpey) of your choice.  This will help bond the unbaked to the baked clay pieces.


Take 2 eye pins, or make your own from wire and kink or bend the wire pieces with your pliers.  These bends will prevent the eye pins from pulling out after they are baked and won't require any glue after.


Roll more honeysuckle clay out on the 3rd thickest setting (#3 on Atlas) of your pasta machine and cut out 2 circles in the same size as your textured discs.


Make a mark on the back of your clay disc where you want the top to be and position your eye pin on the back at that spot.


Place your cut clay circle over top of the eye pin, lining up the two pieces at the top.


The clay circle will be slightly larger than the front baked piece so trim the edge with your clay blade or an exacto knife.


Smooth all of the edges with your thumb blending the raw clay into the baked front piece.


Texture the back and side edges with a piece of cloth or sandpaper.  This will help to camouflage any marks or fingerprints.  It will also embed the wire into the clay without it showing through.  One of my favorite textures for this are the mesh type bags that onions or other produce come in.


Bake your pieces again for 20-30 minutes at the temperature recommended on your clay package.


Apply several thin coats of your favorite glaze.  Click on the photo below to read more about glazing.


Hang your discs from your favorite ear wires or for longer earrings and a little more bling, add an extra bead between.



Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Brilliant! Thank you so much :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for such wonderful instructions. Can't wait to make some earrings

Eva said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial. I will try it!!
¡Feliz Navidad!
Merry Christmas and all my best wishes for 2011, with health and full of good times!!

Sharon House said...

Thanks Carolyn for the tutorial. Love the colour!

Have a happy Christmas and all the best in 2011.

Sharon
http://www.mystoryart.com

Kim S said...

Thanks for the great tutorial! Will you be posting recipes for the rest of the pantone spring colors?

2 Good Claymates said...

You are all very welcome.

Kim, I haven't really decided yet to post the remaining color recipes yet or not. Right now I'm working on a fun type tutorial that involves color mixing and blending and will include many of my special color recipes with some fun projects to make.

HollyBear said...

Thank you so much for sharing. This is great. Can't wait to try.

Dana Jones said...

Thank you for sharing this tutorial. You know I love all of your work. Hope you have a great Christmas and have a Happy, successful New Year. Tell Dave I said hi.

crazyQstitcher said...

Thanks for the wonderful tute. The earrings are beautiful.

K Ro said...

thank you Santa! ^^

Debbie Bellibone Goodrow said...

Thanks for the tute. Button covers from the fabric store. (whack to the forehead) Of course! Thanks for that priceless suggestion.

Monica said...

Thank you ! love from Norway :)

fashion jewels said...

Wonderful Tutorial....Thank you for Sharing...