Waterfall Necklaces with the New CaBezel Molds

I've been having fun making pendant pieces using the new CaBezel molds by Wendy Orlowski.  These ones have a hole in the center and I just love the new shapes.  They will be available soon at Shades of Clay and also in several sizes for each shape.  I can hardly wait and really excited to create with those as well.  I am thinking the smaller shapes would make great earrings to match the pendants.

I like to create the Bezel parts of the molds first so they are ready to fill with our various designs.

So all of these pieces that I created are interchangeable with a snap embedded into the back.  I shared a mini tutorial on how to do this in a previous post here.  The nice thing about making them interchangeable instead of adding a bail is that they can be worn in a variety of ways.  Every person has different preferences when it comes to wearing a necklace including size, color and even style.  With this method, we can create the art and the customer can decide how they want to wear it. 

I was photographing some of these pieces to list in our online store and made a cool discovery.  When I added them to our snap base with a chain tassel I noticed the chain would fit through the center hole of the pendant piece creating a cool waterfall effect!

No matter which shape I used, the chain fit through the hole and was perfectly balanced!

If you would like to create your own interchangeable snap necklaces we have several findings available in our Supply section of our online store (click on the photos for more info) with several items on sale until the end of the week or while supplies last.

Basic Snap Base Link with 2 Loops

Basic Snap Pendants

Snap Base Pendant With Attached Tube Bail

And to get you started, check out my Interchangeable Polymer Clay Jewelry in a Snap tutorial.  I share lots of tips and tricks on working with the metal snaps such as adding your clay creations, baking and finishing.

My tutorial (part 1 & 2 combined) is 25% off until the end of the month and you will receive your bonus personalized coupon code for 20% off your first purchase of snap supplies!

Framed Art Deco with the CaBezel Molds

We have been creating more snap designs using the CaBezel molds.  These ones are a smaller size made from the Geometric CaBezel.  I recently discovered that my Art Deco designs work beautifully in these!

I found that even though the design was slightly smaller than the cabochon part of the CaBezel, it actually increased the size of the pattern without distorting it!

Since we make a lot of snaps at a time we like to be organized and we make batches of the Bezel Frames at a time in the basic colors (black, purple, blue, etc.) and bake them.  They go into a bin ready to fill with the clay designs and they are even handier now with the snap added to the back!  This way I can see which shape and color frame goes best with the design I am working on.

These CaBezel with the Art Deco Snaps are on the Softglass cord (mini tutorial here) and is cool how you can rotate the snap to create your own look.  This is something you cannot do with a fixed bail.

I like the Softglass cord but sometimes we want a pop of color.  We finally found some beautiful polished cotton wrapped cord in an assortment of rich colors.  We have added a magnetic clasp and snap pendant with the tube bail to create a gorgeous choker style necklace.

These snap necklaces are now available in our online store in a wide assortment of colors.  They are perfect for adding larger size snaps as well as the regular ones.

CaBezel Designs in a Snap - A Learning Curve

I've been experimenting with a new concept using the CaBezel Molds with a snap.  I wanted to see how they would come out if baked on a form to give them a curved shape.  I quite like the end results as it seemed to give them a little more depth.  It is not that the flat designs aren't good -- I just thought it would add more interest to some of the designs.

In my tutorial, "Interchangeable Jewelry in a Snap!", I share my special method for baking the clay snaps so they hold their shape or don't roll around.  Baking pieces with a snap that are curved is a different scenario.  I generally bake these items on a cardboard tube cut in half and then wrapped in parchment paper to prevent the clay from sticking.  So how to balance them on the cardboard tube with a snap on the back?  I found a simple solution:  Punch a hole in the cardboard form for the snap to fit in!

I am quite pleased with my little discovery and now I can bake any curved bead in a snap!