New Flatback Crystals for Polymer Clay

I like to incorporate crystal rhinestones into my clay designs.  They make a perfect accent and give the pieces a more finished look plus who doesn't love a little bling?  Up until recently, I used exclusively genuine Swarovski crystals, however, they quit producing the type that is compatible with the clay (flatbacks with the hotfix glue) and what colors remain on the market are very limited but also very pricey.

I go through a lot of crystals in my work and since my stash was running low and Swarovskis were difficult to find, I had to come up with another solution.  I have since discovered new crystal rhinestones that are manufactured right here in my own country of Canada!  These crystals are amazing!  I find the cuts are very close to the Swarovski crystals (and is hard to tell the difference, really) and the colors are so rich and intense.

Because I order huge amounts, I get volume pricing and decided to make them available in our online store.  I have them available in 3 of the most popular sizes - 4, 5 and 6mm. 

Here are some samples of what is already available in my shop and I have matched some of these up with the new Pantone spring colors for visualization.  You can click on any of the photos below to see that specific crystal color listed.

The yellow crystals shown below are what they call "AB" which is an abbreviations for "Aurora Borealis".  These give off a sort of rainbow effect when they reflect the light.  Their beauty is difficult to capture in a photograph.  The crystals here are the same in both photo and with the Pantone Spring color Daffodil, but appear differently depending on the angle of my camera.

Here is another gorgeous color that has 2 main colors that reflect but also have an "AB" finish.  These are shown on two of the Pantone Spring colors, Innuendo and Dahlia.  See how the crystals pick up the color of whichever one they are on?

The crystals shown below are a blue and turquoise green combo and here they are on the Pantone Spring color, Skydiver.

The crystals below are called Hyacinth.  They reflect an orangey type red and are shown here on the Pantone Spring color Poinciana.  These crystals are one of my favorites and was very difficult to capture their true beauty.

The Aqua crystals shown here do not have the AB or reflective coating but are still very stunning due to the cuts and clarity.  Here they are shown with the Pantone Spring color Spun Sugar which compliment quite well.

And of course these purple crystals are very different than your typical Amethyst color.  The purple color is quite deep and intense and also a perfect compliment to the Pantone color of the year, Very Peri!

The crystals shown below are my absolute favorites!  They are a White Opal and have a milky  appearance.  I love how they make a great accent instead of plain clear crystals and find they combine well with my screen prints when I use white acrylic paint to create the patterns.  They work well when I do not have that perfect color match to the clay.

I have more colors listed in my online store which you can check out here along with other jewelry supplies that I use in my tutorial lessons.

Playing Around With Metal Pieces

I created a new line of chunky jewelry designs for my fall collection last year by combining large metal charms with snap bases.  These were not only fun to create but are so much fun to wear.  There is a snap base for interchanging the decorative snaps and the entire piece clips off the cord for interchanging onto different necklace chains or cords.

This year I decided to kick it up a notch and finally had some time to play around more with these large metal charms. There are so many things that can be done with them.  Here are just a few examples of which I will be sharing some tips on a little later.

Creating faux gemstones with resin:

Or filling in with a faux enamel look:

Adding smaller Swarovski crystals or rhinestones to the small bezels in the pieces.

For another look, back-filling the pieces with polymer clay.

And finally, creating a mold or texture -- then creating your polymer clay pieces from it.

I find the metal charms quite appealing but I am more drawn to color over the plain silver.  Working the design into clay completely transforms it!  And the sky is the limit to how you want to create.

I have a selection of these large charms available in my online store under the DIY supplies section.  Over the next week I will be sharing some tips on how to work with these beautiful pieces using various materials like polymer clay, resin and inclusions.

Q-Tip of the Day

We love adding crystal rhinestones to some of our work to give it some sparkle or bling.  We only use the genuine Swarovski crystals from Austria as they are the best quality with perfect cuts and sparkle.  

I recently came across a simple tool for picking up and positioning these crystals that works like a charm and is in the form of a pencil.

Use a regular pencil sharpener to give it a point.

Then pick the rhinestone crystal up by applying just a little bit of pressure to the center.

It will stay on the tool while you position it on the clay design.  

If your clay is really soft, you can even use the pencil to gently push the rhinestone in to set it.  We use Kato clay, however, which is much firmer so we use an empty tip from a pen as a tool to set them in.

I was working with some smaller 4mm size rhinestones the other day and the pen blank was just a little too large so I was looking around the studio for something that was smaller and a better fit.   I then noticed our little jar of Q-tips on the table and there it was!

The Q-tips are handy for so many things and I like to cut them in half and store them this way.

I remembered that some of the plastic type Q-tips are hollow inside and the ones we had were that type.  When I tested one out on the smaller rhinestones, I discovered they were a perfect fit!

If you are looking for some genuine Swarovski crystals to use with your clay, we purchase large amounts in bulk and have them for sale in our online store.  We even found these cute little containers for storing and keeping them handy and with the purchase of a variety mix or minimum 5 packages in colors of your choice, you will receive a Rhinestone Pick-up Pencil as a bonus gift.

Working with Swarovski Crystals

Adding genuine Swarovski crystals to our work really gives our pieces that special touch and added sparkle. We mainly work with the "Hot Fix, Flatback" type.  When the clay pieces are baked, the special type of glue on the back is activated giving an extra secure hold.

The larger Swarovski Rivoli crystals like the one used in this scarf charm below, don't come as "hot fix" so we have our own method of securely fitting them into our designs.

We always have a wide assortment of Swarovski crystals in assorted colors and sizes to work with and found the little pill containers work great for keeping them all sorted and organized.

Some of the clay techniques we do require sealing such as applying mica powders or inks.  They will go through a process of two types of glazes, the first of which is a spray called Preserve Your Memories 11 (PYM11).  When applying the spray onto pieces that have Swarovski crystals embedded can leave a film over them so they require cleaning.  I have found that the Alcohol Blending Solution by Adirondack, works beautifully for this.  I just add a bit of the solution to a q-tip and wipe the crystals until they come clean and their sparkle returns.  I usually do this after applying the second type of glaze and before baking the pieces to harden the glaze.

Some bling for our new designs

We have been in Spokane, Washington the last few days enjoying some time with family.  One of the things  Canadians enjoy the most while visiting the U.S. is shopping.  Since Rings & Things have their main showroom in Spokane, we had to pay them a visit and pick up some goodies!  They have such a huge selection of everything needed for jewelry making but we had to restrain ourselves and mainly pick up items that were needed or difficult to find in Canada.  The gorgeous crystals in some unique colors were too hard to pass up and I think will add more bling to our jewelry designs.

I love these Rivoli crystals which will be used in our new pieces for Christmas.  We bought a wide range of colors so should be lots of fun to play with!


Heading back home to Canada today and will have more Pantone Fall Color Recipes and ideas for you tomorrow....