How Do You Make Clay Jewelry At Home?

Making your own jewelry at home using clay is a fun and creative way to accessorize. With just a few simple supplies, you can craft beautiful necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and more out of polymer or air-dry clay. The benefits of making clay jewelry yourself include customizing pieces to your unique style, choosing colors and textures you love, and creating coordinating sets. It’s also more affordable than purchasing jewelry. From sculpted statement pieces to delicate charm necklaces, clay is a versatile material for beginner to advanced jewelry makers.

Gather Your Supplies

Before starting your clay jewelry making projects, gather some basic supplies. Essentials include:

• Polymer clay or air-dry clay – Sculpey and Fimo are popular brands of polymer clay that cure in a home oven. Air-dry clays can be molded then harden when left to dry in the air.
• Clay tools – A basic set includes a roller, cutters, and sculpting tools for shaping the clay.
• Findings – Jewelry findings like clasps, pins, and eyelets are used to finish off pieces and allow them to be worn.
• Embellishments – Get creative by adding beads, charms, glitter, and other extras to your clay jewelry.
• Jewelry pliers – Needle nose and round nose pliers help attach findings to finished jewelry pieces.

You may also want access to an oven, paints, and a sealant like Mod Podge or glaze. Gathering your supplies ahead of time ensures you have what you need to complete your clay jewelry projects.

Gather Your Supplies

Before you can start making clay jewelry, you’ll need to gather some basic supplies. Here are the main items you’ll need:

• Clay – Polymer clay, like Sculpey or Fimo, is the most common type used for jewelry. Make sure to get an oven-bake clay.
• Clay tools – Things like a roller, cutters, sculpting tools, and silicone work surface will help you shape and mold the clay.
• Findings – These are the jewelry pieces that connect your clay elements, like clasps, pins, jump rings, and earring hooks.
• Jewelry wire – You can use wire to attach findings or make wire wrapped elements. Look for craft or artistic wire.
• Beads – Embellish your clay pieces with complementary beads. Glass, wood, or metal beads work well.

You may also want baking parchment, acrylic roller, ruler, glue, and paints or metallics to decorate your finished pieces.

Choose Your Clay

The two main types of clay for jewelry making are polymer clay and air-dry clay. Polymer clay, such as Sculpey or Fimo, is oven-baked to cure it. Air-dry clay, such as Crayola Model Magic or Original Sculpt, hardens as it dries without baking. Both have their advantages.

Polymer clay offers a smooth, consistent texture and vibrant colors that don’t fade over time. It’s very durable once baked and doesn’t shrink as it cures. Popular brands like Sculpey and Fimo have many different formulas with unique properties. For example, Sculpey III is soft and easy to condition while Premo is firmer with more detailed textures. Polymer clay works well for delicate jewelry pieces.

Air-dry clays allow more working time and you can build thicker pieces without worrying about proper baking. The texture can vary from smooth like Original Sculpt to lightweight and spongy like Model Magic. Air-dry clay is budget-friendly and comes in neutral colors that you can paint. However, it’s less durable over time and prone to shrinking and cracking as it dries. Air-dry clays suit chunky, rustic designs.

When selecting clay, consider the visual appeal, durability, and how it handles for the type of jewelry you want to make. Test different clays to find your favorite properties. Refer to manufacturer guidelines on baking and drying times.

Model Your Jewelry

Once you have selected your clay, it’s time to start shaping and modeling it into the pieces for your jewelry. An important first step is to condition the clay by kneading it thoroughly before use. This makes the clay smooth and pliable so it’s easier to shape.

There are many techniques for modeling polymer clay jewelry. To create basic shapes, you can roll the clay out flat using an acrylic roller or pasta machine and then cut out shapes with cookie cutters or an X-Acto knife. Clay can also be hand-shaped by pinching, pulling, twisting, and sculpting it into unique organic forms.

Some key modeling techniques include:¹

• Rolling clay into ropes, balls, and teardrop shapes
• Sculpting with fingers, acrylic tools, or clay shapers
• Texturing clay with stamps, molds, or found objects
• Stacking and layering different colors and patterns
• Bending and twisting clay into spirals, loops, and coils

Once your polymer clay creations are modeled, they need to be cured in the oven to harden the clay. Follow the baking instructions on the clay package, usually around 265°F for 15 minutes per 1⁄4 inch of thickness. Let cool completely before handling.

Add Embellishments

Adding embellishments is a fun way to decorate and personalize your clay jewelry. Here are some ideas for ways to embellish your pieces:

Painting or stamping the clay before or after baking is a simple embellishment technique. Acrylic paints work well for adding color and designs. You can also use rubber stamps with ink to imprint patterns and textures onto the clay. Let paints and inks fully dry before baking the clay.

Incorporate beads, charms, and gems to add interest to your jewelry. Take care not to overload the piece – a few key charms or crystal stones can go a long way. Use strong glue like E6000 to firmly adhere embellishments. Allow the glue to fully cure before wearing.

Consider adding texture by pressing items into the clay before baking. Try seeds, beads, sequins, or small shells. Bake the clay with the items embedded to create unique impressions.

Cut outclay shapes using tiny cookie cutters and layer or attach them onto your main focal piece. This adds dimensional details.

Embellishments like ribbons, lace, or raffia can be incorporated by cutting slits in the baked clay and threading material through. Secure with strong glue.

Let your creativity run wild when adding embellishments! Layer multiple techniques like painting, stamping and attaching charms to make truly one-of-a-kind jewelry creations.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/embellish.handmade/?hl=en

Attach Findings

Findings refer to the parts used to finish a piece of jewelry, such as clasps, jump rings, earring hooks and posts, and pin backs. Attaching these findings properly is a crucial last step in completing polymer clay jewelry. There are a few techniques to secure findings so they stay on through regular wear and tear:

• For dangle earrings, insert the earring post through the top hole of the polymer clay while it is still soft or use a drill bit to create a hole after baking. Apply instant glue inside the hole and insert the finding. Let dry completely.
• To add a pin back to a brooch or pendant, flatten a small piece of fresh clay and place the finding face down. Apply more fresh clay over the back and smooth to fully encase the finding. After baking, glue can also be used for extra security.
• When adding a clasp to a necklace or bracelet, use jump rings to connect the ends of the chain to the clasp. Use quality pliers to carefully open and close the jump rings without distorting their circular shape, which can cause them to fail.

Always check that findings are securely fastened by gently tugging on them before wearing or selling any polymer clay jewelry. Properly set findings that are suitable for the weight of the piece will allow your handmade clay designs to be comfortably worn and treasured.

Finish Your Pieces

One of the most important steps when making polymer clay jewelry is properly finishing your pieces. After baking, polymer clay can have a matte finish and be prone to scratches and dents. Finishing the clay gives it a glossy look and helps protect it.

Start by sanding the surface of the baked clay lightly with fine grit sandpaper or a nail file, which will smooth out any rough spots. Be careful not to sand too much or you may remove details. Next, buff the sanded clay with a soft cloth to create an initial shine.

For more polish, use a buffing wheel attachment on a rotary tool. Apply buffing compound to the wheel and hold your piece gently against the spinning wheel to buff it to a brilliant sheen. Be careful not to overheat the clay when buffing. Alternatively, you can achieve a polished look by hand rubbing the surface with liquid polymer clay.

After polishing, it’s important to seal the clay to protect the finish. One of the most popular sealants for polymer clay is Varathane water-based polyurethane in gloss finish, which provides a clear, non-yellowing protective coat (https://www.amazon.com/hz/reviews-render/lighthouse/B000ARPH4C?filterByKeyword=polymer+clay&pageNumber=1). Apply 2-3 thin coats with a soft brush and allow drying completely between coats for best results.

Create Matching Sets

One of the most rewarding parts of making your own clay jewelry is being able to create perfectly coordinated sets. You can mix and match shapes, colors and textures to make earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more that complement each other beautifully.

For example, you could sculpt a series of circular beads and use some of them to form dangling earrings. Then use the remaining beads to make a necklace that matches perfectly. Or you could make a series of different shaped and sized beads and string them together in different combinations to create both bracelets and necklaces.

You can also reuse elements across multiple pieces. Make a large focal bead for a necklace, then use leftover clay from that to create smaller versions for earrings or a bracelet. The possibilities are endless when you are working with clay.

As you make more jewelry, you will get a feel for which shapes, textures and colors you like to combine. Then you can develop your own cohesive sets. Mixing and matching your handmade clay components results in jewelry with a custom, handmade look you can’t find anywhere else.

Troubleshooting

Making clay jewelry at home can sometimes run into issues. Here are some tips for troubleshooting common problems:

Avoiding Cracks

Clay cracking is one of the most frustrating issues. To prevent cracks, avoid thick layers and blend seams thoroughly. Bake at the proper temperature – too low can leave moisture, while too high causes cracks. Let pieces cool completely before handling. Conditioning the clay properly and avoiding overworking it also helps prevent cracks according to this source.

Fixing Mistakes

Don’t worry about mistakes! Clay can easily be reformed while soft. Use a clay softener like liquid polymer clay to soften already baked pieces. Sand rough areas with fine sandpaper. Fill gaps by attaching a small piece of fresh clay. Over-baked pieces can be sanded and buffed as well according to this tutorial.

Storing Clay Long-Term

For long term clay storage, tightly wrap cooled clay in plastic wrap or bag it to prevent air exposure. Store clay away from light, heat, and humidity. Placing it in the freezer further prevents moisture absorption but allow it to fully thaw before using again according to this guide.

Inspiration and Ideas

If you need some inspiration for fun and creative clay jewelry designs to try, there are many sources to explore. Check out sites like Pinterest and Etsy for thousands of patterns and tutorials. For example, Karen’s Corner Studio on Pinterest has boards dedicated to clay earrings, pendants, focal beads and more (https://www.pinterest.com/Karenscornerstudio/). Searching for “polymer clay jewelry design ideas” on sites like Lemon8 will also pull up tons of photos to spark your creativity (https://www.lemon8-app.com/discover/polymer%20clay%20jewelry%20design%20ideas?region=us).

You can find step-by-step polymer clay jewelry tutorials on YouTube channels like Polymer Clay Tutor and Cynthia Tinapple. Craftsy and Creativebug also have video classes for making clay jewelry. For free patterns, check out sites like CraftARTedu and Fire Mountain Gems. Or get inspired by clay artists on Instagram and TikTok.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your own designs too. Combine colors and shapes in new ways to make your clay jewelry stand out.