Polymer Earrings!!

First things first, I apologize for the names of the steps. My brain isn't working correctly today. Sorry folks!

You may have heard of polymer clay, and saw all these amazing things, and said to yourself, "Yeah, no way, too hard." Well, that was me. But I gave it a try anyway. It turns out it is super easy and I got my practice by playing with Playdoh when I was younger. It's that easy. So I figured out how to make a stain-glassed type slab without cutting out all these tiny pieces. (I tried that the first time, it looked bad and it took forever!) It took some trial and error, but I think this is the best it can be. If you have any other ideas, put them in the comments below!! I could use some inspo.

You will need the following supplies for this project. Press on the link to buy off Amazon/Etsy.

• Polymer Clay- Fimo is one of the best brands, but any polymer clay will do. https://www.amazon.com/Fimo-Professional-Soft-Pol...
• Rolling Pin- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZP64Y7/ref=twister_...
• Exacto Knife- You need this to cut the clay without ruining the pattern you are making, so I used this. https://www.amazon.com/Precision-Architecture-Mod...
• Oven- I'm actually not going to put in a link for this.
• Cyclone Sheet- You can also use parchment paper if you don't feel like buying this; that's what I did. https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Silicone-Bakin...
• Pliers- I wasn't sure what to write so I'm just going to categorize jewelry tools as pliers. https://www.amazon.com/Cousin-4460-Craft-Jewelry-...
• Earring Supplies- I personally love this kit... it comes with everything you need for this project plus some. https://www.amazon.com/Earring-2320Pcs-Supplies-F...
• Popsicle Sticks- https://www.amazon.com/BAZIC-Jumbo-Natural-Craft-...
• Ruler- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916G2HLJ/ref=twister_...
• Cutters- This Etsy shop is my favorite place to get clay cutters from. She makes them all with her 3-D printer and they are all so unique! I absolutely love them. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LucyLolasClayCutters?re...
• OPTIONAL!! Sandpaper- You can use this to make the edges of your baked clay finer, but I am not going to teach you how to do this because, well, I don't know how to do it yet. And I'm not going to put in a link for this either because I'm not sure what's best to use.

So, you will need six colors of polymer clay for this project. For the best color scheme, I used five vibrant colors and black mixed with the smallest amount of dark, dark purple, that way the black makes every other color pop. But you can do whatever you want, it pretty much always looks good. Each of the five smaller masses of clay (vibrant) should weigh about .7-.75 Oz. The large mass (black) should about weigh 1.4 Oz.

Now, the easy part. Simply roll the five smaller portions (vibrant) into fat cylinders, like the photo above. Do not do this to the larger block of clay (black).

Now you can roll out the larger color. To evenly disperse this clay, I used two popsicle sticks. (See picture above.) Do not use two rulers, that will make it too thick. Then, cut in half and slightly stretch. It doesn't really matter what it looks like as long as there aren't any holes. Take mine for example. It looks horrible but the final product looks pretty darn good (if I do say so myself).

Then, you roll the lesser weighing masses of clay in the black like in the second picture.

Yup. Lots of rolling is required for this. HOPE YOU KNOW HOW TO ROLL!! Roll out the clay that is now covered in black so it looks like the picture above. That is just about it for rolling today folks.

Take your five long, licorice-looking pieces of clay and group them so they look like the picture above. Keep them straight so they don't look all wonky when you cut them.

Cut your roll of five colors in half so it looks like the first image. Then, cut those half in half so you have four. Lastly, align them together so they are symmetrical, like the second image.

Once you re-roll the clay back together, it will look like the first picture. Then... you have to cut it in half again and align it with the other half of clay again. Go back to the last step if you need help with this. I don't think you will have to, though. After your clay looks like the second picture, no more cutting! Just kidding. Next step!!

Yes, more cutting. Take your Exacto Knife, or whatever else you were using to cut, and slice your clay into tiny pieces about 1/4 of an inch thick. Don't worry if your cane becomes like the second picture, it's supposed to become oval-like. Then, line your clay up to it looks like the first picture, but do not overlap your clay.

Now, with your rulers in place of your popsicle sticks, roll out your clay so there are no gaps and so it is just about 1/4 of an inch thick. Then, with your clay cutters, cut out your clay. I like to set up my earrings before I bake them. That way I can put the holes into the clay before they are hardened and I don't risk cracking them. It doesn't matter if you put the holes into the earrings before or after, just do not forget to do so. One more tip; DO NOT THROW AWAY SCRAPS!!

Now, you have to bake your earrings. You have to be quite precise with this step, so follow carefully. Set your oven to convection bake 265°, and have either a pizza stone or baking sheet already in the oven so it warms up. After it goes off saying it reached the set temperature, set a 30-minute timer but do not put any of the clay in it yet. After that timer goes off, then you can put the clay in sitting on the pizza stone/baking sheet and a piece of tinfoil. For every 1/4 inch of clay is about 15 mins in the oven. So what I do is set a fifteen-minute timer and let it go off without worrying, and then I set five-minute timers until the clay starts looking darker. Once its color changes a bit, I take it out.

I'd show you how to actually make the earring part to it, but I have absolutely no idea how to explain. Sorry!!! I hope you had as much fun making this as I did, and if you don't like how it came out, practice makes perfect!! It took me a LOT of trial and error to finally get this to what it is now, so I know if you keep trying you can get it as well. Thank you for reading even though it was probably boring. Again, sorry for the horrible titles for the steps! I honestly could think of anything else to name them. If you have any ideas, please say in the chat!! Thank you!!!!!!!

-Ella :)