Floral Heart Pendant

Design Team Member Nancy Nickel recently shared this pretty pendant made with Makin's Clay®.

Fall Jewelry Collection

Fall Jewelry Collection by Cynthia Gougian

This fall jewelry collection was fast and super easy to make!  I used simple techniques to create dramatic, contemporary looks.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many pieces I was able to create with just a small amount of clay and a few findings! 

Materials List:

·     Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®

·     Makin’s Clay®  30g  in yellow (1/2 of a 60 gram package)

·     Makin’s Clay®  30g in red (1/2 of a 60 gram package)

·     Makin’s Clay® 30g  in black (1/2 of a 60 gram package)

·     Makin’s® 3 piece oval cutter set

·     Wilton® 6-piece Nesting Fondant Double Sided Cutters,Leaf Cutters

·     Makin’s® 3 piece flower cutter set

·     An acrylic clay roller

·     A tissue blade

·     Cornstarch, or powder

·     400 grit wet dry sand paper 

·     Dust mask

·     Makin’s® Texture Sheets – Set H ( I used the sheet labeled “Abstract B”) 

·     Deco Color® Premium 3-way chisel point pen, gold (optional)

·     1.5 mm Wire ferrule (Sometimes labeled for 16 AWG wire)

·     1/16  drill bit

·     Earring Wires of your choice

·     4 mm and 6 mm jump rings, or jump rings in sizes of your choice

·     Necklace cord of your choice

Instructions:

I used a blended clay sheet to create a veneer.  I began by rolling out Makin’s Clay® 30g in yellow on the thickest setting of the Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®.

I then trimmed it into a rectangle shape.

I cut the rectangle into 2 triangles. Then, I stacked the triangles.

I repeated steps 1-3 with 30 grams of red clay.

I placed the stacked triangles next to each other. I offset the points of the triangles slightly.  Then I used my clay blade to trim the triangles into a square. 

I rolled over the seam with a clay roller to adhere the red and yellow clay.

I continued rolling until the clay was just a little thicker than the widest setting on Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®.

Then I rolled the clay through machine at thickest setting (setting #1).

I folded the clay in half. 

I then rolled the clay through the clay machine at the thickest setting, folded side first. 

I continued folding the clay in the same direction and rolling it through the machine. Each time the clay was folded and rolled; it caused the clay to blend.  In this photo, the clay had been folded and rolled about 6 times.

When I was satisfied with my blend. I trimmed the clay into a neat rectangle shape. 

I then rolled the blend, short side first through the clay machine on setting #4.

I used a knee-high stocking filled with cornstarch to dust the Makin’s® texture sheet-Abstract B.  Cornstarch prevents the clay from sticking to the texture sheet.

I placed the blended sheet of clay on the texture sheet.  Then I rolled over the clay firmly with my clay roller.

I rolled out 30g of black clay on setting 4 of the clay machine.

I then misted the black clay with water. 

I place the blended, textured veneer on the black clay.  Then, I gently patted the veneer to adhere it to the black clay without damaging the texture. 

I used one of the leaf cutters to cut a pendant from the veneer. 

Then, I used one of the smaller leaf cutters to cut my first earring. 

I flipped the veneer over, then used the same smaller leaf cutter to cut a second earring from the veneer.  Flipping the veneer over results in earrings that are mirror images of one another. 

I used a 1.5 mm wire ferrule to cut holes for jump rings in the pendant and earrings. 

I had plenty of veneer left over.  So, I used the largest oval cutter from the Makin’s® 3 piece oval cutter set to cut 2 oval shapes from the veneer. 

Then, I used the smallest oval cutter from the Makin’s® 3 piece oval cutter set to cut out the center of the large ovals. 

I also used the medium sized oval cutter from the Makin’s® 3 piece oval cutter set to cut two ovals from the veneer.  

I pinched the top of the oval to form petal shapes.

I still had a small amount of veneer left.  So, I used the smallest flower cutter from the Makin’s® 3 piece flower cutter set to cut  2 flowers from the veneer.

I allowed all the shapes to thoroughly dry for 24 hours. Then I sanded the edges with 400 grit sandpaper.  Please note, Makin’s Clay® should NOT be wet sanded.  It needs to be dry sanded.  And, a dust mask should be worn when sanding any material. 

After sanding, I assembled all the shapes into finished earrings and a pendant. First, I used a 1/16 drill bit to drill holes in the tops of the petal shapes

Then, I used the paint pen to apply gold to the edges of the petals.  

Finally, I used 6 mm jump rings to attach the petals to ear wires.

I also created earrings from the oval shapes.  I began by drilling holes in the large ovals. Then, I drilled the smaller ovals.  

I used 4 mm and 6 mm jump rings to attach the shapes to each other and to ear wires. 

 

The flower shapes became another set of earrings.  First, I drilled holes in them.  Then, I added gold paint pen to the edges.

I used four 4 mm jump rings to create dangles that I attached to ear wires.  

 

The leaf pendant and matching earrings were super easy to construct!  I simply used 6 mm jump rings to attach the shapes to ear wires and a pendant cord.

I am totally in love with Makin’s® Texture Sheets – Set H!  The “Abstract B” sheet is my absolute favorite.  I think the texture allowed me to turn simple shapes into hip, cutting edge designs. 

Cinnamon & Gold Earrings

Design Team Member Cynthia Gougian recently shared these fabulous "Cinnamon & Gold" Paisley earrings made with Makin's® Water Drop clay cutters. 

Peek a Boo Polymer Clay Earrings

Peek a Boo Earrings by Bea Grob

Recently, I was playing again with Makin's Clay®. These layered earrings, with a sort of a peek a boo effect with the shiny foil underneath.

Tools and Materials:

Makin's Clay® - White

Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®

Makin's Professional® Cutting mat (small)

Kemper tool smallest round cutter

Sculpey® hollow bead maker and graduated cutters

Transfer foil in the pattern and color you like

20 Gauge wire dead soft and wire tools for the earring hooks.

Instructions:

I started with some white clay, which I have run through the Makin's Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine® setting Nr. 2. My next step was to add the foil and burnish it down with the help of an old gift card.

Next, I picked it up at a corner (the foil is bigger then the clay) and ripped it off like a band aid.

Not all foils work equal, but this one I was lucky and it did work right from the beginning. If not, just reapply the foil after lightly moistening the clay and burnishing again.

Depending on the size of the earrings you want pick the right size of cutter to go with the hollow bead maker and cut out two circles.

Place them accordingly onto the bead maker and form them a little around the bend.

 

Now, press the next size cutter into the clay, but leave it there until you have cut out tiny holes. I used the Kemper tools, straws may work too.

Remove the cutter and lift the clay carefully with the help of a thin blade, try not to distort the round shape.

Place it over the foiled piece and again shape it accordingly.

I grabbed the cutter again to help shaping.

 

Make two discs the same size and let them dry completely. I let mine dry for about 36 hours.

 

I cut two pieces of 20 gauge wire about 5 inch long. I filed the end that goes through the ear.

Then I shaped it the way I wanted it to be and made some spirals at the end, which I then bended perpendicular.

To make them more stable and also give some structure, I hammered them flat.

Next, I filled the dry domes with some clay in the backside, filling the indentation completely. I pushed the earring wire into the clay. 

Of course, I want to have a nice back side to the earrings, so I cut circles of clay and placed on them on top.

So we have the back, but I wanted to add a little texture too. I also smoothed out the edges afterwards a seen on the right earring.