Handmade Clay Jewelry: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Stunning Polymer Earrings, Necklaces and More

By Meghan Allen

Everything You Need to Know to Make Modern Polymer Clay Jewelry

Meghan Allen, creator of Clay + Bloom, has spent years honing the art of polymer clay jewelry—and now she shares all of her expert advice with you. Full of tips, tricks and stunning step-by-step projects, this comprehensive guide will arm you with all the knowledge you need to create trendy, stylish pieces that you can wear with pride.

Meghan helps you get started the right way by teaching you how to select the best-quality tools and materials, condition your clay, cure your designed pieces and assemble finished jewelry. Once you master those foundational skills, you can delve into specialized techniques, such as mixing gorgeous custom colors, adding texture, marbling multiple colors of clay together and more, to make your designs stand out in a crowd. All of your newfound knowledge comes together to create one-of-a-kind statement pieces like Speckled Terra-Cotta Arch Earrings, Midnight Glitter Ring, Hammered Brass Earrings, Rainbow Necklace, Retro Checkered Flower Studs and more!

Whether you are looking to bolster your own jewelry collection, create standout gifts for friends and family or build a business selling your own creative accessories, Meghan’s fun and approachable projects will set you up for success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Apr 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781645674894

Book preview

HANDMADE

CLAY JEWELRY

A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Stunning

Polymer Earrings, Necklaces and More

meghan alien

Creator of Clay + Bloom

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Copyright Page

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my husband, Ricky, for cheering me on and supporting me in all that I do, and to my mom, for inspiring me to do hard things with strength and courage. Thank you both. You’re my heroes.

INTRODUCTION

Picture this: A young woman in search of a new hobby and a potential side hustle stumbles upon a brief, generic tutorial on Pinterest for making earrings out of polymer clay. She forgoes extensive research because it’s all too overwhelming, and she buys some cheap materials on Amazon, paying little to no attention to quality. The supplies arrive in the mail and she eagerly opens them to get started, confident that she’s about to create a true work of art.

She fumbles through the process, trying to create a minimal, white- and camel-colored pair of rectangular stud earrings. She finishes the earrings, aware that they’re far from perfect, but proud of her first step in the learning process and anxious to practice more. She throws on her new pair of handmade earrings, excited to wear them out and showcase her new creation, only to be met with a stranger’s comment that she’ll never forget. Oh my gosh, I thought those were cigarettes on your ears! She could feel her face turning bright red as she realized she had, indeed, made a pair of earrings that resembled cigarettes, totally by accident.

That young woman is me. I’m the girl with the cigarette earrings. It’s okay—you can laugh! I laugh about it now too. At the time, though, I was embarrassed and really bummed. I realized I had my work cut out for me, and the next several months were full of endless research, trial and error and—let’s be honest—some less-than-cute jewelry.

One of the most challenging hurdles was that I could never find one comprehensive resource—one place to answer all my questions, explain the importance of quality supplies and materials and walk me through each step of the process. My education consisted of pulling bits and pieces from any resource I could find, then trying to adapt all of it to work for me. I look back on my humble beginnings of jewelry making with polymer clay and I only wish that I had access to a resource like this book—one place, one resource, one comprehensive guide to making quality pieces of jewelry with polymer clay. I’m incredibly honored to be the author of just that.

With this book, you will be ahead of the curve and able to avoid many of the mistakes I made when I first began making jewelry. Every artist has their own tips and tricks, preferences and methods, but these are mine, and I hope you find them as helpful as they’ve been for me!

Since beginning my journey with polymer clay, I’ve turned a hobby into a thriving and successful business. I opened Clay + Bloom in fall of 2019, which eventually became my full-time job. As a business owner and artist, I get to spend my days designing and creating pieces for people all over the world to wear confidently and proudly.

Making polymer clay jewelry has given me a sense of confidence that I didn’t have before, so I hope that as you work through the steps and projects in this book, you will develop a new sense of confidence to cultivate your own style and create pieces that reflect you and what you love. The possibilities with this medium are endless and adaptable to every style. Whether your style is a little edgy, boho, simple and chic or flashy and glam, there’s nothing like a few statement-jewelry pieces to complete a look, and the pride of wearing something handmade truly can’t compare.

Whether you go on to make jewelry simply to match your favorite outfits or for gifts for family and friends or to start a business selling your own handmade creations, I hope this book equips you with all you need to take off and run with it. I would love to see what you create from this book, celebrate your progress and cheer you on in your journey with polymer clay! Be sure to snap a photo of your creations and tag me on Instagram @shopclayandbloom. You can find out more about Clay + Bloom and find my designs available for purchase at shopclayandbloom.com.

I’m so glad this book landed in your hands. Happy making!

THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO MAKING CLAY JEWELRY

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of jewelry making, it’s important to familiarize yourself with polymer clay, how to work with it and the tools you will need. This section is full of information that is essential for making quality jewelry that lasts, and it’s what I wish I had access to when I first started making jewelry. Read it thoroughly, but don’t let it overwhelm you! You can come back to it anytime as you work through the projects.

TOOLS & SUPPLIES

When you’re getting into polymer clay jewelry making, the number of tools and supplies available can be overwhelming, but I’ve narrowed it down to what I deem to be the essentials, including specific brands and tools that will help you make unique, lasting jewelry.

CLAY

There are many brands and types of polymer clay available, but there are a few notable ones that are best for making quality jewelry. My personal favorite and most frequently used polymer clay is Sculpey Premo and Sculpey Soufflé (avoid Sculpey III and Original Sculpey, as they are not intended for jewelry making). FIMO® and Cernit are also quality alternatives that I use from time to time. Below is a brief breakdown of each brand that I recommend:

•    SCULPEY PREMO: This is a versatile brand, available in a wide variety of vibrant colors and accents, such as metallic, glitter and granite, and results in a satin finish after curing.

•    SCULPEY SOUFFLE: This is a softer polymer clay that results in a smooth, matte finish after curing. It’s available in a variety of more subdued, muted colors.

•    FIMO PROFESSIONAL: This brand is tough to condition, but it’s a strong, quality polymer clay. It’s available in a variety of colors, including primary colors, making it great for mixing and making custom colors.

•    FIMO SOFT: This is similar to FIMO® Professional, but softer and easier to work with. It’s