April Showers Pendant by KC Eddy

Polymer Clay loves glitter and glitter loves polymer clay - and I love them both!  This is a fairly simple project that brings them both together.

Material list: 

            Black Polymer Clay

            Pearl Ex Mica Powder       

            Deep Bezel Pendant Setting

            Art Glitter Dazzlers – D20 Laurel

            Art Glitter Vintage Glass Glitter – 923 Briar Rose
            Jewelry Grade Resin – I used Lisa Pavelka Magic-Gloss

            Jewelry glue

Tools and supplies:   
            Clay Texture Stamp – I used Lisa Pavelka “Flow”
            Pasta machine or brayer
            Ceramic Tile for work surface

            Small Clay shape cutters - “cookie cutters”

            Large Soft brush – large china mop or large make-up brush

            Craft knife

1.  Begin by conditioning your clay and then either roll a piece with your pasta roller or roll with your brayer onto tile until it is an even thickness – about 1/8” thick and bigger than your bezel setting.

2.  Dip your soft brush into the Pearl Ex and then brush the area of the texture stamp until there is a light, even coating covering the area you want to use for your pendant.

3.  Lay your clay onto the texture stamp.  The mica powder will act like flour so the clay will not stick to the texture stamp.  This is a good thing, but also makes it easy to mess up your imprint if the clay moves, so hold the clay in place in one spot, with one hand, while you lightly push the clay into the texture stamp with the other hand.  Remove the clay from the texture stamp and place, design side up, on your ceramic tile.

4.  Place the bezel setting face down onto the clay in the area you want to use for you pendant.  Press lightly to mark the line of the bezel into the clay.  Remove bezel.  Use your craft knife to cut just inside this line and remove the excess clay so that all that is on the tile is the square piece that will fit into your bezel. 

5.  Use a small clay shape cutter to cut out a shape that will later be filled to create your “jewel”.  Since the stamp I used had a teardrop shape in the design, I used a teardrop shaped cutter.  Be careful when you remove the cut-out that you don’t distort the square shape on the tile.  Bake the piece, as is, according to clay manufacturer’s instructions.

6.  While the first piece is baking, re-condition the excess clay you had pulled off the tile to mix any mica powder back into the black clay.  Roll this through your pasta machine or use your brayer to again create a flat piece about 1/8” thick.  This needs to be larger than the square you made in the steps above. 

7.  When the first piece is done baking – let it cool and then carefully remove it from the clay tile.  Check that it will fit in the bezel setting.  If it is too big, you can sand it down until it fits.

8.  Place the unbaked sheet of clay on your tile.  Press the baked piece on top (design side up).  Cut around the baked piece so that you now have a double thickness and can see black clay thru the shape that you cut out in step 5.  Remove excess clay and bake this new double-layer piece.

9.  Once this piece is baked and cooled you are ready to jewel it up!  Fill the bottom of the recessed area with a layer of Art Glitter Dazzlers.  Carefully add a drop or two of resin and mix the resin and glitter.  If you are using Magic Gloss, you will need to cure this outside in the sunlight or under a UV lamp.  (Check instructions on the resin you are using.)  Once this layer is cured, add a layer of Art Glitter Vintage Glass Glitter and another drop or two of resin.  Then cure this layer.  Finish this “jewel” section with one last layer of resin.  This should dome up a little higher than the clay.  Cure this layer as well. 

My original plan was to have the piece all silver and black with just this one “jewel” in pink glitter, but then I decided it needed a little more glitz.  I added AG Dazzlers and a drop of resin to the other teardrop section in the clay pattern, and then glued some flat back Swarovski crystals in some of the other recessed areas.    

10.  To finish, glue the clay piece into the bezel setting with your favorite jewelry glue.  Add a chain or cord.

KC Eddy