Made with Love + Clay: Favorite Polymer Clay Techniques
During the pandemic, I became curious about working with polymer clay. I used to watch a ton of pins on my Pinterest feed and told myself that I wouldn't add another "hobby" to my list of crafting expertise. When I finally decided to give it a try, I found myself intrigued with numerous techniques of working with polymer clay. Today, I'm sharing with you some of my favorite techniques that I use for my most popular handmade clay earrings. I hope this inspires you when choosing that special pair - or maybe inspire you to learn how to create your own.
1. Terrazzo: The Terrazzo technique is one of my favorite designs because the color combos are endless! I typically use 4-5 different colors of clay for this confetti-like design. Each color is encased in gold foil, rolled into separate logs, cut into small discs, and then placed onto a separate clay layer before being pressed into its final design.
2. Agate-Inspired: Our agate-inspired design requires a great amount of time, but worth the effort with these beauties! Each color of clay is mixed to create a balanced gradient. There can be up to eight different colors of clay used. The clay is sliced and then rolled twice to create the agate "slab" effect as shown above. Each edge piece is hand-carved creating details that emulate a real agate slab.
3. Jade-Inspired: Our jade-inspired designs is a fan favorite. These designs are made with pieces of hand-colored translucent clay that are coated in an extra layer of paint, and mixed with gold flakes. The final outcome creates a natural stone aesthetic. Playing around with different translucent clay and adding colors from alcohol ink or mica powders can give you fantastic results and color!
4. Watercolor: One of our newest techniques incorporates a painted design-mimicking a watercolor effect. Once dried, the painted slab is torn into pieces and then artfully placed onto a base layer before being flattened. The new design is similar to a terrazzo, but completed with paint instead. The break in the colors show a "torn-page effect." We can't wait to make more variations of these in the future!
5. Screen Printed: Silk screened prints are a fun way to incorporate imagery and texture into our designs. Our favorite silk screen is the botanical, gingko leaf design. Paired with an embossed or textured piece - it makes the ultimate bold statement earring!
6. Marble: A tried and true design is the marbled technique. Our favorite go-to technique can be made with only a few colors-- incorporating paint, and gold or silver accents. After the initial cut, the clay scraps are reused to create different variations of marbled designs. We love using this technique in neutral shades like the above palette of white, gold, and translucent clay.
