Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello, my name is Monica alignment, jewelry artist. I trade jewelry for many, many years. And today I wanted to show you how I make jewelry from polymer clay. It is very simple and very easy step-by-step tutorial if you are big. And if you would like to give a go, All you need is to biopolymer MAC layer, either online or your local graphs shop. And we can start them in my study of them. See you then.
2. Tools: So you will need polymeric layer and I'm using female, but you can use any brand you like. A small or big, very, very sharable blade or exact an IVF. It's your preferences, be careful with it. Some cookie cutters or sugar craft cutters forms shapes, whichever you want to call it. And finally, the actual cookie cutters. Okay? And once the little things all are sorted, we can take the big ones out, which is a pasta machine, but that's not necessary. You can use a rolling pin and said if you haven't got one, but I prefer pasta machine, we will use 500ml varnish as well for polymer clay and a paintbrush for spreading it around. And here is mortals to complete your earrings. So basically what it is, it's earring findings and EIR or your posts depending what you profess some jump brings round nose pliers or just any kind of real time new small pliers to grab little pieces, some superglue, a drill or hole punch tool for Parliament lame, very smooth sanding paper. I recommend at least 600 grit and simply some soap and water.
3. Prepare: Okay, let's begin with a clean sheet of paper. Absolutely enough underneath, absolutely clean. And when we start unpacking our polymeric layer, well, you see, I kind of struggled, but that actually means that probably it's a good quality packaging. If it's so tight, I can't even open it isn't. And they arise once it's opened, I am using my little blade to cut off the amount of glam planning to use and save another one for the next time. So I don't need to knead it all and prepare if i don't really planning to use it, I think that makes sense. If you starting from the very first time, it may seem that left clay is actually really, really stiff and hard to work with. Well, it could be depending on how all this deck les, how long it's been in a shelf in the shop. Also, what is the room temperature? Or like there is a lot of, a lot of reasons why it can be hard, but the easiest way is to trick it into smaller pieces. And it need one piece at a time. Though it's very important to need this properly because if you won't do it, it may crack its main beam lot so durable and not so strong. So really take care and take your time kneading it up and I'm thinking that your hands may hurt if you doing it for the very first time. But believe me, all the efforts are very, very rewarding. So just keep on meeting. Also. If you feeling hopeless about needing it and it feels still not right, it doesn't feel like a nice, easy to move and manipulated though. Clay. It doesn't condition as well as you would like to. Another option would be to use some liquid clay, which I haven't got to show, but the thing is existing, you can buy it. Just make sure it works together with the polymeric lay brand you have. But most of them actually work or had their own brands, which definitely works. So keep that in mind if you can't be bothered to needed for half an hour, just by a little bit of accolade will help you a lot. And once you think that your clay is about gut, just take another minute to do for that. Why is that? Because basically it's chemical reaction and all the polymers, all, all scholar pigments, they need to be bind together very, very event that to get the best results. So please again, take your time and roll. It's better than a nice into soft, not too soft of course, condition. And that will be the easiest and the most relaxing and enjoyable working experience. For my first staring design, I think I will need only half of the gla I needed. So I'm splitting that in a half and leaving and eventuate for another design to come up. But firstly, one thing and the time. So what I'm doing, conditioning it a little bit more just to make sure it's really, really, really soft and ready to go through my pasta machine. And what I'm doing, I'm using the highest setting I have. Let means that the, the outcome is the thickest and I'm rolling one time and I have now this nice and flat pancake. And now simply everything is ready for me to go crazy with my design.
4. Design time: So for the first way that I'm doing the earring tutorial from Parliament life, I thought maybe let's not go crazy because we all want to do those amazing sculptures and our ears. But firstly, let's begin with simple stuff, which is also awesome 2AB. So I took one plane round cookie cutter and I understood that my banking is a little bit too small for both of them. As you see, it's just just not enough. They'll option is I can cut it in half like now and have like semi-circles. Or instead, I can rewrote that leftover, make another banking for them pasta machine and have another circle cut. I chose to use semi-circles because I found it easier and maybe not that simple, maybe more dynamic for my design. But you do, you do what you wanna do. It's no rules here. What is most important is that you would choose a design and greater design, the one you would love to weigh yourself, that is the most important part, isn't it? And now, when I dug out my sugar craft cutters, I'm making tiny, tiny circles which will act as an ES stats for me, like those on the top on your ear lobe, just hold the whole designed together and that makes sense for you. And it's very simple. I'm just stamping and pushing the top and it just does it like, you know, every cookie cutter is slightly different, but they are pretty easy to use. So as you see, there is no fancy special equipment I'm using. It's like basically kitchen appliances. What I'm doing here to agree these non-edible beauties. So, whoops, I think I mean the Buber right here. So I rather make another one to match it nicely. And once I got the correct one, all this leftovers, it's not rubbish. You can keep it. I have a little Java and keep all those like odd bits. And then I'm mixing all together and creating really, really cool marble affected designs from that. But you know, it's up to you eventually you will have a lot of leftovers left. And you can do, you will see what you can do. It's just amazing. Leftovers is amazing. Okay. So as you say, I decided to take another color of polymeric lay and also it's different brand. The magenta one is female and this one is sculpted, but that's fine. You can mix them together. There is no harm in it. So what I'm doing, I'm making a snake from white claim and that one, by the way, Skoll Bay is much, much more software and easier to work with, but it's much more brittle as well. Just keep that in mind. Also, I made another snake from the magenta female claim, which is also now solved because I conditioned as well. So don't forget that too. And now I'm pressing them together and make like a spiral thing. It doesn't need to be like perfect spiral. I just wanna make marble effect the blob, so I just need to mix those colors unevenly, if that makes sense. Well, I'll show you in a second. Yeah, you see how pretty it looks and now I'm just smash it and roll it in between my palms to make what I wanted to make. Well, you can play with it. I think it's like a blade. Oh, but for not kids, not all the time for kids, for adults as well. Put it that way. So they only think about creating those kinds of marble fluid. Strange effect is as much as you need as more. It mixes together and it loses the difference between two colors. So don't overdo it if you don't want to mix complete new color. Here you see, I run it through the pasta machine and it house this beautiful, strange kinda marbling effect. And I'm going to cut another one, little circle because big one I think won't fit quite well. So I'm doing a little like ER study pieces as well. And I'm putting them aside and you see it's little bit more sticky now because I used that Soft Tech lay. That's the only bad thing about soft clays. They are little bit more sticky and it could be, if you're not very, very experience, could be quite tricky to work with. And otherwise, I'm doing now the big circle that my cookie cutter, I'm thinking it's not enough, so I need to rewrote it, renamed it, rewrote it for the past time machine, and then try again. But as I said, I don't need to do much because I will blend colors too much and it will lose the effect. So keep it in mind. So this seems much better now, and I'm sure it will fit the big cookie cutter. And I'm doing that. It's very simple. I'm just fit it like a, like a cookie. And now I have this and I think this is also known as crap, and I'm gonna cut it in semi-circles, same as the previous ones, just to have it matching. Also, if you are a beginner and you're watching this, only planning to start doing follow Macleay jewelry, earrings or whatever. I would suggest you to buy a little bit along the blade so that would make your life easier if you beginning.
5. Baking: Okay, I already, so once we all are happy about our designs, I am taking the last plate which must be suitable for woven sheet of paper. And I'm putting my designs on that sheet of paper just because it doesn't stick to the glass and so on and so on and so on. And budding and quite apart, not touching each other, but not too wide as well because there is just no point to do that. Just a quick tip would be be very, very gentle venue handling them because it's so easy to change the shape right now when you are like just a little poke live your nail and there is a mark that forever, well, it's not a tragedy. You can re re role and redo it, but, Well, why? Ok, anyways, now I'm putting another piece of paper and the same glass plate on top. Don't forget it must be suitable for open and always, always, always cook it, cook it according to the instructions.
6. Some more designs: Okay, so that might be a little bit of a surprise for you, but I decided, why not to share with you my newest invention. Well, it's not my invention, but I just recently found out I can use the extruded. I think it's also supposed to be for their sugar crafts. But people using sugar craft, appliances so and tools for Parliament lay widely and very successfully. So basically it has a variety of plates, if I'm saying that correctly with different shapes on it. And I decided I wanted to do just plain circle. For now, just little tiny small snake. So I'm needing the parliament layer again, making an extra soft so it will make my life easier and I will be screening the finger down and it's extruding my clay through the little, little hole. So when I'm thinking it's soft enough, scrolling down the shaft, I would say, Jesus sound strange. And I'm stuffing it with polymer clay now. And then I'll just simply screw the cap on top and I will start doing reverse movement and extrude this Nate out of this device. And to be honest, even if it looks or sounds weird, it was so satisfying to watch that thing going out of the extruder. It was just one of those relaxing, calming things to see. So once all Parliament Lee is extruded, Am I doing the thing and I'm cleaning of the shape. Shape played the and I'm just basically wiping off of my fingers and little bit of kitchen towel and cleaning of the insides as much as I can. And now I'm putting the white clay in that. But maybe the smarter would be if I would do the light color first and dark after. But this is what I've done and we will see how it will be then. So I'm gleaning little bit more of my fingers, the blade, and I'm scraping the cap on top. And I'm repeating exactly the same sneak making method. This parliament play extrude them. More than just satisfying looks at it. I think that I will be in love with this little tool to create a lot of beautiful earrings because I see how many possibilities there are resolved that. And how much new things, new strange and unique things I can make from it. And the ones I will know how to do it exactly. I will show it with you if you interested in that. So now, as I have two snakes do very slim snakes of polymer clay. I'm cutting it in exactly the same length and now I'm making a spiral. But behold, this spiral, I want to be as, even as I can, just make it even, even not like, you know, one side is very thin and other side is very, very loose. And this is what's happening right now. I'm having one loosen one very tight side, and I'm trying to manage it somehow. So as you see, it's kind of psychedelic looking. It looks like little bit like a Christmas cane in May 1. Like it's treating me, my agenda should be red, but it is what it is. And as you see there is another Jew snake, some rolling up together. Just repeating the same as a1. And for this particular design, and really, really want you to keep it as even as possible, not within one's snake, but both of them. And as you see, as I put them together, it looks like you like a knitted Patton. Can you see it? Ok. And now leave it as it is. And now I'm taking my magenta leftovers, which I left in the very, very beginning. And I'm, it's kind of cold again. Handel literally bit staff, so I'm re rolling good before I am putting it into the pasta machine so I can make them at that time, the pancake. I'm playing little bit more with my fingers just to soften it up. And now behold, as before he said, to use the biggest thickest setting on your pasta machine. Now US something about medium, like five or six out of 1054, something like that. It should be quite slim. And now we putting those spiral strings on top of magenta. And as you see, I'm trying to create a pattern here. And the wall, it's wrong side. It's also wrong side. So that means it's wrong. Strip them. And yes, as you see, I want to create this kind of Chevron kind then knitting pattern from it. And just keep repeating the same after the same entertainment till I will finish my little pancake full of spiral structure. And you seem I'm running a little bit short now. So always I would suggest to make in advance a little bit more than you think you need just because just in case you know what I mean? Like you see what what's happening. So basically when I fill all the pancake, I kind of press it verbalized live of my hand just to give it a little bit thermal stick to each other in typing and forming a little bit to make it look nice and even in between every, each strap. So I look at it and I just love this part and this design. I can imagine myself wearing a matching sweater that these earrings and looks so warm and so Christmas or maybe even what do you think about that? Okay, so I have a cookie cutter and I'm using it under a virus because I wanted it quite small circles. And the correct side of the cut that has the room colorless, outs, outlines. And I really don't want my design to be that the visit of this button and very interesting, uneven shape. And once that's done, they go to the baking as well. But often in the second batch.
7. Finishing touches: Okay, so after we baked according to instructions, so once again, all our polymer claim, we can start finishing it off. And what I mean by bad, I imagine you have some rough edges and we will use sandpaper. I'm using 800 grit, so it's very, very small. And little bit of soap to water, just to sand off all those rough edges you have left probably from cookie cutters or any kind of imperfections you may find. It will take a while for you, but don't rush through that. Just be very, very careful and very accurate. And as more time and effort you will put it as better results in the end you will have. From my personal experience, I would suggest you use about 600 grit or up for sanding paper. Because if you're using very rough and very course sanding paper, you doing more damage than you doing good because it's too abrasive and no, it may hurt your design and leave some nasty scratches, which is the last thing we actually want in our earrings. Also, I think it's worth dimension that water here is very important part. And why is that? Well, simply, if I wouldn't use a Nevada, I would create some dust. And that dust who's stuck into those little scratches you making when you're sanding and it will leave white tissue residue on the earring gauges and it would look extra message. We don't want that. Yeah. Okay. Do you remember these and Issaquah white fake. And I see that cookie cutter which I used upside down to get like nice round edge. A little bit too much. So I'm using a utility knife and I'm just trying to shave off that imperfection to begin with. Well, it's not necessarily the best way to use it. And if you do it the same way I do, please be so careful and try not to cut your finger because these blades are extremely sharp. So if you can find another way, let's see using little bit chorus as sanding paper and adding a little bit more time to send it. But they used that if you are not sure about using the blade. Other than that, it's all the same now. And when I only smooth out the edges and as it's fixed, I will need to do like more around about it. And that makes sense. So I don't have any like, really sharp corners because I don't like it. I like it when it's little bit slightly rounded. Well, I thought you'll probably find it extremely boring and so much time-consuming to sanded like this by hand. And yes, it's true there is other options. This is the only one I prefer because I feel like I have the most control over when I'm doing it purely manually. Some people using Dremel tool like Rotterdam sanding tool for this kind of job. But I found that it's better for me to use my hands because I'm not really feeling very well and I'm making some do harsh decisions with signing paper on rotary sanding tool. Another option, I saw people doing it with those mechanic nail filing machines. So that should work also basic laughing every finger, what you can like sand off, even insulate beauty products or DAY product you can use it. There is no rules as long as you can achieve nice result and as long as you can fully control the device, that's important because you can hurt yourself to begin with. And sadly enough, you can run your design. Once I finished sanding, I'm taking some kitchen towel and drying off all the earring pieces I made and completed. And it's all smooth and nice. It's nothing very fancy, just simple kitchen towel and I mean, just to make it as dry as I can and probably leave for a little while to make sure it's actually dry. Dry not just looks like it's driver. There is some damp on that. It should be absolutely now damp on them before we do another thing. And now when all messes clean and there is no more water on the table and my Aaron pieces is completely dry and placing them all on a white sheet of paper. Well, I'm using a lot of paper, but I will reuse it for some other reason as well later on. So I'm not just wasting it. Okay, so now what I'm doing, I'm having female glossy varnish for polymer clay. So what I will do, I will apply that in a very thin layer on each piece and leave it to dry for about 20 minutes. And then I will apply another coat. Then I will flip them, and I will do the same thing on another side. So basically two coats and time drying in between each. Well, this this not clay, this polymer clay varnish. It says it's dried to touch after 20 minutes by the recommending to leave it to dry a little bit longer. So if you're using that one, Do as I say, or otherwise always read the instructions. It's not the only brand you can use. There is another good brands, but this is just my choice. It's now, it's my preference. And like all of the things, it's not necessarily needs to be exactly the same colors, exactly the same brands as I use. You can choose what you want. And I'm just showing you the principles of them. Airing making process. Actually saying that it's not important if you want to use varnish or not. It's my preference. I like my earrings to look a little bit glossy. Or if you want complete Matlock, you can leave it as it is and it will be just fine. I just find that if I'm putting a little bit something on top, it's glossy and that looks a little bit more vibrant. But again, this is my own preference and you don't need to do that if you don't want to, or you think that it's not really the thing you planning to buy any time soon. We'll just skip it. I almost forgot that I have these beauties in needed pattern, so I want to apply some varnish on them as well. Just because I'm not quite sure how strong good stocks to the background it I mean, I shouldn't worry, it's baked and it's all firm now and sturdy. But just in case I think if I will fill it, live some varnish, it will be even better. But again, you don't need to if you don't want to. And now we can leave it to dry and next parts to come.
8. Assemble: So once all these spots nicely varnished and completely dry, I'm taking a blank gel pen. It's not necessarily need to be black and not necessarily a gel pen, but you need to be sure that you can wipe it off after and you can see your markings. That's all. So I'm basically marking it in the middle of the top and grading kinda half moon shapes. I would suggest not to skip this part because if you're using a drill but I will be using, you will regret if you will be little bit off-center, BUT menu marking with the gel pen and a kind of marker. You can fix it. You can just place that dot and to another place so you know whether it's supposed to go. And again now and I'm talking and I'm making marks where I'm when I made the holes. So my choice of homemaking is dremel tool and I'm using tiny, tiny, tiny drill to make a hole. I will show you in a minute. And adoption because Dremel rotary tool is kind of thing that not everyone actually has. But if you don't want to use any power tools for that, you can buy. There is like tiny, tiny hold cutoffs for Parliament play. So you can find them on eBay or Amazon or whatever you like. Ntia intended OK. You can stretch for them and you can do it. You can cut those goals before you start baking. This is the way I prefer. It's not necessarily the best two I am doing, but this is how I do it. So again, be careful if you're using power tool, be careful and watch you all fingers. What's your nails? And other than that, I think evidence things shouldn't be fine. I wanted to share one that those who is binding to use a tool similar lotto What I am using. Basically, then you are using it, it seems like it's read of edX is stiff that hearing piece, but it's not that stiff as you imagining. So rather go slowly and go like slowness and smoothly through that era. And rather than just stick it hard because it may break in half. And we don't want that because it looks so cute. And if you would break it and split in half, but there is not much you can do but just make another one instead. So go slowly, go families. But soft if you know what I mean, like Don't Stop it into the airing. That drill. Just let it go itself. I hope that makes sense. Okay. And now is the last part, very, very interesting and also very responsible part. And that is attaching the posts. And for that you will need some earring findings. I prefer hearing posts like for stats, but you can use EOI or you can use all kinds of things, whichever you have. Just think about the host you want to make. Though, adding those things like for stud pieces he I don't need hold because I'm wanna just glue them on the back or the little round ones. So I'll show you in a minute what Lou amusing and how exactly I am doing it. So firstly, I'm taking a jumping and splitting it into to make a gap. And then I am hooking it into my earring. Be very careful as though you don't want to scratch the nice varnish surface. So just tried to make it straight into a hall. And once two pieces are attached, I am putting the jump bring back together into the same spot. It might be a little bit fed lead, but I only have one flyers for now, if you would have to apply is the same ones, that would be much, much easier for you. Might again, it's preference as you see this hearing that comes alive now and just jumping out of my hands. But I managed it so that one is done. And I'm going to repeat the same thing with all the remaining earrings right now. Another thing that I wanted to share with you is about choosing your findings. Well, especially talking about the jump brings. Well, you need to think about how wide in diameter you want them. Because I remember one once I started, I bought them really, really tiny like three millimeters wind or something like that. And I thought there's going to be good because hearings, it's small. It's supposed to be tried, but it didn't fit for my whole because I cannot cut the hole just on the edge just for the safety reasons because it finally piece may be too weak to hold the hearing in the long term. So I needed to buy a little bit bigger jump brings and those which I have a think it's eight millimeter width or similar. So don't go too big, but don't go either too small. Just think about how reflect it should look. Also, don't forget that the jump bring and should join two pieces. And these two should hang some kind of loose. They shouldn't be stuck together very rigid because it will look we're done your ears. I think you know what I mean saying that. As you see here, I found a little imperfections sources simplest move without move my hand before I put the jump, bring in, and then I close the ring and that is done. Some fixes are really, really simple and you don't need to be overwhelmed by a little thing. Seeing that this design actually, I am little bit regretting that I haven't got those whole punching tool for polymer clay because when I drill did it came up a little bit scratch and messy because of the texture or the actual airing. So it's not ideal, ideal, but it was my first attempt by the way. So maybe that is the reason why I didn't succeed that well. Also, as you see, the earring is quite thick and the jump bring is quite small, so that curving part of the jump bring is not quite fits together the earring. So ideally I should choose the bigger job bring, but I haven't got so that one fits dress. But if I would have a bigger one or older, I will definitely replace it with bigger ones because I would feel like much better if I have a little bit more loose. So as you see, I'm struggling a little bit in this one because it seems like it has one maybe a little bit thicker than another one. And as you see, there is no like set rules. Everything is slightly different but the same in the same time. I think it's about like when you following common sense in the end, isn't it? Okay, and now we start with a clean sheet again. Then all jump brings our set and it brings up almost done. The only one thing we need to do, we need to place them on another, All the same white paper sheet. And just to have a clean and nice place to work on because I hate fifth it's met if it's messages hated most of the time semester, but I'm trying to keep it clean. And now I'm using the wonderful E6 thousand glue. And I needed very, very little. But when I mean very little, I actually mean very little. And I just dip the top of the cap or the ES stat in the cap of the glue, Just to touch the glue. And I'm placing my instance a post right above the hole, because if it will be a little bit off, it will feel and look weird. So you must be very, very careful. And you see I have like spider webs going from the glue around me and I'm not the best person working with go anyways, what do you need to do now? You need to concentrate very, very well on how you placing that years that it must be, as I say, straight above them, jumping hole because otherwise it will look off and it would be probably even uncomfortable to veer fear. Also if you don't want to use these glow or you don't have them at home or you don't want to buy them for whatever reasons you have. You can use any kind of superglue as long as the suit for the materials that means metal and plastic or clay or polymer clay. Or you can use special glue for the earrings.
Monika Sleke
