How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings - Easiest Tutorial

Learn how to make polymer clay earrings! You can wear these creative, unique, fashionable items, give them as a gift, or even sell them on Etsy, Facebook, and Instagram. Even better, most beginners find this artistic DIY polymer clay project fun and easy to make.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings

Like many DIY craft and art projects, such as paper mache, having the right supplies and following the instructions are key to ensuring your success. As such, let's discuss these basic supplies and then get on to the step-by-step instructions on how to make polymer clay earrings.

For an introduction to this popular craft, read my complete article - polymer clay tutorial.

Materials to Make Polymer Clay Earrings & Polymer Clay Jewelry

The best thing about this DIY project is that you won't need to make expensive purchases. Most of the tools and materials you need to prepare are available in local craft stores, school supply retailers, and e-commerce stores. Likewise, some of them are already available in your kitchen or craft arsenal.

Here are the things you need to prepare to make DIY polymer clay earrings successfully:

• Polymer Clay (Various Colors)
• JEWELRY FINDINGS - Earring posts, backs, hooks, jump rings.
• CUTTING TOOLS - Clay cutters, cookie cutters, or carving tools (i.e. craft knife or cutter). You can buy specialized clay shape cutters, but cookie cutters are often cheaper.
• HOLE CREATORS - Toothpick or needle for making holes in the clay.
• ROLLER - Acrylic rolling pin or pasta machine. If using a roller, it needs to be acrylic and not wood, so the clay does not stick.
• WORK SURFACE - The work surface needs to be smooth, so the clay does not stick. A tile or smooth placemat works well.
• BAKING SURFACE - Baking pan covered with baking paper, tile, or foil. Aluminum foil can leave shiny spots on the baked clay.
• FINISHING TOOLS - Jewelry pliers, wet/dry sandpaper, hot glue gun, and sticks or super glue.

Best Polymer Clay Brands for Making Earrings

In the process of making polymer clay earrings, the most vital material is the clay that you'll use. Thus, we'll dedicate one section to discussing polymer clay and why it's the best clay for making this accessory.

Made of vinyl, this modeling clay remains soft, so it's easy to create shapes, cut, and blend. Its texture will also ensure you can mold and manipulate it just by using your hand and simple tools.

Once you bake this clay in your oven, it hardens to hold its shape for a long time. It also remains lightweight, ensuring that it won't be too heavy when you wear the clay earrings. Even better, it won't dry out even during prolonged storage, so you're assured you can maximize its use.

Definitely, not all polymer clay brands are the same. For any guide on how to make polymer clay earrings, it's recommended that you choose a high-quality clay that's not too soft but not too firm. It should also be flexible and durable.

Cheap brands or low-quality and unbranded clay generally have a mushy texture, so they attract more dirt easily and quickly. Most of the time, they also won't hold their shape even after baking.

With that in mind, here are the top brands most crafters recommend for jewelry making:

• Sculpey Premo: This clay brand has a texture that holds the design you create well for an extended period. You'll also find that it comes in various bright colors that are easy to mix and match.
• Sculpey Souffle: The best feature of this clay brand is its matte finish that perfectly hides your fingerprints that could otherwise affect your earring design.
• Sculpey III: This softer clay is ideal for beginners as it is easier to condition. In hot weather or in designs you want more detail, this may not be ideal.

Best Glue for Polymer Clay Earrings DIY

Glue is another essential material you need to be careful about when choosing which one to use. After all, it's responsible for holding the clay and metal together.

Like polymer clay, superglue also comes in different types and brands, and not all of them will not succeed in attaching clay to metal and vice versa. That said, the best bonding material is flexible gel super glue.

Brand-wise, we, and even the most experienced crafters, highly recommend the Sculpey Oven Bake Clay Adhesive. It's known to create a durable bond between the two materials.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings Step-by-Step Tutorial

Now that you have your materials and tools ready, it's time to make your polymer clay earrings! Here are the nine essential steps that you need to follow:

1. Prepare Your Workspace
2. Condition Your Clay
3. Flatten Your Well-Conditioned Clay
4. Add Patterns or Imprints (Optional)
5. Shape and Cut
6. Make Holes (Optional)
7. Bake
8. Sand and Smooth
9. Add Findings or Hooks, Jump Rings, or Posts

Step 1 - Prepare Your Workspace

You won't need a special workspace when it comes to making polymer clay earrings. All you need is a flat, hard surface. However, ensure that it's clean and protected from possible staining or damage while making your earrings.

That's why you must first wipe your work surface with a wet cloth or baby wipes, followed by a clean, dry cloth. Doing so ensures no lint or dust gets into the clay. Next, cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper, wax paper, coupon bond, or glass.

Step 2 - Condition Your Clay

Clay conditioning refers to the process of making the material softer and more flexible. The outcome is clay that you can easily roll into a long coil and bend without rough edges and cracks.

To condition your clay, do the following:

1. Knead and fold the clay with your clean hands multiple times. If you see any air bubbles at any point, take your clean needle, toothpick, or craft knife and pop it. Roll the pieces of clay that you need for your project into a ball.
2. Using the palm of your hand, roll into a long snake around 4 inches (10cm) long.
3. Bend the roll in half.
4. Twist the roll together.
5. Repeat the entire process 1-4 until the clay is soft and doesn't crack when bent.

Marbling Polymer Clay

If you want to take it up the notch or plan on using the remaining small clay pieces from your previous polymer clay earring projects, consider mixing them. This conditioning technique will create a marble effect as well as custom colors.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Pick two contrasting colors or one solid color and then black or white.
2. Knead and coil each color one at a time, ensuring you wash and dry your hands before kneading the next color of clay.
3. Twist the clay coils together and fold. Then repeat until you see the marble effect.
4. Roll the amount of clay that you need.

Step 3 - How to Flatten Polymer Clay for Earrings

There are two ways to flatten your well-conditioned clay, depending on your tool: a pasta machine or an acrylic rolling pin.

3.1. Using a Pasta Machine

The best thing about using a pasta roller machine is that you're assured you'll have evenly flattened clay. There are also specialized polymer clay machines designed for flattening and conditioning.

For this method, follow these steps:

1. Clean your pasta machine and wipe dry.
2. Set the machine thickness, if possible.
3. Feed the machine with the rolled-out clay and let it run. Do this at least 12 times.
4. Repeat the steps using the next color of clay.

3.2. Using an Acrylic Roller

A roller made of acrylic is a perfect choice because it has a smooth non-stick surface. Before you start, make sure your acrylic rolling pin is completely clean.

• Roll your polymer clay in a ball.

• Flatten the ball slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Place the polymer clay between 2 ice cream sticks.

• Roll over the sticks with your roller. This will keep an even thickness to your clay, the same as the stick height. If you want really thick earrings, you can always glue 2 sticks together for added height.

Step 4 - Decorate with Basic Techniques

You may skip this step if you want to, but adding imprints or patterns can add more style to your clay earrings. After all, this step in making polymer clay earrings is easy and quick and ideal when making stud earrings.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Spots

• Roll the background color clay flat between the 2 ice cream sticks.
• Create tiny balls of your spot color and place them evenly on the flat surface.
• Place some baking paper on top and gently roll the clay again. This will flatten the spots. Try not to drag the roller, as you will end up with ovals instead of spots.
• Remove the paper and cut your shapes.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Stripes

• Roll the background color clay flat between the 2 ice cream sticks.
• Create long snakes of clay in your stripe color. You can create a ball and then gently roll it back and forth on the table until it gets the desired width.
• Place some baking paper on top and gently roll the clay again. This will flatten the stripes.
• Remove the paper and cut your shapes.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Mosaic

• Roll the background color clay flat between the 2 ice cream sticks.
• Create tiny pieces of your mosaic colors and place them evenly on the flat surface. Unlike the spot, these pieces can be irregular and uneven in size.
• Place some baking paper on top and gently roll the clay again. This will flatten the mosaic.
• Remove the paper and cut your shapes.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Foil

This was done with a cheap gold leaf foil from Kmart. Always test if your foil is suitable for putting it in the oven.

• Roll your clay into a ball and flatten it slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Add foil to the surface. It is best to use tweezers.
• Place some baking paper on top and gently roll the clay again. This will flatten the clay and cause the foil to crack and embed.
• Remove the paper and cut your shapes.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Mixed Designs

Any of the above design techniques can be combined. Here I used irregular pieces of pink and added small pieces of foil. Because the foil was added after the clay was already flattened, the pieces remained intact and didn't crack like the previous design.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings with Imprints

There are many imprint tools and rollers on the market. These ones were purchased for just a few dollars at Kmart's craft section. The rollers are more suitable for larger earrings where you want a continuous design.

• Roll the background color clay flat between the 2 ice cream sticks.
• Place the imprint tool face down and press firmly.
• Remove and cut your shapes.

Step 5 - Shape and Cut

Let's proceed to the most fun part of this project: creating shapes! You can go ahead and use your cookie or clay cutters.

Before you start cutting, lift up your flattened clay to ensure it is not sticking to the surface.

Gently press your cutter down on your flat clay until you touch the surface underneath. Slowly wiggle your cutter to release it from your clay without distorting the shape. Don't use your fingers to push the clay out, as it can leave fingerprints.

If you're confident enough, trace a shape template using your sharp, clean craft knife. This technique usually leaves cleaner and tidier clay edges.

Whichever technique you use, ensure that you gently weed away any excess clay using your clean paper cutter or craft knife.

Step 6 - Make Small Holes

Skip this step if you're making studs. Otherwise, make holes if you plan on creating dangling or multi-piece pairs of earrings.

All you've to do is take an earring post and use its sharp end to poke holes in your lower and upper pieces. You may also use a clean needle or toothpick.

Ensure that the holes you create are big enough to accommodate the jump rings you'll use to connect the jewelry pieces. As such, gently wiggle the post, needle, or toothpick to make the holes a bit larger.

Step No. 7 - Bake

Note that you shouldn't use a microwave oven when learning to make polymer clay earrings. That's because the clay's components don't react well with the radiation heat the microwave produces.

With that in mind, the first step you must take is to preheat your regular oven. Set it to the temperature indicated in the clay's package instructions.

Brands such as Scupley recommend a temperature of 275F (130C).

While waiting for the appliance to heat up, double-check your clay earrings and remove any lint, dust, dirt, and/or fingerprints. To do so, dip a clean cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and gently dab the area. Throughout the process, refrain from touching the clay jewelry to avoid leaving fingerprints.

Then, cover your baking pan with a piece of parchment paper or baking sheet and then place the clay earrings on top. Make sure they have enough space between each other.

Once the oven is preheated, place the pan with the clay earrings and bake. Set your timer according to the package instruction.

That said, most brands recommend baking a ¼-inch thick clay for up to 30 minutes. For smaller earrings like studs, 10 to 12 minutes will be enough.

Once your timer goes off, remove the pan from the oven immediately to prevent overheating or overbaking. Leave them undisturbed for a few minutes to allow them to cool down. At this point, they may look a bit gummy, which is normal. Don't touch them, as they will still be soft.

Step 8 - Sand and Smooth

You'll find that your clay earrings might have jagged or uneven edges, which is normal. Smooth them out using fine-grit sandpaper or a Dremel tool. When using sandpaper, it is best to use a mask to protect yourself from any clay dust.

Step 9 - Add Findings, Hooks, Jump Rings, or Posts

The last step in making polymer clay earrings is to put them together and/or add hardware so that you can wear them. How you add these metal components will depend on the type of earrings, you're making.

Here are some of the most common earring components:

• Studs: For stud earrings, all you need is to add posts. Place a little dab of glue on the wrong side of the post and attach it to the back of the earring. Firmly hold for at least 30 seconds or until the glue dries. Add the earring backs.

Some crafters also prefer attaching the post before baking the clay. The difference is that they push the post a little further in the earring after applying glue. Then, once it dries, they cover the space with small pieces of clay, leaving only the part where you attach the back or lock exposed.

• Hanging: Take your jewelry pliers and bend or pry open the jump ring. Slowly slip it through the earring hole you created earlier, and then attach the earring hook. Lastly, close the jump ring using your pliers.
• Layered: Take your jewelry pliers and bend or pry open the jump ring. Slowly slip it through the earring hole you created earlier. Then attach the next clay shape. Repeat the steps, depending on how many tiers or layers your earring has. For the last ring, attach the hook, and you're done!

You can also use your different shapes to make polymer clay jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces.

Polymer Clay Earring Design Ideas

Now that you've learned about the fundamental steps in making DIY polymer clay earrings, here are some designs that you can start with. There are limitless earring shapes you can use and combine.

FAQs About Polymer Clay Earrings

Apart from mastering the steps of making clay earrings and creating designs, there are other pieces of knowledge that you need to remember. So, let's answer some of the most common questions related to DIY clay earrings.

1. Is polymer clay waterproof?

Getting your earrings wet isn't uncommon, making this question valid. Fortunately, polymer clay is oil-based, so it's waterproof in its unbaked and baked states.

However, being waterproof and not water-resistant, your earrings will turn slightly more brittle when submerged in water. Therefore, refrain from wearing them while taking a shower and swimming.

If it gets a little wet, such as when exposed to rain or water splashes, just dry them out with a soft cloth using gentle dabbing.

With that said, some crafters coat their polymer clay earrings with clear nail polish after adding the metal pieces. It will help seal the clay and protect it from water, dust, lint, dirt, and other elements.

2. How to take care of polymer clay earrings

Apart from keeping them dry, you should also ensure that you keep your clay earrings away from makeup, heat, and chemicals. You must also store them in a clean, dry place. Having a designated earring card or box for each pair is also ideal, so you don't just place them anywhere and prevent losing one.

Lastly, regularly wipe them with a soft, damp cloth followed by a dry one.

3. Why are my clay earrings brittle and keep breaking?

As noted, it may be due to using poor-quality clay products or exposure to high amounts of water. Another reason is that you may have underbaked the polymer clay, so make sure you read and follow the package instructions well. Underbaked polymer clay earrings break and snap easily after a few uses.

How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings - In Conclusion

Did you have fun making polymer clay earrings? We did, so we hope you did too! Start by creating simple ones like studs and basic shapes, and then move on to making dangling and tiered earrings. Make beautiful earrings today using different techniques and different patterns.

More About Polymer Clay

1. What is Polymer Clay
2. Polymer Clay Ideas
3. Polymer Clay Jewelry Ideas
4. Polymer Clay Tutorial
5. How to Make Polymer Clay Earrings
6. How to Bake Polymer Clay
7. How to Soften Polymer Clay
8. How to Make Polymer Clay Beads