Making Polymer Clay JewelryMaking polymer clay jewelry is fun, easy and for all ages! Here are complete instructions on making a beautiful clay bracelet. These are great to keep and wear and even better to give as a gift! The variations are endless. What You Will Need
Making Polymer Clay Jewelry Pictures    Get Started Making Polymer Clay Jewelry You can use any brand of clay that you bake to make this jewelry. After working with several brands, our favorite is most definately the Bake Shop brand. This brand pushes the easiest through the clay extruder. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Open up your clay and start kneading the clay with your hands. You want to knead the clay until it is soft like cookie dough. You can use a pasta machine to run your clay through if you have one. The pasta machine just helps to soften the clay. Work at kneading the clay for about 15 to 20 minutes. (This is the hardest part of the entire craft project!) Once your clay is soft, pinch off some clay and roll it on a clean surface into the shape of a snake. Put enough clay into the barrel of the extruder to fill it up. Use the extruder plunger to push the polymer clay through the extruder. You now have a 10 to 12 inch long even circle of clay. Cut the clay off of the extruder with a clay tool (like a knife or wire). Measure out 9 1/2 inches of clay. This length fits the average wrist. You can cut it shorter if you have a small wrist. You can cut it longer if you have a large wrist. Cutting the ends of the clay at a 45 degree angle helps the ends to fit together nicely. Gently piece the ends of the clay together. Have a nearby cup of water. Put your finger in the water and use your wet finger to smooth out the clay where you have attached your two ends of your bracelet together. It doesn't have to be perfect, but make it as seamless as possible. This area will be covered up by beads. Gently lay the bracelet on a form that you can bake. We use a clay pot that we turn upside down. You could use an empty jar or an empty soda can just as easy. Place your bracelet with the form that it is on onto a baking sheet. If you want your bracelet to have a nice shiny finish, use a paintbrush to put your gloss on now. Take a moment and spray your pot with a cooking oil before resting your bracelet on it. This will keep the bracelet from sticking to your pot. If you want your bracelet to have a mat finish, you do not need to paint a glossy glaze on it. We like it without the glaze. You also do not need to put a cooking oil on you pot. Bake your bracelet at 275 degrees for 20 minutes. After baking your bracelet, let the bracelet cool down. We like to bake up about five bracelets at a time. Once they are cool, your ready to add beads. Do not start beading your bracelet until it is completely cool. Take your wire and cut off about 2 feet. Make a bend in the wire of about 1-2 inches. Lay the wire on the bracelet where you joined the clay together. Begin wrapping the wire around your bracelet. Wrap until you cover the tail of your wire. In the event your bracelet comes apart, the wire will hold it together. Once the tail of your wire is cover, start adding beads. Add 4-5 beads at a time to your wire. Wrap the wire around the bracelet one or two times and add more beads. Repeat this process until you have added all the beads that you want. When you are at the end, thread the wire back under the wire and tuck the end under. You can bead a couple of inches on the bracelet or bead all the way around the bracelet. Making polymer Clay jewelry is fun! Let your imagination guide you! Helpful Tips
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Bake Shop Clay
