Spring Pendant: Difficulty – Easy
Items needed:
- Diamond Glaze: $8.00
- Mixing Cup
- Toothpick
- Paint Brush
- Quick Steel: $6.00
- Mold (I used my custom semi-round mold). You can use any mold you like. Your local craft shop will have various silicone clay or jewelry molds. If you like the mold used in this tutorial, it can be purchased at my Etsy store: DipIntoJewels
- Polymer clay canes (I used pre-cut Cheeky nail art flower mix and butterfly mix). $1.99 each.
- Head pin: under $1 for a pack.
- Wire cutters or jeweler’s nippers: $ Varies
- Pigment powder (I used PerlEx Duo green yellow #682): $3.00+ depending on size.
Total Cost: Approx. $25.00 (including tools)
**Note: Often times I will use molds that I have made. I will be sharing how to make custom molds in a future installment. You can substitute molds you find on Amazon or at your local store. If I know of pre-existing molds that will work well, I will provide suggestions.
STEPS:
- Wipe down your mold with a dry, lint-free cloth.
- Take your wire cutters or nippers and cut down your head pin to a length that will allow you to embed one end into your piece, and still make a loop with the other end to connect a jump ring or insert a chain. You will want to use the “head” end of the pin to insert into your piece for a better hold.
3 . Break off a nickel sized portion of the Quick Steel. If you are using a different mold, you may need to adjust the size accordingly.
4 . Fold the Quick Steel over onto itself repeatedly to mix the epoxy. Once the two colors of the Quick Steel blend completely together into one uniform color, the product is mixed and ready to use. At this point, you have about to effectively use for molding.
Pre mixed
Well mixed
5. Gently press the mixed Quick Steel into your mold. Continue to press until the back of the material is at a uniform level within the mold.
6. Take the head pin you previously cut down and press it into the back of the clay. Make sure that the “head” part of the pin is completely covered by the Quick Steel (Also cover as much of the pin as your piece will allow while still leaving enough exposed to bend into a bail).
7. Let the Quick Steel harden inside the mold. Depending on the climate in your area, this can take from 10 to 30 minutes. To see if your piece is hardened, you can touch the back of it and see if it is cool to the touch. The Quick Steel’s chemical reaction creates heat, so when the reaction is completely finished, the piece will return to room temperature. Also, it should be hard enough that you cannot dent it with your fingernail.
8. Gently remove the hardened clay from the mold.
9. Get your mixing cup and place a small amount of the pigment powder into it, along with about a quarter sized drop of Diamond Glaze. Mix well with your toothpick, or the back of a paintbrush. Adjust the amount of the pigment powder to get the desired depth of color, but make sure the mix is still liquid, and not grainy or doughy.
10. Use your paintbrush to evenly coat your piece in this mixture. Let dry to the touch (slightly tacky is OK, but may take fingerprints). This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on climate, thickness of Diamond Glaze coat, and mixture content. Make sure to wash your paintbrush thoroughly before the Diamond Glaze dries. If you don’t it will probably never come off.
11. Determine where you want the clay butterflies and flowers on your piece. Either with your toothpick or directly from the end of the bottle, put a small bead of Diamond Glaze where you want each flower or butterfly. Place the decorations onto your piece. Using tweezers is helpful, but not necessary. Allow to fully dry (usually 2 hours to overnight). I placed most of the flowers at the bottom, with the butterflies up the sides above them, but you can put them anywhere that looks good to you.
12. Pour out about a dime sized drop of Diamond Glaze and use your brush to cover the entire piece with it. This will help secure and protect all of the pieces you put onto it, as well as add a shine to the entire project. If you are good at controlling the flow of the glaze using just the tip of the bottle, you can apply it this way and just use the brush to spread it out. The Diamond Glaze will appear a milky white while you apply it, but don’t worry, it will dry clear. Allow the piece to completely dry.
13. Use your jeweler’s pliers, a pair of needle-nose pliers, or even the end of your toothpick to bend the end of your head pin that is sticking out of your piece into a loop to be connected to a jump ring or be used as a bail to put the piece on a chain. Enjoy wearing! 🙂
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