Ear Cuffs method 2

Hey, I bet you thought I was never going to make another ear cuff tutorial! Well, today we're going to learn how to make the really cool ones that connect to earrings! I'd just like to warn everybody and say: please make sure your piercing is 100% healed. New piercings rip easily, even after the initial 6 weeks. I guess it's especially easy to tear your earlobe with something like this! So please be careful, ok?

This is what it looks like so
far on my ear

We're going to start off by making a basic ear cuff, using the first method. I'm using a slightly different design and I'm using 16 gauge wire. You can use any design or thickness, as long as it starts with a loop and ends with a loop. If you like my design though, I don't mind if you use mine. Just try not to do it EXACTLY like mine please...









If you have some jewellery making earring studs like the ones in the picture to the right, congratulations! You've just made life LOADS easier, and can skip the first 3 steps! Tip: if you don't have pierced ears, you can use clip on earring findings!



1. We need to make the studs! As already mentioned, you can buy studs like these. I took some waste polymer clay and rolled it in to a ball. Then I actually took a clean, nickel free head pin and used it to make the post. I don't recommend doing this unless you're really sure you know what you're doing is safe, and won't cause you an infection (not all head pins are nickel free, the same thickness as normal earrings, etc). If you have some flat, jewellery making studs, use them.

2. Now you need to take a piece of wire and use it to make a short eye pin. Then you push it in to the clay and you're done!

3. Bake. You don't have to take the metal post or eye pin out.
4. While your stud is baking, you can do the next step! (of course, if it's not baking/you don't need to bake it, you still have to do this step lol!) We're going to put a jump ring through the lowest loop on the cuff. I'm using one of my larger jump rings. Now attach your chain. You need to make sure you have a good amount of chain, as this will connect to the stud. But not too much, or else you're going to just make it heavier and it just won't look as nice!

Now your cuff should look like this:

5. Oh, look! The stud part has finished cooking now! (I assume I will have startled at least one person by saying that lol) Now we're going to finish it up by attaching the stud! This part is simple: just use a jump ring to attach it to the chain.

Tip: If you have more than one piercing in your ear lobe, you can make a cuff with multiple studs connected to it. 

Ok, the next ear cuff tutorial I'll be making will be a little different! I'm going to be showing you guys how to make ear wraps, they're extremely similar to ear cuffs, but they sit behind your ear.

How to get started with polymer clay...

So, I've been using polymer clay for just over a year now, and I'd like to give you guys a few tips for starting out with polymer clay! 

Fimo clay

The first, and most obvious thing you need to get started is polymer clay. Do your research before you go out and buy lots of clay! I guess this is one of the most common beginner trap to fall in to. When I first started, I bought a set of clay that contained about 12 different colours. Most brands do these sets of clay. However, this was a set of Sculpey III (3) clay, which in my experience, is the worst type of polymer clay. I know it works for some people, and it does make good canes, but it almost always breaks!!! And we're not just talking about it breaking a tiny little bit, we're talking shattering in to tiny pieces over time because it's so brittle! Studio by Sculpey seemed to work a little better, but it still breaks as it's not designed to be used for jewellery or charms. At the moment I only use Fimo because it's the easiest brand to get where I live - but I'm planning to try out more when I get the time! Anyway, always do your research before buying clay.

The second most important thing is the tools. When I first started out, all I had was Sculpey III and a mat (and of course an oven!). I didn't have a blade, needle tool, rolling pin... Or anything 'fancy' like that. Now, I don't know how I managed without them! My top five must-have tools for beginners are:

1. A blade or craft knife! These are the most important tools. You need them for virtually every project. I use a craft knife with changeable blades. Personally, I find these nicer to work with, but that's just me. These are also safer because you can remove the blade completely when you're not using it, however, they're harder to clean as clay gets all in the pen part of the craft knife!
2. Some sort of a rolling pin. It doesn't literally have to be a rolling pin - you can use pens (that are rounded in shape) or paint brushes (preferably the thicker ones). You don't have to have a fancy pasta machine when you're only starting out.
3. Wipes - I always seem to use them! They're great for cleaning your hands, the surface and you can even use them to soften the clay itself! 
4. A mat of some sort to use your clay on. 
5. Scrap paper - scrap pieces of paper are really useful to have around. I use them for making templates and mixing liquid clay (which is useful to have but not a necessity).

As you go a long, you can pick up other tools (like liquid clay, chalk, pasta machine, extruder, etc), but these are the top five things I probably use for everything I make. You may however find that you already have some of these things lying around in your house. 

Another good tip is to watch videos of people making things with polymer clay on YouTube and look at plenty of tutorials. I have a growing collection tutorials here about Polymer Clay :D 

Decoden box

So, I guess I realised I don't fail at Decoden as much as I thought I did. I had another go at it last night :D

In the process...

The finished box :D

It looks so much cooler in real life :) For some reason, I decided to use the slowest method possible and use about a million tiny rhinestones instead of using the larger pretend pearls or silicone. I guess I couldn't be bothered to wait until the next time I could get to the craft shop, order them off the internet or brave the snow. So I decided it would look more awesome like this, and spent about 3 hours doing it. Yes, I know there are better ways to spend a week off from school, but this seemed more appealing... lol.

Anyway this is what I used to make it:

• 3D paint. I was having some trouble with it before, but now I've learnt how to use it... I think. You can get it from craft shops.
• LOADS of rhinestones!!! I got the smaller clear ones from a craft shop, and the coloured shaped ones from the Works. (I think we only have it in England, but you can get get them like that from most craft shops)
• Polymer clay. I mostly use Fimo at the moment. Some (not all) craft shops have it, but your best bet is to search it on the internet.
• Some old embellishments I've had since FOREVER (well, since I was about 13 at least). I think I might have got them from a card making shop, but I might have got them from the Works again. They also came in the box I used to Decoden.
• As for the glue, I used PVA, but I don't recommend it unless you really can't use any other sort of glue. I can't really handle the fumes from stronger glues, even in a well ventilated room. The same seems to go for most glazes :(. Anyway, I used a brand called 'Anita's Tacky Glue'. I find it's slightly stronger and seems to hold on to things better, so if you really can't use any other sort of glue, you should try this. If you can use super glue/glue guns, it would be much better to use them. (Edit: I've had to re-stick some of the charms back on using a glue gun. I really don't recommend using PVA glue, unless you really can't use any other kind of glue).

My sister made this charm... Now I have to
pay her £1 for using it...

If you like the look of Decoden, you should really give it a go! Just don't make the same mistake I did with my Nyan Cat box, and just rush in to doing it. I find it's best to either plan out what you're going to do or have a good idea of it in your head. Before you use 3D paint, test it out on paper to get the feel of it. Let it dry before you do any thing else. This way, you can see how it works with out making a mess of your box! I know it looks easy, but it's very different when your doing it yourself for the first time. 

What's New in the Nyan Galaxy?

So I've been trying a bit of Decoden, and I needed a new box to keep all of my stuff in. I got an empty ice cream box (which had been cleaned good of course) and turned it in to a box for my stuff :)

But I'm having a bit of a Nyan Cat phase at the moment!

So, I guess you guys can watch my fail attempt at Decoden as I make it... I've already done half of it though!












Welcome to Nyan Galaxy!!!! (lol, I had to!)

First, in Nyan Galaxy, we come to the Pop tart cat! Wait, is Nyan Cat a girl or a boy?

 S/He is having an amazing time flying whilst pooping rainbows across the box! I made the pop tart part first, by using tan coloured clay to make the shape of the pop tart, then putting liquid clay mixed with pink clay on the top. Then I placed red sprinkles on it. After that I made the body, using wire to keep it secure in the clay. After that I baked it, attached the rainbow, and baked it again. There, one Nyan Cat!

Unfortunately for Nyan Cat, s/he is heading straight for a massive chocolate waterfall!!!

FAIL!!!!!!

So, it started off ok, then it turned in to a fail! It's just 3D paint, beads, and a few cane slices. When I get round to it, I'm going to sort it out by painting over the parts that went all flat and weird.

NEXT TIME ON NYAN CAT GALAXY.... I'll be making more fail decoden!!! If I can, I'll try to get my hands on some whipple cream (Which is fake whipped cream!). I know this deeply offends some people, but I think I'd rather make my own. I have all the stuff I need at home to make it, so why bother buying it? It's a waste of money! (Sorry for offending every whipple fan in the world lol!)

(Edit: I have now made a decoden box that doesn't fail so badly!)