Sculpey Soufflé™ Silkscreen Slab Earrings
"These bright dangly earrings are sure to perk up your next outfit! They feature a super fun technique you may not have considered for your clay pieces before! Using a silkscreened image in the background of your earrings makes the perfect easy start to a little slab building technique, plus it's a fun way to add color and texture without adding too much bulk. Give these a try, they'll take around an hour from start to finish."
Primary TechniqueJewelry Making
Materials List
- Sculpey Premo™ 18K Gold 2 oz
- Sculpey Soufflé™ Canary 1.7 oz
- Sculpey Soufflé™ Pistachio 1.7 oz
- Sculpey Soufflé™ Mandarin 1.7 oz
- Sculpey Soufflé™ Raspberry 1.7 oz
- Sculpey Tools™ Graduated Cutters: Circle, 6 pc
- Sculpey Tools™ Graduated Cutters: Oval, 6 pc
- Sculpey Tools™ 8-Inch Acrylic Clay Roller
- Sculpey Tools™ Clay Blades
- Sculpey Tools™ Clay Tool Starter Set
- Sculpey Tools™ Floral Silk Screens
- Sculpey Tools™ Cutters: Irregular Oval, 3 pc
- Glossy Navy blue acrylic paint
- Water basin large enough to accommodate the silkscreen
- Small piece of stair tread for texture
- 10mm Gold tone jump rings (2)
- Gold tone ear posts with backs (2)
- Silicone glue
Getting Started:
Please make sure your work area is covered and you are not working on an unprotected surface. We recommend working on the Sculpey® Oven-Safe Work Mat, wax paper, metal baking sheet, or disposable foil. Uncured clay may damage unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Be sure to cover your crafting area appropriately.
Start with clean hands, unwrap and knead clay until soft and smooth, or condition by running clay though a Pasta Machine. We recommend using a designated machine for clay purposes only. When working with multiple colors, clean hands with soap and water or baby wipes (we have found that baby wipes work best) before switching colors. Shape clay, pressing pieces firmly together. Wash hands after use.
Baking:
Begin by preheating oven to 275 °F (130 °C). After you are done creating; for best results bake clay on an oven-proof surface such metal, aluminum foil, an index card or the Sculpey® Clay Mat at 275°F (130 °C) for 30 minutes per 1/4" (6 mm) thickness according to package directions. Oven safe glass or ceramic surfaces are also acceptable for baking; however please note that the baking times may take longer as the glass or ceramic surfaces take longer to heat up. For best baking results, use an oven thermometer. DO NOT USE MICROWAVE OVEN. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME.
Instructions
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For just one pair of earrings you will need 1/4 bar of Raspberry Soufflé™. In this tutorial I have sheeted the entire bar.
Sheet conditioned Raspberry to 1/8” thick and place on your work surface. Roll it so that it sticks down well and won’t move while you silkscreen the clay.
Burnish the silkscreen (shiny side down) onto the clay pressing out air bubbles with your fingertips.
Prepare a basin of water that you can immediately place the silkscreen and squeegee into when you have completed the screen. -
Squirt a bead of paint across one of the short edges of the screen.
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Holding the squeegee at a 45-degree angle, slowly and carefully pull the paint across the silkscreen.
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Peel the silkscreen away from the clay starting at one corner. Immediately place the screen and the squeegee into the water.
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Allow the paint to dry completely on the clay before cutting.
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Once the paint is dry, cut two of the largest oval shapes.
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We will use the medium sized Irregular Oval Cutter to remove the centers. For the right-hand sample (shown), cut the center out leaving a 1/8” border at the top of the Raspberry piece.
For the left-hand sample (shown), flip the Raspberry piece over. Remove the center with the medium Irregular Oval Cutter leaving a 1/8” border at the top. -
Carefully flip the left piece right side up. As shown here, cutting from the back side will create mirror image earrings.
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Next add the details:
- From Pistachio, add little strings of tiny balls in series.
- Make tiny petals from Canary and add these as shown.
- Use the Ball Tool to press divots in the centers of the Canary pieces.
- Add little balls of Mandarin to the divots in the Canary decorations.
- Poke all the Mandarin balls with the Blunt Point Tool.
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Roll 18K Gold Premo to 1/8” thick sheet. Cut two 3/4” Circles from the clay. Texture the circles with the piece of stair tread. Lay them out above the ovals to audition for assembly.
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Here’s the earring layout that I have chosen. Poke holes in the bottom of the gold buttons for later assembly.
Bake the pieces following the baking instructions for Sculpey Premo™. Allow the pieces to cool completely before handling. -
Use flat nose pliers to assemble the earrings with the jump rings. Glue posts to the back of the buttons and allow to dry completely before handling.