Summer Sky Earrings

These homemade sky bead earrings from AMACO would look great on a blue-eyed girl. You can use these gorgeous DIY earrings to dress up a drab work outfit or wear them with a little black dress for a special night out with your hubby. Use polymer clay to make different shaped beads to form more eclectic designs. For help with using bead rollers, check out this simple how to video. Once you've made these simple clay crafts, you'll be hooked! See what other unique ideas you can come up with.

Blue Polymer Clay Earrings

Materials:

FIMO Soft, 1 oz. block each of: White (#0), Metallic Blue (#302)
Two 2" Silver Plated Eye Pins
Two 2" Silver Plated Head Pins
Six Silver Seed Beads
Two Silver Earring Hooks
AMACO Tri-Bead Roller
AMACO Professional Bead Baking Rack with Piercing Pins
AMACO Poly Roller Clear Acrylic Clay Roller
AMACO Pasta Machine
Cutting Blade (found in AMACO Bead Making Tool set)
AMACO Clay Shaper #6
Home Oven or Dedicated Toaster Oven
Oven Thermometer
Round Nose Jewelry Pliers
Wire Cutters
8-1/2" X 11" Sheet White Cardstock (or freezer paper)
Masking Tape

For even more fun homemade jewelry ideas, take a look at our free "25 Easy to Make Homemade Jewelry Ideas" eBook.

Instructions:

Preheat home oven (or dedicated toaster oven) to 265°F. Cover work surface with cardstock; taping edges to hold in place. Beginning with White, knead clay to condition. With a quarter size ball of Metallic Blue, make a 3/8" diameter rope by rolling on a covered work surface with open palms.
Use AMACO® pasta machine set on #5 setting to roll a thin sheet of both clay colors (approximately 3" x 3" square). Stack White sheet on top of Metallic Blue and cut to make edges even (see Fig. 1). Make a jelly roll (see Fig. 2). Roll jelly roll to make a 3/8" diameter rope. Cut rope in half, place halves side by side, press lightly together to join, then roll to reduce to a 3/8" diameter rope once again.
Follow directions included with AMACO® Tri-Bead Roller to measure clay size needed to create beads. The Clay Shaper may be used to push clay out of measuring disk (see Fig. 3). You will need two Metallic Blue bi-cone beads and two round beads that are made from the jelly roll blend of both colors. Jelly roll colors will swirl nicely in bead roller; creating a “sky like” appearance (see Fig. 4). Before removing beads from roller, insert piercing pin (or toothpick) through ends and place onto AMACO® Bead Baking Rack (see Fig. 5).
Bake beads in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on rack.
To assemble earrings, first slide a silver seed bead onto eye pin followed by Metallic Blue bicone bead and another silver seed bead. Use jewelry pliers to bend a loop just above last seed bead, slide earring wire onto loop, then wrap wire twice; going around base of loop and top of bead (see Fig. 6). Cut excess wire.
Insert a head pin through round (swirled) bead. Slide silver seed bead onto pin and then use round nose jewelry pliers to bend a loop just above seed bead. Cut excess wire with wire cutters. Attach to bottom of bicone bead by sliding looped end through eye pin. Close loop.

Notes:

For beads of uniform size every time, use disk found in package with roller to measure, then cut clay size needed.
Clay Shaper may be used to push clay out of measuring disk.
Place measured clay pieces one at a time into Tri-Bead Roller; sliding side to side until bead shape is formed.
When two or more clay colors are used together, clay will swirl and create other interesting patterns when rolled through the bead roller. It’s a surprise every time and fun to see what happens!