Polymer Clay Earring and Holder

To make the earrings:

1. Prepare clay and roll sheets to #4 thickness on pasta machine.

2. Mist sheet of clay with water. Place texture sheet and clay together and run through pasta machine. Use back side of sheet to get a raised impression. Carefully remove clay from texture sheet.

3. Also make solid color sheets of clay, black or pearl for contrast.

4. Ink the textured clay with Brilliance pigment inks.

5. Cut pairs of circles or squares from different prepared sheets to make layers of design shapes for earrings.

6. Pierce hole though center of shapes and bake as manufacturer directs.

7. After pieces have cooled, string them on earring hoops to create a stacked succession of shapes, with the largest one in the middle.

8. Bend the end of the hoop earring to poke upward through the hole in the hoop.

To make the holders:

1. Stack several layers of black clay and place prepared sheet on top of stack. Mist clay with water. Press texture plate into clay and remove plate.

2. Trim stack to create a square (or any desired shape) and ink clay with desired color.

3. Cut a length of 18-gauge wire about 16 inches long and fold in half. Wrap the wires together with a 2-inch piece of 24-gauge wire about 1 inch from fold. Wrap again 4 inches from fold.

4. Using a large mandrel, wrap the loose ends of the wire in either direction to make loose curls. Slide wire off mandrel.

5. Split the fold with flush cutters and bend apart to make ‘legs’ that will poke into the trimmed square. Do not pierce through clay.

6. Bake as manufacturer directs.

7. Optional: Glue a felt bottom on the square to finish it.