How do you make earrings from my polymer clay creations?
I wanted to make some earrings using a pair of rabbits i made with clay. Do I glue it onto the earwires or do I poke a hole through it before baking so I can insert the head pin?
There are quite a few ways to attach small polymer clay items to other things, including to earring findings. Basically you can make a hole, or you can put something in the clay that creates a loop.
If you make a hole, the hole can go all the way through the fat part of the item or bead (usually from top to bottom, or could be from side to side), or a hole can be made from front to back (usually in flatter items).
In the first case, you’d usually thread a head pin or an eye pin through the hole from the bottom of the item, then bend the top of the shank sticking out of the hole into a loop shape by hand.
You’d either attach that loop to the loop of a dangle-type earring finding, or you’d attach a jumpring then attach the jump ring to the finding for a bit freer dangle.
In the second case, you’d put a jump ring through the hole, then attach the jumpring to the loop of an earring finding (…or if making a necklace, you might just thread the cording directly through the hole).
You can also create holes before or after hardening the clay… it’s a little easier beforehand though.
You can also "embed" the shortened shank of an eye pin into the top of the clay item before or after hardening the clay… again, it’s a bit easier beforehand.
Rather than describing all those possibilities in detail, I’ll just give you links to the 2 pages at my polymer clay encyclopedia site that have lessons, links to examples, variations, for them:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/pendants_cording.htm
…click on *Flat Holes* for making front to back holes
…click on *Top Loops* for putting shortened eye pins (or eye screws or upside-down U shapes) into the top of a clay item
http://glassattic.com/polymer/beads-holes.htm
…click on *Holes Before Baking* or *Holes After Baking* for top-to-bottom or side-to-side holes
And this page has info on creating your own "simple loops" in eye pins or other wires, if you need lessons for that:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/wire.htm
…click on *Basic Wire Shapes*
You might also want to check out the page where earrings in particular are discussed at my site too:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/jewelry.htm
…click on *Earrings*
HTH,
Diane B.