Liquid Sculpey® Faux Amethyst Earrings

. Getting Started:Do not use unbaked clay on unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Start with clean hands and work surface area. Good work surfaces include wax paper, metal baking sheet, or disposable foil. Stir Liquid Sculpey® completely. Thin with Sculpey® Liquid Clay Softener as needed. Bake on oven-proof glass or metal surface at 275 degrees F (130 degrees C) for 20 minutes. For best baking results, use an oven thermometer. DO NOT USE MICROWAVE OVEN. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME. Wash hands after use. Baking should be done by an adult.Begin by preheating oven to degrees 275 degrees F (130 degrees C). Test temperature with oven thermometer for perfectly cured clay. Designer’s Note - For molds like these I find a Cold Cure method works really well. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. If using more than one color of liquid, make sure the liquids are comparable in thickness and thin with Sculpey® Liquid Clay Softener as needed. Always stir the liquids completely, especially when mixing softener or tints into them. Fill the mold as desired and gently tap the mold on a flat smooth surface to release air bubbles. Place the filled silicone mold on top of a wet cloth and bake for 20 minutes. Baking at this low temperature and on a wet cloth will bake the pieces slowly which keeps air bubbles from forming. Once the piece is set, it can be baked again at the higher temperature of 325 degrees if necessary without bubbles forming.

Stir Clear Liquid Sculpey® (LS) completely making sure any lumps are totally mixed in. Fill one end of the offset marquis shapes with Clear LS.

Place a small amount of Clear LS in the bottom of a paper baking liner. Add a drop of purple alcohol ink and stir it in with a flat purple tool being careful not to poke a hole in the paper liner.

Fill the rest of the mold with the tinted LS

Add a sprinkling of the mica flakes in the area where the Clear and the purple come together. Bake the mold following the Cold Cure method described above

Back fill the rest of the mold with more Clear LS and bake again following the Cold Cure method.

After the pieces are set, preheat the oven to 325F and bake them again in the mold for 15 minutes or until the pieces go clear. You may also clear them in the mold with a heat gun. Turn the heat gun on “hi” and hold it 4”-6” away from each piece. You will be able to see the piece go clear as it heats up. Allow them to cool completely. Remove them from the mold by flexing the mold gently. Heat the other side to clear it as well.Connect the molded pieces to ear wires with the jump rings.

Designer’s Note - I use miniature paper baking liners for mixing Liquid Sculpey® for projects that require only a small amount of each color. If I’m mixing up several different colors, I use a mini muffin baking pan to hold the paper cups steady while I’m mixing. When I’m all finished with a project, I fill my mold with any remaining tinted LS and bake the pieces to save for later projects. Then I bake the paper cups with the residue of the LS in them. When they are completely cool the cups can be discarded. The paper cups I use are from the baking department and designed for use as mini cupcake liners.