Sculpey Soufflé™ and Sculpey Premo™ Rich-tone Bargello Earrings

Cut half a bar of each clay color-
Sage, Sedona, and Cabernet and begin to condition your pieces through your
machine on the thickest setting. Fold in half and continue to run through the
machine to ensure the clay is conditioned and ready to work with. Pick one of
the 3 colors to be your base and roll out a piece on the middle setting so that
it’s not too thick. (Make sure to wipe down your machine between colors to
avoid any contamination from the previous color).

After conditioning, roll each clay color into balls and then roll out into tubes just thick enough to fit into the clay extruder. Use your extruder disk with the 4 individual holes, this will create strings thin enough for this design. Run each color through the extruder to create the strings for your project. Use a disk that is a bit thicker in size to push out a thicker string in the Premo Sage color and this will be used to border your earrings. (Again, please wipe down the extruder and disk after each color to avoid color contamination).

Now that you have all of your clay rolled out or run through the extruder, we can start assembling. First, begin to layer the strings of clay, alternating the colors. Once you have layered enough to give you approximately a 4x4 piece

Lay the base color flat and make sure it is smoothed out. Cut to approximately 4x4 piece. Spread a thin layer of the Translucent Liquid Sculpey to act as an adhesive for your next step.

With your tissue blade, cut equal size strips (approximately 2mm) and begin placing on your base sheet of clay. You will arrange the strips to create a pattern, alternating the strips slightly to the left and right. Repeat until you have completed the length of the base.

Once your pattern is completed. You will need your Oval and Round Cutter. Cut 2 circles for the post and 2 ovals for the dangle portion of the earring. Also, using a toothpick or small ball tip tool, create small holes where the earring pieces will connect. This will help when adding our jump rings later.

Add a bit of the Translucent Liquid Sculpey around the edges of each circle and oval so we can adhere the border. Using the thicker string of Premo Sage that was extruded, begin wrapping around circles and ovals. Make sure you’ve trimmed the excess so the border matches up perfectly.

Using your tissue blade, slowly and carefully run it along
under the clay pieces to pull it away from your surface. Transfer to your
baking surface and place in the pre-heated oven and bake as directed. *Remember
to let your pieces cool completely before removing from the form.*

Once your pieces are cool, remove from the baking surface. On the back of the circle, place a small dot of super glue to add your Earring Post. Allow time to dry as per package directions. (Once glue is dried, you can also add resin for extra support)

Using your pliers, you will add your jump rings to connect the post to the dangling portion of the earring. Pull the opening to the side to allow room to slip in the earring pieces in and connect them.

Enjoy your beautiful new earrings!