An Intro to Air Dry Clay Jewelry
Introduction: An Intro to Air Dry Clay Jewelry
In today's Instructable, I am going to guide you through the beginning steps of learning to make jewelry from air dry clay. Clay has been a hobby of mine for a while now, and I wanted to share the joy with others and hopefully help them by clearly laying out things that took me months to learn. Air dry clay is a simple medium that can produce great results.
*This Instructable will be in sections. The "supplies" numbers indicate where to find what in each section, so feel free to skip to what you need to know.
Supplies
Sections:
1. Air Dry Clay (types will be discussed)
2. Pros and Cons of Air Dry Clay
3. Clay tools
4. Modeling
5. Paint or other coloring mediums
6. Glues (for additions or fixing mistakes)
7. Drying
8. Varnishes
9.Jewelry Components and Tools
Step 1: Air Dry Clay
Air Dry clays have been around for centuries. Modern air dry clay is a bit different. There are different types made from slightly different materials, and that will affect how the clay is used and your results.
Types of Air Dry Clays:
Paper clays literally include paper fibers. This helps make them strong. 994
Water can be used to smooth joins, make the clay malleable, and smooth the surface. These clays can be carved when dry. Examples are Hearty Paper clay, and Creative Paper clay.
Flower Clays or Resin clays are made to stay flexible after drying. Resin clay means they contain a polymer like oven bake polymer clay does. They are often used for making flowers as the name suggests. Examples are Modena.
Cold Porcelain Clay (homemade) is another way to go. Despite what some may say, you CAN make a good modeling clay at home.There are many recipes out there, but my favorites I have found from Russian/Ukrainian/Indian websites. It takes time to learn what recipe works for you, but it can be very worth it cost wise. A warning: don't use a recipe that contains water. It will crack when drying.
Step 2: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Often Less costly than oven bake clays (especially homemade cold porcelain)
- Does not require special equipment or baking in an oven
- Small pieces for jewelry are very durable
- Holds detail well (some types hold better than others)
- Can be sculpted into practically anything
- Can be colored in a wide variety of ways (acrylic paint, oil paint, mica powders, pastels..)
- Generally very lightweight (big plus for earrings)
- Very portable due to being able to cure anywhere in open air
Cons:
- Does take time to dry; oven bake clays are faster
- Can be brittle depending on how it was sculpted, type of clay used, and size and compactibility of the piece.
- Can crack while drying (some types more than others)
- Cannot be caned like oven bake clays
- Not waterproof; needs varnished
- May shrink slightly with drying (this depends on the type of air dry clay)
- Needs stored in an airtight container or it will dry out
Step 3: Clay Tools
Once you have your clay, you are ready to sculpt!
Literally, you don't need tools. You can just take off.
However, tools help attain detail, so you will probably want some.
My top four tool recommendations are:
- A roller
- A knife
- A stylus
- A ball tool.
These are mainly self-explanatory. A stylus is a pointed tool (like a pencil or pen) , and a ball tool has a rounded end used for smoothing the clay.
*Remember: you don't have to purchase these tools. You can use a wooden dowel or plastic rod for the roller, any knife, a pencil or other stick for the stylus, and any smooth rounded something for the ball tool.
Honestly, those tools are my favorites and they will take you far. Other tools that you might be interested in later include:
- A specific work board for your clay. I made mine from a plastic cutting board that I glued a piece of wood on for backing, but a plastic clipboard works really well.
- Molds or cutters to make shapes (useful for bezels and pendants)
- Foam mats for drying (discussed in "Drying")
* TIP: Searching for "fondant tools" will bring you lots of tools at a cheaper price than searching for "clay tools".
Step 4: Modeling
Learning to model clay can take time. 994