Make a Polymer Clay Rhinestone Bracelet

A guest post by Kira Slye

It is so easy to customize all the fun ready-made jewelry components available these days in the craft stores. This rhinestone bracelet by Arti Cakes was begging for a sparkly embellishment! Using two kinds of clay, you can make a very secure center piece in any colors you like.

Materials & Supplies:

Premo Bronze Polymer Clay- just a little piece
Kato Liquid Polyclay
Elmers or other white glue
Aves Apoxy Sculpt two part epoxy clay (silver grey shown)
Jones Tones Mylar foil, one piece in color of your choice (blue shown)
Work surface- white glazed tiles are great
Large rubber stamp with floral or texture design
Arti Cakes rhinestone bracelet with flat pad
Circle cookie cutter a little smaller than the pad on the bracelet
Complementary colored loose rhinestones

Make a thin flat sheet of the bronze clay a little larger than the pad on the bracelet, using an acrylic rolling pin or pasta machine. Stick it to the tile.

Take the Jones Tones foil and put it face-up (color side facing you) on the clay. Use the back of your wood mounted stamp to burnish for about 30 seconds- this means rub it fast, in circles, to create heat and friction which will stick the foil to the clay. Stop and quickly rip off the foil like a bandaid.

The foil is not adhered to the clay.

Impress the foil covered clay with your stamp.

Cut out a circle with the cutter.

Brush on a light coat of Kato liquid clay with a paintbrush- be sure to use one you can dedicate to polymer clay, because you won’t be able to get all of the clay out of it once it is used. Bake this piece at 275 degrees for 15 minutes to set the clays.

Use white glue to secure the baked piece in the center of the bracelet pad. Prop it up to dry so it doesn’t slide off the bracelet.

Prepare a small bit of Apoxy Sculpt to be used as a bezel. You need two pieces about the size of a large pea.

Make thin snakes and wrap them together to begin the mixing process, use whatever works for you, but work fast and keep mixing until they are all one color with no streaks.

Then roll it into a long rope to wrap around the edge of the center of the bracelet. Press gently and be sure to cover the edge of the clay piece. Smooth the seam where it comes together with your fingers.

Push rhinestones all around the edge. They will become permanently stuck in the Apoxy.

Your bracelet is complete! It needs to sit for 24 hours for the Apoxy Sculpt to fully cure before you wear it.

Other ideas:

If you wish, you can dome some resin on top of the bezel.

If you want the Apoxy Sculpt to be sparkly too, you can brush on some powdered pigments such as PearlEx while the apoxy is still wet. They will stick to the uncured clay.

Enjoy!

Kira Slye is the co-author of Polymer Clay Art Jewelry and the co-host of Polymer Clay TV.