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Crackled Inlay

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This tutorial illustrates a simple process that requires a minimum of materials but yields results that you’ll be proud to show off. The tutorial explains how to use this technique to create stunning beads, but it can easily be adapted to work with other projects.

All you really need to get started are translucent and black clay, something to roll it thin, and a few colors of metallic acrylic paint!

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Materials

Premo Frost (aka Bleached Translucent)

This particular type of clay is thought to be the clearest and least likely to yellow or plaque during curing. If you don’t have Premo Frost, use any translucent polymer clay.

Premo Black (or any color or brand of clay you prefer)
Metallic or pearlescent acrylic paint in a few different colors

Any brand will do. Some crackle better (or simply differently) than others, so your results will vary depending on your choice. In this tutorial, Daler-Rowney Pearlescent Acrylic Inks were used, in the following colors: Mazuma Gold, Waterfall Green, and Moon Violet.

Polymer-friendly glossy finish (such as Future or Varathane)-- optional

Tools

Work surface

You may wish to cover your work surface with a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap for easy clean-up.

Latex, vinyl or nitrile gloves (optional, but they cut down on fingerprints)
Pasta machine, brayer, or acrylic rod
Paintbrush
Cutting tools / shape cutters

Such as: craft knife, tissue blade, wavy blade, tiny cookie cutters, drinking straws, etc.

Piercing tool (for beads—not necessary for other projects)
Oven (plus baking rack or cookie sheet lined with accordion-folded cardstock, thermometer, and timer)
Bowl of ice water (after baking)
Wet-dry sandpaper (320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, etc.)
Electric buffing wheel or denim polishing rag

Directions

Step 1

Roll the conditioned Premo Frost into sheets using either the pasta machine or a rolling tool. (Thicker sheets will yield wider, more obvious crackle, later on. Thinner sheets will yield more delicate crackle. A medium setting on the pasta machine was used for the photos.) You may trim the edges of your sheets or leave them jagged, according to your preference.

Step 2

Paint each sheet of clay with metallic acrylic paints. Allow the paint the dry thoroughly.

Step 3

Put each sheet of clay through the pasta machine on a narrower setting or roll it thinner by hand. Your method of thinning the sheet will affect the look of the crackle. Going step by step through the pasta machine, rotating the sheet by 90° before each pass, will yield a more even crackle, with cracks going in both directions. Putting the clay through the pasta machine in the same direction each time will make a more striped pattern. Experiment to find a look you prefer.

Step 4

Place the sheets of clay on your work surface and cut shapes from them. The size of shapes you’ll want will depend on the size of the surface you are planning to cover with inlay. For small to medium-sized beads, small decorative elements work best. Use tiny shape cutters, strips cut with a tissue blade or wavy blade, or cut your own shapes free-hand with a craft knife. Lay these shapes aside.

Step 5

Roll a base bead from conditioned black clay (or any color you prefer). Place a single layer (no overlapping) of your cut shapes onto the base bead. Press them gently, painted side down, onto the bead. (To achieve the look of the sample beads, it is crucial that the painted side of the clay be placed face down on the bead. Otherwise, you’ll end up sanding away the acrylic paint later in the process.) Once you’re happy with the arrangement of this first layer of shapes, roll the bead between your palms. Roll firmly enough to embed the shapes into the bead.

Step 6

When the seams of the first “inlaid” shapes have disappeared, you may choose to place another layer of shapes, which can now overlap the pieces you previously placed. (This step is optional. If you’re satisfied with your bead at this point, then leave it as it is.) Once again roll the bead between your palms to smooth it and melt away the seams. Repeat this step until you are satisfied with your bead.

Step 7

At this point, you must decide what shape you want your bead to be. If you want a round bead, your work is done. If you’d rather have a lentil-shaped bead or something else, gently form it into that shape. (For a lentil, simply flatten the bead slightly between your palms, turning it a few times to create a nicely domed shape.) Some distortion or cracking of your inlays may occur if you try to change the shape of the bead too drastically.

Step 8

Once the bead is the shape you want it to be, allow it to rest a few minutes (perhaps while you work on other beads). Come back to it later to make the stringing hole with a piercing tool. If you prefer, you may drill the hole after curing.

Step 9

Cure the beads according to the clay manufacturer’s guidelines. Immediately after removing them from the oven, dunk them into ice water to increase the translucency of the clay. Allow the beads to sit in this ice bath for at least several minutes.

Step 10

Later, wet-sand the beads through a range of grits, starting with 320 or 400 (depending on how smooth they were before curing) and finishing with 800 or 1000 (or higher, if you prefer). Buff to a high sheen on a muslin wheel or with a denim rag. An electric buffing wheel is preferred, for the highest shine.

No finish is required, but if you wish to do so, you may apply a couple coats of polymer clay-friendly finish. (This step will give you a glassier finish if you don’t have a buffing wheel and aren’t able to achieve a high sheen through buffing alone.)

Alternatives

To create a flat sheet or veneer using this technique, simply apply the shapes you cut from the crackled-paint clay onto a sheet of black base clay. Arrange a single layer (no overlapping) of shapes, then use a brayer or acrylic rod to smooth the seams. (Strategic use of a clay shaper or your fingertips can also help to erase lines.) If you wish, you can apply another layer of shapes and repeat the smoothing process.
Try this technique without the crackle! Just start with an ultra-thin sheet of translucent clay, paint that, and skip the crackling step.
Use non-metallic acrylic paints for a different look.
Combine more than one color of paints (metallic or not) on each sheet of clay to create marbled or variegated effects.
Skip the paints entirely—use foil or metal leaf instead!
Spread glitter over a sheet of translucent clay, cut shapes from it, and press the glittered-side down on the base bead.
Try different colors of base beads.

The finished crackled inlay beads