Faux Ceramic Pendant

Ceramic jewelry has an earthy appeal, but because ceramics require a kiln, many of us find it an impractical pursuit. Using the technique detailed below, however, you can transform ordinary polymer clay into attractive faux ceramics.

This tutorial illustrates how to make faux ceramic pendants, but you can also apply it to brooches, flattened beads, smaller charms, or anything else you like. It is well suited for any project that can be cured flat-- particularly those with decoration on only one side-- but may be adapted to work with more dimensional objects, as well.

• White polymer clay
• Translucent liquid clay
  • Any brand will do. TLS has a more matte finish and is less translucent than Kato or Fimo brand liquid clays, but translucence isn't as important for this project. Kato cures to a slight shine.
• Alcohol ink
  • If you can't get these, you can tint the liquid clay with oil paints, powdered pigments, or powdered artist's pastels. For sparkling color, use mica powders. These products will yield a more opaque mixture than if you use alcohol inks.
• Release agent of your choice
  • Usually water, baby powder, or cornstarch
• Wet/dry sandpaper
  • 320 or 400 grit
• Cleaning supplies
  • Alcohol, baby wipes, and paper towels are all but indispensible.

• Work surface
• Aluminum palette
  • This is useful for mixing colors of liquid clay. If you don't have one, you can use a ceramic tile, glass sheet, or polymer-friendly paint pots.
• Needle tool or tapestry needle (toothpicks will work)
• Ceramic tile
  • One that fits into your oven.
• Pasta machine (if possible)
• Brayer or acrylic rod
• Texturing tools
  • Stamps, texture sheets (bought or homemade), and/or found textures
• Shape cutters
  • Cookie cutters, petit fours cutters, drinking straws, etc.
  • If you don't have shape cutters or prefer to make custom shapes, use a crafe knife to cut shapes freehand. You can also use templates from thin plastic or cardstock as guides.
• Craft knife
• Tissue blade
• Oven (plus aluminum foil tent, thermometer, mitt and timer)
• Optional:
  • Gloves, if you don't wish to reduce fingerprints or avoid handling the clay
  • Paintbrush for applying liquid clay
  • Eyepins (or other findings) and superglue, depending on what you're making

If you're using alcohol ink to tint the liquid clay, you may want to do that first. Put a drop or two of the ink on top of the liquid clay and allow the alcohol to evaporate before mixing the color into the clay with a toothpick or needle tool. Apply the ink now and mix it in later on.

This "evaporation-wait" may not be neccessary, but it is generally recommended as an extra precaution to prevent unwanted bubbling in the liquid clay.

A little ink goes a long way, so use it sparingly. You can always add more ink later, if you want a darker color. If you accidentally add too much, you can lighten the color by adding more liquid clay. You can also mix custom colors by combining one or more colors of ink.

Condition the white clay.

Roll it through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. If you prefer an even pendant (as we did), double the sheet.

Use a needle or craft knife to pop any bubbles you see, and use the brayer to smooth and adhere the layered sheets.

Work directly on a ceramic tile that fits into your oven. The less you move this project, the less distortion you'll see.

Texture the sheet of clay.

Be sure to apply a release agent to the stamp or texture sheet. If you use water, as we did, be sure to gently pat away the moisture with a paper towel after the clay is textured.

 

 

Use a shape cutter or craft knife to cut into the textured clay.

If you have room to cut more than one pendant from the sheet of clay, do so. It's best not to try to fit too many too closely together, though, as it can be difficult to pull up the clay between them without causing distortions. (If there's just a small bit of clay that you can't remove, you can cure it in place and cut or snap them apart afterward.)

Pull away the excess clay, leaving the cut shape(s) untouched on the tile.

If desired, apply texture to the edges of the cut shapes. Now is also the time to place eyepins or cut stringing holes in pendants. A drinking straw cut into short lengths makes a great tool for cutting out large stringing holes.

Don't worry about any leftover traces of clay around your cut-out. Those you can't easily remove now can be quickly eliminated, later.)

If you want to make several piece at the same time, repeat steps 2 through 5 as desired until your baking tile is full.

Put the tile into a pre-heated oven, tent with aluminum foil (to prevent scorching), and cure at the manufacturer's recommended temperature for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tile.

 

 

When the tile has cooled a bit (or a lot-- there's no rush), remove the pendants from the tile.

If they tend to stick, pull a tissue blade under them until they pop away.

Temporarily remove eyepins and set them aside.

Sand the edges of the pendants under water as needed to remove jagged bits. Don't forget the edges of large stringing holes. Let the pendants dry (or pat dry).

(You may wish to wipe down the pendants with alcohol to remove any traces of skin oils, etc. that might interfere with the adhesion of the liquid clay in the following steps.)

If you haven't already finished tinting your liquid clay, do so now. If a color isn't dark enough for your liking, you can add another drop or two of ink. Let it evaporate a while, if you have the time to spare, before remixing.

(Here's an example of what the liquid clay might look like once you've thoroughly mixed in the ink. The orange color has been mixed, while the other two have not.)

Working on a ceramic tile that fits in your oven, apply a thin layer of the tinted liquid clay to the cured clay pendants. You can apply the liquid clay to just the tops of the pendants, or you can cover the sides and bottoms, too.

Use a fingertip or a paintbrush or other tool to apply the liquid clay. (This is a messy process-- especially if you're covering the sides and bottoms of the pendants-- so be sure to have your cleaning supplies nearby.)

Allow the "glaze" to settle into the low spots of the pattern or texture. If you have too much liquid clay on a pendant, wipe some away. You can also remove some in spots to reveal more of the clay base. How much glaze you put on will affect the final appearance of your pendant, so experiment to find what you like best.

Continue until all the pendants are glazed. Don't worry if the liquid clay drips or puddles slightly around the pendants.

Put the tile into a pre-heated oven, tent with aluminum foil, and cure at the manufacturer's recommended temperature for another 15 minutes or so.

Allow the shapes to cool on the tile, then remove as before, using a tissue blade to persuade pieces that stick.

Use a craft knife to carefully pare away any extraneous liquid clay (such as if you had puddling around the base of your pendant).

Leave as is or finish as desired. (You can sand and/or buff or apply a polymer-friendly finish, depending on the look you want to achieve.)

When you've finished all the curing you plan to do, superglue eyepins back into place. (Superglue deteriorates at curing temperatures, so save this step for the end.)

 

• Try different colors of clay "bases" for a new look.
• Draw or stipple a design into the clay with a needle or a ball-end stylus.
• For a more distressed look, lightly sand the pendants after curing the liquid clay glaze.
• For a higher shine, give your pendants a coat or two of polymer-friendly finish.
• Vary the degree of coverage when you texture the clay. Leave a little (or a lot of) empty space, sometimes.
• If you're using certain types of texture sheets (such as the Shade-Tex brand), you can get two textures by using both sides of the sheet.
• Apply different colors of liquid clay glaze to the same piece, either in the same step or before separate firings.
• For more dimensional textures, change the look by lightly brayer over the textured clay (before applying glaze) to gently flatten the pattern.
• If you don't have liquid clay, you can get a somewhat similar effect by antiquing with acrylic paint or Varathane or Future tinted with acrylic paint, powdered pigments, or mica powders.

• Use a paint scraper, craft knife, or old tissue blade to scrape off clay baked onto ceramic tiles. Wipe away any residual dust with alcohol or a baby wipe.
• Alcohol on a paper towel or baby wipe works well to clean up alcohol ink, liquid clay, and sticky polymer clay residue.
• If your pendants are at all dusty or oily, give them a quick wipe with alcohol to prepare them for the glaze.