Any hibiscus fans? If you love them as much as I do, you are in for a treat! This edition of the Maker’s box has everything you need to make three gorgeous designs, the only things missing are some nice music to make the creative time even more enjoyable and some jewelry pliers to make the assembling process easier. But don’t worry, if you don’t have any pliers laying around (and don’t want to get some affordable ones on Amazon), you can use normal pliers, a ring opener or open them with your finger. The pliers will be a good investment though if you are planning to give this jewelry making thing a try. Okay, enough of that, let’s move on to the designs!
What you will need
The Maker’s Box already contains pretty much everything you need, but a few more things will be quite useful in the process:
- Wet wipes to clean tools, surfaces and your hands
- A tile or tray with baking paper to take the pieces to the oven
- Jewelry pliers for the assembling part
Here are the things included in your Maker’s Box:
- 3x Fimo Soft packages (Black, Indian Red and White)
- 1x acrylic plate
- 1x awl (needle tool)
- 1x fabric pouch
- Pictures of all 3 designs
- Color recipes
- 2x wooden sticks
- Corn starch
- Tissue paper
- Sizing reference sheets
- All the jewelry components to make 2 earrings of each design
Don’t have a Maker’s Box yet? Click here to get yours.
Color Palette
For these designs you will only need three Fimo Soft base colors: Black, Indian Red and White. With them you will be able to create all six colors necessary for these earrings. Use the color palette below and the color recipes listed along each design to mix the shades you will need for these creations.
Color mixing is pretty straight forward: simply roll the clay (try to roll always at a similar thickness) and use a circular cutter (or a bottle cap) so you can easily cut fractions of the circle according to the color recipe directions.
Sizing Reference Sheet
To make things even easier, along with all the supplies you also receive the size reference for each piece of all three designs. This way you don’t have to keep measuring things with a ruler.
Design #1 — Ruby Breeze
Let’s get started with this beautiful artistic design. You will need to mix 3 different colors for this design:
Flush Mahogany
Indian Red: 12
Black: ¼
Pale Sky
White: 3
Black: 1
Diesel
Black only
Keep in mind that you don’t need to mix a lot of clay. Start with little, and mix more as needed. Once you have all the colors mixed, is time to start creating the parts. For this you will need the Sizing Reference Sheets you received on your Maker’s Box (the ones on the envelope together with the tissue paper).
You have enough jewelry components and supplies to make 2 pairs of each design. So you can either make 2 pairs right away, or make one first to get the hang of it, and then make the second with all the expertise you will have gained.
Here are the sizes and quantities you need of each piece:
- 2 small flowers, color Flush Mahogany, made with the 5 small circles as reference
- 2 large flowers, color Flush Mahogany, using the petal the 5 shapes on the Sizing Reference Sheet
- 2 flattened circles, color Pale Sky, using the large circle on the Sizing Reference Sheet
In the video below you can see the step by step process. Feel free to use your creativity when making the drawings and details on the clay. Just always make sure to keep the drawings at the surface level so you don’t go all the way through to the back of the earrings.
And a tip from a friend: don’t forget to use the tissue paper when flattening the clay otherwise you will end up with clay stuck to both the Reference Sheet and the acrylic plate (not fun, I can guarantee).
As soon as you are done making the designs, take them to the ove (pre-heat it at the temperature indicated on the clay package) and set the timer for the amount of time also shown on the clay package. While the pieces are in the oven, clean all tools and surfaces with the wet wipes or using a cloth with alcohol (or paper towel if you don’t want to have to clean the cloth afterwards). This will avoid clay residue from sticking for all eternity to the tools.
If you prefer you can also make all three designs and then take them to the oven all at once. If you decide to do so, simply put the already sculpted pieces aside and cover them with plastic to protect from dust and lint.
Now it’s time to assemble your piece. As I mentioned before, the process is much easier if you have some jewelry pliers laying around. If you don’t and plan on making more designs in the future, it is worth it investing in some simple and affordable jewelry pliers.
Here is how to assemble this first design starting from the bottom:
- Connect the two small flowers (already with the posts embedded on it) to the large flower using the 7mm jump ring
- Then, attach the large flower to the circle using another 7mm jump ring
And with that you are all done. You can now go out for some coffee or bubble tea to show off you new earrings, or you can just jump into the next design right away.
Design #2 — Silver Blooms
Now that you already made the first design, this one will be so much easier. And, honestly, if you jumped to this one because you were afraid that design #1 is too hard, fear not! You will do just fine!
Here are the colors you will need for this design:
Cadmium Red
Indian Red only
Pale Pink
White: 24
Indian Red: ⅛
Pale Sky
White: 3
Black: 1
Once again, there is no need to mix a bunch of clay because you will only need a little bit of clay. And once you are finished mixing the colors we can move on to the pieces you need to make for this design. Simply use the Sizing Reference Sheet again for the following pieces and quantities:
- 2 small flattened circles, color Pale Pink, using the smaller circle on the Reference Sheet
- 2 small flowers, color Cadmium Red, using the 5 smallest circles on the Reference Sheet
- 2 large flattened circles, mixing the colors Pale Pink and Pale Sky, using the large circle on the Reference Sheet
- 2 large flowers, color Cadmium Red, using the petal shape on the Reference Sheet
Watch the video below to see the step-by-step process:
Now, you know the drill. As soon as you are done making the designs, take them to the ove (pre-heat it at the temperature indicated on the clay package) and set the timer for the amount of time also shown on the clay package. While the pieces are in the oven, clean all tools and surfaces with the wet wipes or using a cloth with alcohol (or paper towel if you don’t want to have to clean the cloth afterwards).
Moving on to the assembling part, this one is a breeze: simply attach the small circle to the large one using the 7mm jump ring. That’s all!
So, do you want to take a break or shall we go straight to the third and final design?
Design #3 — Blossoming Beauty
Yay! Now it’s time for my favorite design out of all three: the hibiscus dangles. So here are the colors you will need:
Cadmium Red
Indian Red only
Desire
White: 4
Indian Red: 3
Pale Pink
White: 24
Indian Red: ⅛
I’m sure things are much easier already at this point, so let’s pull the Sizing Reference Sheet and make it happen. Here are the pieces and quantities you will need:
- 2 flowers, color Desire, using the petal shape on the Sizing Reference Sheet and added details, colors Cadmium Red and Pale Pink
Watch the video below to see how to make this third design:
One last time, as soon as you are done making the designs, take them to the ove (pre-heat it at the temperature indicated on the clay package) and set the timer for the amount of time also shown on the clay package. While the pieces are in the oven, clean all tools and surfaces with the wet wipes or using a cloth with alcohol (or paper towel if you don’t want to have to clean the cloth afterwards).
For assembly, simply attach the 5mm jump ring to the flower and then use the 3mm jump ring to connect the larger part to the hooks. And you are all finished!
Ready for a new challenge? Try the Maker’s Box Starfish edition by clicking here. Be the first one to know about new Maker’s boxes by following Clay Repository on Instagram. Please tag @clayrepository when posting your designs. Can’t wait to see your work of art!
Royalty-free music used in the video tutorials:
Video 1
Music: Let’s Celebrate
Musician: Music_Unlimited
Video 2
Music: Mystic
Musician: Jeff Kaale
Video 3
Music: Sunny
Musician: @iksonmusic
