Glitter How To - Polymer Clay Supplies for Bead and Jewelry Making

How To Use Glitter With Fimo, Premo Sculpey and Other Brands of Polyclay:

Need some sparkly tips for adding a little bling to your polymer clay bead making and jewelry projects? Today's article will provide you with some ideas on how to use craft glitter. Here are 6 types that can be added to polymer clay in a variety of ways:

1) Glass Glitter:

• Can be added to translucent or opaque clay as an inclusion.
• Mixed into liquid polymer clay (TLS Translucent Liquid Sculpey).
• Can be rubbed on the outside of raw clay.

2) Large Flaked Glitter:

• Sometimes known as Buffalo Snow or Arnold Grummer's Flakes.
• Added to TLS and spread on tile to bake. Peel off and turn over to get a smooth iridescent sheet for creating faux opals.
• Mixed into translucent clay to make beads. Because the large flakes tend to protrude, cover bead with thin layer of translucent clay to protect.

3) Craft Glitter:

• Cheap stuff tends to curl, melt and/or discolor with heat. Experiment to get desired result.
• Can be used same as other glitters.
• Tends to have a mixture of particle sizes.

4) Shaped Confetti Glitter:

• Some plastic confetti works well in polymer clay. Often this type of glitter confetti will curl though. So experiment to get desired effect.

5) Mica Powders:

• Ultra fine glitter and metallic powders.
• Can be mixed into clay or added onto surface of clay.
• Works well on rubber stamps as a resist.
• Can be mixed with liquid clay or Future Floor Finish.

6) Make Up and Body Glitter:

• Loose Powdered Eye Shadow and Bronzers.
• Can find these products cheap at dollar stores.
• Can be worked into solids as well as into liquid polymer clays.

And Here's Some Additional Tips for Using Glitter Clays:

• Some glitters are made of colored foil. The color used in these glitter foils will often sand or buff away if you are not careful. To protect the color, wse a super thin sheet of translucent Premo or Fimo clay to cover the glitter before sanding and buffing.
• Some glass glitters are very gritty and may be hard on your pasta machine. The grit can potentially scratch the rollers which is not a good thing.
• Some real glass glitters can be sharp so be careful when mixing.
• Some glitters will discolor while baking so test, test, test! And when you discover something… either good or bad, please do share your results back here at the blog.
• Light iridescent glass glitter looks very cool on dark clays.
• Try mixing a variety of colors, sizes and types of glitter for an interesting and sparkly effect.

If you would like to see a funny video of how comedian Ellen Degeneres attemped to have Glitter Banned in Congress, and how the Crafty Chica campaigned to stop her, here's the link: Polymer Clay Glitter (you'll get a laugh plus pick up a few more tips not discussed in today's "Glitter How To" article).