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).
Filed Under: 03: Supplies, 05: Techniques by Comment. 
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Comments on Glitter How To – Polymer Clay Supplies for Bead and Jewelry Making
5:13 pm
How fun! Thanks for stopping by my blog, glad to have found yours!
1:23 pm
I've had some good luck through trial and error with adding Hello Kitty roll-on body glitter to my polymer clay. I didn't want to roll it on and mess up the roller, so I tapped it, and got a nice light dusting. I sealed it under embossing powder. I considered it a success because it worked, but I much prefer the look of leaf.
Also tried it as an inclusion with solid clay (non-translucent). It gave a bit of a sparkly surface to the clay, but it might be even better with translucent.
5:36 pm
@Lindsay: It is nice to have you here! I enjoyed your blog as well!
@Kimberlee: That sounds great! Yeah I bet it would mess up the roller ball if you rolled it on the clay! For embossing powder, are you using UTEE? (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)
9:44 am
Hi Cindy, How to make a piece that looks like rock by using embossing powder and translucent polymer clay, or any other color clay you know, and Where do I buy embossing powder that is not too refined. Thanks.
10:11 am
Hi Rezvan! A great embossing powder to use for making pieces that look like rock or faux stone, is the Distress Embossing Powder from Tim Holtz. You can get it online or at stores like Michaels.
Just mix a little into the clay like you would make spice beads polymer clay inclusions and the embossing powder will melt inside the clay as it bakes. You can even use more than one color of embossing powder.
1:44 pm
Thanks Cindy I appreciate the info.
Rezvan
9:25 pm
One site said To Never using embossing powders before the curing process and to wait till after and use a heat gun.
is it unsafe or what?
multiple sites say it's ok to use it in your oven but that one didn't
6:33 pm
Thanks for your question Margaret! I doubt there is any problem to use embossing powders in the oven since one of the companies that makes embossing powders (Ranger) has a project on their website, baking it into translucent polymer clay.
Also, in a previous post, one of my readers (Kimberlee) wrote about how she uses embossing powders on her clay. You can click the "Fimo Polymer Clay Ideas" link by my name above, to read her comment.
9:45 am
Hi, I have a Christmas ornament that I purchased last year. The white on the ornament is full of glitter front and back. I have been looking for this type of clay for several months and cannot find it. The entire color is glitter, its not translucent, it is actually white, just full of glitter. Do you have any idea what type of clay this would be?
1:29 pm
@margaret: I've seen sites where they warn about this, but they are just talking about using them on the outside of beads before curing because they get sticky and sometimes smear and/or mess-up other beads. If you take precautions, or use the powders on the inside of the bead, it works just fine. In fact, it's a very commonly-used technique!
2:14 pm
Hi Beverly, nice to "meet" you! I'm pretty sure Fimo makes a white glitter clay, that may be what the ornament's made with. I have Fimo Soft in red & blue glitter, & they're just like you described (glitter throughout.) Fimo is now under the brand name "Staedtler," and the glitter clays are in the "Fimo Effect's" line. You should be able to find it; if not locally, then by mail order.
Good luck with this, and Happy Claying!