Video #402: Done properly, your eyepins will never come lose. No more missing charms!
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Since many of you have asked how to add eye pins to polymer clay charms, so today I’ll show you my tips and tricks for doing this.
- Many people just shove an eye pin into the top of a raw polymer clay charm and then bake it.
- Polymer clay does not actually bond to wire, so although the eye pin may hold for a while, it will eventually become loose and fall out.
- Some people will use glue or liquid clay on their eye pin to secure it. Although that lasts longer, it isn’t the nicest looking or the most secure method for securing eye pins into polymer clay.
- I usually make all my charms from beads with the hole running through it. That way I can use a headpin instead of an eye pin and the charm will never come off.
- If you don’t want to make a nice hole all the way through your charm, then the method I show in today’s video, of bending and twisting the eye pin, is the most secure alternative.
Question of the Day:
Will you use this little trick for adding eye pins to your polymer clay charms? Please do leave your feedback in the comment section below!
I look forward to hearing from you.
By the way, if you have a polymer clay question or challenge you’d like me to address in an upcoming video vlog, do post it in the comments below. I’d love to help you find quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Really great info. I love the birdhouse charm.
Very interesting. Passing it on to my french friends who were asking a similar question. With the video it’s much clearer than what I could tell them.
Most definetly use this info
Great tip Cindy, wish it had been there when I made all those birdhouse charms.
I really like the idea of pushing a head pin through the whole charm and looping it off. I am certainly going to use these methods from now on. Thanks again, another great Cindy tip!
Very cool… perhaps a slightly broader angle would make it less difficult to insert and decrease warping of the charm? It would probably be a little less strong but hopefully would still stay in place. Great tip, I am sick of super glue!!
Great tip! Thank you Cindy! I will definately use this! :)
Great idea as usual, love watching your tuts and ideas
As I can never seem to get the holes right in lentil beads, it seems that this technique might be a good alternative for placing a bail. I can’t tell you how many wonky holed lentil beads I have lying around, all the victims of my being very precision challenged. lol. Thanks Cindy.
Awesome method, Cindy! I will definitely be trying this. And I love, love, love the little birdhouse charm!
Yes …. I was just making earrings to get ready for our annual chili festival and I will definitely use this now ! Thanks !
That’s so usefull! Thank you, I’ll surely use this info
Sounds like a great idea to me, and I will surely try it.
hi Cindy,
My question is how do I turn a piece of wire into a sharp pin? I do not want the blunt end to punch a hole into my scarves, I want it to be a smooth entry. It is easier on the material which is knitted silk scarves and can be very fragile. I hope this makes sense.
Hi Teresa D. last year I made a wire pin and used some fine jewelry files. I used an 18 gauge wire and gently filed the end of the wire while turning it around between my fingers so it would be evenly done. I then took some 1000 grit sandpaper and went over it again. My last step was to use some 0000 steel wool. I had a really nice very sharp pin that went through my silk scarfs nicely. Hope this helps.
thank u…definitely sounds like something I can try…
Enjoyed this! Good instructions. Will definitely use this technique.
Thank you for the wonderful tip. I had been struggling with this from the time I had started making charms.
Will definitely use it. Thanks a lot for the tip!
Thank you soooooo much for this tip. I most definitely will be using it on my future clay charms etc., that require a eye pin. I had tried several different kind of glues and ran into the problems you had mentioned of the glues leaving different kinds of marks on the clay and also eventually wearing off and then having the charm and eye pin separating.
Very helpful. Thanks, Cindy. I will definitely put this to use!
I have seen others do this put different. You have explained it and showed it better so now I know how to do it with out squashing my charm,. thank you Cindy for a great mini tut.
the other Cindy
Hi Cindy
Not sure if my last message got through. I am hooked on making Natasha beads and have about 2 dozen that need baking.question is. I used a 2 inch eye pin.. Placed it in up side down from the bottom leaving me plenty of pin to make a new eye pin on top .. Will this be secure enough to prevent the charm from falling off. Or should I take these out and use the bend eye pin technique you showed I was afraid that doing it would distort the Natasha bead?
Thank you SO much! This is exactly what I needed and I will most definitely use this trick!! :)
Cindy,
Thank you SO much for your tutorial. I watched it about a year ago when I began working with polymer clay and had so many problems with my eye pins falling out…. this SAVED me & my business! With this trick, none of my eye pins have loosened or fallen out of my charms. The only issue i have now is to get the loop portion of the eye pin to not come open. Very rarely, I’ll have an issue where the loop of the eye pin will open up in time and the charm will detach itself from my jump ring/chain… if ANYONE has a solution for this, I’d love to know!!!
Anna
Anna, I would think if you made a wrapped eye pin it would never open up and you would never lose a charm.
This is just what I was looking for! Thank you so much. I am making some charms right now and new just sticking it in would not hold it.
Hi, That was great. This is something I needed to know. I really enjoy your videos and I just signed up for the news letter!! Really considering becoming a monthly member it is so reasonable! Thanks again for sharing and all the hard work you do to bring us these free tips. Stacy B.
You are more than welcome Stacy! Thank you so much for coming in here and saying that. I do hope you join us. There is so much that we can learn together! :)
Thank you so much!
What a great idea! I am about to try it! Thanks for info and your expertise.
Re: Eye Pins
What is the best gauge eye pin to use when making polymer clay hanging ornaments? Mine are 1/4 inch or less thick and the size of an average cookie cutter. It maybe early for Christmas questions but, I am ill and it take me a while to make the number of ornaments I give at Thanksgiving.
I have found many of your tutorials interesting and helpful, especially as I am not a pro with clay!
Thanks.
Hi Cynthia, the bet gauge wire to use as eye pins is 20g or 21g, half hard wire. Dead soft will pull out of shape. Thinner gauges may break or wear thin easier and too much thicker will be too clunky and hard to make the tiny loops at the top.
thanks.
clear and concise.
yes.
going to try a variation.
Sounds like a plan! :)
You really do have a video for everything! This is exactly what I needed to know! Thanks for all your helpful videos!
You are so welcome Ashley! Thanks for the kind words!