How to Make Earrings That Look Like Cupcakes

A casual pair of earrings doesn't have to be boring. Whimsical miniatures, like cupcakes, make for eye-catching jewelry pieces that look good enough to eat while bringing a dash of color to your ensemble. Create your own cupcake earrings using polymer clay for a simple, yet detailed and sturdy, pair of minis.

Things You'll Need

• Dark brown polymer clay
• Sewing needle
• Pink polymer clay
• Red polymer clay
• Screw eyes
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Earring hook wires

Instructions

1. Soften ¼ teaspoon of dark brown clay by kneading it with your fingertips. Roll the clay into a ball.

2. Press the ball against a smooth, hard work surface to form it into a squat shape with two flat sides. Turn the shape on its side and roll it to make a cylinder. Pinch the edges on one side of the cylinder to make it a little wider than the other side; this will be the lower, cup portion of the cake.

3. Use the needle to form vertical ridges on the side of the cup, imitating the folds in cupcake paper. Let this finished shape sit for 15 minutes in a cool area; this will firm up the clay.

4. Soften a piece of pink clay that's slightly smaller than the piece of brown clay you used. Spend more time kneading this one in your hands than you did the previous color; the clay will soften to the consistency of a near paste with enough time spent in the warmth of your hands.

5. Form the pink clay into a ball. Press it against the large end of the brown bottom of the cupcake. Let the pink clay squish against the brown piece and ooze out the sides, forming the bulging top of the cake as it would form in the pan.

6. Texture the pink clay using the head of the needle. Stir and smooth the pink to make it look like frosting that's been spread around with a tiny knife.

7. Roll a tiny quantity of red clay into a ball between your thumb and forefinger. Place this on the top center of the cupcake shape to represent a cherry.

8. Attach a screw eye to the cupcake. Insert it into the soft clay just behind the cherry.

9. Repeat Steps 1 through 8 to make another cupcake for the second earring.

10. Bake the clay according to the manufacturer's instructions.

11. Open the threading rings on the front ends of the earring hook using the needle-nosed pliers.Thread this loop onto the loops of the screw eyes and close the earring hook's ring.

References

• The Polymer Clay Techniques Book; Sue Heaser