The Beading Gem

Real stained glass earrings have one major drawback - the weight!  So something lighter would be better.  Penolopy Bulnick spent a while exploring possible materials to use for her faux stained glass earrings tutorial.  The black is just black cardstock. After some attempts at more expensive options, the solution for the colored parts was just transparent file folders!

I have seen a few polymer clay artists using cutting machines such as the Silhouette or  the Cricut to get accurate cut outs.  One such artist is Gloria Uhler of Domestic Diva Online. Her Pistachio Polymer Clay articulated necklace tutorial is a contemporary design made with Sculpey Souffle.  Gloria says this clay brand produces a suede-like finish.

Die cutters like the Sizzix are useful for jewelry making - see this past tutorial of mine on how to make denim earrings where I put my Sizzix to use.  But I wanted to do much, much more and not be limited by the dies available.  So I did some research and decided on and bought my Cricut Explore (they now have newer models which are currently on sale). The Cricut machines could cut not just the typical paper and cardstock but fabric, leather, suede and so much more.

Do you have a diecutter like a Sizzix or even better a machine like the Cricut or Silhouette?  Then consider using shrink plastic to cut out, very cleanly,  much larger design elements. Many of the premade dies or patterns are usually way too big for jewelry making. Even if you don't own any of these machines, larger hand drawn designs can be more easily cut out than struggling with itsy bitsy little designs.

Those who know me well and have been following my blog for a while realize I love my tools! They make some tasks easier and consistent.  I've been using Sizzix die cutters for a long time (see tutorial links below) but really wanted greater flexibility with my own designs.  I also wanted to cut other materials such as leather, fabric, aluminum, thin wood and shrink plastic with precision and ease.  Laser cutters are still way too expensive. So I hankered after the Cricut Explore, an electronic cutting machine.....

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