It doesn’t matter if you’re a rhinestone cowgirl or an urban fashionista – dressing up belt buckles and other jewelry blanks with sparkling crystal chatons is just plain fun!
Use the steps below to either recreate the Zen Yin belt buckle by Jan or to embed you own designs in a wide range of jewelry components including bezel cups, buckle blanks, cuff links, and more.
1. Gather your supplies.
Supplies:
- Belt buckle blank or bezel cup
- EnviroTex Jewelry Clay
- Crystal chatons with pointed backs
- Jewel setting tool
- Beads, buttons, coins, resin flowers and/or other embeddable objects
- Vinyl, nitrile or latex gloves
- Vegetable oil and/or baby powder (optional)
To make the exact belt buckle pictured in this blog, see the “Zen Yin” belt buckle full parts list in our Design Gallery.
A jewel setting tool makes it easy to set chatons in your jewelry clay.
Tip: A jewel setter makes it much easier to set small objects into the clay! While bare fingers can hinder your field of vision and upset other elements of the design, jewel setters provide a wax tip to lightly pick up and place small objects in just the right spot.
2. Plan your layout.
Plan your layout before you unwrap the clay. This allows you to tinker with design options without the clay drying prematurely. This is especially important on large objects like a belt buckle.
3. Measure equal amounts of clay.
Wear thin gloves to protect your hands. Measure equal amounts of “A” and “B” types of clay, and form each material into a separate ball. If the clay sticks, apply a thin coat of vegetable oil.
4. Combine.
Combine the two balls together until they are well blended and uniform in color.
5. Press clay into jewelry blank.
Press the clay into your jewelry blank. You can smooth it out by adding a little vegetable oil on top. If it gets too sticky, dust it lightly with baby powder.
6. Place large objects & focals first.
Place larger objects and focal points into your clay first. Tip: To save time, you can leave strung beads on the string, rather than placing them individually in the clay. Trim excess string once the beads are in place.
7. Fill in remaining clay with crystal chatons.
Next, fill in the remaining exposed clay with sparkling crystal chatons. As mentioned above, a jewel setter can make this task quicker and easier. When you are placing your chatons into the clay, be sure not to press or tap them in to deeply. The clay will rise up a little bit around them particularly when it is very wet.
8. Allow clay to dry and you’re done!
Set aside your design in a safe spot and allow the clay to thoroughly dry, based on the manufacturer’s instructions. EnviroTex Jewelry Clay fully cures in 24 hours to a hard, durable, and shock resistant substance with a smooth, porcelain like surface. It does not shrink as it cures!
Below, check out more fun designs Jan made with EnviroTex Clay and crystal chatons.
These chunky donut beads are held fast in the crystal clay,
demonstrating how strong EnviroTex clay is!
Homer Simpson wouldn’t be able to resist this whimsical bit of bling! It’s made with donut beads, aurora borealis crystals, and a square bezel-cup pendant blank.
EnviroTex Jewelry Clay is durable enough for heavily-used objects
like key rings. Add heart to designs with heart bezel cups.
Heart-shaped bezel cups add an extra bit of love to jewelry designs.
Go nautical with embedded scallop shell beads and freshwater pearls.
Rectangle bezel-cups provide a great shape for custom pendants with a touch of bling. The design pictured above is adorned with shell beads and freshwater pearls surrounded by blue zircon and aquamarine crystal chatons.
Adorn your hands with bezel cup ring blanks!
Bezel cup ring blanks come in several colors and shapes. Some styles are exclusive to Rings & Things, and all styles are adjustable to fit any ring size. They’re perfect for making blingy costume jewelry.
You don’t have to use crystals.
This polar bear ring has seed beads embedded in the jewelry clay.
Embed seed beads and other objects in the crystal clay to see what other effects you can achieve! This winter-themed ring has a polar bear bead and a “Snow Ball” seed bead mix embedded in the clay. Let your imagination be your guide as you have fun making mosaic jewelry and a whole lot more! 🙂
3 Comments
Really glad I found this blog! So many cool things to be made. Love the idea of making my own belt buckle as being a man the choice we have is rubbish to be honest, Can’t remember the last good belt buckle I owned. Those donut beads look good enough to eat.
Hi, Stuart! Glad you like our blog. When you finish your belt buckle, feel free to post a pic on our Facebook wall (https://www.facebook.com/BEAD.FANS). We love seeing people’s work! … I know what you mean about men’s fashions – they can get pretty repetitive and boring.
Very cool! I need to try this, I make similar water based resin pendants!