Long hair is back in fashion, and with it comes a renewed interest in hair jewelry.  Polymer clay barrettes are perfect for accenting long hair, and so easy to make!  In this tutorial, I will show you how to make barrettes using polymer clay canes, but the possibilities with the technique isn’t limited to canework.  You could also try it using faux turquoise or faux jade; filligree; stamping and mica powders, etc.  If you don’t have long hair, don’t fret– this project is still for you!  You could use a pin back instead of a barrette back, and pin your creation to your clothes, handbag, or scarf. 

TOOLS

• Smooth-surfaced flood light bulb (or large oval glass ornament)
• Pasta machine
• X-Acto knife or craft knife
• Acrylic rod
• Sable paintbrush (optional, for polish)
• Water-based brush-on gloss sealer (Future, Flecto, etc., optional for polish)
• Wet-dry sandpapers in grits 400 to 200 (optional, for smoothing baked clay)
• Oven thermometer
• Work surface
• Baking pan
• Napkin or paper towel
• Metal clay gun with 1/8" hole disc
• Caulking gun
• Poly-Tools caulking gun adapter
• Wax paper
• French barrette clip or pin back
• Shapelets, templates, or stencils (a pattern to cut your barrette shape with)
  

MATERIALS

• Polymer clay: you can use canes, scrap, blends, etc., it’s up to you!  However, I recommend using a strong brand of clay, such as Premo, Kato, or FIMO in this project.
• Liquid Clay for attaching borders, backing and embellishments