The popular new trend that’s captured the hearts and imaginations of crystal lovers and jewelry makers is DeCoRé Clay. And no wonder! This clay is so easy to use and the results are stunning!  It only takes three components and a little bit of time to design and make a fabulous, fashionable and most importantly, sparkly piece of jewelry.

The first ingredients you need are the Swarovski Elements Crystal Chatons. Pick from the overwhelming variety of shapes, colors and sizes to create your design. Are you going for lots of tiny crystals for a shimmery effect? Or do you prefer several large jewels that make a statement? An organized pattern or crystalized chaos? The possibilities are endless!

These chatons will be the focal point for your piece. They are perfect for working with DeCoRé Clay because their pointed backs make them adhere to the clay and the foil backing reflects all the light right back at you, resulting in unparalleled brilliance.

Next, you need to choose a bezel finding to be the base for your clay. You can really use any surface, as long as you clean off any oils with rubbing alcohol, DeCoRé will stick. However, for best results, we recommend using a bezel finding which come as earrings, pendants and my personal favorite, rings!

Once you have your Swarovski Crystal Chatons and your bezel base, it’s time to choose your DeCoRé Clay. And that’s no easy task! This two-part epoxy clay comes in 28 unique colors! Keeping in mind your selection of chatons, you can choose to highlight light colors with a dark clay, or showcase deep colored crystals with a pale background. You can choose a complimentary color of clay or a contrasting one, it’s up to you!

To use DeCoRé clay, all you have to do is mix equal amounts of Part A with Part B and stick it in a bezel finding. The clay will remain workable for 90 minutes, give or take (depending on the amount you use) so you have plenty of time to transfer your fabulous design ideas into the clay. Then leave the clay for 24 hours. It’s that simple.

The benefits of DeCoRé over other epoxy clays are obvious. DeCoRé is nontoxic, so you don’t need to wear gloves, or use any kind of special ventilation or masks. It dries without baking so you don’t need any special equipment at all! Plus you don’t need to use all of it at once, just pinch off what you need and keep the rest for another project. The clay will stay good for over a year!

It’s a great project for groups, especially kids, and this technique can accommodate any style preference. Have a big special event coming up and are looking for that unique statement piece to finish off your outfit? Now you can make custom, professional quality jewelry for a fraction of the cost and almost no time whatsoever!

Try it out for yourself and see where your imagination takes you!

Need a step by step tutorial? Check out our YouTube video here!

Happy Beading!