How to Make a Polymer Clay Mica Shift Pendant

Ready to jazz up your accessory game? In this fun tutorial, I’m here to walk you through crafting a dazzling polymer clay mica shift pendant with some vibrant pops of color.

This mica shift pendant is surprisingly quick to make (not counting cure time). Just blend up some metallic clay, add texture, shave for that mesmerizing mica shift effect, cut it out, and cure. After a quick sand—yes, it’s truly quick if you prepped that clay nice and smooth—add a backing, shape those raised dots, and cure again. Buff it up, pop on a bail, string it, and boom—you’ve got a mica shift pendant ready to steal the show.

Polymer clay mica shift is one of my absolute favorite techniques. Think of it as a warm-up to mokume gane if you’re still perfecting the art of shaving those super-thin clay layers. With this mica shift pendant, we’re keeping it simple by using a blended clay sheet, but you can totally practice with a single color first. Mess it up? No sweat! Just ball it up, run it through the pasta machine, and try again. Zero waste! Check out this post if you’d like a more in-depth tutorial on creating magical mica shift before diving into this project.

For the best results, I recommend Cernit’s metallic clays for their gorgeous color options and next-level shimmer. For this mica shift pendant tutorial, I suggest going with two colors in the same family for that seamless blend and a contrasting color for those attention-grabbing raised dots.

Speaking of dots—get creative with the size and placement on your mica shift pendant! I used larger dots this time, but I’m already planning a version with smaller, random dots for extra flair. This is your canvas, so have fun!

One more tip on texture—choose sheets or rollers with a deep, bold design. Fine lines won’t show up as well, and aim for at least a 1mm depth to really make that mica shift pop; the sheet I used has a 2mm depth, and it’s perfect for both mica shift and mokume gane.

So, grab your clay and tools, and let’s dive into making your new favorite mica shift pendant!

Tools & Materials

• Non-porous work surface — I work on either glazed tile or glass
• Pasta machine dedicated to polymer clay use — I use an Atlas 180 and will refer to the settings I use on my machine. If you don’t have a pasta machine an acrylic roller and some playing cards will do in a pinch, it’ll just take a little more work.
• Metallic polymer clay — you will need three colors for this tutorial. I’m using Cernit Metallic in Rust, Copper, and Turquoise
• Polymer clay blade — a sharp blade is a must for successful mica shift. I find a flexible blade easiest to work with
• Texture mat or roller of choice — I’m using this one
• Cornstarch or other release agent
• Texture sponge or coarse grit sandpaper
• Acrylic roller
• Parchment paper
• Burnishing tool — in this tutorial I am using an espresso tamper
• Shape cutters — you’ll need a larger one for the pendant itself and a graduated set of smaller round cutters
• Baking tile, domed glass, or a bowl — I use a piece of domed glass I thrifted—I’m not sure what it was originally used for—to give the pendant a slight curve
• Liquid polymer clay
• Jewelry wire (or a jump ring)
• Round nose pliers or looper tool & wire cutters (if using jewelry wire)
• Ball tool
• Craft knife
• Snap bail or jump ring
• Stringing material of choice
• Wet/dry sandpaper — I used 600, 800, 1200 & 1500 grits
• Renaissance Wax — optional

Directions for Polymer Clay Mica Shift Pendant

Part 1 | The Mica Shift Pendant Front

Begin by conditioning the two colors of metallic clay you plan to use for the main face of the pendant. Cernit clay can sometimes be very soft and difficult to work with. Leach the clay between two sheets of copy paper if necessary before proceeding.

Sheet the clay on a no.2 setting. Cut a rectangular piece of clay from each of the sheets and join them together side by side. The aim is to create a blended line between the two colors rather than a graduated blend as you would in a Skinner blend. Keep in mind the desired size and shape of your pendant. The blended sheet will widen slightly as you pass it through the pasta machine so cut your two pieces accordingly.

Fold the sheet in half, matching like color to like color. Run it through the pasta machine, folding in half each time, until you’ve achieved your desired blend.

Place the sheet of clay on your work surface at a comfortable distance for you for shaving. Lightly dust both the clay and the texture sheet with some cornstarch. I find if I use too much cornstarch the texture sheet will slide around on the clay and I don’t get a nice, crisp impression.

Press the texture into the clay. My preferred method is pressing the texture sheet into the clay with my finger tips and then rolling over it with my acrylic roller while standing. Carefully remove the texture sheet.

Working in small sections, shave off the raised areas of clay. I keep my blade flexed slightly as I work. If you find the clay is sticking to the blade wipe it between each pass with a baby wipe.

Run your finger over the sheet to check for any missed raised areas. When you’ve got them all, cover the sheet with a small piece of parchment paper and burnish it smooth.

I like to go one step further and run the sheet through my pasta machine but you must be careful not to distort the image. Start with the no.2 setting and run the sheet through four times, turning a quarter turn each time. Move on to setting no.3 and run the sheet through four more times with a quarter turn between passes.

Cut out your desired pendant shape and use the small round cutters to cut out some holes. Make sure not to place the holes too close together or too close to the outside edge.

To give the pendant a bit of curve, place it on a piece of domed glass or on the outside of a bowl while baking. Alternatively, you can bake it flat on a tile. Tent the clay with foil and bake for 45 minutes at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay.

Part 2 | Adding the Backing & Raised Dots

Once the clay has cooled remove it from the glass and sand the front and sides with wet/dry sandpaper. It is easier to do the sanding at this point than at the end when you’ll be trying to sand around the raised dots.

Make a loop for the pendant bail by shaping a piece of jewelry wire into a figure-eight with round nose pliers or looper pliers. A jump ring could be used in its place if you don’t have the wire.

Place a dot of liquid clay at the top of the pendant and press a small ball of clay into it. Press the looped wire (or jump ring) into the clay. Flip the pendant over and check that the wire is centered and is sitting high enough to pass a snap bail or jump ring through.

Condition the third color of clay and sheet on a no.3 setting. Texture with a texture sponge or a piece of coarse grit sandpaper.

Smear the back of the pendant with a light coat of liquid clay. Place the textured sheet of clay over the back of the pendant, texture side down. Press the sheet onto the pendant back, using the texture sponge, and pressing out any trapped air.

Use a ball tool to gently ease the clay into the hole cutouts. Check the front of the pendant as you work, making sure the clay is domed evenly in the holes.

Trim away the excess clay with a craft knife. 

Bake the pendant again for 45 minutes at the recommended temperature for your brand of clay. I use a clean kitchen sponge to cushion the pendant for this bake.

Part 3 | Finishing Touches

Once the pendant has cooled, sand the edges if necessary and buff the front to a shine. I use a thin coat of Renaissance Wax and a Dremel tool fitted with a small cotton buffer for this step.

Finish the pendant by adding a snap bail or jump ring to the wire loop and stringing it on a chain.

If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make this polymer clay mica shift pendant and give this tutorial a try please tag @bysandracallander on Instagram!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I’m happy to hear from you.