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Photo of finished piece by Lauren Fisher; all other photos courtesy of the author. The following instructions for preparing the domino pieces apply to any kind of inlay: Polymer clay, resin, or concrete. In preparing these earrings I used pre-mixed tile grout. It mixes well with the colors with a minimum of chunks or pores. The range of colors that can be used with tile grout is limited, but I like its lightness, and smooth and elegant matte finish. |
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For these earrings, I used white grout with colorant for the dots, and grey grout with colorant for the surrounding area. The colorants are pure pigments that come in the form of powder. They are available in black, blue, green, and some earth colors such as sand, red brick, plum, and terra cotta.
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Domino
Earrings 
To make the domino
mold, roll a thick layer of white polymer clay.
Press
a square or rectangular metal tube into the layer to mark the top contour line
of the earrings. Covering it with corn starch will prevent it from sticking to
the clay when you pull it out.
Continue
pressing the tube into the clay to mark all the horizontal lines. 
Press the tube
into the clay to mark all the vertical lines.
Press
the open side of a round metal tube into the clay to mark the dots of the domino
pieces.
Bake the polymer
clay for 20 minutes at 275°F.
Oil
the baked polymer clay mold.
Roll
a thick layer of standard PMC® (8–10 cards thick). 
Press
the clay into the mold with your fingers, making sure it gets all the way inside
all the indentations.
Carefully
pull the PMC® layer out of the mold, and turn it over.
Using
a scraper, cut off the excess PMC® around the contour lines of the domino
pieces.
Let
the pieces dry.
When
you pressed the clay into the mold, some indentations were formed on the back
of the pieces. 
Sand
the pieces on all sides with sponge sanding pads, starting with medium grit,
continuing with fine and extra fine, and finishing with ultra fine. To sand the
front and the back flush, lay the piece on the pad, and move it around in circular
motions.
To
make a tube for the hinges, roll a layer of PMC® 2 cards thick. Wrap it around
a very thin tube or metal rod, such as a skewer or a turkey lacer. When placed
next to the domino piece, the top of the tube should be flush with the top of
the piece.
Cut
the tube into 10 small tubes. You can do it with an X-Acto® knife before
drying, or with a jeweler’s saw after drying.
For each
earring, use slip to attach one hinge bail on the top center of the bottom piece,
and two hinge bails on the bottom of the top piece with no space between them.
Also attach two on the top of the top piece. Dry. 
To enlarge
the contact area between the bails and the pieces, reinforce all the joints with
clay, and dry again. 
Fire
all 4 pieces in a kiln over a layer of alumina hydrate for 2 hours at 1650°F.
Sand all
sides of the pieces with wet/dry sandpaper. Start with 220-grit, and finish with
400-grit.
Matte
the surface with an extra-fine mini fiber wheel, mounted on a rotary tool.
For the
inlay, I use pre-mixed tile grout, and grout colorants. The grout comes in both
gray and white, and mixing each of these colors of grout with the same colorants
will yield different results.
Pour some
colorant into a bottle cap. Mix it with a very small amount of water and mix
until all chunks disappear.
Add some
grout, and mix into a smooth thick paste. 
Fill the
pieces with the mixed grout. Start from the inside (the dots) and continue with
the surrounding area. It’s easier to overfill the areas and sand it down
later, than if you fill too little and have to add more grout later. In any case,
cover the bottle caps with plastic food wrap to keep the mixture moist for later
use.
Let the
grout dry. If you dry it over a candle warmer, it will dry in less than 30 minutes.
Sand the
surface down under running water.
I find it easiest to use emery boards for this
purpose. 
After
the first sanding, there will be some pores on the grout surface. Use a clay
shaper to pick up some grout from the saved bottle caps, and use it to fill the
pores. Dry. Repeat this process until all the pores have disappeared. 
It is
not necessary to seal the grout, but if you wish to, any acrylic or wax sealer
will do. I like to use Renaissance® Wax because it brings out the color without
making it shiny.
Insert
one wire through all three tubes that make the knuckles of the hinge. 
To ball
up the other side of the wire I use the Little Torch™. The flame is so
hot and thin that it melts the tip of the wire quickly, before the rest of the
piece can heat up. If the piece gets too hot, the ball will not form. Using the
same method as in Step 31, ball up the other end of the wire. 
Repeat
Steps 30–31 with the bails on the top side of the piece. 
Insert
the earwires.
