Halloween Candy Corn Earrings

Make some clay candy corn earrings for Halloween.

Description 

Every year, the first appearance of candy corn in the grocery store signals the true beginning of fall, which means it’s time to start seriously planning our Halloween costumes. My personal favorite from childhood was the year I was a superhero, complete with shiny handmade cape and nifty boots. Of course, I kept having to tell people that, no, I was not Superman; I was Super Jessie. For this project we’ll create a piece of candy corn a bit smaller than the real kind.

From the book, The Polymer Clay Cookbook by Jessica & Susan Partain. Read our review <a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/blog/the_polymer_clay_cookbook">here</a>.

<img src="http://images.cutoutandkeep.net/resize/350x350/blog/reviews/books/polymerclaycookbook/cover.jpg" class="center" />

Yield: 1 piece

Based on an original project in a book available here

Instructions 

1. 1
   

   Start with nice warm clay. Not sticky or mushy, but warm, so the three layers of color will bind together. Start by stacking very smooth balls of the white, orange, and yellow clays, making a snowman shape.
2. 2
   

   Holding the stack as shown, gently press it halfway flat.
3. 3
   

   You don’t want it completely squished, just gently flattened.
4. 4
   

   Rotate the flattened corn 90 degrees in your fingers. It should look a little bit more like candy corn
   now—the rounded edges of your spheres of clay should be flattened a bit and starting to merge into
   the next layer of color.
5. 5
   

   Flatten the corn again, just as you did before.
6. 6
   

   Turn it another 90 degrees. Your corn should look even smoother and the layers more fused together.
7. 7
   

   Keep repeating the flattening and turning until your corn is completely smooth and the layers are nicely bound together. The edges should be slightly rounded. Don’t worry if the layers aren’t completely straight and even—real candy corn isn’t perfectly straight and even either!
8. 8
   

   Decide which side of your candy corn is your favorite, and place it facedown on your baking tile.
   This side will be the front of your earrings. If you have fingerprints on the surface, don’t worry—they
   will be mostly eliminated when you press the flat pad of your ear post into the back of the corn to
   create an indentation
9. 9
   

   Remove the ear post, then use a needle tool to create a rough surface inside the indentation. This
   creates more surface area for the glue to bond, making for stronger earrings.
10. 10
    Bake for 15 minutes at 275° F (135° C).
11. 11
    

    To Make Candy Corn Stud Earrings
    1. Make two matching candy corns.

    2. Rub the front of each earring post pad over sandpaper to rough it up.

    3. Rub the indentation in the back of each candy corn and the pad of each ear post with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to remove any residual surface oils and metal flecks.

    4. Add a drop of cyanoacrylate glue to the front of each ear post pad, then press the pad into the
    indentation in the candy corn. Wipe off any extra glue using a toothpick (not your fingers!). Let set
    overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

    5. If you’d like to glaze the candy corn, glaze them after they have been glued onto the posts.