This post contains affiliate links.
Hello Crafty Friends, I’m back with another polymer clay tutorial today. I really wanted to create a tutorial and jewellery pieces with a fun and fresh feel to signal the start of the new year and I think this polymer clay square heart cane fulfils that wish perfectly.
I have teamed navy blue (because who doesn’t love navy?!) with pretty pastel hearts. The contrast really makes sure those cute little hearts stand out and the soft shades of blue, lilac, pink, green and yellow gives the playful look I was aiming for. The multicolour hearts are grouped together in a lager square cane and reduced so slices can be used to create a sheet of heart patterned clay very quickly and easily.
To make this cane even easier, a simple heart cutting shape is used to build up the hearts. This is similar to my Easy Polymer Clay Flower Cane Tutorial except in this tutorial I cut heart shapes from a thin piece of clay and build them up instead of cutting from a thick piece of clay – my heart cutter was far to small and angular for that.
I have deliberately stayed away from traditional romantic heart colours (red, I’m looking at you!) as I wanted to create something that would feel appropriate to wear all year round but if red is what your heart desires (pun intended) then that would look pretty good too. I also feel that this cane would make some lovely jewellery for Mother’s Day and special anniversaries.
This polymer clay square heart cane looks far more complicated that it is and I would even go as far as to say that this is probably the easiest cane I have made and definitely the easiest I’ve written up as a tutorial.
So, find a heart cutter, grab some clay and let’s get crafting….
Polymer Clay Square Heart Cane Tutorial
Step 1 – Select the colours for your hearts and condition the clay well. Roll out your clay on a clay/pasta machine on the thickest setting and use a heart cutter to cut out 6 hearts (more if you wish to create a bigger cane). If you are not using a clay machine then roll all the sheets out to a similar thickness so you can get a consistent result across your various colours of clay.
Stack the hearts up being careful to line them up as neatly as possible as this will help give a crisp result when the cane is reduced.
Step 2 – Condition well some navy polymer clay and form it so that it is the same height or taller that your stack of clay hearts. Take the same heart cutter and push it into the centre of the navy clay making sure to go all the way through the clay. Pull the heart cutter out carefully so as to not distort the clay (push the cutting shape all the way through the clay if this is easier).
Step 3 – Using a sharp cutting blade, cut an opening in the navy clay at the bottom of the heart shape. Position your stack of hearts inside the blue clay, making sure that the front and back match up.
Step 4 – Cut around your heart with a sharp blade making sure to leave a navy border all around it. I used a square cutting shape to make an indent before cutting to give me a basic guide. Check both sides of the heart (front and back) to make sure the navy blue boarder is relatively even.
Step 5 – Now it’s time to reduce your heart cane. Do this by gently squeezing the square to remove any air pockets and then begin the press a bit firmer. I used an acrylic block to press against the surface to make sure I kept the square shape sharp. Once the cane has started to lengthen you can also gently pull the ends to stretch it out.
Continue with these ways of reducing until your cane has reached at least 10cm (you will need a number that is easily divided by 5 as we are going to cut into 5 pieces. 2cm pieces is the shortest I can work with!).
Step 6 – Once your cane is long enough, cut it into 5 even pieces. Repeat all steps again for the remaining colours.
Step 7 – Assemble your mini square heart canes as shown to make a bigger 5×5 square heart cane. You can either follow a pattern with your hearts or keep it totally random.
Reduce your cane, using the same technique as before, until your hearts are at a size that you would like to use for your jewellery.
Step 8 – Once your square heart cane is reduced enough, use a blade to cut slices off – I always use my flexible blade for this – and lay the slices on another sheet of navy clay (my navy sheet of clay was rolled on a number two on my clay machine).
Step 9 – Roll your clay in all directions to close up any gaps between the clay slices to that it looks like a seamless pattern and then cut various shapes to use in your jewellery making or other projects.
Pop your pieces in the oven, varnish and sit back to admire all your work.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial – don’t forget to check out my other polymer clay canes if you have.
There are many ways to can support me and my work so that I can continue to make free tutorials. Simply clicking like and share is a great start and would be very much appreciated.
Links below for products used are Affiliate links for Amazon (UK and United States). This just means that if you use my link to buy a product I earn a very small commission, at no extra expense to you (you pay the same regardless how you find the item). Every little extra helps me to offer free tutorials.
Affiliate Links
UK
US
Thanks for reading,
Hannah x
The Artisan Duck 