DIY Picture Frame Ornament with Polymer Clay

Create a personalized, handmade ornament that will become a cherished keepsake for years to come.

There’s something special about handmade gifts and ornaments—they carry a personal touch that store-bought items just can’t match. When you make something yourself, it’s infused with love, time, and creativity. This Picture Frame Ornament project is the perfect way to create a sentimental piece that will bring fond memories to yourself or your loved ones for many holidays to come. Whether it’s hung on the tree year after year or given as a thoughtful gift, this ornament will be a lasting reminder of the joy and warmth of the season.

What You'll Learn in This Tutorial:

• Mica Shift Technique: Manipulate mica particles within polymer clay for a shimmering, light-reflective effect.
• Texturing Polymer Clay: Apply texture to your clay using texture sheets.
• Silver Leaf Application: Apply silver leaf to add depth and shine to your textured clay.
• Lisa Pavelka's Peel: Remove silver leaf from textured high points while leaving it in the impressions.
• Gold Foil Application: Add a touch of elegance with gold foil to your design.
• Framing with Polymer Clay: Use the Rockrose Keepsake Frame Cutter to create a custom frame for your ornament.
• Layering and Shaping: Form a sturdy and beautiful base for your frame.
• Finishing Touches: Add the perfect finishing touches to your framed ornament, ready to hang and cherish for years to come.

 What You’ll Need:

• Polymer clay in various colors (choose shades to match your style or season)
• In this tutorial, I’ll be using the following colors and brands of polymer clay to create the ornament:
• Sculpey Premo Peacock Pearl - 17 grams
• Sculpey Premo Pearl - 17 grams
• Sculpey Premo Pomegranate - 25 grams
• Sculpey Premo Gold - 10 grams
• Sculpey Premo Frost White - 10 grams
• Cernit Translucent - 35 grams
• Rockrose Keepsake Frame Cutter
• Create a personalized, heartfelt ornament with the Rockrose Keepsake Frame Cutter. Designed specifically for framing your cherished memories, this cutter comes with both a faceplate and backplate for a seamless crafting experience. If you would like, you can also draw your own template to suit your style.
• Rockrose Year Ribbon Cutter
• Silver Leaf
• Gold Foil
• Stamps, texture sheets, or embossing tools
• Ultra Dome UV Resin – Used to add a high-gloss, durable finish to your polymer clay pieces.
• Golden Acrylic Paint Marker
• Clay tools (tissue blade, acrylic roller, pasta machine)
• A small photo or printed image to place inside your frame
• Ribbon (for hanging the ornament)
• Popsicle sticks, cardstock, shipping tape, makeup sponge, and Armor All
• Ceramic tile
• Oven (for curing your polymer clay)

Video Tutorial:

You can watch the full tutorial on my YouTube channel [Rockrose Clay]—I’ll walk you through each step in detail. Plus, I’ll give tips on working with polymer clay to ensure your project turns out perfectly!

Instructions:

Step 1: The Mica Shift

The mica shift effect in polymer clay is created by manipulating the mica particles within metallic clays, allowing you to control and shape layers for a stunning visual effect. This technique was first coined "invisible caning" by its originator, Pier Voulkos. Over time, it has also been referred to as chatoyant, a French term meaning "cat's eye." In gemology, this term describes a gem that reflects a band of light, caused by inclusions in the stone, and it’s a perfect fit for the mica shift effect in polymer clay.

We’ll begin by conditioning the pearl, peacock pearl, and translucent clays. Once these clays are conditioned, mix all three colors together to create a beautifully light and shimmery turquoise hue. Combining mica with translucent clay in a 1:1 ratio will enhance the chatoyant effect, giving your design a more vibrant shimmering, light-reflective quality.

Once your colors are fully mixed, roll the sheet through the thickest setting on your pasta machine. For reference, I’m using an Atlas 180, so this would be setting #0 on my machine. You will need approximately 30 grams of this mixture for the mica shift technique. Set aside the remaining clay, as it will be used later in the process when we begin constructing the frame for your ornament.

Next, take your texture sheet of choice and place it on your work surface. I’m using Lisa Pavelka’s Tooled Leather Texture Sheet. Lightly mist the texture sheet with Armor All, then carefully lay your clay on top. Gently press the clay into the texture sheet using your fingers. To prevent the clay from sticking to your fingers, lightly mist the back of the clay with water. Once you’ve pressed the texture in thoroughly, place a makeup sponge on top of the clay and roll over it with an acrylic rod. Continue rolling until the entire clay sheet is covered. Finally, carefully lift the clay from the texture sheet to reveal your beautifully imprinted texture.

Now, place your textured clay onto your work surface and grab a flexible, sharp tissue blade. Hold the tissue blade horizontally and carefully slice off the high points of the textured surface. Once you've shaved the surface completely, roll the sheet flat with an acrylic rod and run it through the pasta machine on setting #3. You’ll notice that, even though the high points have been removed, the impression of the texture remains—this is known as the ghost image of the pattern.

Now, set this sheet aside in a safe place as we move on to the next step.

Step 2: The Lisa Pavelka Peel with a Twist

Condition the Pomegranate clay and roll it to setting #1. Carefully place a sheet of silver leaf on top of the red clay. Next, take your texture sheet of choice and set it on your work surface. I’m using the same texture sheet I used for the mica shift. The silver leaf will act as a release agent, so there’s no need to spray the texture sheet with Armor All. Gently press the clay into the texture sheet using your fingers. Follow the same steps as outlined in Step 1 to reveal a beautifully textured silver sheet of clay.

With your clay textured, carefully lay it red side down onto your work surface. Take a piece of sticky tape and press it gently onto the top surface of the textured silver leaf clay. Using your fingers, smooth the tape over the surface so it adheres to the high points of the texture. Once the tape is firmly attached, carefully lift it off the clay. The silver leaf will remain in the textured impressions of the red clay, while the tape will remove it from the high points of the texture.

Next, the twist. Carefully lift your red sheet of clay from the work surface and run it through the pasta machine on setting #3. The texture will be smoothed out, but the silver leaf left in the impressions will create a stunning, controlled pattern from the original texture.

Now, set this sheet aside in a safe place as we move on to the next step.

Step 3: Applying Gold Transfer Foil

To apply the gold transfer foil, begin by conditioning the gold clay and running it through a setting #3 on your pasta machine. Carefully place the gold clay onto your work surface and lay the gold transfer foil, colored side up, over the sheet of clay. Gently rub across the surface with your fingers to stick the foil in place and warm it up. While some people prefer to use a tissue blade to help with the transfer, I find the warmth of my hands works best for this step. Once the clay feels warm, grip an edge of the foil and swiftly pull it off in a single motion. The foil should adhere to the clay, but if there are any small spots where it didn’t fully stick, simply reposition the foil, rub it gently with your fingers, and pull it off again. After this process, you’ll have a beautiful gold-covered sheet of polymer clay, ready to add a stunning touch to your ornament.

Step 4: Constructing the Front Faceplate of Our Ornament

For precise alignment, I kept each slice on my tissue blade whenever possible and used the blade’s edge to guide the pieces snugly into place against the adjacent clay. For wider strips or when handling pieces directly, I carefully placed them onto the layout lines with my fingers. Then, I used the tissue blade to nudge the strips into position, ensuring clean, even alignment. This method allowed for an efficient and accurate assembly of the intricate pattern.

Step 5: Cutting out the Faceplate

Once I was satisfied with the pattern, I gently rolled over the entire design with my acrylic rod to ensure all the layers adhered well. Then, I grabbed my Rockrose Keepsake Frame (Faceplate) Cutter, preparing it for the cut by wiping the cutting edge with a makeup sponge lightly dabbed with Armor All. This helps the cutter glide through the thick clay layers smoothly.

Carefully press the cutter into the clay, ensuring it cuts all the way through the layers. Take your time with this step, as the clay is quite thick. To ensure a clean cut, make sure the cutter has fully made contact with your work surface before lifting it. Once you’ve removed the cutter, peel away the excess clay from around the edges of your design.

For the center oval, I decided to leave it in place and cure it along with the faceplate. I plan to transform this piece into another ornament for my tree—none of that beautiful pattern will go to waste! After removing the excess clay from the edges, I carefully separated and peeled off the striped clay pieces from the base layer, organizing the colors for future use. This not only kept my workspace tidy but also ensured that no patterned clay was discarded.

Once your frame has cooled, attach an eye pin or hook at the top so it’s ready to hang as an ornament. You can even seal it with a glaze or varnish for extra shine.

Step 6: Cure Your Polymer Clay Ornament Faceplate

Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on your clay packaging, typically 265°F to 275°F (130°C), but always double-check the specific instructions for your clay. Place your clay pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a ceramic tile to ensure even heat distribution, and gently tent them with aluminum foil, avoiding direct contact with the clay to prevent marks. Bake according to the recommended time—generally 30 minutes per 1/4 inch (6mm) thickness—though I typically bake my pieces for 60 minutes.

Step 7: Crafting the Backplate and Assembling the Ornament Frame

To construct the backplate for your ornament, combine the turquoise trimmings from the faceplate and any unused mica shift turquoise clay with the reserved turquoise clay. From this combined clay, retrieve approximately 20 grams. Roll the clay through setting #1 of your pasta machine, then carefully place the sheet onto your work surface. Using your Rockrose Keepsake Frame (Backplate) Cutter, gently press into the clay just enough to create faint layout lines without cutting all the way through. These layout lines will serve as a guide for positioning a thin sheet of clay, which will act as a stopper to keep your picture securely in place within the frame.

Next, take about 5 grams of the turquoise clay and roll it through the pasta machine to setting #6. Using your Rockrose Keepsake Frame (Backplate) Cutter, cut through the thin sheet of clay completely. Carefully lift the cutter from the clay, then reposition it on the piece you just cut (starting at the tip of the ornament). Ensure there’s about a 3/16" gap between the original cut tip and the placement of the cutter. Once positioned, press down to cut through the clay again. This will create a V-shaped piece of clay that matches the ornament’s silhouette.

Now, take the V-shaped piece and carefully place it along the layout lines you created earlier on the #0-thickness clay sheet. You can use a silicone-tipped tool to help with the alignment. Once you're satisfied with the placement, use your Rockrose Keepsake Frame (Backplate) Cutter to cut through the entire sheet of #0-thickness clay.

Carefully transfer the backplate to a sheet of cardstock for support. Then, take your previously cured faceplate and apply a thin layer of liquid clay to the back of the faceplate where it will meet the backplate. Gently align the faceplate with the backplate, ensuring the edges match up neatly.

To maintain a gap between the faceplate and backplate for the picture to slide into, place two popsicle sticks under the ornament hanger section of the faceplate. This will help create the necessary space during curing. Once the faceplate and backplate are properly aligned, place the piece in the oven and cure for another 60 minutes.

Step 8: Sanding and Finishing

Once the ornament is fully cured, carefully sand the edges to smooth out any visible seams between the layers. Start with a 220-grit sandpaper and gradually work your way up to 1000-grit for a smooth, even finish. After sanding, apply a thin layer of Renaissance wax to the edges. Then, using a Dremel tool with a soft cotton mop attachment, gently polish the edges for a shiny, professional finish. 

Using a gold acrylic paint pen, carefully paint the sides of the ornament around the hanger area. This will give the ornament a uniform, polished look. Allow the paint to dry completely before handling.

For the final touch, apply a thin, even layer of resin to the front surface of the ornament to create a glossy finish. When working with resin, always wear gloves and ensure you're in a well-ventilated area, as resin can be sticky and may cause skin irritation. After applying the resin, use a lighter or torch to carefully remove any air bubbles. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for curing time and temperature to ensure a durable, high-quality finish.

Next, drill a small hole into the ornament's hanger section and attach a ribbon for hanging on the Christmas tree. Once your ornament is ready for display, cut out your chosen photo and slide it into the frame to complete the project.

Personalizing Your Ornament

The beauty of this project is that you can customize it for any occasion—whether it’s a holiday, special event, or just a fun keepsake. Use holiday-themed colors, stamps, and textures, or even add names and dates to make it even more personal. For an extra touch of customization, consider using our debossing cutters, which we’ve created specifically for adding the year to your ornaments, as shown in the video tutorial. This adds a unique and timeless element to your piece, making it a cherished memory for years to come.

If you choose to include a debossed year on your ornament, roll a sheet of gold clay to setting #2 and complete the gold foil application technique shown above. This thickness is optimal for debossing with our cutters, ensuring a crisp and clean impression that will last for years.