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Styled context
Treat this as a starting point for inspiration and experimentation. The concept and reference imagery here is AI-assisted, and AI helped organize the maker notes. Clay brands, ovens, glues, finishes, and hardware behave differently, so check product instructions and test on scrap before making a batch. Measurements, spacing, and timing are estimates from the reference images. Test them on scrap before making a batch. Some product links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check listing details, dimensions, materials, and fit before you buy. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosures
This is the Yellow Diamond Eye Pin: an open cadmium-yellow frame stretched into a long six-sided eye with two sharp side points, a soft light-pink rectangle filling the window, and one small hot-pink square sitting raised on top. The frame and pink plaque read flat in the same plane; only that little square stands proud. It is lightweight and worn flat on a collar or lapel. You can build the frame and center a few proven ways, so I have laid out the options below, then the shared baking, finishing, and pin-back steps that every version needs. Roll an even slab so it bakes flat, and set the pin bar high so the brooch hangs straight.
An elongated six-sided "eye" frame in cadmium yellow with two sharp side points and an open window through the middle. A soft light-pink rectangle fills the window and sits roughly flush with the frame. Centered on the pink rectangle is one small hot-pink square that stands up in low relief and casts a faint shadow. The face is clean and even with a matte to soft-satin finish, not high gloss. Worn flat against a chambray collar at small lapel-pin scale.
Flat slab construction: cut an open yellow frame, fit a light-pink rectangle into the window so they sit in one plane, then add one raised hot-pink square as applied relief bonded with a thin liquid-clay film. The frame and center can be made several ways (cut from one even slab, cut-and-inlay, or a deboss-and-fill register), so the steps below label the options. Bake flat on a covered tile, then attach the pin back.
Condition each color until smooth, then roll the yellow to an even slab on your thickness guides so the whole frame bakes flat; an uneven slab is the main cause of a warped or rocking brooch. Roll the light pink a touch thinner so it sits flush in the window, and roll a small scrap of hot pink for the raised square.
Frame option A (cut from one even slab): cut the outer six-sided eye shape with the two side points from the yellow slab, then cut the inner window from the same slab so the border stays an even width all the way around. Cutting both from one setup keeps the frame uniform.
Frame option B (inlay, flush center): instead of an open window, cut a shallow recess the size of the rectangle into a solid yellow blank, or cut the window all the way through and back the whole piece with a thin yellow slab. Either way the pink rectangle drops in and sits flush with the yellow face.
Frame option C (deboss-and-fill register): press a square or rectangular stamp into a solid yellow blank to mark the center exactly, then fill that debossed well with the pink rectangle so it registers cleanly without a separate cut. Good if you want the frame and center dead-centered every time.
Cut the light-pink rectangle to fit the window snugly, and cut one small hot-pink square for the center. Keep the side points crisp; chill the cut pieces a few minutes if they soften so the geometry holds while you handle them.
Seat the pink rectangle into the yellow window so the two read as one flat plane. Brush a seriously thin film of liquid polymer clay along the seam where pink meets yellow so the join cures together rather than relying on pressed raw edges alone.
Center the hot-pink square on the pink rectangle, brush a thin film of liquid clay under it, and press it down. Blend only its foot so it looks like it grows out of the plaque while the top stays raised and crisp; this is the one element meant to stand proud.
If the blank feels thin where the pin will sit, laminate a second thin yellow slab onto the back with liquid clay between the layers before baking, so the pin seat has something solid to hold and resists cracking under the pin's leverage.
Pin option (embed before baking): texture and bend the pad of a bar pin, brush liquid clay over the seat, press the bent pad into the raw back above the horizontal center line, cover it with a thin clay cap, and seal the seam so the cured clay grips the metal.
Bake the brooch flat on a parchment- or cardstock-covered ceramic tile with a loose foil tent over it, at your clay brand's package temperature and time for the slab thickness; confirm the real oven temperature with a thermometer. For an embedded pin, nest the piece so nothing presses the back flat. Let it cool fully and flat before you handle it.
Pin option (glue after baking): once cool, lightly score the glue seat on the cured back and the metal pad, wipe both with 99% isopropyl alcohol to remove oils, then bond a flat-pad or bar pin with two-part epoxy or a jewelry-grade E6000. Set the bar above the horizontal midline so the weight below pulls the bottom edge in and the brooch hangs flat.
Let the adhesive cure fully and undisturbed for its full listed time before wearing, and do not re-bake a glued finding. Pick a pin whose hinge-to-catch length spans most of the frame width so the brooch cannot pivot or tip.
Leave the face matte for the look in the photo, or seal with a thin water-based polyurethane such as Varathane; brush a couple of thin coats and test it on a baked scrap of the same clay first so the finish does not stay tacky.
Before you buy, match the sizes and parts to the version you want to make.
The color stock and clay body choices that carry the visible design.
Useful for the full outer diamond frame.
Matches the centered inner plaque.
Useful for bonding raw-on-raw applique, layered details, and small joins without crushing the shape.
A firmer polymer clay ideal for crisp details, pixel grids, and canes to prevent distortion during slicing and assembly.
What you condition with and how you keep the slab even.
Stencils, blades, and cutters for cleaner outlines.
Bake surface and oven check tools for the finished brooch.
Adhesives and attachment choices when the build needs them.
Optional surface products if you want to shift sheen, sand, or coat.
Useful add-ons that sit outside the main build tasks.
Each one walks through a technique used in this piece, in full detail.
Your slab cracked at the edge, your cutter dragged, or one color distorted more than the rest. Condition until every color folds the same way, then do the fold test before you cut.
Brooch fronts can tip or lose grip when the rear contact is curved, too small, or glued over a finish. Prepare a flat zone, match the finding size to the scale, and place it on the visual balance line before the adhesive cures.
Custom range
Ask for a build pack to make it yourself (the cutter or tool files, a supply list, and a plan), or ask the studio to make the finished pieces for you.
More pieces with a related form, finish, or making path.
Pin it to a board, copy the link, or keep it saved here while you make your own version.
Tag Clay Bake Studio on Instagram or TikTok so we can see how you adapted it.
