I came across some galaxy donuts on Instagram and I was inspired to create my own. Now I can't cook but I can create small treasures with polymer clay! This is a very basic project and you don't need to be experienced to try it.

For this tutorial I created 2 different donuts to give you an idea of how different they can look at the end with different galaxy patterns.

For more ideas check out my Instagram feed

Step 1: Materials

MATERIALS

> Translucent liquid Sculpey

> White acrylic paint

> Soft bristled paint brush

> Old toothbrush or rough bristled brush

OPTIONAL

> Superglue

> Varathane water based gloss

TIPS

Wash your hands really well before handling clay so that you don't transfer lint.

After washing you should take some scrap clay and just roll it around to remove the lint (trust me you still have lint on your hands even after washing.)

Step 2: Make the Donut

Break off a small chunk of clay and condition it until it is malleable. It should not crumble nor should it be too soft or sticky. If your clay is too hard you can add a drop of mineral oil to soften it up. The ball depicted was enough clay for one donut.

Roll it into a ball and use your dotting tool to push lightly though the center and stop right before you push through. Flip the donut over and push the dotting tool in again. Repeat this process until you have a nice center.

You can use the tool to clean up any rough edges in the center.

Step 3: Give Your Donut Some Texture

Once you have the shape you are happy with, use a toothbrush to lightly texture the entire donut. Don't push too hard as you don't want to leave fingerprints.

Step 4: Add Your Eye Pin

Choose where you want to place your eye pin. Every so gently you need to screw the eye pin into the charm. DO NOT push it in as this defeats the whole purpose of the screw feature and it will probably just fall out later.

If you notice that your eye pin is going to poke through to the center of the donut don't screw it in any further. After you bake the donut you can use a pair of pliers to cut off the bottom of the eye pin so that it doesn't come out the other side.

Step 5: Add Some Depth

Use a small blade to shave off a little orange and brown chalk pastels and mix the two colors together. With your paint brush lightly shade the donut until you have achieved the look you are going for.

Step 6: And Bake...

I used a toaster oven that I have in my craft room and a ceramic tile I purchased at Home Depot. (Yes you will look a little bit crazy asking for just 1 ceramic tile but it's totally worth it! I love mine.) Set the temperature on your oven according to the instructions on the clay. For this step you don't need to fully bake the donut, you just need it to be firm for the "icing". I baked these donuts for about 10 minutes.

Step 7: Mix Your Icing

While your donut is baking, you can mix up your galaxy icing. Squeeze 8 drops of Translucent Liquid Sculpey. Dip your mixing tool into the oil paint and then into the TLS and swirl it around. Be careful because a little paint will go a long way and you don't want to over do it! So start small and add more paint gradually until the desired color is reached.

I chose to use chalk for the pink because the oil paint didn't really give me the effect I was looking for. I also added a tiny bit of chalk to the blue to brighten it up.

Step 8: Swirl Your Icing

Scoop a little of each color and place them in a little circle next to each other. Using a toothpick or needle tool swirl the colors together. Don't over swirl your mixture, maybe 3 or four times.

After I made my swirl mix, I added a few dabs of color into the mixture to give it more variety.

Step 9: Donut Dipping

Take the donut out of the oven and let it cool down before adding the icing. Once it has cooled lightly press it into the icing and make sure the entire top is covered. Move it slightly to the side and pull it out instead of just picking it straight up and out of the icing.

Step 10: And Bake Again....

About 10 minutes should do it.

Step 11: Add Stars

Wait for your donuts to cool down a bit and use your rough bristled brush to add the stars to your galaxy. I squirted a little bit of white paint onto my workspace and dipped the brush in it. I used my thumb to flick the brush a few times before actually doing it over the donut to remove the excess paint.

Once the donuts are cool and the excessive paint has been removed from the brush, flick it over the icing until you think it looks just right. If you aren't happy you can wipe it clean and start over or wait until it dries and use your fingernail to scrape off any excess stars.

Step 12: Gloss It Up

This step is optional but adding a little gloss will really bring out the colors and give a nice sheen to the icing. I used Varathane gloss and only added it to the icing. I know you're thinking Varathane?! But it is a wonderful sealant and won't peel off or get cloudy over time like many other polymer clay glosses. Keep in mind it has to be water based and never the oil based.

To add more strength and durability, unscrew the eye pin and add a drop of super glue to the pin. Reinsert it and it will last a long time!