A cheap and easy way to make small to medium sized gems, I used it for the Butterfly Miraculous for Hawkmoth, but it could also be used to Steven Universe Gems. The largest I made was only 3x2cm, but you could experiment with larger ones!
Wax/parchment paper and Aluminium foil
So, first you need to make the basic shape/size of the gem you want, on the wax paper or foil.
Originally, I tried just squirting glue into the round size I wanted, then let it dry flat, but although they were very round and smooth, this ended up making very flat gems. This way would work with small gems (like 1cm circles or less)
In my second try, I basically put another layer on top of the previous flat gems. This did work, but ended up very messy and rough. I also tried making a smaller flat gem, then immediately putting a second round layer and then plunging it into water, this did work I guess, but was still flat
My last try ended up with the best shape but the messiest looking. For this, I squired a big blob of glue onto a flat gem, then immediately pressed foil on top of it, smoothing it and shaping it. It can get hot, so be careful. You can shape a mould out of foil by shaping it around something in the shape, and this can then be filled with glue.
After making these gems, I realised they were not going to be nice and smooth and look good ehn painted.
For this, you basically smooth the gem out by heating sections of it over a tea-light. If the gem is not super bumpy and messy, just heating it should be enough to round out the top.
If your gem is quite messy, or you want to shape it a bit more, heat sections over the flame and then immediately drag the gem across the scrap paper. This drags the excess glue around and under, making the edges look very neat and nice!
Then, just paint the gem (I used nail polish) and you are done!
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