Learning from clay charms.

Hey Sunday Projecteers!

Like most craft obsessed individuals like myself, we are always looking for inspiration, the next best craft, and in my case I am always looking for a new method of doing crafts. For a while now I have wanted to do a post on clay jewelry as it is so so simple and you can make such fun pieces. While brainstorming for this idea, I came across this lovely gem of a post by a fellow blogger on some cute stamped clay pieces. So before I really delved into the world of clay jewelry I thought I would try making some simple charms this past weekend to see how it went. *note: I read the post and followed the blogger’s instructions, this is not my original idea and in no way am I trying to make it mine*

Since moving to Seattle I have had to find a new home to get all of my crafty goodness. I have found a couple of stores, but I’m sure there are more to unearth in the coming months. The tutorial suggests using Sculpey clay, craft paint, stamps, and Mod Podge. I was not able to find rubber stamps, but I did find awesome metal “cookie” cutters made specifically for clay stamping. I grabbed them as I’m sure I will use them for another craft sometime soon.

The project took me a few hours, as you have to bake the pieces for appropriate times, and let everything cool and dry. It was a fun and easy project and I definitely learned some new tricks for when I make my next round of clay jewelry. For instance, I hadn’t even thought about using paint the highlight the stamped images! Brilliant! However, mastering this tricky step is brutal! You can see in some of my charms that I had a rough time with not smudging the paint and they look “dirty”. This really made me upset about the charms and how they turned out, I was going to throw them away! But, after staring at them for a while, it came to me that it will just be their personality and I think I’ve figured out a better way for myself to do that step for next time. This project also was a little special this time around, as it is the first since my craft funk, and I was able to get something out of it. It sparked some imagination and creativity. I needed that and hope it sticks around.

So, now it is time to truly indulge in crafting as there are so many projects for fall to get to! Please take the time to browse Make It and Love It as there are some really cool and fun things to see. And thank you for the awesome charms tutorial.

You can see my steps and finished product in the photos below. Happy Sunday Projecting!

The classic standby in oven bake clay.

Using a molding tool and the square metal stamp.

The charms! With some paint smudges!

The finished Robot KeyChain.

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