These marbled clay pendants are an easy project to keep kids busy this summer. The supply list is short, and all you’ll need to do is operate the oven.
I love making polymer clay jewelry – it is such an easy way to create a unique look. And these clay pendants are no different. The kiddos can even whip them up themselves, as long as you operate the oven. There are all sorts of clay techniques that you could use, but today, I’ll be sharing a marbled technique for making these clay pendants.
Supply List for Polymer Clay Pendants
- oven bake clay in 3-4 colors
- a cookie cutter or shape to use as a template and a craft knife
- acrylic paint (black and gold, optional)
- jump rings
- necklace chain or cording
- stamps and/or embellishment
To start, work a small piece of clay until soft. Pick one colour to be the dominant colour of your design. I used white. Roll a piece to about 6 inches long, and then work with the next colour.
Use half as much of the secondary colour as you did the first colour. Roll to the same length. Next, use half that amount again of your third colour, and roll it out to the same length. Finally, stack the three ropes together.
Twist the three strands around and around, and then roll across your work surface until the snake gets about 11-12 inches long and looks like one strand instead of three.
When it gets long again, fold in half and twist it around itself before rolling out again. Repeat this process several times (3 is usually good, but go again if you want more marbling).
Once done, roll the strand up, and use a brayer or a glass jar to flatten and thin the clay out to about 1/4″.
Next, place your template or cookie cutter on the clay, and cut it out using the craft knife or cutter.
Poke a hole in the top to place a jump ring through once it bakes. Use the stamps to add any text – we cut the heart in half to create a BFF charm, and my daughter also decided to make pet tags for her little sisters stuffies, so she stamped the names on those as well.
Baking Marbled Clay
Bake the charms according to the package directions. Mine was 15 minutes at 275 degrees for 1/4″ thickness. I burnt my first batch, and I realized my oven rack was too low. I placed my second on the highest rack position, and they turned out perfect.
Once done, let cool, and if you stamped text, paint the recesses of each letter. To do this, dab a pretty dry brush all over the stamped area, and wipe off with a paper towel. The paint will stay in the recessed areas, and wipe clean off the rest of the baked clay. If not stamping, add embellishments and paint the edges gold if desired.
Put the jump ring through the hole you poked, and string it onto your necklace chain or cord. You can also just string it right onto the cording like my daughter did on the pet tags.
And there you have it – a super cute BFF charm, or monogram charm, or whatever your heart desires! You could also roll small balls and poke a hole all the way through to create beads. The options are limitless, which I really look for when suggesting creative projects to my tween. She loves having the option to make it her own, which this open ended craft allows.
For more kids craft ideas, check out these fabulous posts!
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