Jewelry from Self-Hardening Clay

Your child can create one-of-a-kind earrings and necklaces. Her imagination can really go, creating interesting designs for matched sets, or random unique creations. Not only can she make them for herself – but also as gifts for friends and family!

What You Need:

• Self-hardening clay
• Rolling pin
• Large craft needle
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Fishhook earring loops (can be purchased at any craft store)
• Needle-nose pliers
• Jewelry links
• Length of leather or string
• Beads
• Select objects to use as molds and impressions

What You Do:

1. Encourage your child to sketch out ideas for her earrings and necklaces. She can design sets or individual pieces.
2. Next she can decide on the shape for her earrings and necklace pendant. Use a household item for a mold, such as a small drinking glass for round objects or a plastic building block for a square shape to keep her pieces uniform. Set the objects for the molds aside.
3. It’s time to get rolling! Have her roll out the self-hardening clay on a work surface until it's about ¼ inch thick.
4. Now she can use her shape mold as a pattern to cut out her earrings and necklace.
5. At this point she can draw her designs onto the clay using a sharpened pencil, or she can find things around the house with interesting texture to press into the clay – such as the tines of a comb or the outside of a shell.
6. Once she’s finished with her design, she can use a large craft needle to create a hole at the top of each of her earrings and the necklace.
7. Find a warm dry place to leave the clay pieces overnight.
8. Now it’s time to paint! She can add lots of color using acrylic paints on the front and back of her earrings and necklace.
9. Once they are dry, she'll use a needle-nose pliers to open and gently hook small jewelry rings and then earring hooks into her earrings, and then one into her necklace to thread with a piece of leather or length of beaded string.