heat your oven to 275 degrees

What better way is there to enjoy a day than to try a fun new technique? I love trying new things, so I am hoping you will find this tutorial fun and enjoyable as well! Today, I am going to share with you how to create your own charms using Sculpey clay and the Chip Art tool and stamps! It is a rather simple process that only requires a few supplies including the clay, some water based paint, and the Chip Art tool and stamps. Here is one of the necklaces I made using a charm I created. It is much more shimmery and shiny in real life...I promise!
Here are the supplies you will need...
GCD Studios:
Chip Art Ornamental Stamps /Bloom, Butterflies and Mini Shapes

Other:
White Clay by Sculpey
Clay Cutter by Makin's
24 inch Ball Chain by The Jewlery Shoppe
9mm Jump Ring by The Jewlery Shoppe
Paints by Shimmerz
Acrylic Coating Spray by Krylon


And here is another necklace I created. I am going to share with you the step by step on how I created this one, so keep reading!
First roll your clay out in a small round shape so that it is about 1/8 inch thick. Then take your desired stamp and stamp it gently into the clay. It will leave a lovely impression. If you are not happy with it guess what? You can easily start all over!!!
Continue to "decorate" your clay piece as desired with other stamps.
Continue stamping...now we have a lovely little butterfly family ready to take flight!!!
Use the clay cutter, which is really a little mini cookie cutter if you ask me, and cut out your shape.
Center the cutter over your stamped image and gently press it through the clay.
Remove the excess clay. Pick up the clay piece and use your finger to gently soften the edges of your cut out piece.
Now, take the head of a large needle or other poking device and make a small hole in the top of the clay piece. This is where you will place the jump ring which will attach the charm to your chain.
Here are several pieces I made. These are now ready for the oven. I baked them following the package instructions for Sculpey... 275 degrees Farenheit for 7-8 minutes. (The package says 15 minutes per 1/4 inch thickness and these are half of that thickness so I halved the cooking time and it worked perfectly!)
Here they are fresh from the oven! They will be solid upon removing them from the oven. Once they are cool it is time to start painting!
I found Shimmerz to work perfectly for this along with a small tipped paint brush.
I love how the water based paint filled in the stamped image so nicely and still allows you to see the details so well!
Here are my charms with a bit more paint. My finished charms had a couple more coats of paint on them in places as I continued to add coats of paint to get the desired coverage and color I preferred.
Finish by applying a coat or 2 of the acrylic spray coating. Once this is dry, add the jump ring and then thread it onto the chain. Now you are ready to wear your own hand made jewelry! Or maybe play around and create some as gifts for your family and friends!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Happy Hugs!
Juliana