Happy Valentines, Grandma! DIY CLAY BEADS



What does every woman want for Valentines Day? Diamond earrings, of course.  But what does every sentimental Grandma want? Sparkly and painted jewelry made by their grand kids, of course.  So here you go...a necklace cutout, painted, designed and strung by a two-year-old.  
My only regret is that I am not getting one for myself. =)





Wanting to make it a little more sentimental, I used Sculpey : Oven-Bake Clay - available from Wal-Mart- to make the heart beads.  I had considered making salt dough, but after reading some reviews about users seeing it go moldy, I decided to leave the clay making to the pros and bought this inexpensive clay.


The other beads were a hodge-podge from the $ Tree as well as Wal-Mart.





 I love how two-year-olds think.  
Mine would get excited about a certain bead and use it twice until he discovered another exciting bead.  This left the design completely random and completely reflective of his excitement.



And though it was a little messy, adding some glitter really made the whole necklace sparkle.



Bead Directions:
1.) We rolled out the clay and cut out our hearts.  I used regular stamps to imprint on the clay and then I added the threading holes with a toothpick. 
2.) We followed the box directions for baking it - which was surprisingly fast...like 15 minutes or so.
3.) We let them cool and then painted and glittered away.
4.) We used embroidery floss and a needle to thread.  He would pick the bead and I would thread it, then he would pull it down.
5.) I tied the ends in a couple of tight knots and then to hid the ends, I simply threaded them through a few adjacent beads and then snipped the extra.


And now just to ship them off!  
He was really quite proud of his handy work which made me smile inside and out.


Happy Gifting!
-Sabrina


2 comments:

  1. Sabrina,

    this is a lovely and beautifully made necklace. I am sure grandma is going to adore it!

    ReplyDelete

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