Thursday, March 29, 2012

Clay Jewelry


This is a March of the Bloggers guest post!

"Clay Jewelry"

by Jessica of Jagsmitty

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We're almost to the weekend, girlies! That means finally some time to go shopping, have tea with friends, and catch up on all those lovely DIYs you've seen on blogs throughout the week!

Today's great DIY project comes from Jessica of Jagsmitty. Her blog covers the range of fabulosity... from fashion to DIY! Let's jump in to her awesome demonstration of clay jewelry!

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First, I want to start off by saying thank you to Loren of Frock Stock for asking if I would like to guest post. I feel very honored. I love Frock Stock, it’s such an adorable boutique! Cute clothes and fast shipping too!
Now to jump right into my post! I would describe myself as queen of everything DIY. If I can make it, most likely I will. The best part of DIY is you get to put your own spin on whatever it is YOU make! Which means it’s unique and nobody has anything like it.
My post, as you know by now from the title is about making jewelry out of clay and other items. With a few simple ingredients (and of course a little bit of creativity) you can do magical things!

Supplies: ‘clay,’ toothpicks, acrylic paints, paint brush, beading wire, jewelry pliers, old necklace chain or store bought chain.

The recipe I use for my clay jewelry is one that can probably be found anywhere. It calls for: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt and enough water to create a ‘play-do’ consistency. Once you get this far, let your imagination run! You can make just about anything. An idea that I haven’t yet done myself is find objects in your house that have unique textures on them. Roll them over your flattened clay and cut out objects.

Once you have your shapes ready place them on a cookie sheet. No need for foil as they bake so long they won’t stick. Using a toothpick, poke holes in your shapes where you would like them to be threaded. Bake them at 250⁰ F for 2 hours. After they have baked and cooled you can start decorating!

Acrylic paints seem to work best with the clay. You will have to apply more than one coat as it does soak up the paint slightly. Get creative! There are so many colors to choose from! Including glitter and metallic!

To attach the shapes to a chain, I used beading wire that I cut and twisted with jewelry pliers. I did this so that the shapes did not hang funny on the chain. You can see how I did this in the photo below.



So simple right? And definitely a lot of fun! I’m thinking about having a jewelry-making party with my friends! I think the trickier part in this whole process is coming up with ideas. Here are a few completed necklaces I did thus far!







Enjoy! And I hope I sparked the creativity in you! I would love to see projects any of you do, so send me your links to photos! :)


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As someone who doesn't DIY a lot, I honestly have to say I had never heard of doing clay jewelry but I think the items Jessica made are AMAZING. It's such a cheap way to imitate anything you've been coveting!


Don't forget to check out Jessica's blog once you're done leaving her some comment love! (Three more days until our last jewelry giveaway!)

<3 Loren of Frock Stock

6 comments:

  1. how fun! love it jessica! :-)

    lovelovelove
    madisoncary

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  2. It all looks lovely :) Jess is so creative :)

    Laura xoxo

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  3. Smitty,

    This was such a great idea! And very out-of-the-box thinking! I NEVER thought of doing this but you made it sound so simple & fun!! I see a DIY project in the works for me!

    - Tina D

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    Replies
    1. Yaaay! I'm glad I inspired you! :D Would love to see the things you make! :))
      xo Smitty

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