Polymer Clay Ornaments

I love polymer clay.

It takes me back to playing with play doh when I was a kid.

I wanted to make some simple Christmas ornaments for our open house.

I took a trip to the craft store and got a few new cookie cutters and a big box of Sculpey Original clay.

I like how soft it is.

I rolled out the clay and cut a few shapes.

I used some letter stampers to add a few words.

Ok.  Here is where I had a glitch.

In the winter, sometimes my toaster oven singes things if it is very cold outside.

That happened here.

They are no longer the snowy white I wanted.

Some got quite singed.

Ouch!

So I thought I would add some crackle and paint.

Always follow the directions on the product.

I did not seal these first as instructed so the crackle could not slide around and crackle.

It did leave some subtle texture.

Next I used some DecoArt Chalky finish paint.

That stuff covers a lot of mishaps.

Once they were dry, I scuffed each one with a sanding block for a primitive look.

I love the way they turned out despite all the issues...

You can tell these have the subtle texture from the crackle glaze.

It left them just a little bumpy.

These would be really easy to do with kids.

And they would last longer than traditional salt dough ornaments.

I love that about Sculpey.

They don't get damp and moldy.

Mice and critters do not nibble on them in your attic.

They are durable and seldom break.

They look great!

I do love the way they turned out but they are not what I planned when I started the project.

That happens to me often....

Sigh...

I just roll with it.

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Bracelet Makeover Round Up

Christmas is right around the corner.

If there are a few gals on your list that you have not finished shopping for, try a few of these quick and easy bracelet up cycles.

For most of these, I started with plastic bangles.

A couple used metal bangles but you can use whatever you have on hand or pick up.

These pretty bangles are just updated with some vintage buttons.

You can find the directions here.

These are essentially the same but I used cheap earrings and removed the posts.

This fun shabby chic cuff uses recycled sheets and takes longer to locate the sheet and tear strips than it does to make the cuff.

Tutorial here.

These are my favorites.

I used sheets that we dyed with RIT dye to get these fantastic colors.

But you can use whatever you have on hand.

My tutorial is here.

 These would be great for a wedding party too.

And the last one just uses washi tape to dress up the bangles.

Tutorial here.

For the most part, it will take longer to assemble all the supplies than it will to make the bracelets.

An hour or two will produce enough to make a dent in that gift list.

Have fun!

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