DIY Etsy Inspired Necklace

Little kids always have their quirks and odd obsessions. One of my many was oven-bake clay. I loved working with my hands and I loved being creative. I made everything from jewelry for my teachers to a nativity set for my parents to an entire menus worth of sushi -- all from oven-bake clay.

As I was wandering around pinterest one day I found a picture of a cute, fun necklace that was being sold on Etsy for $40. This inspired me to take a stroll down memory lane and try to make one myself.

My favorite brand of clay is Sculpey. It is what I worked with when I was a little girl and it is what I wanted to work with on this project! I am really into neutrals right now so I chose Beige, Tan and Brown.

The execution was extremely simple. I rolled the clay into a little ball, flattened it out and poked a hole in the center. The great thing about this particular oven-bake clay is that it doesn't shrink or expand in the oven so you don't have to worry about the holes shrinking and not fitting your string.

I made 5 beads in each color (odds are more interesting than evens) and once they were molded appropriately I put them in the oven at 275 for about 14 minutes. (No, I didn't make that up, I read the instructions.)

Once they were done baking I let them cool and then strung them immediately. I just used a neutral colored cord and it worked nicely. Depending on what look you are going for their are lots of options for what you string your beads on.

Here was my initial final result..

I later decided to make smaller beads and add them to the necklace in order to add more dimension, and here is the final, final result.. (sorry that the colors look so different. the picture below is more accurate)

I really like the neckalce and would like to make more in different colors. I think it looks like something you could find at the jewelry section in an antique store!

The cost of this project was less than $6 and I had lots of clay left over for more projects.

Some ways to reinterpret this idea:
1. A small number of larger beads (3 or 5) on a longer string
2. Add pops of bright, interesting colors
3. Put the beads on a chain and see if you can make it work with an interesting outfit
4. Fill half a string with all small beads
5. Same beads with a longer string

If you make something similar to what I made or any of the interpretations I would love to post them. So feel free to send pictures my way with descriptions of how and why you did it the way you did!

Thanks for reading.
Bye, friends!