Have you ever tried making your own necklaces/charms?

Question

I haven't tried yet, but I know people make cutesy charms by using Sculpey clay, baking, painting and glazing them. and I'm sure you could just find chains for necklaces at a craft store like Michaels or Johanns
but has anyone ever tried?
and did they even turn out looking good?

and don't just answer with "no i haven't"! :]

Answer 1

I've made a lot of things from polymer clay, but not generally from the Sculpey brand of polymer clay (because it's not as strong in thin areas after baking as other brands like Premo, FimoClassic, Kato, Cernit, and to some extent FimoSoft).

I disagree that polymer clay is hard to use or that you need a lot of special tools though... generally your hands and a toothpick, plus something to work on and to bake on are all you need for many things, especially little minatures and simple beads and other things, etc.

If you want to paint on top of the baked clay, you'll also need acrylic paint (clean clay with alcohol first if necessary) and possibly some acrylic varnish...or you can buy colored clays (they can be mixed together to create new colors), or you can color your own clay using artists' oil paints (in tubes) or alcohol inks (or *small* amounts of acrylic paint).

There are a load of small things to make with polymer clay (lessons, examples, etc.) on this page if you want to check it out:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/miniatures.htm

The whole site has other pages on making beads and pendants/dangles, as well as baking the clay, etc.... just browse down this page, then when you find a page you want to go to, click inside the alphabetical navigation bar on the left side of that page:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/contents.htm

You might also want to read some of the messages and look at the examples of things like that on the Polymer Clay boards of the Craftster forum:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=238.0
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=239.0


HTH,

Diane B.

Answer 2

i am a big jewelry designer and i am about to start my own company....i have a few suggestions for you. i have made lots of diff. pendants...try shrinky dink plastic and color a design on it..maybe a flower with Sharpies and then bake it in the oven according to the directions...it makes a really cool pendant. also you could just attach cool beads on a jump ring and use it as a "charm." sculpey clay also works well....but i would maybe find molds with hapes or words and then you just bake it and glaze it...if u buy white sulpey then u can paint it, but another solution would b to just buy colored sculpey clay. hope u like my suggestions!!!

Answer 3

Yes, but the clay is hard to work with, you need specific tools and other stuff. BUT the larger craft stores now have lots of different jewels and charms and beads that are pre-made so all you have to do is string them! I like making jewelry but I do not like working with the clays.

Answer 4

i make my own bracelets, necklaces, and chokers using beads. its very fun, and easy way of making your own fashion, and if you make enough jewelry u can even turn around and sell it for hefty profit. beads are not that expensive if you know the right places to look. just make sure u try to stay away from the cheapy plastic looking beads, because you wont be able to sell your necklaces for much if ppl can tell they look like junk. there are hundreds of books about beading. good luck, and have fun!

Answer 5

I've tried and I like my results. My sister's co-workers have actually bought my jewelry right off of me.