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Sculpey Premo™ Chunky Necklace
Designed by Syndee Holt
In stock
From $2.79
To $71.55
Like the look of large chunky jewelry but hate the weight? Create your own chunky jewelry with Sculpey beads that are deceptively light! The Secret? An inner core of Sculpey Ultralight clay.
- Pearl Ex powders (used here: Spring Green, Bright Copper)
- Dark grey or black craft paint
- Small brush
- Texture stamp or piece of very rough sandpaper
- 18-gauge copper wire
- Jewelry wire cutters
- Round nose pliers
- 8-10" each of antique bronze and antique copper chain
- Idea-ology Trinket Pin in Antique Copper for clasp
- Dremel drill with small drill bit
Project Instructions
- Getting Started:
Start with clean hands, unwrap and knead clay until soft and smooth, or condition by running clay though a Pasta Machine. We recommend using a designated machine for clay purposes only. When working with multiple colors, clean hands with soap and water or baby wipes (we have found that baby wipes work best) before switching colors. Shape clay, pressing pieces firmly together. Wash hands after use.
- Baking:
Create your inner core balls from the Ultralight clay. I have one ball about 1 inch in diameter and 6 that are about ¾ inch diameter and 2 smaller 1/2 inch diameter balls. Bake the beads according to the clay package directions.
Roll out 1/3 of the package of Copper clay on the widest setting on the Sculpey Clay Conditioning Machine; repeat several times until the clay is smooth and pliant. Set the machine down to about 5 and roll the clay back through to create a paper-thin sheet of clay. Tear small pieces of this sheet and collage them onto a BAKED Ultralight ball.
Lightly texture the completely wrapped ball on your texture stamp or piece of rough sandpaper. The texture does NOT need to be deep!
Touch your finger inside the lid of the Spring Green Pearl Ex and lightly swipe some green highlights onto the bead. Repeat with the Copper Pearl Ex.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 for all your beads. Bake according to the clay package directions for about 15 minutes. (Remember: We are just baking the thin shell of clay on the outside!)
After the beads have baked and cooled, it's time to antique them! Paint the surface of the bead with your craft paint, and then quickly wipe the surface with a wet paper towel to remove the paint from the upper surfaces. This will really bring out the clay colors, textures and Pearl Ex highlights. Set aside to dry.
Drill your beads with the drill tool, using a drill bit slightly larger than the wire you are using. NOTE: Ultralight clay is REALLY easy to drill through! You can even drill these beads by hand through the Ultralight.
The bead “cage” is created just like you are using wire to make them. Start with an extruded piece of Antique Gold clay about 10 inches long. Coil the two ends in opposite directions as shown. NOTE: Extruding clay is also a great project for kids to do for you!
Cut a 3-inch piece of wire and stick one end of the wire through the center of one of the coils. Thread the wire through the bead and through the center of the other coil of clay. Tighten the coils if you need to by twisting in opposite directions. Set the bead aside and repeat steps 8 and 9 for all the beads. Bake the beads again according to the clay package directions. (15 minutes again, since we are baking only the extruded clay this time!)
Create a medium-large loop in one end of the wire and trim the other side of the wire to about ½ inch from the bead on the other side of the wire. Grasp the end of the wire with your needle nose pliers and roll towards you to create a medium-large loop that should be fairly snug against the bead. Repeat for all the beads.
Link all the beads together with the largest bead in the center and the smaller beads on the ends. Attach both chains to one of the smaller beads, using the loop you created in the wire. Attach the other sides of the chains to the other small bead.
Open the chains at the center length and remove any excess lengths you don't need. Use the Trinket pin for your closure!
