December weekends are for breaking out our craft supplies and getting creative with DIY gifts! Clay crafts have been trending for a minute and we’re here for it, which is why we whipped up these highly giftable polymer clay keychains. They’re easy, fun and odds are your friends won’t believe you made them 😉 Keep reading for the full tutorial and links to supplies!
What You Need:
- Polymer Clay (we used Sculpey!)
- Rolling Pin (any will do, but we used this one)
- Keychain Rings
- 7MM Jump Rings
- Circular cookie cutter (we used a biscuit cutter or you can use any caps lying around)
- Toothpick
- Jewelry Pliers
- Parchment Paper
- Knife
Before you get started, lay down parchment paper to protect your surface and then tape it down. This also makes it easy to transfer your clay designs directly to a pan and pop it in the oven.
For the Rainbow Keychain:
Choose three colors you’d like for your rainbow and use your hand to roll the clay between your palms to start creating long rolls of clay. Use one hand and continue to roll on your parchment paper to help create an even diameter until you achieve a long roll that’s about 1/4″ thick.
Start by creating an upside-down U-shape with one of your colors, then add the second and third color on top of that. It should look like a mini rainbow! Gently press the rolls together to secure the three colors together, then use a knife to cut off the excess clay to even out your sides.
Use your toothpick to create a hole on top of the rainbow for your jump ring.
For the Cheetah Print Keychain
Start by choosing a foundation color – we chose white – and roll out until it’s your desired thickness, then pick two colors to serve as your print! The darker of the two colors will go down first – we used gold. Pinch off small bits of the clay in organic shapes and place them on the white clay. Do the same for the lighter color – we used pink — on top of your darker color.
Once all of your bits are on your base color, take your roller and roll over the entire piece of clay until smooth. Now you have a super fun cheetah print!
Next, take a clay or cookie cutter of your choice and stamp as many shapes as you can into your piece of clay. Separate your new shapes and discard the extra clay, then use your trusty toothpick to poke a hole for your jump ring.
Next, preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Pop your clay shapes in the oven for about 15 minutes and then left them cool completely for about 20 minutes.
Using your needle nose pliers, push a jump ring through the hole you created with your toothpick and attach your keychain rings. Close the jump ring and that’s it!
Pop Talk 