Easy Autumn Bracelet

This quick & easy bracelet project is being shared this week in my Cindi's Creative Solutions article on When Creativity Knocks.  

Let no scrap go unused! That’s my motto when I’m working with Makin’s Clay®. You can store unused clay in a ziplock bag with a damp paper towel, but if I have just a bit left over from a project, I like to either create push molded elements I can use on later projects, or roll the clay into sheets and let it dry for future projects. The latter was the case in this blended piece of clay used for the base of this simple bracelet. I had small amounts of Terra Cotta and Natural left, so I blended them to marbleize them a bit and then rolled them out and let the clay dry. Fast forward to when I was planning some outfits to take to an upcoming trade show and I wanted to coordinate some jewelry. I had this autumn toned top, but nothing to go with it – and it was too late to start from total scratch on a jewelry piece, so I delved into my stash of “ready made clay” and pulled out this rolled sheet that had a similar shade of burnt orange. Perfect! In no time at all, I had a customized bracelet. 

Materials: 

• Makin’s Clay® – Terra Cotta, Natural
• Makin’s Clay® Roller 
• JudiKins™ Islamic Rosette and Fancy Flourish rubber stamps
• DecoArt® Americana® Gloss Enamels paint – Antique Gold, Black
• DecoArt Americana® Sealer/Finisher – Matte
• Krylon® Copper Leafing Pen
• Oversized copper jump rings (4), oversized copper closure 
• Jewelry pliers, scissors, hole punch 

Instructions:

The instructions are very simple.

Choose clay colors and paint colors to coordinate with the clothing you are creating the piece to wear with….. in this case, it was this top.

If you don’t happen to have a pre-rolled sheet of clay in the colors you want, just blend 2-3 shades of clay to marbleize, then roll thin and allow to dry 24 hours. This sheet was made with Natural and Terra Cotta Makin’s Clay®. Cut the rolled clay into a rectangular band wide enough to encircle your wrist, when a closure is added. Makin’s Clay® stays flexible when dry, so it’s easy to cut with scissors, or punch with craft punches, die cut, etc.

Choose two rubber stamps you want to use to add details – I chose two that had a similar pattern to the background in my top. Next, apply Antique Gold DecoArt® Americana™ Gloss Enamels paint to the first stamp, and stamp it onto the strip of dry clay. Reapply the paint, and stamp again as many times as desired, allowing some stamped images to extend off the bracelet. Let the paint dry.

Repeat with black Glossy Enamels paint and the second rubber stamp, allowing the designs to overlap. Let the paint dry thoroughly.

I was using a copper closure, and I wanted to add just a touch of copper accent to the bracelet, so I edged it with a Krylon Copper Leafing Pen.

Spray the entire bracelet, front and back, with DecoArt® Americana™ spray sealer.
Punch two holes in each end of the clay strip, add two oversized copper jump rings, intertwined, and the oversized copper closure.