Stamped Clay Keychain

I think it would be safe to say I have a thing for bees.  Ever since people I know and love found out that my name literally translates to “sweet like honey from the bee”, I was swarmed with bee-themed gifts, cards, clothes, supplies, and more.  After a while, the bee thing grew on me, and now I can say that I’m slightly obsessed with them.

I decided to make this key chain after I wrote a guest post on clay charms for a craft blog.  I guess I never really realized how fun and easy this is…and it’s a great way to create personalized charms for wedding favors, baby shower favors, and even gift tags.

Stamped Clay Bumble Bee Key Chain

Materials:

• 1 block Studio by Sculpy Clay, in Butterscotch (#6437)
• Stamp of your choice
• 1 block Studio by Sculpy Clay, in Cappuccino (#6785)
• 1 sewing pin
• Ribbons of your choice
• Two similar buttons
• Hot glue gun

Instructions:

1. Condition the butterscotch clay until it’s easily workable and roll it into a ball.  Using a marker, pen, or clay rolling pin, roll out the ball until it forms a circle about 2 inches in diameter.
   
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2. Take your stamp and carefully press it into the clay.
   
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3. With the sewing pin, create a hole large enough for your ribbon to go through.
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4. If you have clay tools, you can add texture to the clay however you’d like.  I just used the round head of the pin to make tiny grooves in the clay charm.  I like the vintage look of it!
   
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5. Once your charm is the way you want it, set it aside.
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6. Condition your Cappuccino clay until it’s easily workable and roll it into a ball.  To create a bead, shape it to be the size you want (I did a cone shape to mirror a bee hive) and carefully pull the pin through the bead to create a hole.
   
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7. Once your charm and bead are ready, bake them according to the package directions.  If you’re using Sculpey clay, bake at 275 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.  After baking, remove from oven and let cool completely.
   
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8. Depending on how workable your ribbon is, you can weave it through your charm.  I had to use a tapestry needle to help get my ribbons through the holes on the charm and the bead.  Once the ribbon is through both clay pieces, tie a knot to secure it.
   
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9. If you’d like, you can attach a separate ribbon like I did to the secure knot.  Then I secured that ribbon by gluing 2 like buttons together.  I think it looks kind of cute!
   
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This is an easy project to make for any occasion.  You can easily attach these clay charms to gift packages, wedding favors, necklaces, and more!

Celebrate creativity every Wednesday with a “Creativi-bee” post, where I share easy craft tutorials, project ideas, and craft collections.