ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Pretty in Peeps Pendant

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: Pretty in Peeps Pendant
Mixed Media Jewelry Project
Margot Potter
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”
Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved

I loves me some Marshmallow Peeps candies! How about you? Last year I bought a huge pile of them just to stack them up and stare at the fabulous colors. They’re so happy and fun filled. My daughter Avalon loves Peeps too. She loves them so much I can’t buy too many or she’ll turn into a Peep.

No, seriously.

I spent the better part of Easter season last year contemplating how to turn a Peeps candy into a bead. I thought about leaving one to sit for a few months and get nice and hard and then spraying it with a sealant...and heck that might work if you didn’t live in a 130 year old school house with a small mold problem. Methinks a moldy Peep bead would lack some appeal.

I finally settled on Sculpey Ultra Light polymer clay embellished with Crafty Chica paints and glitter and Tulip Glam It Up Studs. This could become a pin or a pendant or you could make a whole bunch of these on dowels and do a fun Peeps flower pot centerpiece like my edible bouquet from last year. I decided to make mine into a necklace and just added a bunch of springy Vintage and new Lucite and wood beads for a super cute necklace. If you really want to go to town, try making some Sculpey egg beads to coordinate...or add some polka dots and squiggles to large wooden beads...or do a collar of several Peeps that circle the neckline. I am not exaggerating in the least when I tell you that making these is so much fun, you’re going to look for reasons to make more!

Materials
Sculpey Ultra Light
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paints Red and White
3 Tulip Glam-It-Up Iron-On Studs Black
Crafty Chica Glitter Sunset Pink
Aleene’s Jewel-It Glue
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Spray
Aleene’s Matte Finish Spray Sealant

Tools
Paint Brush
Polymer Clay Dedicated Toaster Oven
Sheet of Brown Kraft Paper

(To Make the Necklace:
Various Coordinated Beads in a Pattern That Makes a 16” or Longer Finished Length (I got the clear Lucite with green filament beads in NYC but here’s a source online and Beadin’ Path has a plethora of great vintage and new Lucite beads), 49 Strand .018 (or thicker) Beadalon Wire (always fill the holes of your beads with the wire), Beadalon EZ-Crimp Fancy Sterling Toggle Clasp, Mighty Crimp Tool and Wire Cutters)

1. Soften clay in your hands or by running it through a clay dedicated pasta machine until it is malleable. Use a real Peep as your guide to create a clay version. I bought some for research so I could get the size right...that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

2. Use a sharp pointed object to create a hole in the middle of your rabbit’s head. This hole is threaded side to side so you can string the pendant on a necklace. Skip this step if you’re not making a bead.

3. Place rabbit on a sheet of Kraft paper on the baking tray and into a pre-heated 275 degree Toaster Oven. Watch the clay to be sure it doesn’t burn...it shouldn’t take very long to set. Mine took about 7 minutes...after I burned the first one. Oops.

4. Allow rabbit to cool. Mix red and white Crafty Chica paints to get a nice shade of pink. Paint rabbit. Allow to dry.

5. Place rabbit on a sheet of kraft or scrap paper. Spray with Aleene’s Tacky Spray. Pour a generous helping of pink glitter all over rabbit front and sides. Tap off excess and pour back into jar. Allow to dry.

6. Spray rabbit with Aleene’s Matte Finish Spray Sealant. Allow to dry.

7. Adhere the three Glam It Up studs to the face of your rabbit with the Jewel-It Glue. You’ll need to have a good dollop of glue so it fits into the recess on the stud. Use the handle of your paintbrush or a toothpick to remove any excess glue. Allow to dry.

Design Note: Do not eat this Peep.  It won't taste very good.  Trust me.