My husband and I do like to craft, and enjoy making many things. We, however, have not crafted with clay yet. Just the usual, playing with clay, that one does with their children. The Sculpey brand has been around for over 50 years. It is a tried and true way to craft with clay. So, it most definitely is a great brand to dive into the clay world, with. I was just so excited to be a part of the Sculpey – Shape it, Bake it, Wear it Party campaign.
We received an expanded version of their Bracelet Kit. The bracelet kit, for purchase, has enough for 4 bracelets to be made, and each bracelet to have 3 charms on it. From their website, each kit contains:
“Make 4 stylish charm bracelets
Clay colors included – Teal pearl and Pearl
Kit includes: 2 oz. Sculpey III clay, 12 decals, 4 plastic squeegees, 4 metal circle cutters, 4 metal bangle bracelets, 12 eye pins, 12 6mm jump rings, 4 plastic rollers, 4 toothpicks, and instruction sheet.”
If you are new to this clay crafting world, I highly recommend watching their YouTube video for the bracelet kit. It is so well done, and easy to understand. After watching it, I was very confident that we would all do well and have a great time. You will need additional supplies. You will need a little container with water for each person to soak their decals in, an index card, or thin piece of cardboard, to place their charms on, as they are made, and then to bake on, at least one paper towel each to dab the water away off the applied decal, and to clean off the squeegee and hands, a pair of small needle nose pliers would be great. A pencil to outline the decals with, and a pair of scissors to cut out the decals. I prepared the decals prior to my guests arriving, to both save time, and to make it more relaxing and easier for everyone. I even wrote everyone’s name on the index card, so when I baked the charms, no one’s charms got mixed up. I placed the charms on their perspective index card, onto a baking sheet, and then into the oven for 20 minutes. It went so smoothly that way.
The included instruction pamphlet is bright, well-illustrated, and written. It has cut lines in it, so you can cut it apart, and then you and your guests can easily share it around the table. I decided to laminate mine, so the instructions would both, not get ruined, and be easier to use with wet hands. Also, when laminated they are sturdier, and easier to prop upright, if needed. The charms need to be baked for 20 minutes at 275 degrees F. They stress to not overbake them, so set a timer, and make sure your oven was preheated thoroughly, first. The laminated sheets ended up being so perfect. We even placed a block of clay to be cut, by the outline of how to cut one, so each was done perfectly.
Now, the clay can damage some surfaces, so make sure you put a smooth work surface down, prior to working with the clay. You can use smooth cutting boards, wax paper, foil, baking trays, and the like. You will also want to make sure you wash your hands prior to working on the clay, and wipe them in between each color, so you don’t accidentally mix the colors.
Now, we chose to invite couples to our party. Many couples love to craft and do things with each other. It is no different than the pottery and wine nights, or the paint and wine outings, that you see everywhere. This, I think, is more fun, because it can be done in home. You can relax and cut up more. Serve food and drinks that everyone will enjoy, and really make an evening out of it. It really is a no brainer. We unfortunately had 1 ½ couples cancel last minute due to both illness and family obligations, but we still had a blast.
I also chose to buy some glow in the dark clay, in case anyone wanted to use that for one of the charms, instead of the included clay. I went to our local Micheals, and they had almost an entire aisle done in just Sculpey clay and accessories. Soooo many colors to choose from. I couldn’t decide, until I saw glow in the dark, and I thought that was just too much fun, so I bought that pack quickly and then bolted, lol. One can easily get carried away with all of those choices. You can check out the Sculpey website and see all the different things they offer. You will be amazed, I promise you.
I am really impressed with the decals. They come in sheets, so you do need to cut them out. The pamphlet and the video show you how to do so. You just place your circle cutter on the sheet, starting from the bottom edge, so you don’t waste any of it. Then, take a pencil, and outline the inside of the circle cutter with the pencil. Now you just need to cut out the circle with a pair of scissors, place the decal in some water, and wait until it starts to flatten out in the water, and the decal should come right off the paper, with a little swipe of your fingers. Now, you just place the decal on the cut circle of clay you have prepared, dab with a paper towel, to get the excess water off of it, and a light scrape with the squeegee to get out all of the air bubbles. That’s all you have to do. Then, when you are done baking your beads, you have a beautiful design on your bead, that would have been impossible to do without it. I think the decals are truly ingenious.
Some of us did go a little rogue from the kit. I had holiday themed clay cutters that I bought, so we made bat designs with glow in the dark clay. One made an Easter themed charm, and my husband made a couple actual skull shaped charms. You can really be so creative with this product.
Overall, I am really impressed with both the product, and the company. They really have done a fantastic job of creating well thought out kits, individual product, incredible instructional videos found on Youtube, and instructions that are easy enough for a complete novice to understand. Thank you Tryazon and Sculpey for such a wonderful experience.
How to video via Sculpey:
Scupley sites to check out and follow:
Website: https://www.sculpey.com/
Bracelet Kit: https://www.sculpey.com/web-exclusive/161-sculpey-iii-charm-bracelet-kit-diy-party-for-4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PolyformProducts
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PolyformProducts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SculpeyPolyform?s=17
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sculpey/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sculpey_polyform/
Tryazon: https://www.tryazon.com/
I received this product to test. All opinions are my own and honest. I received no monetary payment for my review, and I do not make any money off of the sale of the product.
