I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting the summer camp project for week four. I’ve been a little behind in my posting because we took a family camping vacation. We made some awesome memories and my kids were seriously sobbing when we got home because they were so sad about the end of our camping fun.

Our project this week is by Katie from Katie’s Nesting Spot. It is an Ed Emberley inspired pendent using a fingerprint. I love this! So easy and fun for kids and a perfect camping project. Hop over to her site Katie’s Nesting Spot for the full instructions for making your own pendant!

If you have a summer day camp craft idea and would like to be one of our camp instructors we would love for you to join in, you can email me at: alannageorge(at)alannageorge.com

Visit next week for another summer day camp project!

The post Summer Day Camp | Thumbprint Pendant appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

Don’t you just love a cute charm with a simple statement. My daughter and I made these for each other for Valentine’s Day. She wore hers to school and lots of other little girls wanted one too. So we spent another afternoon making more of these necklace charms.

How To | Clay Necklace Charm

Supplies:

• White Air-Dry Clay by Crayola (found in children’s craft section at Jo-Ann’s)
• Rolling Pin
• Rubber Stamp
• Toothpick
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Brush
• Water
• Wax Paper
• Wire
• Ribbon

How To:

1. Choose a lump of clay and knead it in your hands until softened. Add a tiny bit of water if the clay is too hard.
2. Roll clay into a small ball.
3. Use rolling pin to flatten the ball to form a thin-ish circle.
4. Use rubber stamp to press image into clay.
5. Use the toothpick to poke a small hole through the top of the clay.
6. Use your finger to apply a small amount of water to the image to smooth out any rough spots.
7. Let dry until clay turns white.
8. Use acrylic paints to paint your charm.
9. Make a loop using your wire and thread the ribbon through to create the necklace.

Roll clay into small ball.

Flatten clay with rolling pin.

Press image into clay and poke a hole with toothpick.

The post How To | I Love You Clay Necklace Charm appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

We made this clay magnet as a Valentine gift for my daughter’s classroom helper. It was fun to make and to paint. After it was finished we wrapped it in a cello bag and added a matching birdcage gift tag made with the rubber stamp.

How To | Clay Dish

Supplies:

• White Air-Dry Clay by Crayola (found in children’s craft section at Jo-Ann’s)
• Rolling Pin
• Decorative Edge Scissors
• Rubber Stamp
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Brush
• Water
• Wax Paper
• Hot Glue and Gun
• Magnet

How To:

1. Choose a lump of clay and knead it in your hands until softened. Add a tiny bit of water if the clay is too hard.
2. Roll out clay on wax paper and cut into an oval-shape. Use rubber stamp to press image into clay.
3. Use a decorative edge scissors to cut clay off around edge of oval.
4. Use your finger to apply a small amount of water to the image to smooth out any rough spots.
5. Let dry until clay turns white.
6. Use acrylic paints to paint clay magnet.
7. Use hot glue to add magnet to back of dried clay image.

The post How To | Clay Valentine Magnet appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

The kids and I recently used air-dry clay for the first time. It was really fun and easy to use. I have thought of a hundred (okay maybe not that many) projects in which we can use this clay.

My daughter and I decided to make a small dish for her teacher for Valentine’s Day. We are going to fill the dish with chocolates and put it in a cellophane bag with a pretty tie and tag. The teacher can sit it on her desk to hold paper clips and odd and ends. It would also be perfect to make for grandma or mom to hold rings and jewelry. My daughter was really proud of how her finished bowls turned out. It was a great project that she did mostly herself.

How To | Clay Dish

Supplies:

• White Air-Dry Clay by Crayola (found in children’s craft section at Jo-Ann’s)
• Rolling Pin
• Decorative Edge Scissors
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Brush
• Water
• Wax Paper

How To:

1. Choose a lump of clay and knead it in your hands until softened. Add a tiny bit of water if the clay is too hard.
2. Roll out clay on wax paper, then shape sides up to form a bowl shape. We used a small square shape jar and put that in the centered of the rolled out clay and then shaped the clay up around the jar.
3. Use a decorative edge scissors to cut clay off around the rim of the bowl and create a pretty edge.
4. Use your finger to apply a small amount of water to the bowl to smooth out any rough spots.
5. Let dry until clay turns white.
6. Use acrylic paints to decorate your bowl.
7. Fill with chocolates or candy and wrap in cellophane bag and tie with pretty bow. Give to your Valentine!

The post How To | Valentine Catch-All Clay Dish appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.