Guest tutorial by Becca Gardner (bybeccag)


This is a beautiful time of the year to be out in nature.  Our family loves to go out hiking, be it in the forest, at the beach, along the creek or just down the street.  And, inevitably, we come back with treasures.  Rocks, leaves, nuts, bugs, shells, rusty metal, sticks.  Lots of sticks.  I could blame it on my boys who love to fill their pockets with any and everything but really I love it as much as they do.

After one such adventure, we came back with a collection of eucalyptus gum nuts.





What to do with all this treasure?!

Today I'm going to show you how I used the nuts as stamps to make clay jewelry.  I use this same process to make the buttons for the scarves in my Etsy shop.  This would make a fabulous holiday gift but it is also a great way to preserve special memories.

First thing to do is go collecting.  Get outside!  Collect a little something from your jaunt.  Leaves, acorns, walnut shells, rocks, flowers, interesting twigs.

Next, take the clay and roll it out.  Normally, I use clay that must be fired in a kiln but for this project I used air-dry clay.  It is very light weight when it dries and you don't need access to a kiln.
Take your "treasure" and stamp it into the clay.





Cut around the stamped area in the shape of your choosing using a fine, sharp point.  This could be a toothpick, a paper clip, or maybe even a small cookie cutter.  If you are making it into a necklace, you may want to put a small hole through it with a straw or sharp object.


Let the clay dry and harden.

Now for the hard part...deciding what colors to paint it!  Using acryllic paint, dip your finger into a little paint and brush over your print.  This is a great way to show off the texture of your nature imprint.



Add a coat of clear acryllic spray to give it a little shine and seal the clay.  Then make your accessory of choice.  Glue on some earring backs or ring base or make a necklace!