Mother’s Day Masterpiece

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.  #ThisisStyle #CollectiveBias

Mother’s Day is just around the corner!  And since I have the best mom in the entire world {really, I do!}, I wanted to make sure I had a special gift for her to let her know how grateful I am to have her in my life.  I wanted to give her something meaningful and personal, so I decided to create a “masterpiece” for her myself that would reflect her personality and her style instead of trying to buy a storebought gift.  Here’s what I came up with:

Beach Necklace

I decided on a necklace because one of the many things my mom and I have in common is that neither of us can ever have enough jewelry.  From the time I was a little girl trying on all the necklaces in her jewelry box, she taught me how fun it is to accessorize…and the more options you have, the better!  Mom definitely passed down her love of jewelry to me, and we both have quite a collection.  Both of us like to make jewelry as well, which definitely comes in handy when we need something to match a particular outfit!  I’ve made her several mother and grandmother necklaces in the past, so this time I wanted to create something that was really reflective of who she is as a person.  Here’s how I did it.

SCULPEY SAND DOLLAR NECKLACE

Beach Necklace

TIME REQUIRED: 20 minutes
SPECIAL TOOLS: jewelry pliers
SPECIAL SKILLS: none

Materials:
– Sculpey Premo! Accents Polymer Clay: Pearl
– Sculpey Clay tool Starter Set {You can also use a toothpick to do the detailing if you don’t have clay tools.}
– Monogram Initial Charm
– 4 mm bead
– 1 head pin
– 5 jump rings
– 1 lobster clasp
– 18″ silver chain
– needle nose pliers
– oven, metal baking sheet, foil

searsseashell1

The first piece of the project is to create a sand dollar from Sculpey clay.  I chose a sand dollar for this piece because another thing my mom and I share is an absolute love for the beach.  Both of us are most content and joyful when we have our toes in the sand!  Mom loves looking for shells and other treasures on the beach, especially while she watches the sun rise over the water.  I thought a sand dollar would remind her of those special times…not to mention the fact that the Legend of the Sand Dollar is also a neat reminder of the story of our faith.

DSCN0206

Step 1: Break off a small chunk of clay and roll it into a ball.

Step 2: Flatten the ball into a circle.  Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly round; real sand dollars aren’t either.  The clay will pick up the imprint of your fingerprint if you just use your finger to press it flat, so I recommend using a piece of foil, a piece of plastic, or something else smooth to flatten it instead.

sears2b

Step 3: Use your clay tools/toothpick to add the details.  I started by pressing lightly and making a five point star in the center.  Then I went around each line to form the “flower” inside the sand dollar.  I finished up by adding the five holes, plus one hole at the top for the jump ring.

sears3

Step 4: Use your finger to slightly bend the piece so it doesn’t lay completely flat.  Place it on a piece of foil on top of a metal baking sheet.  Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Once the piece is cool, add a jump ring to the top hole.  Open and close the jump ring with your pliers, and remember to always twist, never pull apart.

The final steps deal with adding my mom’s first initial and a bead that’s her favorite color, turquoise.  Both of us love the same colors, turquoise, purple, magenta, and other jewel tones…we also have similar coloring, so those are the colors we look best in.  If you look in both of our closets, you’ll find an abundance of those colors, while neither of us has anything yellow or orange.  Mom taught me early on to find the colors I look best in and buy {a lot of} them!

momamy2

Step 6: Place your bead on a head pin and create a wire loop.  Add a jump ring.  If you’ve never done basic beading, check out this tutorial for step by step instructions.

Step 7: Add a jump ring to the initial charm.

Step 8: Place all three pieces: the initial, the sand dollar, and the bead, onto an 18″ length of chain and add a clasp.

Beach Necklace

That’s all there is to it!  Now I have a totally personalized gift that will remind my mom of some of the things she loves, as well as some of the things we have in common.  You know, the older I get, the more I realize I’m like my mother.  For example, not only do we collect jewelry, she taught me that a girl can never have too many purses.  Or shoes.  Both of which are lessons I learned well…to prove it, just look in my closet!  Plus, mom and I have a mutual love for shopping!  All my earliest ideas about style came from my mom, and while we both definitely have our own unique sense of fashion, we meet in the middle too and often agree about things.  To give you an idea, I created a Shop Your Way catalog full of great SearsStyle and Spring Fashion where you can see things mom would love, things I would love, and things we’d both wear.

christmasday5

What about you?  How has your mom influenced your sense of style?

Follow SoFabConnect’s board ThisisStyle on Pinterest.

honestlyheartsiggy

Similar Posts

19 Comments

  1. Never too much jewelry, shoes or purses, says the girl who just received her big new bag 🙂 What a great idea it was to use clay to incorporate something that means so much to both of you! And that pink dress – was that a dance competition? 🙂

  2. I LOVE this! It turned out so gorgeous–I know your mom is going to looove it! Yey for having the best mom ever (just so happens I do too 😉 ) #client

  3. I love this! I too like all things beachy and my Mama was my influence for the crafty, creative side of me. Hope you have a happy Mother’s day!

  4. Pingback: Comfortable Blog
  5. Pingback: Vosoh Blog
  6. Pingback: Shoes Blog
  7. Pingback: Birso Blog
  8. Pingback: Sandals Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.