This year, Jackson and I decided to make some fingerprint charm necklaces for his grandmothers on Mother’s Day. I was inspired by this idea that I found on Pinterest (where else)?!
Today I’ll be sharing how to make a Fingerprint Charm Necklace.
To make the necklace, you’ll need:
oven bake clay ($2.49 @ Michael’s)
metallic spray paint ($3.29 @ Michael’s)
polyurethane spray (already owned)
jump ring ($2.00 @ Walmart)
necklace ($3.99 @ Michael’s)
decorative beads ($.40 @ Hobby Lobby on Clearance)
paperclip or needle (who doesn’t already own a paperclip or needle?!)
To get started, break off a small amount of clay and roll it into a tiny ball. I made a few, so I could pick and choose my favorite two in the end.
Make sure each ball is smooth and doesn’t have any cracks in it!
Next, press your child’s fingerprint into the clay ball. The ball will flatten as you press his finger into the clay. And (hopefully) his little fingerprint will appear…
At this point in the process, I actually asked my husband if babies had fingerprints. Yes, really, I did. I could hardly see my little guy’s prints in the clay. He assured me that babies did have fingerprints, but they are just very fine still, making them somewhat difficult to see. After a few attempts I finally got a couple of charms that I was satisfied with using. I also thought it was very cool that because I was pressing his finger into the clay so firmly, my prints showed up on the back side of the charm. This made me even more excited to give it to my own mother!
Once each charm has a print, use a paper clip or needle to poke a hole at the top of the charm for the jump ring.
Place the charms on a cookie sheet and bake ’em at 275 for 15 minutes. Make sure to check the packaging of the type of clay you choose because baking directions may vary!
Once the charms have finished “cooking”, let them cool for a few minutes. Give them a few thin, even coats of metallic spray paint on both sides. Make sure to get the edges of the charm as well! Once the spray paint is dry, seal each charm with at least two coats of polyurethane spray. This will seal and protect the paint job and also give the charm a nice shine to it.
Add a jump ring to each charm and finally attach it to the necklace you’ve chosen. To dress each necklace up a bit, I added a small bead to each. I found some at Hobby Lobby on clearance and ended up getting each package for only $.40!!
I had these cute gift boxes on hand and dabbed some white paint on little guy’s hand (he looked at me like I was nuts) to decorate them for his grandmas. He wanted to keep with the fingerprint theme and include his whole hand. What can I say, I’ve got a very thoughtful ten month old!
And there you have it! A simple and sentimental Mother’s Day gift that any mom can enjoy all year long! I liked how these turned out so much that I’m getting another necklace so I can attach one of little guys’s fingerprint charms to it for myself.
Enjoy!
Love this idea. Thanks for sharing the tutorial!
So glad you like it! Thanks!!
What a fun necklace! I love this idea! Thanks so much for entering this as well into the Project Pinterest Challenge!
Jill
twoyellowbirdsdecor.blogspot.com
I did something similar to this for my daughter-in-law when she had my granddaughter. Katie was born premature but she is fine now. I put her teeny tiny feet into a larger ball of Sculpy III, about the size of a half dollar coin (if anyone remembers those). I used Pearl colored clay and then brushed them with Interference Red Pearl-ex Powder. After baking they were beautiful! The Interference Red actually is a Dusty Rose Pink after baking. I epoxied in the screw eye and strung it with a sterling silver pacifier charm and a sterling silver rattler. When Katie came home from the hospital I gave it to her. She was thrilled and wanted to know how I snuck that clay into Neonatal!
One suggestion for the next time you do these charms (as he grows). Try putting one of these items on his fingers to show up better in the clay: eye shadow, whatever color you like or wear, chalk, graphite, shaved from a pencil or a water based pigment ink (you can buy pigment ink pads by “Ink It Up!” in a variety of shades for $1. The other suggestion is before baking to brush the tops of the prints with eye shadow or some mica powder. Just brush a little on pushing it delicately into the prints then use a larger softer brush to brush off the excess just leaving it in the creases. Once you bake the little treasures, all of the above mentioned mediums will be permanently on the Fimo or Sculpy. Plus they wash off of his fingers easily and have no toxins. When using any of the “dust” items like the graphite, eye shadow or chalk, just use a brush to brush it over his finger tips.
I hope this helps and gives you more ideas.
Your version sounds so cute! Thanks for all the tips! I’ll definitely try some of them next time I attempt a fingerprint or handprint craft using Sculpy clay!
I just did something similar for Mother’s Day with salt dough but I love how the Sculpey is smoother looking. I also used Folk Art’s enamel paint so I had to rebake after I painted so next time, I’m definitely using spray paint =) Hope the grandmothers adored them!
Visiting from HoH
I think they loved them! Thanks for visiting! 🙂
What a precious keepsake! I love Sarah Ortega’s bird’s nest pendants and was working on some for Mother’s Day.
The handprint on the box is adorable, too 🙂
Thanks! The handprint was tricky! My little guy didn’t quite understand what was going on 🙂
Love these necklaces.
Thank you!!
great idea!
Thanks! 🙂
What a fabulous idea!!! Pinned this for future reference 🙂
Thanks! So glad you like it! 🙂
I think I’m going to have to make one for myself of my granddaughter’s fingerprint!
Thanks for posting!
Go for it! You’ll love it!!
This is so stinkin’ cute! Would love for you to link up to the Pomp Party!
http://jill-createcraftlove.blogspot.com/2012/05/pomp-party-18.html
Jill
Thanks! I just linked up to your party, but your blog button wouldn’t work for me! I added a link though 🙂
Thanks Meredith! Pinning to our Pomp Party board! (I’ll check on the button – thanks for the FYI!)
Super cute!
Thank you!
Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday this week. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Michelle
Absolutely! Love linking up with you 😉
These are so cute! What a wonderful idea! Love it. Thanks for linking up to Strut Your Stuff Saturday. Hope to see you again next week! -The Sisters
Thanks! Glad you sisters liked them 🙂
This is sooo sweet, Meredith! I want to do this with LC!
Thanks for linking to last week’s Shine on Fridays party!
Thanks Amy! Definitely do it!! 🙂
Congrats on making the top 12! I’m a new follower!
Morena
http://morenascorner.blogspot.com/
Thanks! You too!! 🙂
Rock on…I love this! I just got back from Hobby Lobby…but I guess another trip is in order! xoxo-C
Those are really cute! I love gifts with a personal touch!
Umm… cute as a button! Great idea lady!
What a wonderful idea! These are so cute & nice!. Thanks for sharing this post.
Thank you so much!
what a fantastic idea you have, i was just thinking of something to do with the little ones this weekend, i wanted them to make something for there moms.. and now i think i just found it, thanks to you,, love it and love the fact that you can add a charm to it and that box is just too cute 🙂 thanks again @tisonlyme143
Is there a reason you used the white clay/spray paint combo instead of metallic clay? Does the white bring better details???
I just only had the white clay and wanted it to be metallic. If you have silver clay, go for it!!
I am so happy to know that I’m not the only one asking if babies have fingerprints! I tried for an hour to get a good imprint of my daughter’s thumb and ended up deciding to get a toe print instead.
Ha! Love it!!
Hello
What size of jump ring did you use for these?
Instead of using spray paint, can I use normal acrylic paint and use a brush to paint it on
Absolutely!