I Love Kits!

Whenever I get partcularrly obsessed with a crafting opic, I absolutely have to make a kit for all of its essentials! Here's my list of eerything you need in your charm making kit!

1. Crayola Model Magic Clay- much less expensive than polymer clays, but acts exactly like them. Also, cheaper than Martha Stewart's version. You should keep in mind to keep these things in airtight containers, because thy are pretty sensitive to the air. However, on the plus side, if a piece of clay is still spongy but too firm, water it down to soften it. (Colors will come out!)
2. Craft knife-about 2$ at most hardware and craft stores. This tool provides for clean and easy trimming of excess clay.
3. Staples-Ok, if you want to buy eyerings for each of your charms, try curling staples first. I got a pack of 1000 free with a mii stapler at the 99c store! You can curl the staples with a chopstick, leaving a bit of stick to stick into the charm of course!
4. Hot glue- as I've mentioned in the previous charm post, hotglue can be used to make great plastic-like charms and pieces!
5. Elmer's Clear Glue- I always use this as aa varnish for my charms, plus, if the coat is thick enough, I can even make it have a plastic coat effect, dries much clearer than hotglue, but can be applied half as thickly at one time.
6. Screwdrivers and Flathead-Minis- these tools will help will a lot of the deeper texxtures that you might want to make.
7. Toothbrush-helps with make a piece of clay look like the inside of a cake.
8. Food Dye and Elmer's School Glue- even though Elmers claims its school glue dries clear, it doesn't. Luckily, we can use it's solid color to our advantage. By mixing different food colorings in, you can make your own deco sauce!
9. Non-stick Craft mat- saves all of your surfaces from the troubles of working with glues, colorings, and staining clay.
10. Make-up brush- brush used to apply tints and shades to clay for more realistic affects.
11. Colored Powders- you can use chalk pastels or anyother sticky colored powder. I use the colors of blush and eyeshadows that I never use.
12. Pipes- to pipe out ribbons of "cream" from the clay. Use with different pipe tops.

That's what i have in my kit. I'll keep you posted with more of the essentials. Bye for now!