How to Make a Mexican Clay Bead Necklace

I love making jewelry. This simple Mexican clay necklace is perfect for a group of girls to make at a slumber party or even a birthday party. The beads can be left in their natural clay color or even painted to suit your fancy. This simple clay craft is great for a group for kids because your clay will a really long way. The kids will spend so much time making the beads that they won’t realize they are not using a ton of clay.

You can make a Mexican clay craft project in less than 2 hours. Be sure to allot for drying time for the clay. So, if you are doing this at a slumber party then have the kids start making the beads out of the Mexican clay the night before. They can dry overnight and the kids can put their necklaces together after breakfast.

Now, to make Mexican clay beaded necklace you will need:

Air Drying Mexican Clay
Wooden or Metal Skewers
Twine
Scissors


Now, the first thing your need to do is find your Mexican air drying clay. I buy this at Dick Blick art supply store. I have also seen it at Pearl Paints. You may be able to find it at Michaels in smaller containers. Generally a large block of Mexican air drying clay will cost about $25. You can make a large number of necklaces with one block.

Ok, so if you are making this with a group of kids I recommend going ahead and slicing if a slab of Mexican clay for each child. They can keep it wrapped in plastic wrap near them so they don’t have to reach for more.

Have each child break off small pieces of clay. They should roll the clay in their hands to make a small ball. This will be the bead. These beads can be made to almost any size. I recommend about ¼ inch to ½ inch circles for the best beads. The kids can also roll out coils and cut out tube shaped beads. The beads can be any shape they want to create. They could also cut out heart shaped beads.

Now, use your wooden skewer to make the hole through the center of the bead. You may need to help smaller children with this step of the craft project. F they made a shape out of the clay, like a heart, help them to press a hole through the shape starting on one side and coming out the other.

Continue this hole making process until all of the beads are ready.