These were made from polymer clay, small cutters and stamps. If you already have stamps, this is a very inexpensive project. I am constantly looking for reasons to get out my metal stamps, personally! But if you don’t have any, you can also use rubber stamps (I used both, for this project) or you can just draw or write with a sharpie marker on it after it’s baked, too.
One thing I note every time I show you a clay project – do not inter-mix your clay supplies and food supplies. You can certainly use cookie cutters, rolling pins, baking sheets, etc – especially if you find them at a thrift store or yard sale – baking supplies work great! But once you use them for clay, they are now your clay supplies and should not go back to your baking drawer.
You make these just like cookies, really! Just roll out your clay (I work on wax paper to protect my table) to about 1/4 inch thick. Especially if your stamp is larger, it can really squish your clay, so it’s best to stamp your design and then cut it.
I stamped with some holiday-themed stamps, and I also used my metal stamps to spell out a few things. If you are using metal stamps, you may want to keep a paper towel on-hand to wipe off your stamps because they can retain oil, which can be transferred to your clay. What you don’t want to do is wash them (unless you dry them very thoroughly) because without the protective oil, they can rust – which is worse. :)
There will certainly be gifts for Raya, and for my husband – so it’s easy do do up a few in advance. I know a few generic to- and from- tags will come in handy as well – you can just write the names in with a fine-tipped sharpie marker like you would on a paper tag. I picked pretty neutral colors – except that bright green, LOL. It matches a few rolls of wrapping paper we already have, so I know I can use it. Polymer clay comes in lots of colors including fun metallics – you should be able to match just about anything!
And you don’t have to limit yourself to Christmas themes, of course – I sent this little tag off on a gift to a blog-friend of mine a couple weeks ago.
The nice thing about working with clay is that if you goof – you can start all over. Once you like the way your tags look, be sure to poke a decent-sized hole in them (I used a bamboo skewer) and then you can just bake them according to the package directions.
I made these fairly small, but if your stamps are bigger, you can absolutely make the tags bigger. Polymer clay is pretty tough, so it should hold up all season and beyond!
These are awesome. What a great way to dress up and personalize a package.
I voted for you at 4 You With Love.
This is my first time stopping by.
Ruth
I think this is such a great project because you can actually re-use these tags from year to year…or you could turn them into ornaments after the packages are opened. Brilliant! Thanks for sharing at the homemade holiday party.
Marilyn
4you-withlove.blogspot.com
So cute, absolutely love these – thanks for the tutorial.
Awesome, how cute are those! I can never find my name either, all of the pre-named things say “Jessica” :-( Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!
What a fun idea! Would be great to do with the kiddos!
Happy Halloween! hugs ~ Crystelle
http://www.crystelleboutique.com
These look amazing and such a neat keepsake too!
What a great idea!!
OH!! I love these! They look awesome and so sweet!!
lovely
love these! I too have metal stamps…but was surprise how difficult they were to use for my purposes…polymer clay looks way more fun to work with! Thanks for sharing…they look great!
LOVE this! Pinning it now :)
Melissa
Adorable….and I love Kadie's idea that the person getting the gift now has an ornament too.
How clever!! I love the idea and the tags! You could even take the tags and use them for ornaments the next year. Great Job.:)
I can never find my name, either. I did, once, on a ceramic pin, and I bought it immediately :) Love the idea–thanks for sharing.
This is so adorable! A great winter break project for the kiddos, too! Have a good one!
Take care,
Trish
Such a cute idea!
Cute! What kind of stamps did you use for the snowflakes and such? “Normal” stamps?
This is definitely on my to do list, they look great!