Clay Citrus Earrings

So I have a lot of crafty junk stuff lying about as I am an arty person, and the other day I came across some polymer clay in the craft cupboard. It was raining and I was getting bored so I decided to give clay modelling a go. I tried to replicate some bits and bobs I could see around me; but it wasn't working. I went to get a snack and then the idea pops to mind, lets replicate food!

This craft is a great rainy day activity and suitable for anyone of any age. Choose your clay colours to the citrus fruit you pick. Orange, Lime, Lemon. Enjoy!!

Clay Citrus

- Oven bake clay, white/peach and the citrus colour

- Modelling tools or things you can find that could work

- Hard surface

- wire (make sure it fits your ear) you can use shop bought earring hooks, but I was using what I could find.

- Earring cleaner and/or soap and water

Take your colour depending on what citrus you chose and roll some of it into a ball the size of about a marble. Press it down a little so the top and bottom are flat. Grab another bit of clay and flatten it out and trim it into a long line. Wrap it around the outside of the ball. It should match the picture.

Take a knife or a modelling tool and cut your ball and cut it into sixths.

Using a rolling pin or modelling tools and roll out some white clay so its flat. Now grab one of your sixths and lay it on its side on the white clay. Trace around it with a cutting tool. Do this to the other side and the other sixths.

Put the pieces together and put a little piece of white clay in the gap in the middle. Roll and cut another long white strip and wrap it around the ball thing.

Roll and cut a long strip of the citrus colour and wrap it around the ball. Now turn it on its side and roll it with your finger, this step takes a while and is a bit frustrating. It may look like your getting no where, but keep persisting carefully and slowly and eventually it will start to take shape of a long cylinder.

Grab your ball (now a cylinder) and cut it into discs. I recommend using a knife and cutting it with a sawing motion or it will smush.

Take a something stick like, like a skewer and poke a hole at the top of your discs.

Put the discs on a tray (I also used baking paper) and follow the instructions on your oven bake clay packet and put your disks in the oven.

When they have baked, prise them off the tray or they might stick when they cool. WARNING THESE ARE HOT!!!

Take some wire and cut a piece of about 7cm. Put it through the hole in your disc so there is a long end of wire and a short bit. Wind the short bit around the long bit. Do this with the other discs.

Grab your soap and water and earring pieces, coat a little bit of soap on the wire of the earring and scrub it off. Then dry it and clean it with some earring cleaner. You don't have to use earring cleaner, but it makes it a bit more hygienic. Do this with the other earrings.

Your earrings are complete! Just bend the wire and trim it if necessary. Hope you liked this instructable and thanks for reading!!!!!

Quick tip: instead of earrings you can make it into a key chain by twisting the wire to itself leaving a small gap.