Lazy, Crazy Mosaics

(or is it just crazy to bake polymer clay when it is 100 degrees outside?!)

Call me crazy, but I'll bake polymer clay crafts on a 100 degree summer day - but stay away from the oven if it involves food prep all summer long!


And, you might as well go ahead and call me lazy, because I decided to mosaic with polymer clay so that I didn't have to mess with messy grout. But I think this makes a wonderful girlfriend gift, especially if you've been to the beach together!

Warning: polymer clay crafts may be addictive like this project I made on the Carol Duvall show several years ago. Check out HGTV.com for the instructions.

Candleholders aren't the only clay mosaic project you can make for your female friends (but they do make gorgeous gifts!). Carefully cover one side of a piece of glass with translucent polymer clay. (I used FIMO.) Press sea glass, glass globs and shells into one side. Add any extra clay to hold them in and press on sand to give it texture (and hide your fingerprints). Before you bake, add a wire hanger and you'll have a beautiful beach sun catcher - perfect for a fabulous female friend!

My beach shell collection hasn't had any new additions from summer vacations, but thankfully I can find more summer supplies at a local Michaels or Hobby Lobby. So, turn on a fan, get comfy, pull out the shells and sea glass and mosaic away for a perfect summer girlfriend gift.