Easter Island Faux-Stone Pendants - Tutorial

I surprised myself with this project.  Never having tried fake stone before, I was unsure.  Could I pull it off?  Using Crayola air-dry clay from the kiddie craft aisle?

But golly, I love how these turned out!

I've thought of a bunch of ways to use my lovely Easter Island heads.  How about:

Mounted grouped in a shadowbox frame.
Turned into way cool Xmas ornaments.
Embellishments for decorative boxes.
Slightly insane statement rings.
Brooches or hat adornments.

Got other ideas?  Add them in the comments!

For today's tutorial, I'm going to show you my necklace version.  Check it out!

The DIY is madly simple.  I started with this awesome silicone ice cube tray, a great yard sale score for fifty cents.

Then I marbled small batches of air-dry clay.  I did it differently each time; some versions are just black and white, others have some blue mixed in for spice.

I squished my marbled clay into the mold:

Remove them gently - see my tips to follow - and allow them to dry.  And voila, stone heads!

It took some trial and error to get this right, so pay attention, class.

Tip #1: Marble gently - too much mixing will muddy the look.  Try twisting the colors together instead of kneading.

Tip #2: For a rougher stone texture, use crumbles of dried-out clay in the mix.  This discovery was a happy accident!  My blue clay had dried up in a poorly-sealed package, so I tried it...fabulous.  Now it won't go to waste.

Tip #3: After marbling a batch, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, drying out.  The drier, stiffer clay is easier to unmold.

Tip #4: Take your time removing it from the mold, and expect some stretching.  Place it on a flat surface and gently push it back into shape.  (If it turned out really deformed, no prob!  Just squish it back into the mold and try again.)

To attach the pendant bails, I used my magical aluminum tape method (tutorial here).

Okay, guys, that's the story of the Easter Island pendants.  Hope somebody tries it.  Have fun!