DIY Leo Symbol Astrology Charms

Homemade Astrology Charms are a Fun Way to Celebrate Your Favorite Leo...

How do you make a Leo symbol astrology charm? How about oven-bake polymer clay!

...When I was in grade-school, my mom bought me several blocks of oven-bake polymer clay... a.k.a. Skulpey. I fell in love with it and used it to make creative gifts for just about everybody I knew.

There's so many possibilities for using polymer clay to create neat things. For example, you can make awesome clay beads, key chains, ornaments and creative charms.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use oven bake clay to create a unique astrology charm, featuring the Leo symbol.

Being creative with clay comes easy to kids and teenagers... and let's not forget the young at heart!

For this reason, I think polymer clay is a great homemade gift medium and I especially try to provide it for my kids to make cool stuff for their friends.

...For more teenager-friendly homemade gift ideas, feel free to check out this article on homemade teen gifts and gift ideas for the young at heart.

These clay charms can be made into fun homemade magnets, cute homemade key chains or even rear view mirror charms.

Key chains and rear view mirror charms in particular would be a great idea for a homemade sweet 16 birthday gift. You could also use this idea to personalize a photo frame or a birthday plaque with an astrology theme.

So... If you know someone who enjoys astrology, a personalized clay astrology charm might be the perfect thoughtful homemade gift just for them.

For more sun signs, including dates and astrology templates, click here.

Leo Facts...

July 23 - August 22

The Lion

Element: Fire

Keywords: I will

Note: People born within a day or two of any sign are "on the cusp." This means they could be either sign. For those on the cusp, you can plug in the birth date and year here to determine the correct sun sign (or just ask them, a lot of people know their sign).

Get more sun sign facts and FREE printable astrology symbol templates here!

How to Make a Leo Symbol Astrology Charm...

One of the things that's awesome about oven bake polymer clay, is that you don't need a lot of tools or special equipment to work with it. A simple straight edge glass for rolling plus a knife and a toothpick for example, will get you going on all kinds of fun polymer clay projects.

To Make This Leo Symbol Charm You'll Need:

• Polymer clay (Sculpey III) in two colors... for this symbol I used black and green
  
• Rolling pin or straight sided glass to roll clay out with
• Straight edged knife or something to cut clay
• An Oven
• Baking sheet
• Optional... Metal paper clip (if you want to make a hook on top

Helpful Tools:

• Wax paper
• Masking tape
• Wire cutters
• Tooth pick
• Lint free cloth and/or baby wipes for easy clean up during and after

Instructions:

1. Prepare Work Surface.

You can tape a piece of wax paper to your work surface to keep it clean.

2. Condition Clay.

Your polymer clay will be hard and slightly brittle at first. To soften it, break it up into 3 or 4 pieces and warm it in your hands.

Start kneading and twisting the clay. As the clay gets softer, start rolling it into snake like lengths, squish and press back together, roll into ball and repeat until clay is soft, smooth and even.

Tip... If needed, wipe hands with cloth or baby wipe between conditioning different colors.

3. Flatten Out Some Clay for the Base of the Charm.

Do this however you like. One way is to put a ball of clay between two layers of wax paper and use a straight edged glass to roll it flat. Pick up the disk a couple times to prevent sticking.

4. Cut Flattened Clay into a Square or Rectangle.

Using a knife or other straight edge tool, cut a square or rectangle from the color you plan to use for the base.

Important Note... In some of my later astrology charm tutorials, I layered two pieces for the base, one slightly larger than the other. I really liked this effect (example shown in step 6). You might want to do this too. For one thing, it makes the paper clip hook super easy to insert!

5. Snip the End off a Paper Clip.

If you want to turn your charm into a key chain, an ornament or a rear view mirror charm, you might want to make a hook on top.

A paper clip works great for this.

...If you are making a magnet, skip this step and the next.

To create a hook using a paper clip, first open the paper clip and cut off the end as shown.

You may choose to use two layers as shown here...

6. Enclose Paper Clip.

Although, I inserted the paper clip into the top of the clay base to make this astrology charm, I now prefer sandwiching the paper clip between two flat pieces of clay.

That's the technique I settled on after I made this charm.

Either way, leave the end of the paper clip sticking out so it forms a hook.

7. Roll Clay into Coil.

To make the Leo symbol, roll some clay out evenly into a thin snake like coil.

8. Make the Leo Symbol.

Take the clay coil you just made and use it to "draw" the leo sun sign.

This symbol is all one piece, so I recommend starting with one end and gently stretching and molding the clay into the leo sign as you lay it onto the base.

One you are happy with the symbol, press down gently to stick, taking care not to flatten or leave finger prints.

9. Bake Clay.

Bake clay on parchment lined baking sheet in oven at the temperature and time specified on manufacture's instructions.

For the Sculpey III used here, the pieces were baked at 275° F (130° C) for 15 minutes.

Tip... Do not over bake, Sculpey III polymer clay will scorch rather easily. Scorched clay is not pretty! :)

Make Another Astrology Symbol...

Aries Symbol, Taurus Symbol, Gemini Symbol, Cancer Symbol, Virgo Symbol, Libra Symbol, Scorpio Symbol, Sagittarius Symbol, Capricorn Symbol, Aquarius Symbol, Pisces Symbol

Leo Symbol Astrology Charm Tips...

• To turn your Zodiac charm into a magnet, leave out the paper clip and once baked, glue a magnet to the back or attach self sticking magnet strips.
• These make great homemade birthday gift ideas, homemade teen gifts, homemade boyfriend gift ideas or girlfriend gift ideas and homemade graduation gifts for friends.
• Use whatever colors you like.
• String it up for a cute rear view mirror charm...

Related Pages...

Learn how to make an ORIGAMI GIFT BOX that's PERFECT for this homemade gift idea...

Make any of the 12 zodiac sun signs: Tutorials and FREE printable templates here...

Here's why you should use tie dye to create your next homemade gift!