Make a statement! - Part 2: The blue polymer clay necklace

Ladies and Gentlemen, here comes the second statement necklace tutorial in our "Make a statement!" series! And obviously I like to post pictures of myself on the Internet these days. That's new. No really, I'm a little self-conscious when it comes to pictures of me on the web, but I honestly didn't know a better way to show off my necklaces.
So. This time I made a necklace using polymer clay. I always wanted to experiment with polymer clay but for some reason I was always out of ideas for useful projects. Good thing my clay packets where laying just in front of me when I thought of statement necklace ideas! The polymer clay necklace is very fast and easy to do and uses only few materials. Depending on the colors you use to paint the clay pieces you can create a delicate piece with pastels (like mine) or a real eye-catcher with bright and bold colors. It's up to you!

[1] Supplies: a sheet of waxed paper, white polymer clay, tooth picks, a knife, leather cord, acrylic paint in different colors, a paint brush, a rolling pin (but better not a wooden one like in the picture if you don't want wood in your clay) or a glass.
[2] take a piece of polymer clay and roll it out on the wax paper using a rolling pin or a glass. Don't make it too thin, because you'll have to get toothpicks through the sides without the clay breaking.
[3-4] Cut out different shapes and pierce them with tooth picks where you later want the leather cord to go. Pierce one or two with two tooth picks. This will allow you to "stack" the pieces afterwards instead of just having them in one row. Be very careful and slow when pushing the tooth picks through the clay to prevent deformation or breaking of the piece. When the tooth picks are in, smooth out all rough corners and edges with the knife or your fingers.
Pull the tooth picks out very slowly (it's easier if you twist them a bit) and bake the clay pieces in the oven following the instructions on the package.
[5-6] After baking and cooling, paint them with acrylic paint just as you like. I chose different muted blue colors. You can either paint on side of the clay piece first, let dry, turn, and paint the other side - or you can insert tooth pics into the holes, paint the clay pieces from all sides, and hang then in boxes or similar to dry like shown in picture 6.

[7-8] Get the leather thread and put your necklace together. I tried different variations until I found the one I liked most. Cut the cord to a length you like and start wearing your new statement piece immediately!

Find the other parts of the "Make a statement!" series here:

Part 1: The red braided rope necklace

Part 3: The wrapped asymmetric bib necklace