DIY Olympic Gold Medals
Make your own homemade gold medals to celebrate the upcoming Olympics and your own special gold medalists!
I love Pluffy from Sculpey. It is nice soft workable clay that doesn’t harden until you bake it. Another fabulous product is metallic paint from DecoArt (which is non-toxic and water-based). It really makes your objects look like metal. So grab some Pluffy (one package will make about three medals), Metallics Paint, a brush and ribbon and you are ready to get started. All supplies can be found at Michael’s Arts & Crafts!
We used found objects to cut and press into the clay. A drinking glass made the perfect circle.
The cap to a lip balm made perfect rings and a skewer made nice lines.
Be sure to use this opportunity to talk about the gold medals. They were designed by a British Artist, David Watkins.
The Story of the 2012 Olympic Medal
picture from http://www.london2012.com
“The Olympic medals’ circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the Summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the depiction of the Parthenon to arrive in the Host City.
The design for the reverse features five symbolic element.
- The curved background implies a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheater.
- The core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern city, and is deliberately jewel-like.
- The grid suggests both a pulling together and a sense of outreach – an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ efforts.
- The River Thames in the background is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon, adding a sense of celebration.
- The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design, emphasizing its focus on the center and reinforcing the sense of ‘place’ as in a map inset.”
We used some of these elements for inspiration for our homemade kids’ Olympic medals. Don’t forget to make a way to hang the medal on a ribbon or string. It’s important for safety reasons to bake clay according to package instructions. (Also, it’s good practice to always ventilate your area well when crafting.)
Paint the medal. It will take about three coats for total coverage.
Presenting my gold medal swimmers!
Here’s an alternative homemade Olympic Gold Medal made from cookies. It’s a craft idea from the most recent Winter Games.
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If you are interested on other fun crafts to do with your kids don’t miss Cindy’s summer craft camp.
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25 Responses to “DIY Olympic Gold Medals”
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Jul 12
[...] you are looking for some crafts to celebrate the Olympics, skip on over to AlphaMom today where I am sharing how to make Olympic Gold Medals. It is a fun craft for [...]
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Jul 20
[...] And just recently this DIY Gold Medal tutorial! [...]
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Jul 23
[...] easy craft is the perfect way to end your Olympic day. We love this make-your-own medal idea from Alpha Mom or you can go the simple route with some ribbon, cardboard circles and metallic paint. Photo [...]
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Jul 23
[...] easy craft is the perfect way to end your Olympic day. We love this make-your-own medal idea from Alpha Mom or you can go the simple route with some ribbon, cardboard circles and metallic paint. Photo [...]
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Jul 23
[...] easy craft is the perfect way to end your Olympic day. We love this make-your-own medal idea from Alpha Mom or you can go the simple route with some ribbon, cardboard circles and metallic paint. Photo [...]
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Jul 23
[...] easy craft is the perfect way to end your Olympic day. We love this make-your-own medal idea from Alpha Mom or you can go the simple route with some ribbon, cardboard circles and metallic paint. Photo [...]
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Jul 23
[...] easy craft is the perfect way to end your Olympic day. We love this make-your-own medal idea from Alpha Mom or you can go the simple route with some ribbon, cardboard circles and metallic paint. Photo [...]
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Jul 25
[...] can also make these cute and clever DIY Olympic gold medals using clay, courtesy of Cindy Hopper from [...]
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Jul 26
[...] DIY Olympic Gold Medals (Alphamom) [...]
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Jul 26
[...] Sculpey Gold Medals from Alphamom [...]
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Jul 27
[...] week I got some fun news that my DIY Gold Medal was featured in the London times. I am just thrilled! Have fun watching the games this week. I know [...]
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Jul 31
[...] of my favorite Olympic inspired items on my Olympic Pinterest Board. We’re working on the DIY Olympic Medals today and I sure wouldn’t mind Butter London’s Heavy Metal Nail Lacquer Collection. [...]
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Aug 05
[...] Everyone can get a gold when the create their own! The 2012 medals have a abstract design with lots of straight lines that are fun to re-create. You can find easy step-by-step instructions that Cindy from Skip to My Lou created on Alpha mom. [...]
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Aug 07
[...] Everyone can get a gold when the create their own! The 2012 medals have a abstract design with lots of straight lines that are fun to re-create. You can find easy step-by-step instructions that Cindy from Skip to My Lou created on Alpha mom. [...]
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Apr 24
[...] and Olympic Rings Cake. . Olympic Rings Activity using Tissue Roll for Kids. . DIY Olympic Medal- a very fun tutorial for kids to make. [...]
Very cute, My daughter will like this gold metals
Such a great idea! Love this …. and those are the cutest Olypians I have ever seen!
I’m inspired to use your great craft as a beginning of the year activity with my smaller class of incoming students – “You’re going to be a champion in 4th grade.” Thanks
These are awesome. I made 800 Medlas from Bottle Caps in June for a Mock Olympics at the kids school. I will share this with the PTA for next year ! Maybe we could get the ASB to make them ?
great idea to make with the kids and perhaps “reward” them these weeks!
These are amazing, Cindy!!!
They didn’t look homemade! Yet when you broke it down, it looks very do-able! Love that
Oh, this is so clever! My son just had an Olympic-themed birthday party and I made the medals by pasting a print-out over gold coins. This is cuter and more fun to make, I am sure!!!
I am in love with this tutorial and congrats on your Times feature! It is not anywhere near as cool a shout-out as the London Times, but I have pinned your post and shared at http://creativityunmasked.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/olympic-diy-round-up.html
Thank you so much for this wonderful post. My son has Olympic fever and we are now planning an Olympic theme for his birthday party in a few weeks. These will be perfect for the loot bags.