Mum shocks with ‘incredible’ $3 Kmart hack

A Brisbane woman has clocked 50,000 views on a TikTok after she revealed what she did with a new $3 Kmart item.

An avid Kmart shopper couldn’t believe her eyes when she stumbled across a new $3 item at her local store.

Michelle Rhodes, from Brisbane, was in the crafts section of Kmart when she randomly came across Clay Stamps.

The mother-of-one said she fell in love with the “cute” patterns and immediately got the idea to create her own earrings.

While she was in there, she nabbed a $5 pack of Polymer Clay which come in five neutral tones, and got baking.

Michelle Rhodes, 53, from Brisbane, showing off her clay earrings. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

But first, she had to squeeze and mould the clay before forming her own shapes.

“Some people say it’s hard and stiff, but you just have to keep squeezing and moulding it with your hands,” Michelle told news.com.au.

“You have to manipulate and make it soft. You then roll it into a ball and that’s when you’re able to work with it.”

She bought the new Clay Stamps for $3. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

And a pack of Kmart’s $5 clay to create the earrings. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

She then used a rolling pin explaining the “key” to its success is in its thickness.

“You don’t want it too thin (or it will snap), and having it too thick makes it heavy on the earlobes, so you just need it thick enough to place the eye pin in.”

She then cut the clay, followed by the stamp.

“(However) I have learnt that it’s best to stamp the clay before cutting as it keeps the shape. “What I did was rolled it out, cut it and then put the stamp on. When you push the stamp down it changes the shape of your design and you can be left with one earing bigger than the other.”

She used $4 cutters from the retailer to form the shape. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

She then used the stamp but said to stamp before cutting as it can lose its shape. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

She attached all the hooks before placing it in the oven at 120 degree celsius, baking it for 20 to 30 minutes.

The DIY mum shared a how-to clip to Instagram, which has since been viewed 49,000 times.

“I’m certainly not an expert when it comes to clay but I thoroughly enjoyed making these,” she told her 50,000 followers.

How it looks before going into the oven. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

She attached the hooks. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

And then popped it into the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 120 degree celsius. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

Michelle said she used almost everything from Kmart except the posts, hooks and jump rings which were bought from a discount store.

“I did buy a few other Clay Stamps at @kmartaus and I can’t wait to create something interesting with those too,” she said in the post.

And how they turned out. She made four sets. Picture: Instagram/lookwhat_i_found

“I think my favourite would have to be the rainbow stamp and the flower print, now all I have to do is find an outfit to match.”

Michelle also posted her “incredible” hack to the Kmart, Hacks and Decor page on Facebook, attracting hundreds of comments from fellow DIY enthusiasts.

“Wow!! These look incredible. Good job,” one woman wrote.

“Very creative, they look great!” said another, while a third added: “Absolutely awesome”.

Michelle said she was taken back by all the positive feedback, saying it’s likely because it’s such an “easy” hack.

“It’s inspired people that aren’t crafty. So many people said, ‘This looks so easy, I can do this too’,” Michelle said.

“You’re not going to get it right the first time. It took practise for me to cut the clay and get used to the trimming, but once you learn how to, it becomes easier.”

She managed to make four sets of earrings out of the $5 pack of clay.