Sculpey Clay Craft Projects for Kids - Backpack Penguin Charm Stolen

Polymer clay miniature figurines… a hot commodity in elementary schools:

And when I say 'hot', I'm not just talking about how excited kids are these days to play and craft with Sculpy polymer clay. I'm also talking about the possibility that some children may be taking this level of excitement one step too far.

You see just the other day, several of my daughter's back pack charms mysteriously disappeared during the first week of school. One in particular was the clay penguin charm she made over the summer break… the one wearing sunglasses and a green duckie float ring around his belly. You may recall seeing him in a couple of recent posts: Art Teachers Resources + Charm Jewelry Findings

Anyway, being the feisty girl that Willow is (she takes after her mom :), my daughter took it upon herself to draw and color a "MISSING" poster in hopes of the safe return of her little friend. The artwork was so adorable… I just had to scan it for today's pic, as you can see above.

Here's a little background info to bring you up to speed with the whole sitch…

Willow's backpack is from Costco which means that it is similar to about a hundred other ones at the school yard. So to make hers stand out from the crowd, she decided to add a few personal touches.

She pinned on a handful of buttons with sassy sayings and a couple of key chains. To add even more 'bling' she hung a big golden 'W' encrusted with rhinestones. And last but definitely not least… Mr Penguin was attached using the screw eye I helped her install.

When the penguin first went missing, she thought it must have just fallen off. But on closer inspection we saw that the key ring was still attached to the backpack with no sign of the little screw eye anywhere. This could only mean one thing. That the penguin charm was deliberately removed from the key ring with care.

The big rhinestone 'W' had also been carefully removed! I know this was not an easy task because I helped Willow take it on and off several times until she liked where it was placed on her pack.

So… were these items stolen by some other kid with a name starting in 'W'? Someone that also took a liking to Mr. Penguin?

Was this a prank by a well meaning but perhaps misguided friend?

Did a crush take them as a personal memento?

Or maybe… the penguin came to life and took off on his own, simply because he couldn't handle yet another first-week-of-school assembly? Perhaps he snagged the "Big-W-Bling' to pawn off for some traveling cash. Hmmm…

What do you guys think happened to Willow's sculpey clay craft project? Will she get her penguin charm back and solve the mystery? Or do you think this is destined to become a 'Cold Case'? Leave a comment below, and let us know what you think!