Monday was my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday again, Mama! Since she was coming into town to visit us, I wanted to give her something extra special. My mom loves jewelry, so I decided to make a necklace for her birthday gift.
This was by far the most intense and time-consuming craft I’ve done so far. I usually stick with projects that take 5 minutes so I don’t get frustrated and give up. But since this was for my mom, I wanted to try something a little more difficult.
Supplies needed:
- Rolling Pin
- Polymer clay
- Parchment paper
- Chain
- Clasp
- Split-rings
- Pliers
- Paintbrush or a tool to make a small hole in the clay. (I thought the small screwdriver (pictured) would work. It did not.)
- Small cookie cutters or a tool to make a shape. (I used an empty beer bottle.)
- Exacto knife
- Optional: clear spray paint
Step 1: Roll out your clay. Try to make it approximately 1/8 of an inch thick.
Step 2: Punch out the shape of your beads. This is easiest to achieve with small cookie cutters or a tool, like the top of a beer bottle, but you could cut your shape out with an Exacto knife if you are good at free-handing shapes.
Step 3: Touch up the edges of your newly-made beads by cutting away stray bits of clay with an Exacto knife.
Step 4: Carefully punch out small holes in your beads using a tool, such as a thin paintbrush end. I cracked several of my beads during this process. Be patient and make more beads than you think you will need for a necklace.
Step 5: Bake your beads on a piece of parchment paper according to the clay manufacturer’s directions.
Step 6: (Optional) After beads are done baking and cool, spray with clear spray paint. This will give your beads a glossy look.
Step 7: Pry open the split-rings and slip through the holes in the beads.
Step 8: Determine where on the chain you want the beads to be placed. I skipped this step at first and started placing the beads on randomly. The necklace didn’t look very pretty with random beads everywhere. I would have saved myself a lot of time if I had put the chain on and determined exactly where on the chain I wanted the beads to be placed. I would have also saved more time if I had made sure I was placing each bead on face-down, so when the necklace was worn, the beads would lay flat and face-up.
Step 9: Slip the split-ring through the links in the chain and using the pliers, carefully close the split-rings.
Step 10: Using the pliers, attach the clasp onto the end of the necklace.
And voila! You have a beautiful, stylish, one-of-a-kind necklace to keep or give as a gift!
love,
melanie
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Supplies:
Step 2: Place a piece of tape sticky-side up onto the back of the glasses. This makes the process much easier because the thread won’t slide around.
Step 3: Tie a knot on the end of the of glasses closest to the eye.
Step 5: Begin neatly wrapping the thread around the sunglasses. This is where you can be creative with the process and switch up your colors.
Annnnnd done! We’re ready to hit the beach!
