19 December 2010

DIY: Lovely Charm Necklace

You know what they say: a handmade gift is oodles better than one bought at a store. This is a quick and easy tutorial to show you how to transform an ordinary quarter into a stunning charm necklace.
And yes, I did come up with it myself. So please no copying/pasting. Feel free to link to it, though! :)


YOU WILL NEED:
  • One U.S. quarter (or similar size... Norwegian krones, for example, have holes in the center already and are perfect for this craft)
  • Electric drill and drill bit
  • Toothpick
  • Old books/music you don't mind cutting up (I like using dictionaries)
  • Pocketknife or Exacto knife
  • Mod Podge and brush to apply it with
  • Necklace chain

INSTRUCTIONS:
1 : Take your quarter and drill a hole near the top. It should be big enough for the necklace chain to pass through (you're thread the necklace in at the end).

2 : Cut out words and/or pictures you want to cover your quarter with. (The hairpin is there instead of a toothpick. Stick your toothpick through the hole; this will keep you from covering it up when we start Mod-Podge-ing.)

3 : Coat your quarter with a layer of Mod Podge and start sticking on your cutouts. Reapply Mod Podge as needed.

4 : Unless you are amazing with your pocketknife, you'll have some parts of the papers that will hang out over the sides of the quarters. Just slice those off for a nice round edge.

5 : When your quarter is totally covered, put a nice thick layer of Mod Podge over it. Careful not to get too much in the hole! That's why the toothpick is there. Plus, you can hang the quarter between two objects using the toothpick so it dried evenly.
If needed, put on a second coat of Mod Podge once the first one is dry.

6 : Now all you need to do is take out the toothpick and thread the chain through. Ta-da! Instant loveliness.
You may want to put a jewelry ring through the hole and then put the chain through that (so that the charm always faces the same way).


I'd love to see your creations! Link up with your favorite handmade gift you've ever given or received.

Note: when I say there's 5 days until Christmas, I'm not counting actual Christmas day. Thus, my countdown will end on Christmas Eve as "0 Days until Christmas! Christmas is tomorrow!"
I feel kind of dumb counting like that, but that's how I was always taught to count... so...

18 comments:

  1. What a lovely DIY! I might try it using a flat bead instead, though, as my family doesn't own a drill. :)

    Merry (almost) Christmas!

    Vickii x

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  2. That is a great idea! I love the vintagey and charming look of it. I think I just might try that to do for my friends this year. ^_^

    Thanks for the tutorial and Merry Christmas!

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  3. It looks prettier then any other neacklace from the store.
    Merry (almost) Christmas!

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  4. That is like, so AWESOME. Very pretty too. I already have all my gifts for this year but it is certainly something I will keep in my head for the future.

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  5. It's lovely!! I sorta do the same thing - except using pennies or the ends of crescent roll tubes. ;)

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  6. Really clever idea, Olivia! I really have to try that. I haven't done my mom's present yet, so I might try that out!
    I also count that way - kind of makes a little bit more sense - *blank* amount of days until Christmas day. :)

    Merry Christmas!
    ~Bree

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  7. I made something similar to this, today, after seeing this. I don't have a blog, but I'll tell you about it.

    Instead of drilling a hole through it, I just found two quarters, and then found words that represented two of my friends. I printed out pictures for the back, and then glued the words (with their names on it) onto the front of their coin, and the pictures on the back. If that made any sense at all.

    ~Sofie

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  8. Olive Tree!
    I might just do this for my grandma! she would love it!!

    Merry (almost) christmas!

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  9. Awesome! That was really pretty.

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  10. Very crafty. I love altered projects. :)

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  11. That's really cool. I think I'll try this soon, it looks great.

    Happy Christmas :) almost...

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  12. So charming! Here {in England} we don't have Modge Podge but I think you can use a mix of equal parts PVA glue {white glue} and normal tap water. Would love to try this with a 2p coin!

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  13. This is too cool! My best friend is moving =(, and I wanted to give her a gift, so that's what I'm doing now!

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  14. That's really cool! I might have to try it. Thanks for sharing.

    P.S. I didn't realize you had turned word verification back on so I may have closed out other comments, but I am reading your posts!

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