This was my first attempt as a jewelry maker. And for something that was a complete newbie job, I was thrilled with the results!
Black is a staple in any fashionistas’s wardrobe, so a cool bold black piece seemed a nice to touch to liven up the jeans and T-shirt look. I worn it yesterday to work with a scoop neck blouse, and despite it’s quirkiness really settled in with the look as a whole.
I recommend this project for anyone who loves bold necklaces, but wanted to make some notes from my own experience crafting this. I have zero experience in metal crafting, so for the base of the pendant I actually stuck together layers of black card which still produced a good solid base to work on. Next, Mr. Montano uses mostly shank buttons, removing the plastic look on the back to flatten them down for the cluster. I didn’t wanna go out and buy buttons specifically for this project, seeing how I’ve got a whole tin full of them, sticking to my rule of ‘working with what you had’. For the few shank buttons I did use, though, I actually didn’t remove the loops, finding them useful to glue and press into place between the layers of buttons. And finally, instead of fashioning jump rings from wire to hook the pendant to the chain, I found my own method a great alternative. Dipping into my ‘Sparkles’ tin, I got three large oval black flat back stones and, using the sewing wholes on it’s edge, looped the jump rings through there. I was afraid that during the spray paint part of the process these wholes would be sealed up by running excess paint, but they didn’t. Also just to add variety, I added more gems amongst the buttons.
This necklace seems chunky and cool from a distance, but closer up it’s unconventional and playful. And although I had my own way of doings things, I strongly urge you not to skim parts of the process, especially the gray primer! Also make sure you get Matt black spray paint. Glossy would come out looking cheap.
Project Costs: £15 (for the spray paint, primer and black chain)
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