Monday, July 29, 2013

Saint Medal Necklace Craft

Caution to those interested in making these: Be prepared to make more than one pendant, because no body could stop at just one! 

To make these saint medal pendants you will need:
  • Saint Medals (no jump-ring  is needed)
  • Washers
    (We used ¼ x 1¼ sized. A box of 100 only cost $1.50 at our local hardware store.)
  • Nail Polish (LOTS of colors - We bought ours at the Dollar Tree)
  • Nail-art glitter or other glitter (We bought ours at the Dollar Tree, also.)
  • Clear nail polish or clear glittery nail polish (A must if you use glitter)
  • String (we used black waxed string we bought at A.C. More)
  • Fun-Tak or other mounting putty
    (Found at Wal-mart in the stationary section *Or use super-glue if you prefer.)
The first thing you need to do is paint a washer with nail polish. This is the fun part!!!
Add glitter while it's still wet, and allow that to dry. Once it's dry coat it with clear nail polish (or clear-glitter polish) This will help seal the glitter in place. It also just makes it look more finished.
Cut a string to the length you desire. We found that 24 inches seemed to work well.
Thread the open ends of your cut string through the saint medal hole.
Like this: 
Add the washer to the looped end, like this: 
Now thread the cut ends into the looped end, like this: 
Pull it all tight, and keep the cut ends as even as you can.
Center the medal in the center of the washer.
The medal will pop out as pictured below:  
Add a small ball of mounting putty to the bottom-back of the medal.
Press the medal down against the washer to stick them together.
You could super glue the medal down, but I wanted to keep the medals nice in case the girls wanted to change the backing that they painted.
It should look like this:
As for the cut ends of the string, we tied a loop in one end and a large knot in the other so it can be easily taken on and off. You could buy clasps to attach to the ends if you wish. 
Here are some of the beautiful necklaces the girls made.
(The pictures don't do them justice! They are so sparkly and shinny!!)

The example pictures above are only a few that my daughters and friends created. Yes, these are addicting!!!  I have a feeling we will be making more soon!!
God Bless!
~Jennifer

Catholic Inspired ~ Arts, Crafts, Activities for Homeschool and School