Pencil crayon jewelry for designmom

Gabrielle from designmom.com asked me to come up with a ‘back-to-school’ themed project for her readers to try. I never did put together a full tutorial for the crayon necklace I made a few months ago so it gave me the perfect excuse.

Anyway I’ve had a heap of fun making these – one of my favorite projects so far (I think!). You can see the necklace, bracelet and brooch pictured. See below for a full tutorial or pop over to designmom.com.

Gabrielle has just launched a Work Life Balance Project on her blog and I thought it made a really good read. It’s a subject close to my heart because I feel like I spend most of my days spinning plates!

Speaking of going back to school my eldest son starts school on the 5th September. I’m so chuffed for him…because he really wants to go and seems so ready for it. On the other hand I’m pretty gutted. I’m going to miss hanging out with him! My youngest son goes in for a tonsillectomy on the same day! Emotion fuelled indeed! (Any advice on how to ‘hold-it-together’ would be most appreciated!).

By the way if you’re digging the whole pencil crayon thing then check out these wonderful sculptures by Jennifer Maestre and this wonderful jewelry by Maria Cristina Bellucci.

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Pencil crayon necklaces

Yesterday evening I ‘borrowed’ eight of my sons crayons and surreptitiously removed 7mm from the end of each one using a hacksaw. Today the crayons are back in their rightful place, my son is none the wiser, and I’m the proud owner of a new necklace!

I have seen these pencil crayon necklaces on the web before and have been itching to have a go. They are really easy to make. I used a junior hacksaw, tiny drill bit, sandpaper and a length of cotton. Each crayon-bead is 0.6mm in length. If anyone wants a more in-depth how-to please let me know.

I reckon they would make a lovely handmade present. All you need to do is add a nice clasp…sorted!

I also stole a whole orange pencil and made a pointy necklace too

Off topic: Sorry it’s been a little quiet here of late. I have a big project on the go and it’s taking up every spare second. It’s probably going to be quiet for the next eight weeks or so but after that it will be business as usual.

In the Autumn I’m planning on redesigning the site a little and am going to somehow split it into two sections – so that there is a kids craft section and an adult crafts section.

I promised Aimee from Home Spun Threads that I would give her site a big shout out. She is running a ‘Summer Soiree’ (guest blog series) during May. Check it out because there are some lovely posts. I’m digging the ladybug basket. Very cute indeed! My youngest son is obsessed with bags at the moment so this is on our to-do list tomorrow.

My little (big) boy, Seth, was 4 last week! Hurray! I just want to rewind and replay the last four years…it’s been ACE.