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.
You will need
♥ Colored Pencils
♥ Junior hacksaw
♥ Fine sandpaper
♥ Drill and small drill bit
♥ Thread (for the necklace)
♥ Superglue (for the brooch and earrings)
♥ Brooch back (for the brooch)
How to: Basic Bead Necklace
1. For the basic necklace you will need to begin by making your beads. You can use either hexagonal or round crayons. The beads I cut were 7mm long. To cut your beads use a small, sharp, hacksaw blade. (In the UK you can pick up a junior hacksaw for a pound or two in most hardware shops). Take your time when cutting the crayons and try not to apply too much pressure…that way you are less likely to chip the paint off the outside.
2 & 3. Don’t worry if the cut surface of your beads look a bit scruffy…all they need is a quick rub with some sandpaper. I found it easier to lay the sandpaper on a flat surface and rub the bead along it.
4. Now drill a hole in the side of each bead using a small drill bit. Make sure you place a scrap piece of wood underneath. It’s not a good idea to get holes in the kitchen table!
Once you have cut a number of beads simply string them onto a length of thread…job done!
Tip: These little beads are also make lovely bracelets. If bright colours aren’t your thing then try some more subdued shades. White colored pencil beads look especially nice.
How to: Pointy Necklace
1. Begin by sharpening your colored pencil, then cut the end off as before. My beads measured about 3.5cm in length.
2. Drill a small hole through the end of your beads
3. String the beads onto some thread. You can add some co-ordinating beads if you wish.
How to: Brooch
If you fancy a bit more of a challenge then why not have a go at making the colored pencil brooch?
1. You will need to use hexagonal pencils for the brooch. Cut your beads as before. Mine were 6mm in length. You need 19 beads to make the brooch pictured.
2. Put some sandpaper on a flat surface and sand the beads so they are nice and smooth.
3. Work out how you want the beads to be arranged before you being gluing. Once you have decided simply start sticking the beads together using superglue.
4. Once your beads are all stuck together sand the underside of the brooch until it is flat and smooth.
5. Superglue a ‘brooch-back’ to the back of the brooch.
Tip: The best way to avoid making a wonky brooch is to assemble it on a flat surface. The underside of the brooch will be the most even so make sure this becomes the front of the brooch.
Make sure you only use the tiniest dab of superglue on each bead….and don’t stick your fingers together! I have done this before and was reminded how powerful superglue is!
Finally, remember these necklaces are not recommended for under three’s. I would also avoid making the pointy bead necklace for any child…for obvious reasons.
Wonderful! The broach, I can see it being adapted to be a Christmas tree decoration too. And the crayon beads could be added to a garland. And, oh how I love this inspirational crafting of yours!
I had the same thing happen! On the 10th my older daughter started 2nd grade and my youngest (who is in Kindergarten) had her tonsillectomy! Take a toy from home if they allow it in for comfort. My mom made my daughter a special toy to take and she loved it. Also take him shopping for soft foods (lots) before hand. You’ll want him to eat and they need all sorts of soft foods for about 2 weeks. Less stress for you if you are not worried about getting stuff he will eat when thats the last thing he wants to do!
Thanks WS…keep popping over to your site and seeing all the wonderful pictures of your farmstead…one day I look fwd to breaking out of suburbia!!
Thanks for the advice Kelly. I’ll definitely be stocking up on soft food supplies for him….he’s skinny enough and Ii don’t want him to lose any more weight! How long did it take for your daughter to recover? Have you noticed any benefits since the op? Hope she is back to full health now!
Hey. My daughter has had a few surgeries and a few times I have had to do them solo as they were in a different city to my husband. My advice would be to have a think about what you are going to when your son is in surgery. It was the longest time ever for me. The one time that I had my husband there it was not so bad but there was still a lot of floor walking going on….
Love your blog.
Sarah
This is such a wonderful idea. You’re amazingly creative!
So cute! I love how colourful this is. Really fun I’m sure they’d make for nice beads on bracelets too : )
Thanks Celine…so glad to hear it all went well for your daughter. Hoping that my son sleeps much better too after the op…he really struggles with his breathing at nighttime! I have a twin too so understand the worry on her twin brothers part!
Thanks Sarah! Yep…I think floor pacing will be on the agenda for me!
Thanks Kate! It took two weeks for her to recover. She has finally bounced back and is her normal self again! Her snoring seems to have stopped and she seems to be sleeping better as well.
Fabulous! I’ll have to give this a go.
Thanks for the FYI on making these great pieces! I am soo excited…I think I will get a new box 36 ct of colored pencils!
Thanks ^_^
Es genial!!! acabo de decubrirte y todo lo que tienes es maravilloso!!!
Muchas gracias, seguiré tus novedades.
karumina
I bet kids love these, what a nice idea
Simply ingenious!! I made the necklaces as Valentine’s Day gifts for my kids’ teachers. It was a huge hit!! Rolling all those compliments your way. Thanks Kate!!
Thanks Sangeeta. So glad it worked out 🙂
Great idea, but where is the print button? I will make this craft, it is so ingenious. Wish I had thought of it. Really don’t like all the buttons that send the craft to other places on every craft I go to now. I don’t use them. I copy, paste and print. I don’t need my page cluttered and a lot of my friends don’t appreciate getting stuff they don’t need or use.
Hi Jean…you should just be able to print it through your browser window….right click > print
love it …. really cute and different
Hello!
We are a book publisher in Brazil and we have the task of producing content for education.
Therefore, we would like to use one picture of your blog (Pencil crayon jewelry for designmom) in one of our didactic books.
What is the procedure to get permission to use the image?
We are open to any additional information and awaiting his return.
Danielle de Alcântara Farias
Departamento de Iconografia – Editora Saraiva
Rua Henrique Schaumann, 270 15º Andar – CEP 05413-010
São Paulo SP – Brasil
Tel.: 55 11 3613-3059
dafarias@saraiva.com.br
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who
has been conducting a little research on this. And he
in fact ordered me dinner because I found it for
him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the
meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk
about this issue here on your web site.
How do you hold the pencil bits still when you drill? Do you use some sort of clamp? This project is really cute!
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I really like the necklace but am concerned about being colored on while wearing it. Did you put any finish on the lead to prevent this? Also I think I would just pop the lead out for the bracelet instead of drilling holes in the tiny peaces or drilling the holes before cutting the pencil down into the little beads. Love how colorful they are!
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