Thursday, March 17, 2011

Make a Green Necklace for St. Patrick's Day from a Plastic Bottle

Before: empty bottle
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We decided to make a green necklace to wear today. We used the plastic recovered from an empty Garnier Fructise bottle. The plastic is a bright, cheery green perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Don't forget to wear green to keep from being pinched by a leprechaun!

Tools
Xacto knife or scissor
Self healing cutting mat
Automatic center punch

Drill and bit
Round nose pliers or wire looping pliers
Chain nose pliers
Gather your tools
Wire cutters
Steel block
Rawhide mallet
Wire rounder, needle file or cup bur (and flex shaft or rotary tool)

Materials
Garneir Fructis plastic bottle
18-gauge brass wire

Step 1
Cut the plastic charms
Remove the label from the bottle. Wash the empty plastic bottle. Cut the plastic into charms using scissors or an xacto knife on a self healing mat.

Step 2
Mark the plastic and drill hole
Mark the plastic charms with the automatic center punch and then drill holes in the plastic where marked.

Step 3
Use pliers to create the links from the 18-gauge wire. Cut the formed link from the wire spool and then file both ends of the formed link smooth using a wire rounder, needle file or cup bur and flex shaft or rotary tool. Repeat to create the needed number of links.

Step 4
Assemble the links and charms into a chain.

Hook and eye clasp by GeltDesigns.com
Step 5
Make the hook clasp and eye from the 18-gauge wire. Place the finding on a steel bench block and hammer with a raw hide mallet to harden the wire and protect the shape of the finding.

Step 6
Attach the finding to the chain.

Related Tutorials
Make a Bracelet from a Plastic Bottle
After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.
Make a Cuff Bracelet from a Plastic Bottle

Further Reading
"500 Plastic Jewelry Designs: A Groundbreaking Survey of A Modern Material (500 Series)"; Lark; 2009.

Day 116. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: plastic bottle
New Jewelry a Day.  

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