Independence Day is Thursday, and if you’re on the lookout for a quick DIY accessory, this project is definitely it. It makes use of plexiglass, which is an awesome crafting material, particularly for easy jewelry projects.
Supplies
tthin acrylic sheet, a.k.a. plexiglass (like this)
X-acto knife
ruler
jewelry chain
2 jewelry pliers
small jump rings (I used 7mm)
hole punching tool (The crop-a-idle is my go-to.)
permanent marker
red, white & blue acrylic paint
paint brush
toothpick (optional)
jewelry clasp
Directions
Begin by scoring your plexiglass with an x-acto knife, creating a 3.375 (3 and 3/8) by 1.75 inch rectangle. These measurements are approximately correct to keep the flag’s proportions accurate..
Bend your plexiglass along the scoring lines, and it will snap cleanly apart where scored. Cool, right? :)
Draw a dot in the top two corners of your acrylic rectangle, approximately the same distance in from each corner. Using a punching tool, punch a hole in each dot’s location.
Paint a blue rectangle in the upper left of your acrylic rectangle. Then, paint your red stripes, being careful not to mix the two paint colors where they meet on the flag.
When that’s dry, paint your small “stars” using white paint and, if you’ve got it on hand, a tiny paint brush or toothpick. Let dry.
Attach your jewelry closure to your necklace chain either with your jewelry pliers and a jump ring, or by opening a link in the chain, attaching the closure, and closing it.
Close your closure, forming your necklace into a closed circle. Holding the necklace by its clasp, find the exact center of the chain. Break the chain at its center point so it looks like this:
Attach your finished, dry flag pendant to the chain using two jewelry pliers and two jump rings. The best way to open a jump ring is pictured below, and to close it, you bend it back using exactly the opposite motion used to open it.
That’s it! This pendant necklace is quite affordable to make, and the finished result is really fun – perfect for the Fourth!
Hi Heidi!
We absolutely love your blog, but we especially loved this post! These necklaces look so cute yet so simple to make! We love your idea so much that we featured it on our own blog: http://bit.ly/1lO5QAE
Why thanks! It looks like I’m in good company! :)
I’m the Editor of Fun Family Crafts and wanted to let you know that we have featured your flag necklace! You can see it here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/painted-acrylic-flag-necklace/
If you have other kid-friendly craft tutorials, we’d love for you to submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can get one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a great project idea!
Thanks for the feature!