Tuesday, January 18, 2011

DIY Dolly Kei Spoon Necklace Tutorial

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Inspired by the lovely spoon jewelry I often see posted on the Grimoire blog, I decided to make my own. This is very simple to do, and the end result looks great and is the exact sort of quirky accessory that looks so good with dolly kei.

So you will need:
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-Spoons (or forks, really any sort of cutlery). I'm using vintage spoons I bought from a second-hand store. Smaller spoons will work better (and give you more room for layering them with other things), so I suggest using sugar/salt spoons, or keepsake tourist spoons, both of which tend to be ornate. They don't need to be vintage, you can get some neat little spoons in many tourist shops.
-Glue. You'll need the heavy-duty sort, think superglue etc. I use "Bead Fix", because it will glue almost anything to anything, and it dries fast.
-Jewelry chain or ribbon. I used both :)
-Jewelry bits, gems, flowers, whatever you may want to add to your spoons to decorate them.
-Jewelry closures and connectors (I use Blue Moon)
-Jewelry pliers. Like I always say: not neccessary, but they will make your life much easer :)
-Tweezers: these will make it easier to place the items you are gluing.

So, 24 hours in advance, you're going to want to glue your connectors to the back of your spoons like so:
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Make sure the surface of the spoon is clean and dry. Then add your glue sparingly (you don't need a lot, and too much can crack) and add your connector. I used tweezers to place them so I could do it quickly and accurately. Now you just have to wait overnight for them to dry!

Next, decide what you'e going to decorate your spoons with. My spoons had some ugly little pictures on the handles (touristy spoons!), so I simply stuck a needle under the edge of the picture and popped them out. I relaced one of them with a cameo, and the other I decided to leave because it added to the "old" feel. I then added a bow to one (if you tie a bow around your spoon, make sure to add a drop of glue so that it doesn't come loose.), and I added some green hue feathers with black ribbon to the other (again, glue your decorations down.).
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After you have your spoons decorated, give them an hour or so to dry. You can now add your chain or ribbon. If you're adding a chain, make sure to add another connector to the one already attached to your spoon so that it hangs "face out". Attaching your ribbon is easy as well: just tie your ribbon into a loop, pull it through the connector and loop through the other side. And done!
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These are just suggestions, add as much or as little to your spoons as you like :)
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5 comments:

  1. I just came across your blog, so I just thought I'd let you know I absolutely love it!
    You have awesome taste, I really hope you keep posting. I think I just might try making a necklace like this. ^^

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  2. Thank you so much! I love your name btw :)

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  3. I can't wait to try this! Very nice tutorial.

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  4. i love your dress soo much. and cool idea.
    ナイスアイデアだね!

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