If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you are well aware that I reallllly wanted a Silhouette Cameo. Back in May, I finally ordered one. I wasn't anticipating that it would be back ordered until the beginning of July. The Cameo came in the mail the other day, and I got down to business right away. Time to make a nerdy necklace.
Before you say, "What the heck?"... Let me tell you two important things about me. I am a math teacher. Beyond that fact, Pi Day is my favorite day of the year. Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th. Wait for it. Wait for it. Pi is approximated by 3.14. March 14th is 3/14.
After the jump you can see all the steps to make this beauty (or a paper pendant of any other design).
-paper that you like the design or color of
-clear gel Tacky Glue
-a jump ring
-a chain, rope or some other material for the necklace part
-a Silhouette Cameo (or a paper punch, or scissors to repeatedly cut out a shape)
My first step was to choose and design the shape that I wanted to use. I got a little overwhelmed with designing and just wanted to get to trying this baby out, so I went to the Silhouette online store and purchased a math symbol set of designs. I sized it and repeated it a bunch of times because I wasn't sure how many paper shapes I wanted to stack to get the desired thickness.
Here is a pile of the shapes. I decided to use the circles, but I have some ideas for the pi symbols as well.
After analyzing all of the cut outs to decide which one I want to be the top layer, I started gluing the paper in layers. In total, I glued 10 layers together with clear gel Tacky Glue that I got at Michael's. Between each gluing, I pushed the layers together and used a toothpick to clean up any glue that might have oozed out along the edges.
I let the piece dry overnight, and then punched a hole through the whole pendant with a mini hole punch. In hindsight, I should have just designed a mini hole when I was on the computer. Oh well, next time.
After the hole was punched, I chose a a jump ring. I suggest getting a multi-sized pack because it's nice to have lots of choices. Plus these were only $2.99 from Michael's. I will be able to make lots of fun stuff in the future with these little guys.
I know that there are tools for this sort of thing, but I just pried the ring open with my fingers and put it through the hole and closed it up tightly with my fingers. If you have pliers or jewelry tools, go ahead and use them. You definitely don't need them, though.
Thread your chain or string through the jump ring and you are ready to wear your new paper pendant!
Happy crafting!
CUTE!! Just may have to try it for myself!!! One question though; how did you manage to get all the Pi symbols cut perfectly? Did you use a die-cut or razor knife?
ReplyDeleteI used the Silhouette Cameo which is a digital cutter. It's AMAZING! If you don't want to get one of those (they are a bit pricy), you can use some shaped punch or a basic shape that is easy to cut. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAm definitely trying this!Awesome!
ReplyDelete