Cigar Label Washer Necklace

Transform your sentimental photographs into a wearable, artful piece of jewelry.

All About

Product Ideas

Through a process called "ephemera", Lauren Van Hemert of Cary, North Carolina, creates a necklace made from her grandmother's old photographs.

Materials and Tools:

pasta machine
burnishing tool
gin
polymer clay
cigar label clip art/copyright-free images
Kemper cookie cutters
jump rings
buna cordSteps:

Steps

1. Condition polymer clay using a pasta machine. Roll polymer clay on the #3 setting of the pasta machine.

2. Place color copied images (reverse image of the original) face down on the polymer clay. Burnish the image to the clay using a burnishing tool or bone folder.

3. Apply gin to the back of the paper using a paint brush. Let the gin dry completely.

4. While gin is drying, make your polymer clay toggle clasp by hand-forming clay into a toggle shape.
5. Once gin is dry, apply more gin to the back of the paper. Peel the paper off of the clay by rolling it off with your fingers.

6. Using the large circle Kemper cookie cutter, cut large circles out of the transferred image. Using the smaller circle Kemper cookie cutter, cut a smaller circle in the center of the larger circle (you already cut) to form the washer shape.

7. Repeat steps 13 times to create 13 to 14 washers for your necklace.

8. Cure all the washers in the toaster oven at 275 F degrees for 30 minutes. Remove washers from the toaster oven and let cool.

9. Sand the edges of the washers.