How To: Make a Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace
If you’re an ETSY fan then you have undoubtedly seen some pretty awesome dinosaur skeleton necklaces going around – in fact I’ve pinned at least one on my Pinterest account already. Since today is make a dino Monday, I wanted to share an awesome tutorial I came across on Tamed Raven’s blog for making your own dinosaur skeleton necklace. Now if you have the money to buy one then it’ll be a lot less hassle; however, if you’re not ready with your $100 plus and you want a little DIY fun then this is the project for you.
What You Will Need For Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
– Shrink Plastic (think Shrinky Dink.)
– An oven & a flat baking tray.
– Pencil crayons, paints, or markers.
– Sealer (an aerosol sealer like Krylon is most recommended) Krylon
– A single hole punch (the smaller the better.)
– Chain, clasps, etc. for mounting your piece as a necklace.
How to Make Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace
Step 1 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Find a dinosaur skeleton image you like online and print it. Make sure you find a side profile view of the dinosaur you want to use and avoid images that have too much detail in them.Remember that Shrinky Dink type plastic becomes approximately three times smaller when heated so find a big enough image that your necklace won’t be tiny when finished.
Step 2 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Using Scotch tape, tape your image underneath the Shrinky Dink plastic and trace your dinosaur skeleton on to it. When doing this it is easier to create a few different sections of plastic rather than one single piece. Tamed Raven used four individual pieces to create hers, one for the head and arms, one for the ribs, one for the legs and one for the tail. Keep in mind that you will need to create hole punch holes to join the pieces together and to attach the necklace hardware, these holes will need to be further enough in to each piece that they will not be flimsy and snap off.
Step 3 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Cut out the individual pieces of your dinosaur skeleton from the Shrinky Dink plastic. Now you have the pieces cut out you want to create your “connection points” by using your hole punch. The holes you create here will be what connect your dinosaur pieces together as well as where you will be placing the necklace joints. After cutting out each piece you will want to color them in.
Step 4 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Put each colored piece of your dinosaur skeleton on a cookie sheet that has been covered in parchment paper – this keeps your cookie sheet clean! Now follow the directions on the Shrinky Dink packaging and cook your dinosaur skeleton necklace!
Step 5 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Once your skeleton pieces have completely cooled you will want to use your sealer to spray each piece. Now let the pieces sit and dry completely.
Step 6 in Making Your Dinosaur Skeleton Necklace:
Now take your necklace hardware and attach the jump rings and chain. Use jump rings to attach together each piece of your skeleton as well. Finish up by adding clasps and you’re finished with your dinosaur skeleton necklace!
