Free Mixed Media Jewelry Project: Sweetheart Foam Necklace

I bought a huge bin of heart shaped foam stickers recently and I immediately thought of this idea.  I figured if I didn't want to stick them to something, I could easily stick glitter to them.  Plus I'd avoid the dry time associated with glue.  Thankfully, it worked out for me.  I recommend using ultra fine glitter.  You could also stick patterened paper on them and seal with decoupage medium...and well there are a zillion other things we might do with them with a little crafty ingenuity. It's easy to remove the sticky stuff with a little soap and water if you want to just feature the foam.  I honestly think these foam stickers are usually pretty cheesy, but I've managed to make two projects with them this week that I really do like.  They're lightweight and soft and easy to stamp and punch...so I'm thinking maybe I'm on to something here.

This was my snowy day in Amish country project and it kept me from staring out my window with my mouth agape as the snow piled up at a rapid and disturbing pace.  Yes, it was that snowy.  So with love, from me to you gentle reader, here is the Sweetheart Necklace.

xoxo,
Madge

Sweetheart Necklace
Free Mixed Media Jewelry Project
All Rights Reserved Copyright Margot Potter

Materials
Foam Heart Stickers (I got mine at WalMart) You'll need 3 small white and 3 small red hearts and 2 red and 2 white scalloped open center hearts.  You can adapt this idea to suit your stickers.
Art Institute Art Glitter Caribbean Mix
20 gauge Artistic Wire
Elongated cable chain
5 10mm sp jump rings
6 6mm sp jump rings
Scrap paper to catch glitter
Micron Pen

Tools
Crop-A-Dile
2 pairs chain nose pliers
Round nose pliers
Chasing hammer
Mini anvil

1.  Pour a small pile of red glitter on your sheet of paper.  Dip the sticker side of your red hearts in the glitter, covering the entire surface.  Tap off excess.  Fold paper and pour glitter back into jar.  Repeat using ab white glitter and white hearts.

2.  Mark hole placement with a Micron Pen.

3.  Use Crop-A-Dile to punch small holes in marked spots.

4.  Connect large hearts with 10mm jump rings.  Attach small hearts with 6mm jump rings.  Attach earring hearts with 10mm jump rings.

5.  Create a wrapped and hammered hook using 20 gauge Artistic Wire, a chasing hammer and a mini anvil or steel block.  I have step by step instructions for this in most of my books.

6.  Attach hook to chain with a 10mm jump ring (my necklace is a 16" finished length and you may adjust to suit your tastes.)

7.  Attach open end of chain to left side of the pendant section of your necklace with a 10mm jump ring.

8.  Make a matching pair of earrings as in the photo.  Connect them with 10mm jump rings and attach a French wire earring finding to the top jump ring in each small heart using a 6mm jump ring.  If you need to turn the loop on the ear wire so the earrings hang forward, use your round nose pliers.

DESIGN NOTE:
After wearing this I wasn't happy with the way the hearts in the center of the scalloped frames were hanging, so I marked and punched more holes and connected the bottom centers to the bottom center of the frames.  Much, much better!  See picture below...

Designer Note: Chain, wire and findings courtesy of Beadalon.  All other elements were purchased at retail.