DIY Keepsake/Vial Necklace

The Setting

Just a quick hello from guest blogger Melody! Recently, I had the privilege to accompany my parents and very young niece to see Cathy Rigby Is Peter Pan! in Dallas at Fair Park. Cathy is such a fantastic performer, and of course the show was fantastic. This, however, is no review. Part of the magic included after the show, Peter Pan signs autographs by the exit to support a charity, and passes out fairy dust (foil confetti) to the children as they leave. Of course, all four of us got into the gigantic line to get our playbills signed. As we neared the front, one little girl dropped some fairy dust on the ground. As she went to pick up all the tiny pieces, she realized that the fairy dust from the show was EVERYWHERE. People had trailed it out into the lobby as they left, and I imagine lots of people must have dropped some while making their way towards the exit. This adorable little girl began to pick up every little piece of fairy dust she saw, exclaiming that, "Peter's gonna need it to fly! I'm going to put it back in the bucket," as her parents tried to coax her off the floor and out towards the car.

The Muse Strikes

It was then that my niece and I both separately began to worry about what we would do to keep it as a reminder of our fantastic night. On the way home, having realized we both wanted to hold on to the magic as long as possible, I offered to make a necklace to keep some of it in. I'd seen necklaces with 'fairy dust' on such internet sites as etsy and thought, "You know, it can't be that difficult." Turns out, it isn't! So follow along as I give you a few pointers on how to hold onto some magic of your own.

The Process:

Step 1: Gather the necessities.

(1) Cork and Vial Pendant, available at craft stores.

(1) Measure of Necklace Cord, length of preference [Leather lace does well to hold knots]

(1) Scoop of Magic, whatever form it takes for you.

Step 2:

Start with your pendant, open. This is a vial from a package of (2) two cork-topped vial pendants from Hobby Lobby.

Step 3:

Add your measure of magic. Here is mine, spilling out of the playbill. Those foil squares were a bit difficult to fit into the vial, but crunching them down like paper into a trashcan fit lots, and gave the shine more dimension.

Step 4:

When finished, dab some craft glue round the upper half of the cork's surface  where it will meet the vial, and close it tight. Adding a bit of glue to the base of the metal loop in the cork wouldn't hurt, either, just for extra help keeping it all together.

Step 5:

Measure out a little more chord than you will need and cut. Thread through the loop in the pendant. Now, you can leave the vial loose to slide along the chord or keep it stationary. I chose to knot it down at the base with a good square knot. Then, another at the top, leaving room for the head to fit through the necklace. I felt it was missing something, so I added another piece of chord below the mouth of the vial for trim, wrapped twice around. Tighten all the knots and trim the excess!

Voila! She is finished!

Honestly, the picture doesn't do it any justice, I'm just a terrible still-life photographer. I'm good with people, pets even, not... Stuff. Hahaha. Anyway, I hope any reluctant crafters out there will find this a helpful confidence boost. This really is one of the easiest projects I've ever done. Posting this blog entry easily took me 4 times as long to finish ;)