Written by: Samanthasaurus Rex on October 2, 2012.

This one will be a little shorter than normal because it’s just so darned easy! Hooray, an easy cosplay whatchamacallit this time, right? Right…

So today, I’ll be giving you easy step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own specialty pendant for whoever you want! Maybe you just want a Mjölnir on a chain around your neck rather than a fem Thor cosplay, so be it. However you want to accessorize your cosplay or even daily wear, go for it!

So first thing’s first.

Ingredients Materials!

• Air-Dry or Oven-Bake Clay – white (preferably oven-bake because it dries more permanently and is easier to paint)
• Chain or cord
• Metal clasps (unless you tie the ends permanently)
• Jump Ring or a Bail and Loop
• Jewelry Pliers (or similar pliers)
• Toothpick (or some other modeling tool of your choice)
• Paint (craft paint preferably but it doesn’t matter over much)
• Waterproofing spray – clear (optional, but highly recommended)

Step One
Well, depending on what you want to make, this will be different for everyone, but there are a few things that will always stay the same. This is the modelling stage. First order of business is to knead your clay thoroughly, so it’s pliable and entirely workable to allow for any mistakes (and to keep mistakes from happening because you won’t have to push as hard to get it to give way) and smaller details. With air-dry clay, you’ll want to add some water first so it doesn’t start drying up on you prematurely, though it will take about 24-48 to fully dry when not in an oven.

So go forth, and create your masterpiece! Feel free to cheat with the toothpick or sculpting tools or even the shaft of the paintbrush to get smaller indentations than you could with a finger, also be sure to smooth out any fingerprints you might find so they don’t bake your identity into a crime scene.

Step Two
Clasps and chains/cords and the like. We’re nearing the end now (told you it was easy!) and we’ve got a couple things to cover before we finish. First of all, jump rings and bail and loops. I cannot be trusted to explain this in a particularly coherent way, so I’ll send you a link that even has pictures explaining how exactly to do this part.

http://www.savvyhomemade.com/homemade-necklace.html This is a gem of a site (please excuse the bad pun, ha ha, jewlery, gem… sorry) and they’ve got everything outlined particularly well. So all I have left to explain is how to drill the hole needed to fit those fasteners in. On this site you can also find great explanations on how to attach clasps to cords and chain.

Take your toothpick, and in the side of your pendant (however you want it to hang) carefully push a hole through with a twist of your wrist in a slight drilling motion. Be careful not to force too much clay out and making your pendant apt to break off. With this done (and the holes on the inside smoothed out) you can move onto the last step!

Step Three
If you have oven-bake clay, then follow the instructions on your packaging, if there aren’t instructions; then you should probably find them because they might be specific to the clay you bought. However, I can give a general timeframe to bake for (at around 250-265 degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise it might dry too fast and cause cracking). This goes for both oven-bake and air-dry (if you so choose to speed up the air-dry process); it should take about ¼ hour per inch of thickness if you do it right. But! It is better to bake often for short periods of time than baking a few, long times. Check on your pendant every five or so minutes to make sure you didn’t get modeling clay on accident (the kind that doesn’t harden), melting on your good cookie sheet, and that it’s not cracking or scorched. In any case, however, you should line your glass dish or metal cookie sheet with some paper (any kind will do) or a tissue so it doesn’t develop a shiny spot where it rests on the glass/metal.

You’ve finished! Well, mostly, now you just need to thread in those jump rings (or whichever you use) and thread that with the cord and attach the clasps to keep it in place around your neck. So, there you have it, your very own, special little pendant made just for you! Enjoy.