Hi everybody

Although I am a steampunker, I am also a romantic husband and father of a young daughter. And that is why I want to present you this instructable as my valentine´s gift to you.

Some walnuts left from our Chritmas party, brought me to the idea to create this mystic valentine´s necklace keeping a lovely secret in. It is very easy to do, so you probably make more than one of these secrets keeping walnuts e.g. maybe as a gift to the young ladies joining your litle daughter´s next birthday party or so......

You need just a few tools and some wood glue.

So let us start wit this project and see what sort of secret is kept in :-))))

Step 1: All We Need to Start

Don´t wreck your health and please obay the follwing advices:

***Disclaimers***To do this instructable you have to work with a sharp blade of a knife and a drilling machine. Take care of your hands and fingers!!
If you choose to undertake this instructable, you do so at your own risk.

So we need for the necklace (s):
-some walnuts,
-some wooden toothpicks,
-some inches of an small elastic braid in black
-and some inches of a mall black ribbon.
We also need a small lucky charm to keep it in the walnut.

The tools we need are:
-adrilling machine with
-a 2 mm drill bit (it has to be the same diameter as the toothpick)
-a sharp knife to open the walnut
-some wood glue to fix the toothpick
-a needle for the braid and the ribbon

an last but not least a lucky charm which fits in the walnut.

Step 2: Preparing the Walnut

First you drill the holes. One hole in the middle of the walnut´s side and two on the other side.

Second you have to open the walnut very carefully so you get two halfsides undamaged. Please be very careful, do not cut your fingers.
The best to open the walnut is to start at he top as seen at the pictures.

Third you cave the walnut out and look for a fitting charm as the "secret".

Step 3: The Needle Works

Now you "sew" the walnut at this side with the two holes together. Take some inches of the elastic braid ant turn it with the needle three or four times with som tension around through the two holes.Then fix the elastic braid with a knot. Now you can open the walnut wit some tension and if you let it loose both parts get closed together.
Through the other hole you press a part of the wooden toothstick and fix it at one side with a small drop of wood glue. After some minutes you can cut of the rest of the toothstick from both sides of the walnut so only a very small part is left and works as a lock.

Step 4: The Valentine Gift

The necklace is now ready and the last step ist to fill the walnut with a lucky charm. I placed this small heart for valentine´s day inside.

Step 5: The Result

Now your girl friend or wife will carry proudly a sign of your love as a valentine´s secret.

I hope you enjoyed my little "not steampunked" project and have a happy valentine

Yours Aeon Junophor