Introduction: GUMBALL MACHINE NECKLACE!
This Instructable is for a gum ball machine necklace! That's random, right? Well I like "random" haha :)
Hope you enjoy it!
Elana
Hope you enjoy it!
Elana
Step 1: Gather Materials
-Small Pony beads (4mmx7mm)
-1 small cylindrical storage container from a set of stackable bead storage containers (got my set of 6 stackable containers from michaels and got the 1.5" x 1.5" x 5" sized stack but only one of them has a lid).
-1 square of red Sculpey clay (or whatever color you want the base and top of the gumball machine to be)
-silver paint pen, silver sharpie or silver paint and small paint brush. Im using a silver paint pen
-large jump ring (I am using a 10 mm one)
-3 or 4 other jump rings (for the chain part of the necklace. Can be any size but I chose to use smaller jump rings. I used 2 jump rings to attach the gumball machine pendant to the necklace but you could get away with using one).
-chain in length of your choice (length depends on how far down you want the pendant to hang. My gumball machine is about 3 inches high. You can also decide this later but make sure you have cutters that can cut your chain if you chose to go this route).
-E6000 glue (clear)
-hot glue gun and hot glue stick (optional. Can use E6000 but I was making my necklace in a hurry and hot glue dries quicker than E6000)
-black sharpie or black paint pen
-oven/oven mitt/heat safe surface/cookie sheet
-piece of foil (optional. For placing between the clay and cookie sheet for easier clean up)
- paint on varnish or clear nail polish (optional and not used in this Instructable but it would help your necklace last longer. I will paint mine with clear nail polish later when I'm home from vacation).
-1 small cylindrical storage container from a set of stackable bead storage containers (got my set of 6 stackable containers from michaels and got the 1.5" x 1.5" x 5" sized stack but only one of them has a lid).
-1 square of red Sculpey clay (or whatever color you want the base and top of the gumball machine to be)
-silver paint pen, silver sharpie or silver paint and small paint brush. Im using a silver paint pen
-large jump ring (I am using a 10 mm one)
-3 or 4 other jump rings (for the chain part of the necklace. Can be any size but I chose to use smaller jump rings. I used 2 jump rings to attach the gumball machine pendant to the necklace but you could get away with using one).
-chain in length of your choice (length depends on how far down you want the pendant to hang. My gumball machine is about 3 inches high. You can also decide this later but make sure you have cutters that can cut your chain if you chose to go this route).
-E6000 glue (clear)
-hot glue gun and hot glue stick (optional. Can use E6000 but I was making my necklace in a hurry and hot glue dries quicker than E6000)
-black sharpie or black paint pen
-oven/oven mitt/heat safe surface/cookie sheet
-piece of foil (optional. For placing between the clay and cookie sheet for easier clean up)
- paint on varnish or clear nail polish (optional and not used in this Instructable but it would help your necklace last longer. I will paint mine with clear nail polish later when I'm home from vacation).
Step 2: Make Base of Gum Ball Machine
-start preheating oven to temperature that your red clay instructs to use.
-Roll a piece of red clay into a ball. I used about half of one square of red clay for the base.
-Make the ball of clay into a cylindrical shape but keep it on the thicker side.
-Gently press the bead storage case into the top of this piece of clay to make the circular shape of the case fit into the top of the clay. I have the whole container showing in my final necklace. If you want to cut off some of the bottom of the container you will need to alter the base to rise up a little over the bottom of the case.
- make the cylinder base have slanted sides to make it look more like an authentic gumball machine.
-make sure you are happy with the angled sides and height of the base. Also make sure to smooth out at least the front and sides of the gumball machine base because once we bake it, it's shape will become permanent.
-take the case off the clay (carefully so the shape of the clay doesn't change)
-Roll a piece of red clay into a ball. I used about half of one square of red clay for the base.
-Make the ball of clay into a cylindrical shape but keep it on the thicker side.
-Gently press the bead storage case into the top of this piece of clay to make the circular shape of the case fit into the top of the clay. I have the whole container showing in my final necklace. If you want to cut off some of the bottom of the container you will need to alter the base to rise up a little over the bottom of the case.
- make the cylinder base have slanted sides to make it look more like an authentic gumball machine.
-make sure you are happy with the angled sides and height of the base. Also make sure to smooth out at least the front and sides of the gumball machine base because once we bake it, it's shape will become permanent.
-take the case off the clay (carefully so the shape of the clay doesn't change)
Step 3:
-Make a small ball of red clay
-gently press it into a half spherical shape. You can do this by pressing the outside edge of the clay ball down onto your protected work space. If you're working on newspaper press down on top of an area on newspaper that doesn't have a lot of ink on it. Ink will transfer onto the clay and make it black. That part of the clay will be glued onto the case but if you mess up and restart your ball of clay, it will become darker (because of the black ink).
-place this clay piece on top of your storage case to shape the bottom to fit onto the case better. The better the fit here, the better it will look when the necklace is done.
-gently press your big jump ring halfway into the top part of the clay piece taking care to not mess up the curve of the bottom side of this piece of clay.
-take a small piece of red clay and place in the area under the exposed part of the jump ring and gently press it onto the rest of the top. This will secure the jump ring into the top. This is an important step because after we bake the top, the gum ball pendant will hang from the chain from this jump ring. If you don't make the jump ring secure, the necklace might break later!
-take the case off the clay (carefully so the shape of the clay doesn't change)
-gently press it into a half spherical shape. You can do this by pressing the outside edge of the clay ball down onto your protected work space. If you're working on newspaper press down on top of an area on newspaper that doesn't have a lot of ink on it. Ink will transfer onto the clay and make it black. That part of the clay will be glued onto the case but if you mess up and restart your ball of clay, it will become darker (because of the black ink).
-place this clay piece on top of your storage case to shape the bottom to fit onto the case better. The better the fit here, the better it will look when the necklace is done.
-gently press your big jump ring halfway into the top part of the clay piece taking care to not mess up the curve of the bottom side of this piece of clay.
-take a small piece of red clay and place in the area under the exposed part of the jump ring and gently press it onto the rest of the top. This will secure the jump ring into the top. This is an important step because after we bake the top, the gum ball pendant will hang from the chain from this jump ring. If you don't make the jump ring secure, the necklace might break later!
-take the case off the clay (carefully so the shape of the clay doesn't change)
Step 4: Bake Clay
-place foil (if applicable) onto a cookie sheet. This is your baking surface.
-stand base of gumball machine upright on your baking surface
-place top of the gum ball machine on its side on top of the baking surface. Make sure the jump ring doesn't move when you do this. I chose to bake my top like this because I was worried that if I placed it jump ring side upright, gravity would cause the bottom side curve to change while it was baking.
-set alarm for cooking time based on the thickness of the top and the clay directions. I worked on the next step while my clay was baking but be sure to keep listening for your alarm to go off. Once it goes off, carefully take the baking surface out of the oven and then take the gum ball machine top off the baking surface onto a heat safe surface to cool down. Replace the banking surface with base on it into the oven and set a new timer for the amount of time that the base still needs in the oven. According to clay package directions and the thickness of my pieces, I baked the top for 15 minutes and I ended up cooking the base of the gum ball machine for 30 more minutes for a total of 45 minutes. Use your judgement with your pieces and clay directions to judge how long to cook your pieces for.
(Remove pieces according to their time requirements and place on heat safe surface to cool down).
-stand base of gumball machine upright on your baking surface
-place top of the gum ball machine on its side on top of the baking surface. Make sure the jump ring doesn't move when you do this. I chose to bake my top like this because I was worried that if I placed it jump ring side upright, gravity would cause the bottom side curve to change while it was baking.
-set alarm for cooking time based on the thickness of the top and the clay directions. I worked on the next step while my clay was baking but be sure to keep listening for your alarm to go off. Once it goes off, carefully take the baking surface out of the oven and then take the gum ball machine top off the baking surface onto a heat safe surface to cool down. Replace the banking surface with base on it into the oven and set a new timer for the amount of time that the base still needs in the oven. According to clay package directions and the thickness of my pieces, I baked the top for 15 minutes and I ended up cooking the base of the gum ball machine for 30 more minutes for a total of 45 minutes. Use your judgement with your pieces and clay directions to judge how long to cook your pieces for.
(Remove pieces according to their time requirements and place on heat safe surface to cool down).
Step 5: While Clay Is Baking (GUM BALL TIME!)
Open one stackable container and fill to your liking with pony beads. I didn't fill my container all the way because I never really see fully filled gum ball machines ever. I didn't use any black or off white beads because I thought the other colors were more classic gum ball colors.
Close container and make sure you like the amount of gum balls in there (turn sideways to judge it because that is how it will be in the final necklace. Adjust amount if you are not happy with how it looks).
When you are happy with it, use a small amount of E6000 to seal the container shut. (Place a few dots of glue around the part of jar that screws shut and then screw on the lid and let dry completely).
Close container and make sure you like the amount of gum balls in there (turn sideways to judge it because that is how it will be in the final necklace. Adjust amount if you are not happy with how it looks).
When you are happy with it, use a small amount of E6000 to seal the container shut. (Place a few dots of glue around the part of jar that screws shut and then screw on the lid and let dry completely).
Step 6: Putting It All Together
- Pick what side of the case you want to be the front of the gum ball machine. I chose the lid side to be the front of my necklace because it's rounded.
- use hot glue or E6000 to glue the case of beads to the base of the gum ball machine. Make sure you have the sides of both parts that are the "fronts" on the same side.
-use hot glue or E6000 to glue the top of the gum ball machine on top of the case of beads. Again, place the side that you want as the "front" of the top of the gum ball machine on the same side that the other two "fronts".
- use hot glue or E6000 to glue the case of beads to the base of the gum ball machine. Make sure you have the sides of both parts that are the "fronts" on the same side.
-use hot glue or E6000 to glue the top of the gum ball machine on top of the case of beads. Again, place the side that you want as the "front" of the top of the gum ball machine on the same side that the other two "fronts".
Step 7: Optional Step- Varnish
-paint varnish/clear nail polish onto the base and top of the gum ball machine
Step 8: Details
-Draw/paint a silver circle close to the top of the front of the base of the gum ball machine (where the coins go) and fill it in with silver
- draw/paint a silver line a little under the circle (the lever that puts the coins into the machine if it was real)
- draw a black half circle shape with your black sharpie/paint pen. (Where the gum balls would come out of the machine if it was real).
- draw/paint a silver line a little under the circle (the lever that puts the coins into the machine if it was real)
- draw a black half circle shape with your black sharpie/paint pen. (Where the gum balls would come out of the machine if it was real).
Step 9: Finish Off Necklace
Drape chain around your neck and bring the edges together in the front and hold gum ball machine pendant here and adjust the amount of chain around your neck based on how far you want the pendant to hang down. Once you are happy with the length of your chain, pinch the chain where you will cut it and take chain off neck.
Carefully use wire cutters to cut the chain in this location.
Attach a jump ring to one end of necklace chain (open jump ring. Put through one end of chain. Close jump ring)
Attach a lobster clasp to the other end of the chain via another jump ring (open jump ring. Put through other end of the chain. Put a lobster clasp onto the opened jump ring. Close jump ring.
How to Open jump rings:
-grip both ends of the jump ring with the needle nose pliers (one on each side if you have two pairs. If you only have one then grip the other side of the jump ring with your fingers)
-rotate the edges of the jump ring away from eachother
To close jump rings:
- rotate the ends of the jump ring in the opposite direction that you initially rotated them while opening it. This will bring the ends of the jump ring back together and it will be closed.
Next, I used 2 jump rings to attach the gum ball pendant to the chain. Normally I would put these jump rings around the chain so the pendant can move around on the chain. This time, I put the jump rings through the chain so the pendant can't move. This will help it stay in place which is important because its heavier than usual pendants.
Carefully use wire cutters to cut the chain in this location.
Attach a jump ring to one end of necklace chain (open jump ring. Put through one end of chain. Close jump ring)
Attach a lobster clasp to the other end of the chain via another jump ring (open jump ring. Put through other end of the chain. Put a lobster clasp onto the opened jump ring. Close jump ring.
How to Open jump rings:
-grip both ends of the jump ring with the needle nose pliers (one on each side if you have two pairs. If you only have one then grip the other side of the jump ring with your fingers)
-rotate the edges of the jump ring away from eachother
To close jump rings:
- rotate the ends of the jump ring in the opposite direction that you initially rotated them while opening it. This will bring the ends of the jump ring back together and it will be closed.
Next, I used 2 jump rings to attach the gum ball pendant to the chain. Normally I would put these jump rings around the chain so the pendant can move around on the chain. This time, I put the jump rings through the chain so the pendant can't move. This will help it stay in place which is important because its heavier than usual pendants.
Step 10: TAAAADAHHHH!
You're done! Start thinking of what outfit you first want to wear with your new necklace!
Hope you enjoyed this Instructable!
Best,
Elana
Hope you enjoyed this Instructable!
Best,
Elana