Boy Bling- Rough & Tough Necklace Tutorial

My son, Bruce Jr., is always a little bit envious of all the fun jewelry and hair accessories I make for myself and Kiah. Even though he is crazy rough and tough like The Hubs.. he is still a momma's boy at heart. He is sweet and sensitive, and loves being around me. He likes watching me work on my crafts and seeing all the new creations I make for my shop! Recently he asked me why I never made him jewelry. He said he wanted a special necklace. I tried explaining that what I make is for girls only... and he got a little down. Poor guy, I felt bad.. its true since I mostly.. well ONLY create for girl, he just feels left out. So I set my mind to thinking of something for the BOYS! Boy Bling, if you will. :) And I came up with something "manly" for my little man. He was SO excited that I made something SPECIAL for HIM! And he has been wearing it everyday since I gave it to him. :)

This Rough & Tough Necklace is made from brown suede and a washer.. totally boy stuff! 

Not girly at all! Cute Manly, right? ;)

Here are the supplies you need to make one for your little man!

1.) Character Metal Stamps

I bought mine last year when I was curious about getting into metal stamping (which I sucked at and didn't pursue for long haha)! I found this set for cheap on ebay (click the link to go to the same set). I only paid 18 for this set, and it came with that cool brass punch/stamp holder.

2.) Suede Sting

3.) Metal Washer

4.) Scissors

5.) Round or flat nose pliers (for jewelry making)

6.) 2 jump rings & Necklace Clasp

7.) Rhinestone connectors 

(there are other kinds of connectors you can use for this..but this is what I had on hand)

8.) Sharpie (forgot to get it in the picture)

Alright.. so first you need to decide what you want to stamp onto your washer. I decided to do the words rough/tough. For the stamp set I have, all you have to do is pick your letter stamp, stick it in the brass holder and push down hard, the holder then clicks and stamps the metal for you. I kept the stamp in place and pushed down on it 3-4 times to be sure it stamped hard enough. Other sets that dont include this stamper you just use a hammer to stamp with.

So you will just repeat this process until you have your word(s) stamped out!

Once you are done with your stamping you  will use the sharpie to get the words to pop.

Simply mark over the stamped words with the sharpie, and then rub off with your finger.

Below is the before and after look.

Now that your washer pendant is finished, you can work on the necklace.

Depending on how long you want it to be you will need to cut the suede double the length you desire.

I wanted it to be 16 in, so I cut 38 in of suede, then cut that in half. Leaving you with 2 stings 16 inches each.

Fold one piece of sting in half, and grab your connector.

Stick both ends into the connector.

Then using your pliers pinch the prongs closed around the suede.

This is how it should look. Then you repeat with the other suede string.

On one of the strings, connect your jump ring and your necklace clasp. And on the other string connect the other jump ring.

This is what you should have: 2 sting sides and the washer pendant.

Now to connect the string sides to the washer to make it a necklace just loop the suede string around the washer as shown in the pictures:

And there you have it manly, tough boy bling. :)  You can see its not totally perfect, but that just adds to the rough and tough look of it.. making it more "manly". :)

Give it to your little man and see him light up at the special item you made for him! :)

 

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Do you have a little man, like mine, who is a little envious of all the girly things you make?

Well whip up one of these for him, and let me know what he thinks! :)

Do you have any other fun ideas for BOY-related creations? 

I would LOVE to hear them.. share them in the comment section! I know Brucey would love me to make a few more special items for him, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Much Love & Hugs,

P.S. Dont forget to check out all my party places! Click the Linky Parties Tab below my header!!