craft day, or how to make a domino necklace

This time of year I start thinking about holiday gift giving. I like to make as many gifts as I can because created gifts represent time and attention as well as the gifts themselves. I got an idea for a necklace made out of dominoes and other re-purposed items. Here's how to make the necklace. Also, you could glue a magnet on the back of the domino and use that as a gift instead.

You have several options for the decoration. You will need a little picture the size of the domino. I like to pick up old picture books at book sales just to use the illustrations. For some of these necklaces, I used those. For the others, I painted small watercolor scenes after tracing the domino onto the watercolor paper then cutting it out once the picture was dry. If using the pictures, first trace the domino onto scrap paper and cut it out. Use the cut-out frame to find an area of the picture which looks good in the frame. Then, trace around the domino at that spot and cut it out.

Second, glue the pictures onto the top of the dominoes. Thick paste works well, but you can test to see if what you have at hand works. I used acid free YES paste, as it was left over from an old project and it worked well. Let dry, then gently sand the edges to be sure the paper is flush with the edge of the domino. You could also glue an assortment of buttons onto the domino instead (for that I used 527 glue), or make a tiny collage of your choosing. Drill a small hole at the top center, or top two edges if you're using the horizontal orientation. If you used buttons, attach a screw eye onto the top instead of drilling the hole. Now paint with polyurethane and let dry.

While it is drying, begin preparing the chord. Simple options include using a leather strip. I buy old leather coats from Goodwill and cut slices with a rotary cutter. This way, you can get tons of leather strips for a few bucks. Tie a few together for the desired length. Another more special option is braided thread with beads slipped on at intervals. I did this for one. I used thick button thread, but you could also use silk thread or thin twine. 

Now, use a wire and pass it through the hole, wrapping it around to form  loop at the top for stringing the domino. You may also want to throw a few other hanging items onto the necklace. I keep a box of single earrings, junk jewelry, etc, so I pulled a few orphaned earrings out to throw onto my necklaces.