I’ve always been attracted to humorous jewelry pieces. Anything that can make me laugh, I am all for. So, I came up with an idea for these faux gold dinosaur pendants, and I am in love with the results. I think I am going to start wearing these everywhere.

The idea started with a sizable stash of plastic dinosaur toys that I bought at a garage sale for 25 cents (the whole bag of 20 dinos for $0.25 – what a deal). They stayed in the closet for a couple of months, as most of my garage sale finds do, until I finally came up with a way to use them. Once I realized that I can penetrate almost any material with my trusty paper stab, I had my project…

Materials: 1. Small plastic dinosaurs (plastic farm animals would work great for this as well- horses for example would be awesome) 2. Paper stab tool (also known as an awl – mainly used for bookbinding) 3. Paint (I used a special liquid gold leaf for mine) 4. Paint brush (small sizes work better here) 5. Small eye hook screws (can be found at any craft store or even Home Depot) 6. Clear gloss protective coating 7. Hammer (optional) 8. Gold chain (optional)

How To Step by Step: {click image above for larger view} 1. Find a place at the top of your toy dino for the eye hook screw and using your paper stab tool, punch a hole in it. Depending on how hard the plastic is, you may need a hammer to really get the paper stab in there. This is just a starters hole. 2. Next, take your eye hook screw and place it in the hole and screw it in with your hands as far as it will go. 3. Once that is done, begin applying your paint with a small brush. Applying the paint in thin layers works best, so you can get in to all those crack and crevices. Be sure to paint the eye hook as well, so it will blend in more. 4. Wait for paint to dry and apply a second, thin coat. 5. Wait for paint to dry and apply a clear, gloss protective coating (such as gloss medium or something similar) 6. If you plan on using the pendant on its own, as a gift tag for example, you are all done. If you would like to turn this pendant into a necklace, add a chain and you are all set! You’ll start a lot of conversations with one of these little guys around your neck… “Is that a dinosaur necklace you’re wearing? Interesting.“

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