A Pretty Necklace for a hot Summer Day

Whenever I cut the top off a gourd and don't use it on that particular project, I save it and use it for something else. This is a necklace that I made by using a piece of the top of a gourd I had saved.

Materials needed for this project:
Proxxon Rotary Tool
Proxxon Jigsaw
Proxxon Oscillating Sander
Proxxon Belt Sander
Gourd top or other piece of scrap gourd
Acrylic Turquoise paint
Black Gesso
Concho
Beads to match
Krylon Kamar Varnish
Necklace String

I took several pictures of the project that I'm showing you today.

The gourd top that I used

This is the disgusting inside of it that hadn't been cleaned.

This is after I did some cleaning and sanding on that side.

After cleaning it, I drew a design that I wanted to cut out and drilled a hole in the top for the necklace string to go thru while it was more stable to do.

I then cut around the design with my trusty Proxxon Jigsaw!

Once it was cut out I used this Proxxon Belt Sander to smooth out the edges.

And this Proxxon Oscillating Sander to sand the bottom to make it smooth.

I used my new Proxxon Rotary Tool with Flex Shaft 

and a diamond burr to create some neat little spots around the outside edge.

 

Once I finished with the tools, I painted the indentions and around the edge with the turquoise paint and the back of the piece with the black gesso. I then sprayed the piece both front and back with the Krylon Kamar Varnish. After the Varnish dried I drilled another hole in the gourd piece and inserted the concho,strung the gourd piece with some turquoise bears and some beads onto the string and voila'.

Pretty fancy looking isn't it? I really liked the way that it turned out. 

I'm also pretty pleased with the new Proxxon Rotary Tool and the FlexShaft is awesome. I hope you noticed it in the picture above but it's just like holding a pen. It's very narrow and comfortable to use.

Check out all of these tools at www.proxxon.com. 

You can also follow Proxxon on Facebook.

Barbara