Hot Glue Stick Crystals!

I love making things from scratch (like probably everyone does), especially when it comes to imitating precious things.

So when I saw someone making a miniature water bottle from a hot glue stick, I immediately thought of making crystals in the same way!

They are quick and quite simple to make and a lot of fun. I might have made too many for myself already ;)

Hope you enjoy!

Randomona

For the crystal:

* hot glue stick

* utility knife

(* optional: nail polish)

To wrap the crystal for a necklace:

* thin wire

* scissors or cutting pliers to cut the wire

* necklace cord or chain

The first step is tricky at first, but you will get the hang of it:

To make a crystal, cut off a piece of the hot glue stick in the length that you want your crystal to have (or a bit longer).

Then cut off the sides of the stick and try not to slip off by holding the sharp side a bit angular towards the stick. At the same time, try to make the cut smooth and straight.

I usually (kind of) end up with a pentagonal prism shape, but you can create random shapes as well! Getting a symmetric looking crystal is also a question of luck it seems, but it doesn't have to be perfect ;) In the pictures I'm actually cutting the crystal shorter because it didn't turn out very straight.

Next, cut one end into a pointy tip by holding the knife angular again at each side of the crystal.

This is optional, but if you want to make the wrapping of the crystal the easiest afterwards, make a cut around the crystal, near the flat end. This is in order to make the wire sit securely lateron. To dot that, first make a straight cut and then an angular cut towards it.

I already like the crystal like this - it's translucent and mat and has a blue-ish glow.

But you can apply clear nail polish to make it more shiny and more transparent (I like to use a glitter top coat)

Or you can give it a totally different colour, like I did with this black crystal. I find it harder to make the crystal look smooth like this, but I still like the result. Be aware though that the more coats you put on, the rounder the edges will get.

In order to paint the crystal easily, I put some adhesive putty on a pencil and put the flat side of the crystal on top. The flat side can be painted last.

Now to the last step!

The easiest way to wrap the crystal I found was to use the cut we made before. Take two pieces of wire that are about as long as your hand and twist them together near the middle. Then put two wire ends around your crystal into the cut and twist the wire on the other side of the crystal as well.

Keep twisting the wire on both sides until the crystal is secure and you have enough twisted wire to make a loop.

Fold the wires up and twist them maybe two times on the flat side of the crystal. Then make a loop with one wire using a thin round object (your necklace chain should fit inside the loop). Wrap the wires under the loop so that it's secure and cut off the excess wire.

Make sure there are no wire edges sticking out.. and you are done! Just insert a necklace cord or chain and you have a nice selfmade crystal necklace!

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Keep crafting ;)