Lightsaber Necklace Pendants

I recently got into Star Wars - I know, I know, how did I NOT like Star Wars?! - but The Force Awakened, and it awakened hard. Either way, I'm now incredibly invested in the SW universe, and here I am, making Star Wars crafts.

Nothing is quite as iconic as the lightsaber, and so I had to incorporate it into a craft project in some way - and what better than something wearable? These little necklaces are so quick, easy and inexpensive, and you don't need very much craft experience to make them. They make awesome gifts, and you can make a bunch at once - but it's tricky not to want to keep them all for yourself.

Materials:

• Plastic cocktail sticks
• Polymer clay
• Nail polish in various colours (I used silver, black, and red)
• Chain, cord and jump rings and clasps

Tools:

• Toothpicks
• An oven
• Some scissors
• A nail file
• Some pliers for the necklace-making bits

Start by taking your cocktail stick and cutting off the sharp, pointy bits. In my case, this was two little prongs at the end. Use a nail file to sand off the sharp edges and make it smooth and rounded.

Because these cocktail sticks come in a bunch of colours, I made a few different blades to experiment with. I also kept some of the little prongs to use for Kylo Ren-style crossguard blades. Once the tops are rounded, cut off the end bits, leaving a plain end to the "blade".

Use some polymer clay to make the hilt of your lightsaber. Once it's the right shape, use a toothpick to poke a hole through the top, so you can hang it from a chain or cord. If you want a lightsaber like Kylo Ren's, also add two little holes on either side of your main blade. Put the hilt, while still on the blade, into the fridge for a few minutes, then gently pull it off and bake it according to the provided instructions on the clay.

Hold the hilt on the end of a toothpick, and use silver or black nail polish to paint it. Don't have a blade in the colour you want? Yeah, neither did I - I only got blue, yellow and pink in my pack of cocktail sticks, but a quick coat of cheap red nail polish over a pink stick made a perfect Kylo Ren lightsaber!

Once the base coat is dry, glue the blade into the hilt.

Once the glue is dry, decorate the hilt using more nail polish in different colours, or permanent markers. Finally, thread the chain or cord through the hole in the hilt of your lightsaber.

Thread a piece of cord or chain through the hole in the hilt, then add a jump ring to one end and a clasp to the other to finish of your necklace.