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Willow blog

Purple jewellery DIY

February 12, 2015

Recently Clare, one of our Willow Champions, held an amazing Purple Party to fundraise for Willow. The girls only party included fancy dress, purple hair spray, purple cakes, purple crafts and there may have been a few cheeky purple drinks, too. Clare’s friend Emily discovered she didn’t have anything purple to wear so decided to get creative.

We were so impressed we asked her to share her ‘how-to’ guide to make her glittery treasures:  

“Being a bit low on purple things to wear, I decided to make some purple glittery jewellery. I also made extra for Clare to sell on the night and help raise even more money for Willow. The batch I made took a while because there were so many, but one or two would be very quick to make, and super easy too! 

You can buy everything you need easily and inexpensively at a craft shop or online.

You will need:

How to:

  1. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of glitter into your mixing pot (if you’re making a big batch just double this, and keep making fresh batches as you go, so none is wasted)
  2. Add about the same amount of Mod Podge and mix them well with the spoon (then wash the spoon!)
  3. Choose which side of your wooden shape you want to paint (there are often marks from the laser cutting on one side, so paint onto that as you won’t see it when you’re finished)
  4. Paint a thin layer of the glittery glue onto your shape….best not to use too much at a time so that you don’t spill over the edges and so that it stays neat
  5. Wait for that to dry and then paint on another thin coat
  6. Keep adding thin coats once the last is dry to build up the coverage….as with most painting projects, it’s better to do lots of thin coats than one or two thick ones (if your mixing pot has a lid you can cover your mixture whilst you wait for drying, so that it stays fresh)
  7. I applied four or five coats to mine, and if you decide to make a big batch you can of course apply each coat to all of them, and by the time you’ve done the last, the first one will be dry and ready for the next
  8. Once you’re happy with the coverage, leave until completely dry before flipping over ready for the backing
  9. If you’re using a brooch back, check it works ok before using it, then blob some glue onto the flat side of the brooch back and press it firmly onto the back of your wooden shape
  10. If you’re making a pendant, blob the glue onto the flat pad of the bail and carefully press it onto the back of your shape. Before it dries turn it over to make sure it’s on straight
  11. Leave for 24 hours to dry well before adding a chain if you’ve made a pendant, or before proudly pinning your brooch onto your clothes

These would make great party favours for a bridal shower or hen party, or even for children’s parties (although take care with brooch pins)… of course you could make some to sell and raise more funds for Special Days too.”

Find out more about Willow Champions