DIY pixel heart necklace | How About Orange

February 13, 2012

DIY pixel heart necklace

Need a last-minute DIY Valentine's Day gift? Show how much you care by using 50 cents' worth of paper and glue to make a pendant.

I was inspired by all the pixel stuff at Pinterest lately. (Part of the 80s revival, perhaps?) And I was really impressed by a paper necklace Patricia Zapata was sporting at the Alt Design Summit recently.

To make the pendant, cut 12 hearts from cardstock. You can download the PDF template here, print it at 100%, and cut out hearts very carefully with an X-acto knife. Or, if you have a Silhouette cutting machine, download the .studio file here and make your machine do the work. The template produces hearts that are 1.5" wide.

Glue the hearts into a stack, applying glue sparingly. Sometimes it's helpful to use the tip of the bottle to smear the glue around a bit. I used Mono Aqua clear glue from Office Max.

As the glue dries, the pendant will harden nicely. If you wanted to seal it, you could brush on some hard coat Mod Podge or apply a coat of clear acrylic gel medium.

Update: get more designs to make right here.

38 comments:

Paula said...

so cute

Rachael said...

Wonderful, I never knew that paper jewelry could look so stylish!

Connie @ Daydream In Color said...

Very cute! I was just gathering pixel inspiration for my next post. How timely!

l-article said...

This is adorable!! I'm sooo trying this out on my left over cardstock colors :D

Kate said...

love it! agree about all the pixelated stuff around at the moment...very cool.

CBH said...

Thank you so much for this post. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 4 post on Feb. 14, 2012. Thanks again.

patricia zapata said...

Love it! :)
Thanks for the mention Jessica!

Andee said...

This is so cute! Thanks so much for the studio file.

Larissa Holland said...

It makes me nostalgic for my Atari. Great stacking method! Thanks!

linda said...

Very cool idea - I think it would be great for guys too, maybe as a keychain or decoration of sorts, because the pixel look fits for the nerdy/geeky love :)

aimee said...

so cute

Crafting Play said...

Love this idea! Thanks for sharing!

Judy said...

Love the little pixel for the chain. Perfect placement. Very clever.

www.cuteanduseful.com

andrea nicole said...

adorable. i love how this turned out.

Unknown said...

LOVE! definitely making and sharing.

Josh said...

reminds me a bit of the v-day card i made for my wife last year.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Health-Meter-Card/1005263

i can say from experience if you don't have a cutting machine, these are a bit of a PITA to cut. I would recommend a blade with a wider angle, i can't remember the number, or a chisel style blade. You will snap the tip off a regular blade fairly fast.

I have a craft robo pro and although i eventually got it to cut through my 120# paper, it took a lot of pressure and multiple passes. So the one photographed was cut by hand.

Jessica Jones said...

Your card is great! Love it, thanks for sharing! 120#, eh? Hefty.

Marie said...

what a cute little heart...and I love that it's made of stacked paper! :)

http://www.happypaperplace.com/

Josh said...

I like my paper like I like my women...hefty (I only say that because my wife is pregnant and about to pop right now)

Jessica Jones said...

Hilarious. I'm not sure you should let her see your comment. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow I didn't think something so cute could be so easy to make! Thanks for posting this I make jewelry and this is something new I can try!! Thanks again

Kate said...

This is very cute! :)

Jessica Lynne @ ProNailTechTraining said...

I have become obsessed finding pixelated images I can do this with! Its so cute - mine is hanging on my work computer.

Anonymous said...

Hi!
Did you use smooth or textured cardstock?
Love your project, so cute!!

Jessica Jones said...

It was smooth.

Jessica Jones said...

John, I think you're out of luck, since it's just a craft project for personal use.

Annabella Merlin said...

This is really cute! I love the simplicity of the design yet it look so cute! And the pixelized heart pendant is a creative idea! Thanks for this!

Annabella Merlin
Creative Photo Albums

Lula said...

Hello Jessica !

I just made my own but with polymer clay as I don't have a cutting machine :)
Thank you so much for the template :D

Jessica Jones said...

You're welcome, and great idea!

SugarSpunSister said...

You took this photo on the back cover of How To Be A Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul. what do I win?!

Jessica Jones said...

LOUD APPLAUSE for figuring that out. Wow!

SugarSpunSister said...

Hurray! It's no big feat though, that book is my bible :)

Jeanee said...

This is so cool that it;s made out of paper. I featured it on my blog today: http://blog.shopdirtylaundry.com/posts/2013/2/12/122-too-cute-tuesday.html

ENJOY!

Jessica Jones said...

Thanks, Jeanee!

Bailey said...

love, Love, LOVE this <3 i printed out the template and spent around 2 hours cutting it out with scissors (and a needle for the inner square). It was so worth the time. I love my necklace. Thanks for posting this. (:

Jessica Jones said...

Happy to hear it, Bailey!

Angie said...

Modern decoupage!

Unknown said...

I have an idea that I'm attempting with no luck using this idea... add a keyhole to the heart (keeping with the pixel style) for 1 pendant and also make a key in pixel style. for a second pendant... "Holds the key to my heart"... I am having a hard time making the sizes right and having a rough time and I am unsure why the ones I Have done with the key have not even came close to what I had pictured in my mind... I'm not very crafty but if anyone still sees this please any ideas would be greatly appreciated...