Blog post

TROPICAL LEAF NECKLACE DIY

May 15, 2018

Sooo, are you as obsessed with tropical leaves as I am, right now? With today’s tropical leaf necklace DIY, I am turning the obsession into fun and easy to make fashion statement!

Palm leaves – love ’em, Banana leaves – gotta have ’em, Bird of Paradise leaves – YES M’AM! But this tropical leaf necklace is based on my favorite tropical leafy obsession, and probably the coolest named, the Monstera leaf!

Supplies:

tropical-leaf-necklace

Air Clay

Heart Cookie Cutter

Rolling Pin

Spray Paint

X-Acto knife

Toothpick

Thin Nail File

Crystal Clear

Necklace Chain

Tropical Leaf Necklace

01. Roll out the clay

02. To get the basic shape of the Monstera Leaf, press the heart-shaped cookie cutter into the clay

tropical-leaf-necklace

03. Using the template below as a guide, use the toothpick to trace the outline of the leaf. Including areas where you want to include the Monstera’s trademark holes that are inside the leaf. I used this as the hole to put the necklace chain through

tropical-leaf-templatetropical-leaf-necklace

04. Using the X-Acto blade, cut out the negative space that you traced along the leaf’s outline, and any holes in the inner leaf

tropical-leaf-necklace

05. With the toothpick, add vein lines down the middle of the leaf, and a line for each leaf. This will give the leaf an extra bit of personality!

tropical-leaf-necklace

06. Let dry for 24 hours or until the clay dries completely

07. With a thin nail file, sand away any rough edges

08. Spray paint the front side of the leaf and let dry

09. Spray the back side and let dry

10. Repeat until there is full coverage and you can’t see any areas of the white clay

tropical-leaf-necklace

11. Once you are confident that the paint is dry, spray a few coats of Crystal Clear on the front and back. This will help protect the paint

12. Once the Crystal Clear is dry, put it on a fun chain and wear it around!

tropical-leaf-necklace

tropical-leaf-necklace

tropical-leaf-necklace

I can just imagine pairing this necklace with a cute pink Maxie dress while sipping cocktails at a poolside bar in the Bahamas! I’ve been so inspired by all the tropical leaf prints I’ve been seeing, but I didn’t see too many jewelry pieces. There is something so satisfying about being able to use your own hands to create that special something you’ve been looking for!

Want to make more clay creations? Check out this post to create Clay Bird Magnets, which are perfect for springtime!

I’d love to see your Trinkets and Love DIYs. If you’ve made your own tropical leaf necklace, show me on Instagram using #mytrinketsandlove . Like what you see here? Follow along on Twitter and Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive access to the latest news!