Guy's charm necklace

ladies! and gents. in honor of valentines day I wanted to share a handmade necklace with you! if your boy likes urban outfitters at all, and if you think you can start making him wear trendy men's jewelry, this project is perfect for you!! I was inspired by the below necklace from Urban but when I wanted to get it for Ross is was like 36 dollars and I figured I could probably make something pretty similar. SOOOO....this is what I tried and made for half the price. Plus it's handmade!! What's better than that?

WHAT TO BUY:

1. I went to hobby lobby (in the bracelet section with all the beading and wire) and picked out a dark brown fake leather cord to use as the "chain"of the necklace.

2. Pick out the charms you want (this will help you decide what color clasps to use). I just picked out simple design tags that were metal pieces in different shapes and sizes.

3. After deciding on types of metal, pick out the necessary clasps. this will differentiate depending on how you want to attach your ends, but I bought little clasps that wrap around the ends of your cord -- you'll have to squeeze them on tight with pliers.

4. Pick out big enough ovals to hang your charms/tags on. Choose ovals big enough to fit your cord through, while still leaving enough space for your tags/charms to move around.

5. Pick out a dark stain. (optional)

HOW TO:

1. Measure out how long you want your necklace to be and cut it. Men usually prefer them longer.

2. Attach your clasps on each end. Again, make sure they're really tight using pliers.

3. Because my design tags were flat and somewhat boring, I decided to give them an antique look. I started out by rubbing a little bit of dark stain onto each piece in random spots and then wiped off the excess. Next, I laid them on my concrete driveway, placed nails and screws on them, and hammered designs into them. I also just hammered the corners flat and it gave it a really rough feel -- much more manly.

4. Let the tags dry, then attach each charm to the ovals.

5. Slide the pieces onto the cord and when they reach the middle of the cord, tie the cord into a slip (or running) knot.

6. Put the necklace on and clasp it! You're done!

This is what mine ended up looking like. Sorry if these steps were somewhat confusing -- if you have any questions contact me or leave a comment and i will try to explain myself!!! Your man will love it. Ross loved his and wears it all the time.

ps -- if you try this, please show me a picture of what you choose to do!! I would love to see :):)