faux metal bib necklace

Yesterday’s faux metal flowers have been crafted into a statement bib necklace!

I think people might find it pretty hard to believe that this beautiful accessory is made out of a piece of Con-Tact vinyl shelf liner (brushed nickel finish), brads, and ribbon.  The process was so simple, but the result has so much impact.    The Con-Tact paper proved perfect for this purpose.  Because it is vinyl, the product is soft, flexible, and very light.  A real metal bib necklace of this scale would be so much more cumbersome to wear, no matter how thin the metal sheet would be, not to mention the bothersome sounds of clanging.

You will need faux metal flowers (if you’re just tuning in, you can find yesterday’s tutorial here), black brads, black satin ribbon, 1/8″ hole punch, and a pair of scissors.

1. Cut small, random lengths of ribbon between 4″ to 6″ in length.  For each length, fold in half.  With a 1/8″ hole punch, punch a hole right through both layers of ribbon.  Feed the flower through the hole and close the brad.   The flowers are now attached to loops.

2. Feed each loop of flower through a 36″ length of ribbon.  Along the center of the ribbon, arrange the loops 1-1/2″ apart.  Punch a hole at the top center of the loops and secure to the main ribbon with a brad.

3. To close the gaps between the loops, weave through two additional rows of ribbon and attach at each end with a brad.

You have the option to stop at step 2 if you want to let the flowers simply hang.  Or you may proceed to step 3 to create a woven bib.

I am now imagining an endless line of accessories to create using these faux metal flowers.  They can be attached to headbands, barrettes, hair ties, pins (for brooches), even purses.  I think I will apply the same techniques on copper and wood grain Con-Tact paper for a much different look.  Faux bois flowers?  I’m loving the thought!

faux metal flowers

Who else here has an obsession with self-stick decorative shelf liners?  For me, not any self-stick decorative shelf liner.  I love my Con-Tact Paper (wow, this sounds like a paid endorsement — I promise it isn’t!).  Over the years, I’ve started a collection.  There are finishes like faux metal, faux leather, faux velour, and faux bois that are available at most hardware stores.  There is an endless list of crafty things to do with the material, as it provides the illusion that an object is something that it is not.  I realize, I really need to craft with this stuff more often.

I’ll start with something simple enough: faux metal flowers.  Paper flowers are the most popular of paper crafts.  Well, with a simple switch in material, those flowers are suddenly modern and cutting-edge.

You will need a roll of Con-Tact brushed metal shelf liner (I used nickel finish), brads (I used copper), and a pair of scissors.

1. Cut  a length of the liner.  Peel off backing and fold in half so that you have a double-sided sheet of faux-metal.

2. Trace petals.  You may create any shape you want, but you are welcome to use this downloadable template I whipped up to facilitate the process.

3. Cut petals.

4. Punch centers.

5. Attach petals with brad.

6. Pinch petals towards the center to add dimension.

Time to use them as embellishments!  I’m sure you can imagine all sorts of things to embellish with these flowers.  I’ll be back tomorrow to show you what I made with these.  Stay tuned!