Most crafters have some sort of assortment of cookie cutters from which they can make fun necklaces to wear. Using vintage tin cookie cutters, even children’s size if you can find them, adds to the novelty of the necklace. The secret to hanging the cookie cutters as necklaces is to use your scrapbooking tool called Cropadile. The Cropadile is an amazing and powerful mutli-tool that punches holes, sets eyelets, and more. For your necklace, use any silver chain necklace at the length you feel comfortable wearing. You’ll need a couple jump ring hooks, jewelry eye pin wires, any glass beads, pearls, etc., any other jewelry findings you have around, and needle nose pliers. Needle-nose pliers that also has a metal cutter on it is useful. Otherwise have a pair of wire cutters handy. Select the smaller of the two hole punch sizes on the Cropadile and punch a hole in the very top center of the cookie cutter, being careful to not get your fingers included in the punch. Thread a glass bead onto a 2-inch jewelry eye pin, then pull this up through the bottom-inside of the cookie cutter. Repeat this on the top side of the cookie cutter, making an eye pin loop. Use as many beads as you want on top. Attach the jump ring to the hook and then to your necklace. Did I mention this is an easy project? Perfect instant gratification with no calories! When you wear your cookie, you will receive smiles. As a side note, another way to make the small hanger hole in metal cookie cutters is to use a small drill bit and a power drill. Just tap the top center of the cookie cutter with a nail first to give the top a starting point for the drill bit. This method can be used if the cookie cutter you select doesn't have enough room to punch it with the Cropadile tool. This necklace would be adorable if you are able to find the vintage children’s-size cookie cutters. Look in the glass cases at antique stores or on eBay. It’s a fun hunt. When you search online for the smallersized cookie cutters, notice the dimensions given as there are miniature cookie cutters which are sold as
cookie cutters for doll houses. These miniature cookie cutters are great to use to make charm bracelets. Now that you know you can punch a hole in cookie cutters, another idea is to make them into Christmas tree ornaments. Follow the above steps but hook them on the hooks for the tree. Another inspired idea is to spray paint the cookie cutters white (or your desired color), then paint on a glitter glaze. Or paint on a thin layer of glue and sprinkle German glass glitter. These might be better to use as tree ornaments since the glass glitter might hurt if worn as a necklace or bracelet. One final tip is to use the thin metal Christmas ornament hooks in place of the jewelry eye pins. They are longer and you can cut them off at the desired lengths using your wire cutters.
Heidi Woodruff is an everyday crafter. If she doesn’t create something each and every day, she hasn’t really put in a full day. Heidi enjoys crafting at her home, which she calls “Sweet Woodruff Acres,” and uses her home as her backdrop for all variations of craft projects. When her two girls were very young, Heidi started up a successful home business (lumber wholesale) just so she could stay at home with them. Now 21 years later, both girls are married, and Heidi even has 3 grandchildren. Heidi still works from home, now with one foot in her office and the other in her craft room! Heidi and Mark, her husband of almost 30 years, live on the southwestern Oregon coast. It was Mark who taught Heidi how to run all the power tools in his shop, which is where she makes the wood blanks for the signs she paints. Heidi loves to “have a cookie everyday”…just one is all you need. And, if you can’t eat a cookie, treat yourself to something good! Follow Heidi’s adventures on her blog: http://everyday-cookies.blogspot.com/ christmas 2010
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