DIY FRIDAY: L Boleyn Necklace

[P.S - I might be making a step-by-step tutorial that is easier to follow in the future if anyone is interested?]

I've been obsessed with the Tudors since I was a kid. I loved the decadence and the political intrigue (seriously! It seemed like everyone wanted everyone else dead!) One of my favorite people is Anne Boleyn. She was a genius the way she wormed her way into King Henry VIII favor (ahem - and his bed). She came from a nobody family and wound up the Queen of England! I mean, she got the King to create a new church just to marry her!

Anyway, one of the books I read as a kid was the "diary" (written by a contemporary author of course) of Mary Tudor. And she writes in it that Anne Boleyn has a mole (which is apparently the mark of a witch) on her neck which she hides with a pearl necklace that has a "B" pendant. As I grew up, I found out that the necklace was a real historical artifact and Anne had had her portrait painted with the necklace on!

Pearl drops are from my D&G earrings project!

Well, a few days ago I was hit out of nowhere with the desire to make a replication of that necklace. I had all the stuff: pearls (fake), clay, gold spray paint, clear fishing wire, crimping beads, and a hook and clasp. It took about 2 hours max to make. I made the L by printing out an L on Microsoft Word, using an X-acto knife to cut the "L" out (to make a stencil), then used the X-acto knife to cut the clay using the stencil. I threaded the pearl beads on the clear fishing wire while the spray paint was drying and it all came together at the same time in the end.

I didn't let the paint dry quite as thoroughly as I should have before flipping the pendant over and spraying the other side - as you can see in the pic, it's a little rough looking. But I actually came to like it. It has a textured look that makes it look a little older I think. 

The pendant lies just above my bust and I LOVE it! It came out way better than I was expecting. I've worn it once already and anticipate wearing it much more in the future!

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