Evenstar Arwen Necklace - LoTR
Introduction: Evenstar Arwen Necklace - LoTR
This is probably the most sought after piece of Lord of the Rings jewelry (besides the One Ring, of course). When I watched the movies, they came with a little brochure all about how you could go online and order replica pieces, and that was the piece I wanted. I remember specifically that I wanted a set that came with earrings and a necklace, even though I didn't even have my ears pierced at the time. I just knew that I would look like an elven princess while wearing them.
This is something that I have debated making for a long time but have never done. It always felt very intimidating. I saw someone else's tutorial on one a while back. Theirs was pretty, but they had changed the design. While I looked at the tutorial I thought, "That isn't what it looks like, is it?" So I looked up photos from the movie, and no, it wasn't.
As I was looking at the photos I thought, "You know, why am I waiting to try this?"
So I'm gonna try.
Supplies
1. Clay
( you can use air dry or polymer clay, it is your choice. My clay is in grey because I am going to paint it after sculpting, but you can use a metallic clay if you like.)
2. Sculpting tools ( roller, stylus tool, knife tool - if you do not have specific clay tools you can use anything that will roll and flatten clay for your roller, a toothpick or such for the stylus tool, and a regular plastic knife or an old credit card for the knife tool.)
3. Workspace
4. Rhinestones.
You need three pear shaped rhinestones and four navette shaped rhinestones. Mine are glass, but you can use acrylic if you like. The size of mine are Pear: 7 X 12mm Navette: 5 X 13mm
5. A strong glue. I am using a Gorilla super glue.
6. 95
Any of the following to give it a silver look : Metallic clay (see above), metallic paint, metallic powder (nail powder, Pearl Ex, etc.), silver leafing, or anything else you can think of that would give the clay a silver appearance. I am using a metallic paint pen.
7. Silver Aluminum wire in 16 gauge (this is kinda a personal preference thing - this is what I had and what I thought looked best with the size of my other components).
8. Wire cutters
9. Varnish and brush to apply (optional)
Step 1: Assembling the Center Rhinestones
I have no idea what was used in the movie prop. If it is anything like any other movie props, they probably had several; some good materials and others bad materials that just had to sit there and shine during scenes that it wasn't central.
Which is practically all of them.
Any way, I went with glass rhinestones. This was the hardest part of the whole project. I searched for rhinestones that I could rob off of other jewelry or clothing, but it just wasn't happening. I finally had to give in and search online.
Then I ran into another problem. The navette rhinestone shape that is on the pendant in the movie is hard to find. I'm not saying you can't find navette rhinestones, but you mainly find the fat little ones. To find a tall, skinny shaped navette is extremely hard.
Finally I ordered the rhinestones off of ebay. I got both my navette and my pear rhinestones from this guy's shop: Richards Rhinestones. This was my biggest expense on the project because I wanted the shine of glass, and the rhinestones I received are glass.
Anyway, on to the project.
Looking at photos from the movie and photos of very expensive pieces you can order offline, I understood the basic shape. Roll out your clay to a semi-thin sheet. You want to be able to press the rhinestones into the clay.
Starting with the top navette stone, press it down into the clay. Do the right or left "shoulder" navette, making sure it is at an angle.
*If you are using air dry clay, put a little bit of super glue on the back of the rhinestones before pressing them into the clay.
Place the bottom two pear shaped rhinestones at a downward angle that mirrors the angle of the top two navettes. I like to hold my center pear rhinestone over the piece just to check that it looks how it should.
The final rhinestone to go in place is the bottom rhinestone pointing straight down. 972