{Ombre Paper Heart Necklace}

Well, the time has come for me to share my last Valentine's Day project with you.  I'm kind of sad.  I've had so much fun creating my different Valentine's Day projects.  But anyway, I have a Valentine necklace to share with you today.  I made it out of paper and a few other jewelry making supplies.

First, I used a heart paper punch to cut a lot of hearts out of three different shades of red scrapbook paper to create an ombre look.

I was planning on using this many hearts.  I didn't use all of them, though, because, sadly, there were some casualties later on in the process.  After I had all my hearts punched out, I coated the back of them with a few layers of regular Mod Podge.  When that dried, I coated the front of the hearts with Mod Podge's Dimensional Magic.

After the hearts dried over night, I used a small nail and hammer to punch two holes in each heart.  This is where the casualties occurred.  

First, if you try to force a heart flat that isn't' completely flat already, the Dimensional Magic may crack.  Second, if you try to put a hole too near the edge, the paper may tear or the Dimensional Magic may crack and chip.  So learn from my mistakes and don't do either of those two things!  Once all the holes were punched, I connected the hearts with jump rings.

It is possible to mess up a heart when threading a jump ring through a hole, so be careful on that step too.  After all the hearts were strung together, I attached a length of chain to each group of hearts.

I attached the two groups of three chains to two large metal hoops I had.  I then attached a long length of chain to each metal hoop.  (I didn't have to attach a clasp to the necklace because I made the necklace large enough to go over my head.)  Then my lovely ombre paper heart necklace was complete.

No, the necklace is not heirloom quality, but I don't plan on wearing it every day or handing it down to my great, great grandchildren.  (Although, I'll have to have children first before that could ever be a possibility anyway.)  The Mod Podge makes the paper sturdy enough to wear the necklace often, though.

I hate having a red necklace that hardly matches any of my red clothing because the shades differ.  I love how the different shades of red will make this necklace easier to match with a red sweater or shirt. 

I believe putting a few beads or charms that are a bit heavier with the hearts would help the necklace hang straight all the time.  I'll have to keep that in mind for when I make another one.  I'm thinking about making one out of book pages.  (I know.  Imagine that...me wanting a necklace made from book pages.)

But even without beads or charms, I think this necklace will be the perfect Valentine's Day accessory.  It will go great with my Valentine ring.

I had my husband snap a picture of me wearing the necklace.  It's not the greatest picture of me, but you see how the necklace looks with an outfit, and that is what I was aiming for.  I enjoyed creating the necklace, and I think you would enjoy creating one too.  And while I'm talking about enjoying things, I hope y'all enjoy your Valentine's Day!  And before I sign off, I would really appreciate it if y'all would take a moment to click on this button

and vote for project #134--my Thrift Curio Shelf Makeover.  I would love to be chosen as one of the twenty bloggers who get to compete in the challenge, but I need your help to be chosen!  Thanks!
UPDATE:  I got enough votes to be chosen as one of the twenty bloggers to compete in the challenge!  Now to come up with an awesome project for the next round!