Friday, January 15, 2016

Sad Crafting: "Always" Snape Tribute Necklace

Several months ago I had an idea for a necklace, bought the supplies... and promptly left them in a drawer.

'Til yesterday, when Alan Rickman died.

I was fresh off writing a little Bowie tribute for Sunday Sweets, so the news of Rickman's passing felt that much more shocking, more brutal. We'd just been discussing Snape with friends at dinner the night before, and now, gone? Too many icons, too soon. 

So I dumped all my work for the day and spent the afternoon doing this, instead. It took me four tries, one rage quit, and a lot of dithering on which charms to use, but here 'tis:


My Severus Snape tribute necklace.



This was my first attempt at making letters with wire, and lemme tell ya: I have a whole new respect now for people who do it well. Like I said, this is my fourth one, and it still has plenty of small nicks and kinks.




 I think I looked at every doe charm there is online, and this was my favorite. Even better, you can get 12 from this Etsy seller for less than $3.


The other charms are vintage bits from my grandmother: a clear acrylic heart and the tiniest locket, fitted with an even tinier photo of Snape. (The locket is half the size of my thumbnail. I'm amazed my printer could even PRINT this small!)

Originally I was thinking of hanging a little potion bottle, too, but it was too cluttered. I also have a green crystal for the doe's eye, but it seemed too distracting with the other charms. Maybe if I make another one with just the doe?
 

 Here's a cellphone snap of the doe with the green eye:

 I do like the simplicity of this style. Hm. Maybe I *will* make another one...

 
If you'd like to try this yourself, all you need are some small chain-nosed round-nosed pliers, a lot of patience, and a spool of jewelry wire that you can still bend a bit with your hands.


I used 16 gauge, but that was almost too thick, so you may want something a little thinner.

Start by writing out your word on a sheet of paper, so you can plan ahead where to curve and loop the wire. Then use embroidery thread to roughly trace your word to see how much wire you'll need.

(I used just under 18 inches of wire for mine, so that's a good starting point.)

Other than practice, the best advice I can give you is to twist your overlapping loops, like those in my Ws here:


See how my Ws are all loopty-loops and hard to read? Twist those loops 90 degrees so the wires overlap from the front, and your W will be infinitely more legible:
 
See?
Also, I think that's my favorite photo. I like the shadow on the heart. 

Aaaand now I'm sad again. [sniff]


I hope you guys enjoyed my little sad craft, and are maybe inspired to try your own.

 

 Now, turn to page 394...


45 comments:

  1. Oh, Jen, that's just heartbreakingly lovely. What a beautiful, beautiful tribute. Dammit, I'm crying again...

    ReplyDelete
  2. What beautiful necklace! I think you're right about not adding a potion bottle -- it would make it too cluttered. I, too, was very sad to hear about Rickman's death. His many roles touched so many.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Am I a huge dork for crying as I read this and when I read "turn to page 394"; I cried harder?

    ReplyDelete
  4. PS: The necklace is perfect! I would pay you to make me one. I don't have the patience.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was so sad to hear this news, but this necklace is an awesome and touching tribute. I have wanted to try the wire letters but have no patience for wire work. But so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is perfect. And you made me cry. again. :P

    ReplyDelete
  7. I absolutely love this. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's lovely. I may have to make one myself for my Potterhead dd. She spent last night watching as many Rickman movies as she could fit in.

    I used to do wire words many years ago when I was a scrapbooker. Yours is lovely and even though it is easier to use lighter wire (to a point. Light wire does kink easily,) I like the thickness of the wire you used in the design.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's perfect and lovely and... dammit, who's chopping onions in my office again???

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was stunned yesterday to learn of Alan's passing, and I thought of you and John immediately. I'll have to give this necklace a shot when the feels aren't so hurty.

    ReplyDelete
  11. WOW, for only 5 tries, that looks spectacular! I'm never able to get wire to do anything.

    And, I, too, seem to have an onion infestation...

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's gorgeous Jen! I was so sad yesterday and like you, I thought of wearing some Harry Potter jewelry today to pay tribute...and then I realized I didn't have any! What kind of HP fanatic am I?? So I might try making this or more likely, pick out a few of the millions on Etsy to purchase.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love it! You could always put the potion bottle on the S. :)

    I think the doe is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's beautiful :)
    And someone is chopping onions again...
    Definitely hits right in the feels.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your next to last photo is the one with all the feels for me. It's hauntingly beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your post almost made me cry again, which would be bad considering I'm still at work.

    I like it with just the doe. Very simple and elegant.

    I neeeeed this. I am in the process of making a Harry Potter book-purse (I found the details at Instructibles.com. There are several to choose from. I used "How to make a purse/clutch from a Book" by grow_power). Perhaps I can make this a decoration of some sort, if it doesn't make it look too busy. I will post a pic when I'm done.

    Now I just need to find someone with decent handwriting...

    -Just Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  17. I was so sad to hear of his passing, although for me it was Sense and Sensibility and Truly Madly Deeply that made me a Rickman fan. I watched Galaxy Quest last night in tribute. That said, this is a lovely way of remembering a, from all accounts, lovely man. Fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  18. That is beautiful! A wonderful tribute to an excellent actor; he will be missed.
    May I suggest, the wire you used can be difficult to work with, if anyone wants to try I highly recommend Artistic Wire or Beadalon. 18 gauge would be a good thickness to try. If you want less nicks you can lightly file the edges of your flat or chainnose pliers to round them off ever so slightly or get nylon jaw pliers. Awesome tutorial as usual, thanks!
    Karen from MN

    ReplyDelete
  19. Not gonna cry, not gonna cry...damn it, if that isn't a losing battle, I don't know what is.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I think the bottle would look good hanging off the Y. It would work as a H.P. reference, but instead of the rest, I'd have a sword, for his role in Robin Hood, and maybe a flying saucer for Galaxy Quest, a quill for all the Shakespeare he did... I'm losing so many celebrities that meant something to me growing up. I'm not enjoying much of 2016...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very nice. I like the simplicity of the single doe charm as well. Your letters came out very nicely in the end. Fitting.

    ReplyDelete
  22. That is so lovely! You are so talented! Thank you for everything you do, but especially this.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Jen, this is nothing short of spectacular. I'm amazed that was your first time making something like this. Beautiful work and a wonderful tribute.

    Beth M.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Simply lovely and a touching tribute to a talented man.

    ReplyDelete
  25. This has inspired me to do a spoon with a heart punched out of it as an ode to his role in Robin Hood.

    ReplyDelete
  26. A wonderful actor, gone so soon.
    Love the necklace Jen. MAJOR kudos to you for making letters out of wire. Tried it once and never again.
    Maureen S

    ReplyDelete
  27. LOVE this. You picked exactly the right charms, and I love the shots with it on HBP - which coincidentally is my favorite of the seven! A beautiful tribute to a beautiful man.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Beautiful and fitting tribute. Just as a clarification to make this project easier for newbies, chain noise pliers are actually the needle nose pliers with no teeth/serrations. The round nose pliers are called, funnily enough, round nose pliers. Also, people should stick to copper core craft or German wire. Aluminum is way easier to work with, for sure, but it will not hold up to being worn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aha, speaking as a newbie myself, thank you! I should go amend the post regarding those pliers now...

      Delete
  29. Beautiful necklace, and the charms are perfect. I may have to try making wire letters sometime soon. Also, putting some masking tape on the pliers tips helps to avoid making marks on the wire.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Ugly crying right here! This is beautiful and while I am not quite as crafty as you in the jewelry department, I am going to try to make this through my tears. Waaaah! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Beautiful work, Jen! And such a lovely tribute.

    I'll get my tissues ready for the Bowie Sunday Sweets tomorrow.

    Both these guys are going to be sorely missed in this household, too.

    KW

    ReplyDelete
  32. Gorgeous tribute, Jen. I watched Truly Madly Deeply yesterday with the requisite box of Kleenex (more so because I also play the cello and have had to put it "in the case" several times in recent years because of my own battles with illness). I think I may need to watch Galaxy Quest today. I've shown Something the Lord Made (an HBO movie with Alan Rickman and Mos Def) to my bio and anatomy classes for years. It has become one of my favorite Alan Rickman movies.

    -Zippy

    ReplyDelete
  33. Love it. Some of my students were so sad. I shared your blog post with them. They loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I've been crying all weekend over the sad passing of Alan Rickman. I watched Sense and Sensibility last night, using up a lot of tissues. There is a Harry Potter marathon viewing of all films coming up, no doubt there will be more tears. I didn't expect to be heartbroken over the death of an actor - but there it is.

    Making something crafty to remember the great man is a wonderful idea. I love your necklace. I think I will do some brainstorming now to create something myself...

    ReplyDelete
  35. It's a beautiful necklace and a very beautiful tribute too.
    I was thinking that maybe just the doe and the potion bottle for the subtle reference.

    I am going to miss his voice most of all.

    ReplyDelete
  36. My favorite actor...your necklace....amazing. Here was an actor who did more with a single hand gesture or glare than 9 pages of dialogue to express the inner torment of the character. Thank you, Alan Rickman, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  37. It's beautiful and a wonderful tribute.

    ReplyDelete
  38. oh, jen. wow. this is beautiful. and perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Gorgeous. Amazing. What a beautiful tribute.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Just wow! You are so amazing Jen! And I think if you do another for the doe with the green eye, you should totally have a potion bottle on the end of the word.

    ReplyDelete
  41. This is absolutely breathtaking. <3

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful when commenting; dissenting opinions are great, but personal attacks or hateful remarks will be removed. Also, including a link? Then here's your html cheat sheet: <a href="LINK ADDRESS">YOUR TEXT</a>