Cosmos Jewlery part one: Galaxy Choker

This is part one of a more intricate piece coming up next week for a piece inspired by the miniseries Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.  I'm a science fangirl and was eagerly anticipating the new show, which didn't disappoint.  It was a good follow-up to the original series by Carl Sagan.  Both filled me with a sense of childlike wonder at the amazing complexity of the world and universe we find ourselves in.

It inspired me to sculpt the Spaceship of the Imagination.  I began with sculpey and a marble, but sculpey is soft enough after baking that I don't trust it as a jewelry piece.  Plastic should be much more sturdy, so this little guy is currently sitting in a homemade silicone mold that's curing.

I wanted a statement piece to go along with this and so to go along with the theme of the show.  At SoonerCon, I found and bought an amazing steampunk choker that was made from an old belt.  I thought that was a great idea and went on a shopping spree a nearby Goodwill.

Supplies

• Skinny belt
• Scissors
• Acrylic paint in black, white, blue, purple, red, and yellow
• sponge (I'm using a latex makeup sponge)
• small (size 0) paintbrush or a toothbrush, toothbpick, or dotting tool
• Leather Punch or awl
• Mod Podge or other sealant
• Chain, jump rings, and jewelry clasp (if not keeping the belt buckle)

The brand of paint you use isn't important, nor are the colors.  If you look at images from the Hubble telescope, you'll see just about every color imaginable in there.  

(yes, the images are enhanced and show details not visible to the human eye.)

Upcycle a belt to a choker

Decide if you want to use the buckle of your belt or if you are going to add a normal jewelry clasp.  Either method will work well.  I chose a jewelry clasp closure in this case because the belt buckle I had was a little much.  I'll use it in another piece.  Measure your neck and cut your belt to size.  If you keep the belt buckle, add at least an inch to give you enough room to buckle it.  If you don't, cut it about an inch shorter than your neck diameter and add chain to make securing it easier.

Round the cut edge(s) with the scissors.  If the cut looks rough, sand it using a nail file or sandpaper.  Use your leather punch or awl to holes for the buckle prong to go through or as close to the ends as possible to allow you to attach jump rings later.

Painting

Pick up a bit of color on a damp sponge and dab it randomly along the choker.   Continue with the other colors until you've got most of the belt covered in paint.  

It looks a little wackadoodle right now, but it comes together when you add black with the same technique.  Since the paint is a little thinned, the color shows through with a few bright spots.  Stop when you like how it looks.

Starry Skies

There are tons of ways to create stars, and honestly, it doesn't matter.  The goal is to have white dots of different sizes along the entire choker.  How you do this can vary depending on your tools.

Toothbrush: Old toothbrushes work best but a new one will also do.  (Captain Obvious here.  Please do not brush your teeth with a toothbrush that you have used for any other purpose than brushing your teeth.) Make sure it's pretty saturated with water before dipping it in the white paint.  Flick your thumb along the bristles to create the stars.  The closer the brush is to your surface, the larger the droplets, and the farther it is, the smaller they will be.  Protect your surface, because this technique is messy!

Toothpick/Dotting tool/paintbrush: The technique for this is the same regardless of the tool you use.  You'll be placing your stars individually on your choker.  Use a light hand to create smaller dots and a heavier hand to create larger ones. Make sure there's a lot of variety in sizes, which as you lose paint on your tools your dots will naturally get small.  Stop when you like the way it looks.

Finishing up

Add a layer of sealant to the painted surface.  I used Mod Podge because it's what I have on hand, but a clear spray paint will also work.  Put a thin layer, making sure to get the cut end or ends and let cure.  

If you've decided to keep the buckle, it's wearable once everything is dry.  Add jump rings to the choker and then the chain and clasp.  This chain isn't big enough for the lobster clasp to go through, so I added a jump ring and charm to have something to grab on to.

Here's my finished choker.  I added more chain than I needed, so I've been adjusting it by removing links until I got a good fit.  I think it's going to be a great background for what's happening next, but of course, this by itself makes a great piece.  

Just for funsies, here's me with the choker and a sparkly eye makeup because I can.