Greetings, lovely Iggle Campers!! Gillyweed here, with six new craft challenges just for IGGPPCamp! Last year, I posted a new craftastic challenge every day, and this year, I’m doing it again! I decided to go with some simpler crafts this time around, with hopes that more lovely folks join us this year!

So let’s get to our first craft! Today, we’re doing a troop necklace for Troop Hakuna Matata! For this necklace, we’re using the image of Simba that Rafiki draws on his tree.

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What you’ll need:

  1. Necklace chain
  2. Small, flat wood circle or square for necklace pendant
  3. Jump ring or wire to attach your pendant to the chain
  4. Paints
  5. Paintbrushes
  6. **Pencil (This item was not mentioned on the supplies list – my apologies!)
    Optional: I also used a brown ultra fine marker, scissors, a craft knife, and a nail file, but again, these are all optional.

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The original circles in my pack are “jumbo” sized, which was quite large – too large to be a pendant, in my opinion. So I took some scissors and trimmed it down. I didn’t worry about making it perfectly circular, because I thought it would look neat uneven. Then with careful twisting of a craft knife, I added a hole at the top of the “circle” and finished it by filing down the edges of the circle with my nail file. As you can see, my trimmed circle is similar in size to the pre-made squares I also purchased. These pre-made squares are thicker than the circles.

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Once you have your piece of wood chosen, find yourself a reference image you want for your necklace, and start sketching. Try to draw your image lightly with your pencil so it’s easier to erase or hide with paint.

When you’ve completed your sketch, start painting! Mix the colors you’ll need if necessary first, then use a small brush and have patience! The best way to paint this is by using a very small amount of paint, and drying out the brush so the color kind of smudges on to the wood. Practice on a piece of paper first if necessary.

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Here’s my first finished little Simba.

And below is my other Simba, that I used slightly lighter colors for:
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I decided to add the words “Hakuna Matata” to the pendants with a brown ultra fine marker, then I dry brushed in some dark brown around the edges of each pendant.

Finally, you attach them to your necklace chain!

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Here are my finished Hakuna Matata necklaces! Aren’t they cute? I love the fact that the Simbas both look so different because they’re hand drawn. What do you think?

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s challenge and that you give it a try yourself! If you do, an achievement awaits!! Enter campersgetcrafty to get your Camp Challenge Achievement #1, and please don’t forget to share your pics via twitter and hashtags #IGGPPCamp and #IggleCC!