Skull and Bat Halloween Jewelry

Materials:

• 1 pack of assorted shrink plastic, including white and black
• scissors
• Dowel (about 1/4 inch) or other instrument to wrap wire around
• Fine point permanent markers - black, pink, orange, green & purple
• Stretchy beading string
• Needle nose pliers
• Colorful seed beads
• Assorted beads you might want on your bracelet
• Pewter cross charm
• 24 Gauge wire, any color
• Hole punch
• Acrylic spray sealer
• Opaque gel pens - white and any color you want for the bat's eyes
• Orange and purple narrow ribbon
• Narrow black cord

Instructions:

1. Create your sugar skull design and bake the shrink plastic according to the directions. Don't forget to punch a hole in each skull before baking. After baking, protect your designs by spraying the skulls with a sealer
   
   
    
2. To turn the skulls into charms, you'll want to do some wire wrapping. Start with about six inches of 24 gauge wire (any color), wrap twice around a 1/4 inch dowel (or anything you can find that's about that diameter). Twist to secure. Slide the double loop off the dowel.
    
3. Beginning close to the double loop, wrap the wire around once and slide it off the dowel without twisting.
    
4. Pick out some colorful seed beads and slip three or four on the open loop. Slide a skull onto the loop and add three or four more beads onto the loop (you can use more or less if it suits your fancy). Put the loop back on the dowel (this helps your loop keep it's shape) and twist.
   
   
    
5. Wrap around and around to make a big messy middle on the charm. Repeat for as many skull charms as you want.
    
6. The bead charms are just a little different. Make your double loop. Thread the long end of the wire through a bead . Wrap the wire around the bead, back to the middle and make your messy pile. Take care to tuck the end of the wire in as close as you can with needle nosed pliers so it won't snag your clothes
   
   
    
7. Cut a ten inch length of stretchy bead string. Lay out it out with your charms on one side and several possible bead choices on the other side. This makes it easy to begin stringing the bracelet. Don't be disappointed if you don't get it just right the first time.
    
8. Tie the knot.
   
   
    
9. Along the same lines as the sugar skull charms, you can draw funky skulls and bats to make into charms. Don't forget to punch holes before baking and spray with sealer after.
   
   
    
10. For the choker use glass candy corn beads and string the whole bunch on on purple wire. Make loops on the ends of the wire and tied bits of black cord and purple and orange ribbon to tie around the neck. Leave several inches in front, fraying the black cord and then add some shorter pieces of the ribbons. Braid the long ends to make them easier to tie.