Woven Sun Pendant Craft Tutorial

Ingredients

• An empty cereal box or tissue box
• A compass (or something circular to draw around)
• Pencil
• Ruler
• An Exacto knife
• Pair of scissors
• A marker (your choice of color)
• Bits of string or yarn in various colors (I used crochet cotton)
• A yarn needle (with blunt end)
• Length of ribbon
• Piece of felt
• Glue
• Optional: Dimensional paint in gold

Instructions

1. STEP 1: Open up and flatten out your empty box to expose the beautiful brown inside. Use the compass to draw two main circles. My circles are 3 inches (7.5 cm) across but you can make yours as big or small as you like. Using a ruler and pencil, create a wagon wheel pattern through the centre on the first cardboard circle. Draw another circle 1/4 inch (6 mm) from the edge of the main circle. Also draw out a small circle in the center of the main circle. Trace the main circle and the centre circle with your colorful marker.
2. STEP 2: Use the ruler and Exacto knife to cut out slits along the spokes of your wagon wheel. Note: Adults will have to perform this step for their children.
3. STEP 3: Now cut out both circles from the flattened box.
4. STEP 4: Get out your yarn needle and several colors of yarn or string. Cut off a piece of yarn. It doesn’t have to be very long. A few feet (60 cm) will be more than enough. Thread your yarn needle.
5. STEP 5: Leaving a tail in the back of your circle, begin to weave your first color in and out, in and out. Go around as many times as you wish with this first color.
6. STEP 6: When you've gone around as many times as you like, secure the start and end of the yarn with a knot in back.
7. STEP 7: Add in your next color by securing it with a knot to one of the ends of the previous color.
8. STEP 8: Continuing with this new color, weave in and out as before, this time going over and under the opposite spokes as you would if you were weaving a basket. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you've filled your circle.
9. STEP 9: Flip the circle around and tie off all the ends to each other so that they don’t flop over the edge. Cut off any ends that are too long.
10. STEP 10: Turn the woven circle around to make sure that no ends are visible.
11. STEP 11: Using the other circle as a template, trace out a circle on your piece of felt. Cut out the felt circle and set aside.
12. STEP 12: Take your length of ribbon and secure it through some of the back threads as shown. This ribbon will be your hanger.
13. STEP 13: Glue the felt circle to the back of your pendant to produce a nicely finished back. Use small dots of glue over the entire felt circle.
14. STEP 14: Optionally, you may add a little pizzazz to your pendant by dabbing on little dots of dimensional paint near the outer edge and inner circle of your pendant!
15. And you are done! Wear this beauty around your own neck, decorate your bedroom wall, or hand it out as a medal to anyone you feel deserves recognition!