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[Avatar The Last Airbender] Water Tribe Betrothal Necklace?

• Okay, so for my friend's birthday I would love to give her a a Water Tribe Necklace as a birthday gift. I made my own design via GIMP so it could be one of a kind. The problem is no one makes them. I would make it for her but I have no idea where to begin since the necklace gem is made out of stone. I could use sculpy clay but... I want it to look very authentic and beautiful. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make it or where I could get it commissioned for a reasonable price? Here are some reference pics http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Betrothal_Necklace [How they look on the show] http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v404/Meiko_matsui/?action=view&current=Betrothal.png [My design]

• Answer:

  Clay, or even polymer clay would be great and would look nearly real. I would recommend going with polymer clay, it'll be a little over a dollar for more than enough (maybe you could even make one for yourself with what's left?) AND it comes in a wide variety of colors. Plus it's easy to work with! Though, to be fair, the clay looks much more realistic than the polymer. But you'd need to find some that could be hardened in your oven. Either way, you could easily find what you need at your local AC Moore or Michael's Crafts, or what have you. To help make it more authentic, you should texture it, like maybe lightly dab at it with a rough-textured cloth, and then paint it. You can actually buy "stone paint"--it's got lots of little flecks in it to make whatever you're painting look like stone. Finally, you could maybe glaze it, if you want it shiny, with some sort of coating. Hope that helps! ^_^