DIY In The Dark : Beachcombed Claw Necklace

So I was beachcombing on Saltburn beach the other day – if you’re interested, my previous post is all about it – and I found a particularly fantastic little piece of driftwood shaped something like a claw.

From the moment I picked it up, I knew the precious piece of wood was going to be turned into something I could wear with pride for as long as I take breath.

All the while I was beachcombing, I kept peeking into my carrier bag to make sure my claw was still ok and in one piece, as if it would, at any moment, splinter into a bazillion pieces.

You know that feeling, when you find something that seems almost too good to be true – you get that niggle of anxiety it’s going to be destroyed, and you’re sure you’re going to end up whispering to yourself ‘I bloody knew it…too damn good to be true.’

“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful rocks everywhere, until I discover that all of the rocks on the beach are beautiful. And so I try to find beauty even in the smallest moments, because beauty is something that can grow if you let it.” ― Douglas Coupland

When I arrived home, my claw was still intact, so I placed it gently in a bath with a steriliser tablet and let it soak for a while.

Once it had dried, I painted it with two coats of black acrylic paint, then let that dry. I then applied spray varnish which had to sit for a couple of hours.

When the varnish had worked its shiny magic, I took some faux suede cord and secured it around the piece with some UHU Power glue. Then all it needed was some fastenings at the ends of the cord and…DONE!