Last week my daughter’s kindergarten class had a fundraiser at school that they call “Kindercollectibles” where they sell baked goods and small toys to kids throughout the school. This year they raised money for a local organization that helps the homeless. So it was a good lesson in charity, math and economics. The big hit of the sale were these brilliant lego necklaces that one of the mothers made. Holly has agreed to share her process with you, so here she is:
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Last summer when my daughter and I were in Cambridge, Maryland, we went to this cute shop, Sunny Side Shop, and found these cute Lego necklaces. We got pink ones. I was wearing it one day at drop off and the kindergarten boys all ran up to me and went crazy over this pink lego necklace. The teacher asked me if I would be willing to make some by the end of the year to sell at the school’s kindercollectibles market.
I started looking into it and found out that I could make these for about $3.00 a piece. Then, when the teacher asked me to make a couple hundred, I got busy and tried to find a cheaper way. I got them down to $1.91 a piece. I had paid somewhere between $8 – $12 for mine last summer.
My materials:
- Quick drying epoxy from Fire Mountain Gems.
- Bails from Fire Mountain Gems.
- Ball chain from Ace Hardware ($.48 a foot, but $.39 a foot if you buy the whole 100 feet roll of it)
- Clasps for ball chain from Ace Hardware ($.13)
- Legos from Bricklink
Where I really started shaving off the cost of my materials is when I found Bricklink. You can go on there and find legos that are less than $.01 (a penny!!!). So we just stayed with the basic 2×2 lego brick in cool colors for this school project. To be really creative, you could build colors together, use different shapes.
This was a project we were supposed to do together. My daughter could help with some, but not all of the assembly. I did not want her dealing with the epoxy, so I did that myself. I also cut the ball chain in 16″ links, and I had to affix the fastener (she tried, but could not). My daughter did thread the lego onto the chain. She was so proud when we took the necklaces in to school.
Things I considered when getting my materials together:
1. You have to get a bail that has an opening big enough for the ball chain and one where the flat part has enough surface area to hold the glue and affix to the lego itself. I think the best is one big enough to also reach the middle of the back of the lego so you have that surface area contact.
2. I found these cute paw bails that were cuter for kids than the fancier, more expensive classic looking bail.
3. I thought Home Depot would have the ball chain and fasteners cheaper, but they did not even carry them in bulk like Ace did. I bet you can even find that stuff cheaper somewhere.
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Thanks, Holly! What a great idea. I think these would be a wonderful party favor or birthday gift for kids (and adults) of all ages. If you aren’t feeling up to making these, there are quite a few sellers on Etsy who sell some version of a Lego necklace.
I could have used these ideas when I was trying to figure out how to make them for my son’s birthday. I ended up drilling a hole in the lego (with a drill press) and using jump rings. It turned out super easy and was a big hit.
http://windowshoppinginpjs.blogspot.com/2010/07/lego-birthday-party.html
Love these! I’ve been busy sewing for stuffed animals this weekend, such as clothes, tiny stuffed fish (for the stuffed orka and dolphin to eat) and tiny stuffed dog biscuits (you get the idea), but I’m fairly certain this will become a priority once I show the boys!
These are excellent!
love this! we are lego fanatics around here – thanks!
Brilliant idea!
My daughter has told me repeatedly that she wants one of these while I was reading the post 🙂
My children are freaking out! I know what I’m doing this weekend!
I am a teacher at the aforementioned school & bought myself a pale blue one at Kindercollectables! 😀 I was wondering where the bails were from. Thanks for the tute!
Very nice!Perfect idea!
Ok, I’m very clueless – how does the epoxy hold the “ball” in the back of the Lego? I’d love to make these for our Let’s Lego program at my Library.
BRAVO!!!!
We will sell these popular necklaces every year. Thanks Holly…..you are an amazing Room Mother!
I bought a pink necklace and earrings 2 yrs ago for my son’s teacher – she says that all the kids notice and comment when she wears her Lego!
what a great idea! we have a lego club at school and those would be great!
What a great idea! And the best thing is, I won’t have to buy any Legos! I have buckets of them in my son’s bedroom (he’s 21 now) since I haven’t had the garage sale I need to have!
Those teeny tiny Legos would make cute earrings… you know the little headlights, emergency flashers, and other singles.
I wonder if there are other toy parts in those “garage sale” boxes I can turn into treasure!
Thanks for sharing!
Jan
I wonder, could a little hole just be drilled in the side instead of a notch and a loop with a stopper, maybe a bead, go in? I’m not sure where the epoxy goes, either, plus epoxy is a drag to deal with, plus, a kid old enough to do some assembly could put a loop through a hole and so on.
But I should add–it’s an awesomely adorable project, and I am eternally grateful for the discovery of bricklink.com
Thanks for this idea! I went straight to Bricklink to place my order and then found chains already cut to size with connectors on Etsy. Those plus the bails and epoxy all came in to under $50 for 50 necklaces. Awesome project!
Thank you! These made the perfect take aways for my 8 year olds birthday. 🙂
What a great idea! Certainly makes for a great gift for party packs, but would hate to limit this for the kids… I want one as badly as all those kids 🙂
I’m so glad I found this. I was planning on making some of these. I have a question about brick link. Do they charge for shipping? I can’t quite figure them out…
Thanks for the inspiration! Here’s how my LEGO necklaces turned out. I made a matching set for me and my daughter.
http://sixgoldencoins.blogspot.com/2011/12/giving-presence-lego-necklaces.html
These were a great hit at my son’s party! Thanks for the directions. I was wondering which store(s) you used on Bricklink to buy from as it seems like a good place to increase our own lego collection. There are just sooooo many stores to pick from! Thanks!
Your have been featured on BEST OF THE WEB LEGO PARTIES CAKES AND FOOD check it out and grab yourself a button.
These are a blast! What a great way to take something simple and make it seem special to little kids. Great post! : )
Is there anyway to buy one instead of marking it?
I’m the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your Lego necklace! You can see it here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/lego-necklaces/
If you have other kid-friendly crafts, we’d love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!