This year one of my goals is to post at least a tutorial a Month, I am a bit late with Last Months so here it is.
It is a little tricky at first, however stick with it as once you get the hang of it it is really simple and easy :). It also can be made bigger or smaller depending on your needs.
A great decorative Piece for the Poker, Vegas, or other gambling type themed Party
Materials:
9 thick plastic poker chips
24 small screw eyes
12 jump rings
Pliers
Awl
Step 1: Lay out your poker chips into the pattern you want, I have used one colour here however you can easily mix and match your poker chips for a funky patterned look.
Step 2 Take Your Awl (you can find these really cheap on ebay) and gently poke a hole in your Poker chip. It does not have to be a huge hole but at least enough to start to put your screw eye in.
For corners you need 2 holes one side and one bottom/top depending on position
For the sides you need 3 and for the center you need 4 (this will of course vary depending on how big you are making your mat)
Continue with each poker chip until you have the holes you need.
It pays to have a couple of extra in case of mishaps, also please please go slow and be careful as Awls are very sharp and it is easy to slip if your not paying attention to what your doing.
Step 3: Put your screw eyes into each hole, I do this just enough so that they stay in, as I find its quicker to have them all in then do the next step
Step 3: Take your pliers in one hand and your poker chip in the other and twist in your Screw eye’s. I found this a little difficult with some of the screw eyes, so you may need to push down hard with the pliers. The Pliers also save very sore fingers.
Step 4: Connect your poker chips together. Using your jump rings and starting at the top corner and working on the first two rows then adding in the last one (or more if you are doing a larger Mat)
I stretched the Jump rings first by placing on the nose of my pliers and opening them a little. I also used the pliers to close them again to keep the mat together.
and viola here is the finished Mat. The great thing about this tutorial is you can so easily adapt it, you can take the basic idea of the screw eyes and thick poker chips to make jewellery, a Poker chip version of a beaded curtain, a chandelier the list is endless of the variations and ways you can use this basic idea.
