Introduction: The Slytherin's Locket

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"He looked at the serpentine S, inlaid with glittering, green stones: It was easy to visualize it as a minuscule snake [...] concentrating on the letter S,
imagining a serpent, while the contents of the locket rattled like a trapped cockroach. It would have been easy to pity it, except that the cut around Harry's necks still burned [...] The golden doors of the locket swung wide with a little click. Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned them scarlet and slit-pupiled."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

HI GUYS! I've decided to build a slytherin's locket exact replica (not the film's crapy thing but the one depicted on the book's cover)... SO, let's get started ;-)

Step 1: Gather Your SUPPLIES


For this project you will need:

  • A sheet of thick plastic (pvc will work) (mine's was 2.5 mm thick)
  • A thin (really really thin) sheet of transparent plastic
  • A tiny hinge (search for gold painted ones)
  • Gold spray paint
  • Tiny Green rhinestones
  • Twine
  • Air drying clay
  • Super glue
  • A chain (preferably a gold one)
  • Some wire
  • Paper
  • A printer
  • Watercolours
  • Acrylic paints in various shades of green
  • Masking tape
  • Sandpaper

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  • toothpicks
  • alcohol wipes ( a lot of 'em)

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FOR THE BOX:

  • An empty box
  • Green velvet paper
  • Fake leather (mine had a scale pattern on it ..so extra credit)
  • Acrylic paints in various shades of green

Step 2: Cut Your Panels

Trace the shape of your locket given the book's description (we need an oval, a little bigger than an chicken egg).

Glue 2 ovals on the thick plastic and cut 'em out (i've found out that cutting the plastic was mush easier when using a heated blade). Then go over the edges with the scissors to fix any signs of clumsiness.

Do the same thing with the transparent plastic.

# When cut put the panels under warm tap water and soak them well so that the paper peels off. Make sure you've marked the inner sides of each thick panel.

Step 3: Make Tom Riddle's Eyes

In the movie the eyes of tom riddle was a huuuuge fail (each bulb was protruding out of its "door"), so, I suggest this, a more accurate conception.

Find online the picture that works best for ya and then try to make them as shown on the images above (I used pixlr). Then print them out and cut them at the centre of 2 ovals similar to those of the previous step. Furthermore, paint the ovals mixing lighter darker colours (I used violet, pink, mauve and dark blue watercolours but greens will do as well).

Attachments

Step 4: Put What You've Made Together

Superglue the 2 thick frames to a small hinge (make sure the hinge can move properly) and on top of them the eyes' ovals and the transparent panels. Plus attach a loop to the right panel, so that you can connect the locket with the chain when it's done (I used the loop i broke out of a really cheap broken toy compass I had lying around).

# Always remove the paper and membrane parts that are close to the hinge "spine".

Step 5: Make the Carved Parts

Find, play with the fonts and print the original image of the locket so that you crearly have the form of the engraved S.

Roll out the air drying clay till it gets really thin and cut out two ovals like those we're using all the time, on the one that goes to the front engrave the S (you can trace it out of your printed image) and let 'em dry (remeber to wipe the clay with the rubbing alcohol wipes to clear any fingerprints). When this clay parts are dry, glue them on the exterior of your plastic frames. cut a piece of twine to do the lining in the middle of your S as shown above.

SO FAR... SOOOOOOO GOOD!

Step 6: Make the Inner Frames

Trace and cut the inner frames, clean them with the alcohol wipes, let them dry and glue them on the interior of your locket. Again remove any pieces that block the hinge mechanism. Next, cover the edges of the locket with extra clay, secure the loop on the top, wipe the sides of your locket, let them dry.

When they're finally dry, sandpaper them to make them extra smooth and put masking tape on the areas that are not ment to be painted so tha t you're ready for the next step.

Step 7: The Fun Part Aka Painting the Locket

Spray paint your locket using thin layers each time and wait till it's dry to paint it another time (i did 4 super thin layers and waited around a day each time). Then it's time to make your locket look old and not just-yesterday-spraypainted. I used black acrylic paint mixed with a tiny bit of water. Applly the dark layer and then wipe it of almost immediatly, repeat this process multiple times to give the patina effect. What we are really up to is spreading the dark effect into the carved parts.

Step 8: Make Your Additional Wire Pieces

Form an O and an elongated S hook out of wire and spray paint them as well (the O hook will be the safety hook for your chain and the S hook will connect the chaind and the locket).

Step 9: The Nerve-Breaking Part Aka Adding the Rhinestones

Superglue the rhinestones all arount the middle S line (the one made out of twine) and then secure them with nail polish. You're almost Done!

Step 10: At Last...

Yep! You're Done... Connect the locket with the chain and enjoy your cunning horcrux with the sadistic tastes....

But if your still up to no good lets proceed to the next step!

Step 11: Appendix Aka Make the Box

I painted the fake leather in various tones of green and spray painted the box gold. Then, i covered the booton and the interior of the box with green velvet paper.

Last but not least, I printed the Slyyyytherin crest on green velvet paper and glue it on the lid of the box...

NOW WE'RE DONE!!!