DIY Bellatrix Lestrange Bird Skull Necklace

This post contains affiliate links

“I want to dress up as Bellatrix Lestrange” – It was decided, I’d be making Emma a Bellatrix costume for Comic-Con this year.

Emma’s interest in all things Harry Potter is still going strong, and even after a couple of years, shows no signs of waning.

After cosplaying Luna Lovegood last year for Comic-Con, this year she chose a much darker character – Bellatrix Lestrange.

In the Harry Potter books and movies, Bellatrix is a fanatical Death Eater that is quite unhinged, especially after a long stint in Azkaban prison.

Bellatrix is a fun character to cosplay, as her look is gothic and slightly disheveled.

As usual when it comes to researching her cosplay, Emma studied the movie costumes in detail. After all, the key to nailing a good cosplay is in the details.

In the movies Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Bellatrix Lestrange, wears a silver bird skull necklace. Of course, I could have purchased a bird skull necklace online, but it’s more fun to make one don’t you think?

I’ll be sharing the full Bellatrix Lestrange costume DIY next week, including how to make a leather corset and how to style a Bellatrix wig.

Our Bellatrix Lestrange necklace was quite easy to make with polymer clay, and other assorted items from my craft stash and around the house.

The idea to used polymer clay to make this bird skull necklace was inspired by this video tutorial by The Woodland Elf. I adapted it to use materials that I had on hand.

You won’t need much polymer clay to make this necklace, a ball about the size of a walnut will do, which is slightly more than a quarter of a regular 2oz (57g) pack.

Grey polymer clay is ideal as it only requires minimal embellishment to achieve the look of metal, but you can use any other colour. You’ll just need to paint it grey.

I didn’t have grey clay so I combined a few black and white polymer clay scraps together till they were blended sufficiently.

How to make a Bellatrix Lestrange Necklace

You will need:

• Grey Oven Bake Polymer clay (like Fimo or Sculpey)
• Assorted clay sculpting tools
• Wooden or metal skewer
• Oven (for baking clay)
• Black shoe polish or Black paint
• Silver paint pen or Silver paint
• Cotton buds
• Black ribbon
• Scissors

How to make a Polymer Clay Bird Skull Necklace:

1. Knead the polymer clay to soften. Roll a piece of clay into a ball about the size of a walnut. 

Note: If you don’t have grey clay, you can blend black and white clay together to make the desired colour. 

2. Form the clay into a bird head shape with a long thin beak.

3. Use a skewer to make a hole through the head section large enough to thread a ribbon (or cord) though.

4. Using a ball tipped tool, make 2 indentations for eye sockets.

5. With a pointed tool, make 2 nostril holes in the beak section.

6. Use skewer or tools to make indentations along the center of the skull and beak. Use the image below as a guide.

7. Bake as per polymer brand instructions, then allow to cool fully before decorating.

8. Use black shoe polish (or paint) on a cotton bud, to stain skull shape. Make sure you blacken the indented areas, and wipe off excess on smooth, raised areas. Allow to set/dry.

9. Use a silver paint pen to highlight the raised areas and give the appearance of metal. Use your finger tip or cotton bud to blend.

10. Cut a length of ribbon long enough to tie around neck and thread through hole in the skull.

Now your Bellatrix Lestrange necklace is ready to wear and is the perfect addition to any Bellatrix Lestrange Halloween costume or cosplay.

Stay tuned for a full Belatrix Lestrange costume DIY coming soon.

You may also enjoy these Harry Potter Costume Ideas:

• Ginny Weasley Cosplay
• Luna Lovegood Cosplay
• DIY Harry Potter Wands