How to make a modern-day amulet

In the modern world it can be hard to translate the magic and ideas we read in books and watch in movies into touchstones we can carry with us in our daily lives. I love crafting, and I don't really stick to a particular type, but I thought about this a lot when I was doing more beading. I liked the idea of making an amulet, talisman, or other spiritual object, taking intangible ideas and making them material. And I think that's often what the genre of urban fantasy is all about: bringing the magical and spiritual into our daily lives. So here are some of my attempts to create a sort of modern-day amulet. It's not intended as a religious meaning (though you could create something with that in mind), but more generally as a way to carry around an idea. 

Materials
-Beading wire
-Ceramic, wood, metal beads
-Semi-precious stones
-Found objects (figurines, old jewelry, stones, shells, etc.)
-Crimp beads

Tools
-Scissors
-Wire cutters
-Needlenose pliers
-Crimping pliers

1. Gather the materials
Depending on your intent and available materials this is going to vary greatly. For my own dabbling I've found it easier to start with a range of beads and found objects, including beads of different sizes, colors, shapes, and materials. Found objects are pretty vague, but it could be washers from a hardware store, game pieces from an old board game, or some old key or pin found in an antique or thrift store. Or it could mean something found out lying on the ground, a stone, shell, nut, marble, coin, etc. From this hoard of collected items you can pick the pieces that seem to make sense for what you're making.

2. Design the amulet
But before you can put any of the oddments you've gathered together, it helps to have a feel for what idea or intent you want to design the amulet around. Is it to inspire imagination? To gather courage and drive action? Grant protection over a person or place? Or affirm a promise or connection? Once you have the meaning or purpose in mind, start choosing the materials that you feel reflects that. You can do research beforehand in the symbolism of colors, materials, shapes, animals, and whatnot, but ultimately choosing the materials is all about what those things mean to you. Before exploring this I also read A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (by Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon), which really has less to do with religion and more to do with spirituality and symbolism in general. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Courage and Confidence
To create an amulet meant to inspire courage, I tried to think of what colors, emotions, and images I associate with that idea. To me courage and action comes from warmer, fiery colors. Materials that fit that are things like glass, ceramics, and metals, all of which are created through intense heat and hard work. I like using stones in most of my designs, so I chose stones that reflect those fiery colors and have some symbolic connections with the idea. These semi-precious stones are chips of carnelian (career success, action, shielding, health, protection, personal power) and garnet (balance energies, revitalization, confidence, love, devotion). I also used runes, which I like as they can embody great ideas in a few simple lines.

1. Fang-like stones: representing claws and teeth, for ferocity and hunting
2. Iron nut: iron protection against evil, industry, usefulness
3. Glass "dragon-egg" bead: glass as manipulated by fire, orange as energetic, ambitious
4. Metal tube with zigzag markings: metal as strength, zigzag marks as lightning and action
5. Ceramic painted bead: clay tempered by fire, painted fireballs for sun, energy, transformation
6. "Sheriff's star" buckle: courage, protection
7. Wooden runic bead: burned with the runes Tyr (victory, success, courage), Ken (transforming fire, energy, fresh start), and Mannaz (self, self-improvement, cooperation)

Protection of the Home
For this amulet I chose items that would evoke positivity and security. I chose items that are favorite colors, earthy, and eclectic, much like what I would have in my own home. The spacer semi-precious stones are chips of amethyst (spirituality, protection, relieves tension, dreaming, cleansing) and garnet (balance energies, revitalization, confidence, love, devotion).

1. Old key: home, security, familiarity
2. Seed: protective shell hiding potential for life and growth
3. Beaten metal ring bead: tempered strength, endurance, iron as protection against evil
4. Amber: positivity, life, sunlight
5. Ceramic painted bead: clay as grounded, patterns for diversity, differences working together
6. Limestone holey stone: healing, protection, way to perceive and trap evil influences
7. Wooden runic bead: burned with the runes Osa (good fortune), Thorn (protection, gateway, defense), and Ethel (possession, home, acquisitions)

3. Assembly
If you have a previous experience with beading, this part is very easy to do. My rudimentary strings are really the roughest form of beading. After planning the design, cut a length of beading wire and string the beads. On either end you can attach pendants that you can make from wire-wrapping objects. Small details like the runes on the wooden beads can be done by wood-burning the designs prior to stringing. A crimp bead or two can help secure loops on either end and ensure it all stays together. I know, this part's not very helpful. But I hope it gives you some other ideas as to what can be done in mixing old ideas of magic with modern materials, and creating personalized objects of beauty and purpose.