Extra-Large bead necklace

This project started out with a bit of a hitch, but I love the result.
I picked up the extra-large roundels at Michaels, but when I got them home, they didn’t work the way I had hoped they would, and I set them aside.
Then I was at Beads & Plenty More looking for something else, and saw these gorgeous extra-large crystal beads. I guessed that the size would work (and it did!) with the roundels, so picked up three (they were $1.99 each) along with some floral end caps (at $.25 each) and brought them home.

Wonderful extra-large beads

Bracelet re-design

A while back I was in Michaels and saw these kind of hidious ‘rhinestone’ bracelets.  I really thought they were awful… but I LOVED the clasp.  I looked at how it was constructed, crossed my fingers, and picked it up (using the 40% off coupon of course!) to deconstruct at home.

original and redesigned

The original is constructed of these plastic rhinestones glued to a piece of faux suede.

Ladder braiding

Another technique I’ve been wanting to try out since seeing at Suzie Q beads a while back is ladder braiding.

In their catalogue of classes, they describe it as “Chan Luu”-style ladder bracelets, but the technique isn’t new at all – in a bit of research it looks like a Vietnamese artist took a trip to India, and brought the technique to the public spotlight by charging hundreds of dollars for the bracelets to Hollywood starlet-types. (Check out some of the originals on the Sundance website: http://www.sundancecatalog.com/product/code/60585.do?code=OVLYCLK  or on The Find: http://www.thefind.com/jewelry/browse-chan-luu-vermeil-bracelet - where I especially like the chain version…)

More silver feathers

When I was in Toronto not too long ago I picked up two silver feathers from Hi Beads.  While the ends had attachment points, that wasn’t how I wanted to use them, so I had to be a bit creative.

Out came my leather punch – but the feathers were too thick for this to work – so instead I got a nail and a hammer, along with a piece of super-thick scrap leather that I use to set rivets sometimes, and a piece of softoleum, and I made my own holes in the feathers where I wanted them. For a little bit more information, I wrote about the technique in my Bat Necklace post.

From there I strung in two jump rings and a length of chain (three links worth…) and had a better start to what I had in mind.  I thought of layering the feathers and just using one ring as the pivot point, or punching a bigger hole and using a rivet as the ‘hinge’ but I wanted the feathers to sit further apart and create more of a rounded shape rather than a V-shape.

More silver feathers

Bat necklace

I picked up a pair of brass stamping bats from an Etsy seller (Glamour Girl Beads)  a while back, and after relative success with another project (More silver feathers… coming soon!) I figured I would give this one a try too. The result is super-simple, and just a little bit gothic…

Bat necklace

To start off, I had to punch holes in the brass. To do this I got out a THICK scrap of leather (leather belt leftovers) and just to be extra-safe and protect my work surface, a scrap of softoleum – a soft material for carving that I used back in design school.
Next, I got out a small finishing nail and a hammer from my tool kit, and set up using the nail to punch a hole on either side of the bat’s wingspan. (Through the front – so any excess material from the hole would be pushed to the back of the bat.
The hammering did ‘bend’ the bat just slightly, so when the hole was in place, I sandwhiched the bat between the leather and the softoleum and gave it a few more taps to straighten it back out again.
I’m sure that there are punches and other tools I could have bought and used instead…. but frankly, this worked, and it’s not like I’m going to take up metal work as yet another hobby!

Bat necklace

After the holes were punched it was a pretty simple matter of adding in two jump rings (I did try my prefered split rings, but they didn’t work properly).
Then I wanted to ‘smooth’ out the back a little – and since I had my tube of glue-anywhere glue out for another project, I put a TINY drop of glue on the back of the bat where the holes were. This secures the jump ring in place for sure, but more importantly creates a barrier so the small points of metal on the back of the hole area won’t ever get caught on clothing I might wear with the necklace.

Bat necklace

Once the glue was dry, I measured out a length of chain. I would have loved to use chain and jump rings the same patina as the bat, but silver will have to do – since I don’t keep a stock of a variety of finding colours (well I do, just not THIS colour!)
Since I wanted the bat to hang fairly low, I didn’t bother putting a clasp on the chain – it can be just put on over my head.

Bat necklace

I think he’s super cute! What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Art Deco on a chain

I’ve been meaning to get some more crafting done lately, but at the same time I also feel that I have so many things to wear already… that I don’t really NEED to make much more.  I think this is making me less creative!
Just a quick photo-post then.. an new necklace I made.

Art Deco-style pendant on a chain

Clear white crystal bling necklace

Well, finally the last piece of bling-ed out jewellery that I made that I’ll share here is this clear white crystal necklace.  This includes beads from Michaels and Beads & Plenty more, along with a toggle clasp from Michaels, and silver leather cord from Suzie Q beads.

Full necklace, with flash.

Seascape Bling

You might have noticed I’ve done a lot of bling-y projects in the last while. Part of this is my inner magpie shouting out for shiny things, and part of it is just out of availability.  Having a nice stash of bright, sparkly beads, means it’s easier to put things together in that theme.. though I have yet to WEAR all of the new pieces I’ve added to my collection!

This necklace was put together partially out of leftovers from other projects…

Blue and green large-hole bead necklace.

Super bling overload

I am not normally a super bling-y person… but in the past while I’ve been all over super-bling-y, rhinestone-encrusted, crystal-covered necklaces. (I’ve also been looking for an awesome clear crystal statement ring, with no luck. Size 9 if you’re curious… tee hee)

While in Toronto, I picked up these enormous, super-bling’d out beads. They’re HUGE (well, there are three sizes, and the largest is huge) and totally covered in rhinestones. You can barely make out any of the metal for all of the shine on these babies…

Of course, rather than just looping one on a discreet silver chain and calling it a day, I had to use them all. All together. At once. SUPER BLING OVERLOAD!

I actually toyed with these for a while, trying to figure out what to do with them. Did I want something long and dangly, with lots of mellow black cut glass beads between them? Did I want to go really high-contrast and toss them on some thick black leather cord, with chunky knots to divide them and hold them in place? Did I want a shorter necklace that was just non-stop bling?

Super bling overload – shown on my dressform

More bling to come

While I know that my blogging has been a bit inconsistant, it’s not for lack of craftiness!  Although right now I haven’t been sewing a lot, I have been making a few cute accessories that I’ll share soon!

In the meantime, here’s a super blinged out photo of three of my recent projects which I’ll be blogging about soon!

Three new necklaces I recently made – posts about them coming soon!