One Minute: Bezel stone earrings

What you will need:

• 2 earring hooks
• 2 matching, pre-bezeled stones from an arts & crafts supply store.
• optional - jump rings (to create more space)
• pliers

Turquoise earrings:
With the pliers slightly open the bottom of the earring enough to slide on the bezeled stone.  Use pliers to close the bottom of the earring.

White and grey earrings:
With the pliers, open a jump ring and connect one grey bezeled stone to one white bezeled stone.  Then close the jump ring tightly.
Using the pliers again, open the bottom of the earring enough to slide on the top of the grey bezeled stone.  Close the bottom of the earring with the pliers.

In Pursuit of Suede String & Tassels

As you can see by what I post on this blog, I've recently been making jewelry with tassels.

When I found this picture of suede tassel earrings, the colors appealed to me: thin turquoise suede, ruby red beads and gold fixtures.

Anthropologie faceted fringe drops

As I tried to find materials to make these earrings, I found that the thinness of the suede is a large part of the effect these earrings hold.

So, my first move was to try to cut my thicker strings of suede in half.

I first used an X-Acto knife.. it was very difficult to cut evenly through the suede string with it.

Then I tried using sewing scissor, the sharpest scissors I could imagine.  With much fear for my fingers, I was able to cut the suede string thinner.

...But then the suede string fell apart.

Rather than waste more of the suede string, I just went to the art supplies store and bought thinner suede string.  AND, I also got some thin leather cord - and made two pairs of earrings!

My DIY Earrings.

What you need:

- The thinnest suede or leather cord you can find.

- Very thin wire.

- 2 of the same glass bead.

- 2 head pins with rounded top.

- A pair of earring hooks.

- Round-nose pliers and a wire cutter.

What to do:

1. Place each bead on a separate head pin.

2. Use the round nose pliers to close the head pin into a loop.  Make the loop a bit larger than normal - the suede string needs to go through it.

(The loop you made is pointing downwards)

3. With pliers, add an earring hook to the top of each head pin.

4. Determine the desired length of the tassels for your earrings.  The black pair above are about an inch and a half.  For the tan pair, they are over two inches.

5. Double the length you decide on and cut 3 to 4 pieces.

6. Fold the cut pieces in half and put one end through the loop at the bottom of the bead.

7. Start slowly and tightly wrapping the thin wire around the top of the folded suede.

8. Once you wrap the wire to desired thickness around the suede, cut with the wire cutters, and fold the raw edge in with the pliers.

9. Trim the ends so they are even.

That's all!

Girly pink, edgy spikes

On a recent visit home, I got to spend some much needed time with my jewelry supplies.  For months I had saved pictures of jewelry that I liked in anticipation of my reunion to my bead boxes.

A style of necklace that I started to see a lot involved at least 2 rows of chain, lots of head pins, and a repetitive pattern of beads.

Some examples:

Examples of necklaces with the 2+ chain style, from my Pinterest board.

With the second necklace in mind especially, I selected the beads and chains I liked best for my DIY necklace.

My DIY Necklace

What you need:
- A chain with small links
- 14 flat headed head pins in the same color as the chain.
- 4 different types of beads in increasing sizes, 14 of each.
- Spikes or other elongating bead (tear drop, leaf shape, etc), 14 of each.
- Round-nose pliers and wire cutters.
- Clasp and jump rings

Directions:
1. First, measure out the chain required for each row of the necklace.  I had 14 columns of beads, and I put a space of 3 chain links in between each column.  Therefore, my 3 rows of chains were each 53 links in length.
2. Next, slide one of the smallest beads onto the head pin.
3. Put the head pin with the bead through the first link of the first row.
4. Add the next bead of incremental size onto the head pin and put the head pin through the first link of the second row.
5. Add the 2nd largest bead onto the head pin and put the head pin through the first link of the third row.
6. Add the largest bead onto the bead pin and use the round-nose pliers to close the pin.
7. Add the spiked bead to the end of the closed pin with a jump ring.

Repeat steps 2-7.  For this necklace I did steps 2-7 fourteen times and with 3 links in between each head pin / column.

8. Once the bulk of the necklace has been assembled, add a chain to each end of the top row.  Attach a clasp and jump rings to the end of the chain you just added.

All done!

I made my necklace with light pink, turquoise blue and silver beads, and silver spiked beads.  I like the girly, yet edgy feel of the necklace.  Unlike most DIY creations made from pictures, this necklace sits very well on. And I love finding different outfits to pair it with!

Bauble Bead Necklace, Part II

My first post on this blog shared a pink beaded cluster chain necklace I made, inspired by this necklace.  It's one of my favorite necklaces, I wear it all the time!
My mom, a stellar crafter - (I always ask her advice when I make things!), asked me to make one for her also!

I made this one with gold chain instead of silver.  Rather than pink beads again, I used purple and gold beads, on gold head pins, with a gold spacer bead at the base.  I thought this color scheme would look good on her olive skin tone.

For some instructions on how to make this necklace, check out this post!

 

Which color do you like better??

Chain Tassel Earrings, Part 2

Tassels have been of much inspiration to me this past spring.  While home over break from university, I made two pairs of earrings with chain tassels.

Pair 1
The first were inspired by a pair of earrings I had bought previously.  They were super easy to make and I always get compliments on these earrings when I wear them!

Supplies:
-Pair of earring hooks
-head pins with loop at bottom
-2 medium glass beads
-2 large decorative beads
-2 spacer beads
-chain (I used 3 pieces of chain per earring)
-pliers

On each head pin I put a large bead, a spacer, a glass bead, then closed the top into a loop.
For basic instructions on how to do this, look here.

I then opened the loop at the bottom of the head pin, and slid on 3 pieces of chain of equal length.  Close the loop tightly so to prevent the chains from falling off.


Add earring hooks to loop above glass bead.  All done!

Pair 2
The second pair took a little bit more time, but were not much more difficult.

Supplies:
- pair of earring hooks
- 2 cylinder shaped glass beads
- 10 small glass beads in various colors & shapes
- 10 normal head pins
- 2 head pins with looped bottom
- chain (I used 5 pieces of chain for each earring)
-pliers
-wire cutters

First, take the head pins with the looped bottoms and put a cylinder shaped bead on each.
Loop the top closed.

Put each of the small glass beads on a normal head pin (1 per pin).

Place 5 pieces of equal length chain to loop under the cylinder bead.  Do this for each earring.  Close the loop tightly afterwards so the chains do not slip off.

Once the chains are in place, add 1 bead on head pin to the end of each chain.  Loop the tops of the head pins closed.  Trim off any extra head pin with wire cutters.

The only step left is to attach the earring hooks to the top loop of the earring!

Here is some inspiration for tassel earrings.  I can't wait to make more of these!

                       Chain Tassel

                 String Tassel

These are more of a variation on the basic tassel earring:

              

                  Chan Luu earrings, $75.

Hoops with beaded tassels