Jump Ring Necklace

The theme for this summer seems to be quick and simple projects. There are just too many other fun things to do that don’t involve staying inside. This necklace, made from jump rings, is no exception.

The other day my friend Rachel took a break from unpacking so we could spend a lazy afternoon making jewelry.

I made this jump ring necklace, along with a couple of other pieces. It’s always more fun to craft with friends.

I used a bag of large jump rings (50?), a length of chain long enough to go around my neck, a clasp, small jump rings (20), head pins (20) and assorted glass and stone beads (20).

I strung the jump rings onto the chain, attaching one to a link in the chain every 10 jump rings  so that when I put it on my neck all of the jump rings wouldn’t sink into the middle.

I made an eye loop through each bead by threading it onto a head pin, cutting it off about 1/3” from the bead, bending the head pin at a right angle and then looping the head pin in the opposite direction around round-nosed pliers. I realize that’s a bit unclear and I didn’t take any pictures, so here's a video.

I attached the beads to the large jump rings with small jump rings at random intervals, added a clasp and that’s it.

As I was making this necklace I was thinking that it would be the perfect project for a jewelry making get together. It requires minimal skill and supplies. Plus it’s the kind of project that can easily be finished in a evening even with ample breaks for wine and chatting.

Semi-patriotic Turquoise and Red Necklace

It was more happenstance than planning that led to the color scheme of this necklace. However, since it is the 4th of July and it is red, silver and blue, I can say it was on purpose, right?

Honestly, though, I fell in love with the red bone flowers as soon as I saw them. They’re bright, light weight, hand-carved, and they were on sale!

I added some turquoise carved wood beads and some tiny silver filigrees. The whole shebang took about 10 minutes.

To those of you living in the states, Happy Independence Day!

Pendant Necklace from Earrings

I can never find the exact piece of jewelry I have in mind so more often than not I end up making something. However, in all of the craziness getting ready for my mom’s wedding there just wasn’t time. So, I bought a pair of earrings and a necklace that I liked and spliced them together.

Have a I mentioned how much I despise the mall? Don’t get me wrong, I love my students. But spending 40+ hours a week with middleschoolers is all I can take. I don’t want to hang out with them on the weekends. Sometimes, though, it’s unavoidable. My iPhone freaked out on the way out of town to the wedding and the nearest Genius Bar was smack dab in the middle of the mall. Since I was looking at a two hour wait, I decided to leave the somewhat creepy cocoon of the Apple store and venture out. I went into Forever 21 (the accessory one, not the clothing one) and came out with a bag full of cheap jewelry including a pair of silver filigree earrings and a beaded necklace.

To combine them, first I decided how long I wanted the finished necklace to be and removed the unneeded beads. I took a chunk right out of the middle of the necklace, leaving the clasp intact.

Then I took apart one of the earrings so that I had two medallions. I attached one medallion to each side of the necklace and then connected them with a leftover bead and jump rings.

I took two of the leftover beads and attached them to the earring hardware and used the remaining beads for a bracelet. For less than $5 and 10 minutes I got a necklace, earrings and a bracelet. Not worth braving the mall, but still a pretty good deal.

Hanging Jewelry Organizer

I have a ton of necklaces. They end up all over the house – in drawers, on the bathroom counter, in my jewelry box. The problem is that my jewelry box is in my bedroom and I get ready in the hall bathroom. So, I needed some place to keep my jewelry in the bathroom that wouldn’t be in the way.

Supplies:

12”x12” shadow box frame (on clearance Target)

spray paint

4 12”x12” cork board sheets

1 12”x12” piece of scrapbook paper

Modge Podge

foam brush

vinyl (I used a recycled shower curtain liner)

adhesive (I used a combo of E6000 and hot glue)

clear glass marbles, the kind that are flat on one side

scrap paper

clear plastic thumbtacks

wall hook

ribbon

Instructions:

1. Take the frame apart. Spray the outside of the frame with spray paint and let it dry. I used Rustoleum Ultra Cover. I can’t even express how much I love it. It doesn’t drip. The nozzle doesn’t clog. It doesn’t spray all over the place and turn the garage floor red like that store brand that got me banned from spray painting.

2. While the paint is drying, glue all four layers of cork together in a stack.

3. Spread a layer of Modge Podge on the cork with the foam brush. Carefully lay the 12”x12” paper on top and then apply another layer of Modge Podge. Let it dry over night.

Before I resorted to Modge Podge, I tried to glue the paper to the cork with hot glue. Fail. Then I tried with craft glue. Fail. The cork sucks up the glue and then the paper peels off. So, I Modge Podged it. It’s a little shinier than I was going for and has a couple of wrinkles (ugh!) but it isn’t coming off. If I make another one, and I probably will because it’s bugging me, I will use fabric instead.

4. To make the pendant/ring pockets, cut a piece of vinyl that is 13”x6”. I used an old shower curtain liner.

5. Cut a 13” strip of ribbon and sew it along one long edge of the vinyl. It’s helpful to tuck a piece of tissue paper under it so it doesn’t stick to your sewing machine. The paper just peels away when you’re done.

6. Fold the vinyl in half with the ribbon on the outside. Sew across the strip of vinyl to form pockets.

7. Place the vinyl along the bottom of the cork board and fold the short edges over the cork. Glue the edges down.

8. Slide the cork into the painted frame (without the glass). Push the prongs on the back down to secure the cork.

9. For the pegs, glue the glass marbles onto scraps of paper so you can see the print through the glass.

When the glue is dry, cut around the glass. I found this was much easier that cutting the paper and then gluing it on.

10. Glue a thumbtack onto the back of each marble.

11. Glue two pieces of ribbon to the back of the frame, towards the top, one on each side. Tie a bow.

12. Attach the hook to a wall or door and hang up your jewelry organizer.

Whew! All done! Now I don’t have any excuses for not being able to find all my favorite pieces of jewelry.

Glass Leaf and Swarovski Crystal Bracelet

Last time I was at my favorite bead shop on the coast I found a strand of red, yellow and orange shimmery glass leaves and thought they would make the perfect Christmas present for my mom. She loves sparkly jewelry and is one of the few women I know that truly looks good in orange. You can find similar beads here.

I bought a dozen or so packages of Swarovski crystals in fall colors to go with the leaves. Swarovski crystals are a little spendy but you can sometimes find them on sale at Michael’s or JoAnn’s. Or better yet, you can buy them in bulk here and here. Plus, I found that even though the boxes were tiny the beads actually went a long ways and I could probably make another bracelet out of what I have left.

First, I cut three pieces of bead stringing wire long enough to go around my wrist plus a few inches. Then I threaded one wire through one side of a three-way spreader and back through a crimping bead.

I smashed the crimping bead with pliers to keep the wire in place. When using crimping beads, there is fine line between smashing them so hard that they break (instead of just flatten out) and not hard enough so that the wires slip. You might want to practice on some wire scraps. Trust me, it’s extremely frustrating when your almost finished bracelet comes apart and spills beads all over the floor.

I trimmed off the short piece of wire and started stringing beads.

Once enough beads were strung to go around my wrist, I attached the other speader in the same way I put on the first one.

I repeated this method for the other two strands and then attached the clasp with jump rings.

Sparkly Yellow, Orange and Coral Necklace

I realized a year or so ago that I have ton of black (and brown and gray and other drab colors) clothes. So, I made a little deal with myself that I would start buying brighter pieces to supplement my dark wardrobe. This rule really only served to justify more shopping (as in “I don’t really need this new sweater. It’s bright pink? Well, that’s okay then.”) but I do wear a lot less black now.

And with new clothes, one needs new jewelry, right?

I used the same method to make this necklace as I did for this one. I should probably change the name to The 10 Minute Sparkly Necklace because you can throw one together 5 or 10 minutes and a few left over beads.