And ..... RELAX! It's nearly the beginning of the weekend (depending on when your day ends of course, and if you don't have to work over it!)
I thought I'd pop up a tutorial for the weekend, this time taking my inspiration from the naming of 'Friday' which appears to have many origins including several Goddesses of Love: Venus (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek) or Freya (Norse)
I have chosen Freya as my inspiration. As well as 'Love' she was also a goddess of Fertility, Divination and one of the Valkyries (great wiki explanation of them here). Freya was also known for her magical necklace, the 'Brisingamen' which was forged by dwarves.
So, with all that spirited-warrior-women-flying-around thing and love going on I think I found the perfect focal Steampunk style charm in my stash for a necklace for Freya which I've also strung on layered chains. Here's the step-by-steps...
You will need..... your jewellery pliers, a focal charm, two different sizes of chain, large jump rings and a toggle clasp. I've used gunmetal/antique silver tones.
Start with 2 x lengths of the smaller link chain that each measure approx. 37cm
Take the first piece of chain an loop both end links onto a jump ring...
Then lie the chain down so you can find the middle link...
Slip the middle link onto the same jump ring (it doesn't really matter if the chain twists when you do this).
Now add the focal charm to the same jump ring and close it.
Repeat on the other side with the second piece of chain.
Use a jump ring to connect the small linked chain bundle to a piece of the larger link chain.
Repeat on the other side of the focal charm...
Measure the chain per your preferred neck length and use jump rings to attach the toggle clasp pieces
Here's the finished piece - fit for a warrior love goddess!
It also has a bit of 'Biker Chic' to me too - just imaging it teamed with a denim jacket & boots....
Have a great weekend!
All text & pictures (c) Addicted to Making 2014
It's been a long time since I painted my nails but this week I thought I'd try out one of the fab neon colours around this summer - everywhere you go there is fuchsia pink, bright yellow, lime, aqua clothes, accessories & jewellery. I don't think my nail painting is as neat as it could be but it's certainly eye-catching!
Anyway, as I still have a stash of bright acrylic beads from the bead shop days, I thought I'd make my own neon necklace to funk up my look and, of course, I will also share the steps with you on the blog..
To begin with... you would need to gather up some colourful thick cord, a selection of beads, tiger tail, crimps, ribbon clamps and jewellery pliers.
Cut 6 x lengths of cord that each measure around 40cm. Then, holding three of the ends together, lie them on a piece of sticky tape and fold over the top. This is a great way of keeping them together for the next step....
Sit the taped ends in a ribbon clamp...
Then use flat nose pliers to close the ribbon clamp securely...
You should now be able to rip the rest of the sticky tape off the cords, leaving the ribbon clamp in place...
Now you need to cut a short length of tiger tail for the beaded mid-section. Slip one end through the loop in the ribbon clamp and then crimp it in place, right underneath.
Thread on a selection of mixed size beads - don't worry about having everything completely symmetrical - it actually better with a bit of randomness! Remember to slip the end of tiger tail through the beads too so it doesn't stick out.
I beaded approx. 15cm of tiger tail but you can make it longer if you want too. When you are happy with it, slide on a crimp, thread the end of the tiger tail through the other ribbon clamp loop, back down through the crimp and the first few beads - pull it tight and crimp, then trim the end to neaten up if it is poking out between the beads.
At this stage, you could either simply tie the necklace on via the laces (and let the ends dangle prettily down the back, perhaps with an extra bead knotted on to each end?) OR... I have another idea how to finish this off with a pretty natty hand made clasp (will post later in 'Part II'...so do check back)
This necklace would look great worn with a vest at a summer festival or add a shock of rebellious colour to a plain white work shirt.
*** Part II coming soon....
Happy Making!
All Pictures & Text (c) Addicted to Making 2014
The decorating, bead sorting & clearing up is still going on but I'm making sure I have enough left to play with and now I'm itching to get going with a new project (getting a bit bored with all work and no play!)
I also think I am over chocolate for a while, having been far too indulgent in recent weeks (well... you just have to join in don't you!) and I feel the need to move on to simpler things. So, what can be simpler than 'Monochrome' - something that is trending all over fashion houses this spring!
I can't resist a bit of fast fashion making so, I've pulled out some very 'Mary Quant' style daisy beads and a few black & white acrylic beads from my stash and made a retro 60's style necklace that should bring you bang up to trend without the spend (I may have just created a new catch phrase there!)
To make this fun & stylish necklace just follow these steps:
(1) Begin by placing a small contrasting acrylic bead in the centre of a flower bead then thread a long eye pin through the two beads at the same time.
(2) Now use round nose pliers to turn a small loop on the end of the wire (try to aim for similar size to the other end for neatness...).
Repeat the first 2 steps to make 5 wired flower beads in total.
(3) Next, open a 10mm jump ring and use it to connect two flower beads together.
(4) Repeat step 3 until you have connect all the wired flower beads as shown above.
(5) Thread a large (19-20mm) round acrylic bead onto an eye pin, bend the wire over at right angles, trim to around 1cm and turn a loop on the end.
Repeat with a medium (10-12mm) size acrylic bead, then 2 small (8-9mm) acrylic beads and link them all together on one side of the necklace with 9mm jump rings.
Now repeat it all for the second side of the necklace (*adjust the amount of beads according to length required)
(6) All you need to do now is add the clasp ends to either side of the necklace (above and below)
...and there you have it, your on trend, monochrome 60's style necklace!
Think I'll be wearing this one out this weekend :-)
Happy Making
xxx
