The World Cup & Funky Neon Necklaces Part II (the clasp!).....

Well, the sun is still shining and even the football players in the World Cup seem to be embracing the trend for neon (their boots were so bright in that first game I could hardly watch the game!)  I shall have to think of a World Cup inspired make - especially with Fathers Day coming up!

In the meantime here is part II of the neon necklace project that I promised to post - and a great way of making your own cord 'clasp' which you will be able to adapt to use on all sorts of other necklaces.  

We pick up where we left off at the end of the last post  - i.e. where your necklace is pretty much complete with just a simple set of 'ties' at the back.   Here goes...

The first thing you will need is some fairly sturdy craft wire - I used 1.0mm gold plated. You will also need some cutters, round nose pliers & flat nose pliers. Oh - and a pencil... it's very useful for this project!

Working from your reel of wire, wrap the end around a pencil several times to make a nice coil  - not too tightly though or you won't be able to remove it!

Slide the wire off the pencil and use your round nose pliers to turn a loop on one end...

Then use flat nose pliers to 'straighten' the loop so it sort of sits on top the coil of wire...

Now turn the coil over and do the same on the other end.  If the wire end is a little long simply trim it. 

Use flat nose pliers to sit the loops nicely on either end of the coil....

Now all you have to do is thread the cords through the coil clasp and gently give the top & bottom wires of the coil a tiny squish with your flat nose pliers - just enough so that you can still slide the clasp up & down the cords but also enough that it won't slip off them easily...

And there you have it... simple, cheap and useable for many other things too :-)

(don't forget you could plait the cords too if you wanted too....)

Happy Making!





All text & pictures (c) Addicted to Making 2014

Neon fingertips & funky necklaces...Part I

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