Black & Gold Chunky Bracelet

Hi to all,

Last week I left you with  half of the instructions to make your own chunky bracelet.  I had just finished laying the buttons out on my bracelet base, trying to find the best design using the buttons and old earrings I had on hand.

Once I decide on a design, it's time to glue the buttons to the circular sections of the bracelet base.   Some buttons have shanks on the back.  Likely, you will  have to remove them to get a good tight fit.  (Don't cut shanks off a valuable buttons, it will make them worthless.)  Use E6000 jeweler's glue to glue the buttons and/or earrings to the bracelet base.  I have always had good results with it.  This is how the bracelet looks now:

The next step is to create the charms that will be dangling from the bracelet. I am going to use gold and black beads from my stash.  I  also use quite a few seed beeds when I make charms.  And, you will need gold 7-8mm jump rings and 2" gold head pins. Here are the materials you will need for this step:

Each charm is made with a headpin and several different beads, you can add as many beads, in as many sizes as you want.  The more beads you add the longer the charm is.  Let your own creativity be your guide.  Just save enough of the headpin to twist into a loop.  

The bracelet base I used has 13 links.  The two end links are part of the closure so I did not put charms on them.  So, I needed charms for 11 links, at least 22 charms.  I made about 25.

Next, take one jump ring, open it, add one or two charms and then attach it to the bracelet link.  Continue this process until you have attached charms to all of the links. The charms should hang free so they move when the bracelet is worn.

I didn't like the way my charms looked on the bracelet, I moved them around a bit and added a third charm to some of the links.  I also made another charm with a much larger bead to hang from the large flower button.  A kind of "focal charm".  Here's what the bracelet looks like once I got the charms the way I wanted them.

Now I really like it!!  That big charm in the center is exactly what it needed.  A beautiful bracelet made from old buttons, earrings and beads.

If you have any questions, or get stuck making this bracelet just leave me a comment and an email address. I'll get back to you ASAP.  Send me pics of what you made, I'll post them here.

Stop by my Etsy site.  And thanks; see you soon,

anne

"Literary" Paper Pendant Tutorial

Jane Eyre Necklace

Alice in Wonderland Bracelet

Alice in Wonderland Pendant

Hi to all,

If you have been keeping up with my blog, I know you have seen my "literary" jewelry pieces.  The were made from the pages of old or reproductions "classics".  Below is a basic tutorial to make one of these pieces for yourself from your favorite novels!

MATERIALS:

small piece of corrugated cardboard 

eye pins not more than 1" (I prefer to use silver plated findings, they 

always look nice and shiny)*

1.5-2" head pins*

5mm-6mm & 8mm jump rings*

1-bail*

a few small/medium beads to add to your necklace orbracelet (optional)

old style classic book, one with illustrations or decorated text

Tacky glue

Triple thick(R) gloss glaze

toothpicks

styrofoam egg carton

paper plate
Black paint
Black magic marker
silver chain, suede cord or rubber cord

TOOLS: scissors, jewelry pliers and wire cutters, 1/4" soft and 1/4" stiff brush, hot glue gun skewer and awl

STEPS:

1. Take corrugated cardboard and cut into two ovals or circles about the size of a quarter or a little larger.  This will be the "focal bead" of your necklace.  I used ovals and circles in my pieces, but really any shape is fine.  You may want to add smaller "beads" to your necklace, cut those out now too.  The smaller beads on the Alice in Wonderland bracelet and the Jane Eyre necklace were crafted from one disk of corrugated cardboard.  This will probably work with your design also.  I used quarters for the larger beads and nickels as templates for my smaller beads.

2. For the focal bead, or the largest bead; line up the 2 eye pins in the center of the piece.  Now using a hot glue gun, set the two pins in position.

3. Using the hot glue gun again, glue the two pieces together (like a sandwich), with the eye pins on the inside.  Make sure both eye pins stick out and the pieces are lined up evenly. 

4. Paint using thick black paint all around the edges of the piece.  This gives a more finished look to your focal bead.  You can also paint around the smaller pieces or even use a black magic marker to finish off those edges.  

    

5. Set the smaller "beads" aside.  Now you can decorate your "focal bead" with pieces of the text or  illustrations from your "classical" text.  Cut out words, illustrations or designs, really anything you want.    Glue to focal bead with tacky glue using the soft brush.  Remember to decorate both sides.  Try to use words and images representative of the book.  Let glue dry.

                                                                                     

6.  Using the same basic techniques, decorate the smaller disks or beads.  Before gluing words or images, poke a small hole about 1/8" from the circumference of the disk.  We will use this hole later for attaching a jump ring.  Now decorate your disks as you did your "focal bead".  Once glue is dry, re-poke hole with awl, then pierce again with a toothpick.  This should enlarge hole.

7. The next step is glazing all of the beads.  Squeeze out a little Ultra-thick (R) on a paper plate . Hold the pendant by the eye pin or with a toothpick, use the stiff 1/4" brush to cover the pendant with the Ultra-Thick(R) glaze.   Cover completely and let it dry at least 30 minutes.  If the weather is very humid, the pendant may need to dry overnight.  Use toothpick and the egg carton to hold the pendant while it is drying.  You need to put at least two coats of the Ultra-Thick (R) glaze on the pendant.

8.  While pendant is drying, we can assemble the beads which hang below the "focal bead" (from the eye pin).  String beads on the head pin.  Use the remainder of the headpin to form a loop.  For more detailed instructions on how to make headpin loop, go to this link.  Then using a jump ring attach the headpin to the eye pin on the bottom of the pendant.  If you are not sure about these last directions, go to the links, that will help. 

9.  Last step is to put on bail or a jump ring.  If you plan to wear your pendant bead alone on a rubber or leather cord, attach bail to the top eye pin.  Then slide it on the cord.  If you are wearing pendant bead as a necklace or bracelet with the other disks on a chain, attach a jump ring to the disks and they will easily attach to a chain. Have fun with it and enjoy!!  I'd love to see your creations.

Be sure to check my Etsy shop for new glitzy holiday pieces!

Talk to you soon.

anne

Making Paper Beads

This is what your paper beads will look like

How I make Paper Beads for my Etsy shop: annemadethis

Some how this tutorial got lost, so I am rewriting it and posting it again.

Materials:
Front of the cereal box                        Styrofoam egg carton                      
Scissors                                             Soft brush & square edge brush (1/2")
Ruler                                                  Pencil
Tacky Glue                                          Paper plate
Tooth picks                                         TripleThick Gloss

1. For a basic 3/4" bead, start with the front of a cereal box.  Turn it over to the back side or inside of the box.  Start with the shorter end (A) and mark the edge every 3/4".  On the opposite end (B), measure in 3/8", this is your first mark on the (B) end.  From this mark, measure in 3/4" intervals until the end.  See picture below.

Back of cereal box marked in 3/4" intervals 

2. Using a ruler, connect the first mark on edge (B) with with the corner of the box on edge (A).  Now connect the first mark on edge (A) to the first mark on edge (B).  This will make a long triangle.  It sounds confusing at first, but look at the picture below, you will get it very quickly.

The next triangle is formed by connecting the first mark on edge (A) with the second mark on edge (B), then connecting  second mark on edge (B) with second mark on edge (A).  You will now have formed 3 triangles for bead making.  Continue this way until all marks are connected.  Marking the cardboard is probably the hardest part of this process.

All marks connected to form triangles

3.  Cut along the lines carefully.  You should have about 18 long triangles.  Throw away the first and last pieces, they are scrap.

Triangle cut from cereal box

4. Squeeze a dollop of glue on the paper plate.  Have your soft brush  and a tooth pick nearby.  Take one triangle, starting with the larger end and bend it gently around the tooth pick.  Continue wrapping the triangle tightly around the tooth pick.  Try to keep it straight and centered.  When you are about 2" from the tip of the triangle, apply the tacky glue with the brush on the remaining part of the triangle.  Now continue wrapping until the end.  Hold end firmly until glue sets, usually less than a minute.  Stick the finished bead with the tooth pick into a Styrofoam egg carton or other container.  If you put another tooth pick in the opening, this will steady the bead and set it up for glazing.  Let it dry about 30 minutes.

Beads drying

5.  The last step is glazing the bead.  I like to use a high gloss acrylic glaze, Triple Thick (R) .  Holding the bead by the tooth picks, I coat each bead, using the square edge brush.  It usually takes about 30 minutes for the glaze to dry, then I brush on another coat.  Then I usually let the beads dry overnight.  This makes the hard shiny finish I love.

This is just the first step in making beads.  You can vary the size and thickness of the paper.  Also you can alter the shape of the paper that you wrap, this will change the shape of the bead.

Try making a few beads, let me know if the directions need revision.  Send me your comments and pics of your beads!

You can see the beads I have made at my Etsy shop, please stop by.  Like my Facebook page too!