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

Tutorial: Chunky Vintage Button and Bead Bracelet

Chunky Crystal and Pearl Bracelet

Hi to all,

I know its been nearly a month.  I guess everything slows down in the summer, including me!  On this post, I'd like to show you a great summer project.  It may take some time so you will have to be patient; it will definitely be worth it!

The picture above shows a finished example of this type of bracelet.  The bracelet was crafted from vintage buttons and  lots of pearls and crystal beads.  We are going to make our bracelet from old necklaces, earrings and buttons.  This time I chose a black and gold theme.  The materials I had on hand are in the picture below.

The base of my bracelet is a gold bracelet finding available at Fire Mountain Gems.  You will need some E6000 glue and about 50 gold head pins and 50 7mm. gold jump rings.  Gather your materials and the fun will begin.

The first step is to prepare your earrings and buttons.  If they have a stud or a shank on the back, this has to be removed.  Usually my jeweler's cutters will work, but sometimes you have to use heavy duty wire cutters. Some pieces will not work, just save them for other projects.  Your pieces need a flat back to adhere well to the bracelet base.  Next you want to lay the bracelet base or finding out flat and then start to arrange your jewelry pieces and buttons out in a design that you like.

Remember that your pieces will be glued to the solid disks and the links will be used for the charms we make later.  There can be a small amount of overlap between butons and earrings, but try to avoid it.

Here's my first design:

I am going to sign off here.  The second half of the tutorial will be ready in about a week, see you then.

In the meantime, please check out my Etsy shop annemadethis.

Thanks,

anne

Flea Market Fun & Some New Stuff

Vintage  Paper Beads

Gray & Crystal Necklace and a crazy Pin

These are some of my recent finds at garage sales and flea markets.  I think my best find was the old paper bead necklace.  No one really knew what it was, but it was pretty apparent to me.  The crystal necklace and the pin will be taken apart and recycled into new jewelry--you will see it here in a few weeks!  I will probably keep the paper bead necklace as is, it will be a great sample to show at my workshops.

During the past several weeks I made one more memory wire bracelet.  It is a great color combination, neon green and violet.  It wraps around your wrist 6 times and shows off  11 paper beads.  What a great statement piece, you will get tons of compliments. And it has been posted on my Etsy site.

Violet and Neon Green Memory Wire Bracelet 

I have also been working on chunky sparkly bracelet, full of pearls and crystals.  A bracelet that will add bling to your holiday fashions or even a wedding dress.  There are about 50 pearls and crystals in this bracelet and 12 vintage buttons. Most of the crystals and pearls are recycled from old jewelry. I like it very much, you will have to let me know what you think.

Chunky Pearl and Crystal Bracelet

I plan to make a cuff of soft pale suede and add vintage buttons, crystals and pearls.  It will be the same colors as this bracelet but a whole different look. And I just got a recycled "Alice in Wonderland" book to fashion into bracelets, necklace and earrings.

I expect to send my first constant contact newsletter out next week.  There is a 20% off coupon attached.  Coupon is good either on line or you can bring it to my next craft fair in Croton on October 27th.  If you don't get a copy of the newsletter and you want one, just notify me at annemadethis@gmail.com.  And Halloween bracelets are still available, check my Etsy site!

OK, that's it for today.  Hope to see you all soon.
anne

Looking towards the fall

Henri Rousseau

Hi to all,

Boy the hotter and muggier it gets around here, the slower and muggier my brain gets.  It seems like we are in the middle of a rain forest  summer today! 

We found out the other day that our booth made the local news services.  There were a couple of photos taken at the  Peekskill Craft Fair, you can see them if you follow this link.  We are in photos #7 and #8. 

I've been working on some custom orders lately.  I love collaborating with a customer and incorporating their new ideas into a project.  Here is a bracelet I've been working on.  The original bracelet I posted several weeks ago is teal & turquoise buttons; my friend wanted her bracelet to be made of black & white vintage buttons.  This is what I have so far, what do you think?



                                     



So even though it is only the first of August, it seems the calendar for the fall and the holiday season
is rapidly filling up.  Tentatively, I already have the following scheduled:

                                    October 27: Croton Arts Fair
                                    November 3: Greenburgh Nature Center Workshop
                                                          & Holiday Sale
                                    December 1: Tarrytown Holiday Fair

I will certainly keep all of my local fans informed about when and where I will be this fall.

So as I learned the hard way last winter, now is the time to start stocking up on your best sellers and reworking the stuff that is stale.  I have gotten some good constructive criticism from friends and family on displays and jewelry pieces, I am working on putting those ideas in place.  Also customers have given me ideas on new pieces they would like to see. So it is work, work, create create now.

Check my Etsy shop for new postings!
Talk to you soon,

anne
                                  

More Vintage Buttons and Jewelry

Hi to all,

I just know there will be tons of creations inspired by all of the buttons and jewelry pieces in the jar I started a few weeks ago. And my collection grows steadily as others clean out their jewelry boxes. This week my mother-in-law added some very unusual vintage jewelry to my collection. I can not believe the earrings we wore in the 80's; really, what were we thinking? Do any of you remember?  Above are just a few examples of what we found in her jewelry box.

Teal Blue Vintage Button Bracelet

Here are a few pieces I created this week from the contents of the "jar".   First, the bracelet above was inspired by sorting the buttons for the button jar.  After we sorted all of the buttons by color group, these beautiful colors cried out to be made into a really full, jingling "charm bracelet".  One unusual large flower button anchors the bracelet slightly off center. It feels great; it looks great and it even sounds great with its gently clicking sound when it moves.  I just listed the bracelet on my Etsy site tonight.  You can see more photos of it there.



Chunky Paper Bead Necklace with Vintage Earrings

And this piece was crafted from my sister-in-law's earrings.  Wow! Right, those acylic yellow wedges were really earrings.  I think they look great strung with chunky paper beads, acrylic beads and wooden beads on a rubber cord.  And the earrings add a little unusual character that makes this a real statement piece.  The necklace will be listed on Etsy next week, please check for it.

And last, I will be at the Peekskill Jazz & Blues Festival on Saturday, July 21st. The crafts and food start about noon and the music is later.  It looks like the festival will take up several blocks of downtown Peekskill and parking is free.  And it will be the debut of my craft fair tent!

Thanks, I'll talk to you soon,

anne