This is new territory for me. I made beaded hemp necklaces in college (a beach town, naturally) and some very basic jewelry, but I’ve never considered or had any interest in real jewelry making. Until my friend Ashley sent me this photo of the necklace she made.
Beautiful, right? And she said it was pretty easy so she showed me a few of the ropes today, and I created two necklaces.
I read this necklace tutorial from Bromeliad and she suggested using a necklace to start so I got this one at Target on sale for $4.48. I had the ribbon on hand and got the charms from Michael’s in the jewelry section.
First I tied a knot around the clasp.
Then put the charm on the front and sewed it to the knot.
For the other side (without the clasp), I tied the ribbon between the two beads, and sewed on the charm.
Then I tied it in a bow to finish it off. I really like ribbon necklaces because you can adjust the length.
Then I got some inspiration from my sister’s jewelry pinboard and created this one.
It was a lot easier than I thought, and it requires more tools than materials it seems.
I strung the beads through a headpin, cut and looped the wire, and then attached them to a jump ring. I used a lobster clasp for the chain. I had no idea what I was doing so I went to Bead It and they were very helpful. One lady even showed me how to put the bead in the headpin and loop it. My loops are nowhere near perfect, but I’m still working at it.
Just what I need, one more addictive project…Thanks, Ashley. Seriously, though, I’m excited to make a few handmade jewelry gifts now. So many fun ideas!
Thanks for stopping by Day 7 of the 12 Days of Homemade Holiday Gifts series!
They look awesome!
Thanks, Rach!