Sometimes things don’t go as planned

Thanks everyone for your get well wishes…I am doing better!  Here is a necklace that I have been working on.  The acorn necklace I made last week turned out so well, that I thought I would try another style.  Hmm.  This necklace did not turn out the way I thought it would.  I tried to make it twist around itself where all the stones are, but whenever I pick it up, it untwists.  Grr.  I’m not really sure what to do about that.

I’m actually not sure that I like how it looks, even if I was to figure out the twists.  I was going for a kinda chunky look, which I think I did achieve, but now I’m not so sure I like chunky.  What do you think?  Is it worth figuring out how to make it stay twisted?  I could always just use the beads for something else.

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Acorn Necklace

With Build Your Wardrobe, Autumn 2009 up and running, and thoughts of cooler weather on my mind, I put together this little acorn necklace.  At our new place, we have about 10 oak trees right outside our back door, and they have been dropping acorns like crazy.  I have been gathering them for some crafting, and I thought this necklace was the perfect project for them.  This necklace has been in my head since last autumn actually, though I missed the acorn “season” and there weren’t any where I used to live.

To make it, I got some inexpensive wooden beads and used a dark wood stain to paint them brown.  I drilled a hole in the acorn caps with a small drill bit.  I then made the acorns with some gold beading wire, some amber colored glass beads, and an acorn cap.  This necklace has  5 acorns on it, but I’m not sure I am going to keep that many on there.  I might only leave 1 on and have it be more like a pendant necklace.

I am planning on putting a couple of these necklaces in my Etsy store in the next week, in case anyone is interested in having one, but doesn’t have an oak tree on hand.

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Crocheted Flower Necklace

I struggled with naming this necklace the “Crocheted Flower Necklace”.  Really, it took a few different crafting skills…sewing, and of course some light metal work.  I am really loving the hand-made feel of jewelry these days, so I though I would have a go at it myself.

The flower was made with red embroidery thread on a 2.5mm crochet hook,  and I kinda just made up the pattern for it as I went along.  The three leaves are made from striped seersucker fabric…one black and one yellow.  I think what I love most about the necklace are the primary colors…they are playful without being too childish when paired with the delicate silver chains.

Just a quick reminder for anyone interested in the Thinkin’ Outside the Box Challenge…Entries are due tomorrow evening, and on Friday I will be posting them for a vote…if there is more than one!  Have a good Wednesday everyone!

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Chunky Necklace

I am really loving these necklaces at J Crew right now (here and here), but jewelry is one of those things that is pretty hard to afford…especially if its from J Crew :-D.  I think I saw the idea of making necklaces like this for cheap floating around the internet about a year ago, and I can’t find the articles anymore!  I thought I would try my hand at this anyways and though they are not exact replicas of J Crew jewelry, and I think they turned out pretty well.

Basically, all this necklace is is a 3 foot long chunky chain that I found at a hardware store, tied with some ribbon.  Talk about inexpensive!  I made two of these for less than $20. 

If you would like to give this a try, first decide what length necklace you would like.  I tend to like the ones that are really long, so I settled on 36 inches for the necklace.  I also wanted to make a bracelet, and for that I used 24 inches so that it could wrap around my wrist a few times.  Then, take a little trip to the hardware store.  Someone there will be able to cut the chain to the exact length that you like it.  Choose a ribbon to go with the chain…for the bracelet, I chose a cream grosgrain, and for the necklace, a brown satin.  Cut about 24 inches of ribbon, on the diagonal, and use it to tie the two end links together.  That’s it!  If you would like to prevent fraying, use some clear nail polish on the edges of the ribbon.

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Free Necklace Giveaway!

***NOW CLOSED FOR COMMENTS!***

This is officially my first giveaway!  I made this asymetrical necklace this weekend from a combination of shell and glass beads.  If you would like to win this free gift, leave me a comment before Saturday 2/21 at 8:00 am MST.  I will contact you directly to get your shipping information.  Good luck!

***NOW CLOSED FOR COMMENTS!***

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