Marta

Today I will share a jewellery kit with you that is called "Marta". It is for a bracelet that should be quite simple to make as there is no clasp.

The first step is to cut the chain into 12 pieces of equal length, open an eye pin, thread them on, close the pin, cover with a silver "cap" and make a loop at the top of the pin. Before closing the loop, attach the fan shaped spacer.This was a bit fiddly but not too difficult.

 Next I laid out the beads and spacers in the order that I would be threading them onto the "elastic".

Then I threaded all of the beads and spacers onto the elastic, starting and ending with the fan shaped spacer, and tied the ends of the elastic together, forming the first row.

Repeat this with the second row, a little bit more fiddly to tie off this time.

And here we have the completed bracelet, modelled by my daughter. I really love some of the designs on the beads and spacers in this kit, especially the dragon on the one above. I was born in the year of the dragon and should probably keep this for myself but my daughter has already called dibs on it. Oh well.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

Heni & Nori

Hello all. Today I thought I would share a couple of jewellery making projects. I picked up both of these kits on clearance for $4 each. What a bargain! The first one is a bracelet called "Heni".

It consists of memory wire, plastic spacers and green beads. This is the first time that I have worked with memory wire and it can be awkward because it is permanently bent. This is especially true when trying to thread multiple strands through the spacers.

Here is what it looks like after the first round. One end of the memory wire is already finished with a loop. All I needed to do then was thread a couple of beads, the first spacer, about 16 beads, 2nd spacer, 16 beads, 3rd spacer, 16 beads, 4th spacer, 2 beads and then twist the end of the wire in another loop.

Here is the completed bracelet modelled by my darling daughter. I think it looks quite effective and there are no clasps to do and undo, simply slip it on.

This next kit is called "Nori" and is a necklace. It is constructed on the same principle as the bracelet above. I prefer the spacers in this kit because they don't look so like plastic. The central feature is pretty and the inclusion of the black round beads and the silver faceted beads ads interest.

Here is the first completed round. Again 2 green beads, 1 black bead, 1st spacer, 1 black bead, a number of beads until near the centre of the wire, 1 silver bead, the feature spacer, and then the reverse to the end finishing by bending the wire in a loop.

Here is the finished piece, again being modelled by my daughter. It sits very nicely at the throat and once again opens and closes without a fitting, simply by pulling apart and it pops back together. One size fits all.

I hope you enjoyed these two projects.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

From my stash

Today I thought that I would share my jewellery making stash. Some of theses items I have had for a couple of years and others I picked up recently while on sale.

Well there is certainly enough to be getting on with. What to begin with first? I know something useful. I bought these kits a couple of years ago at a craft show in Melbourne. I can't remember why I bought two. I was probably going to make one for a present for someone.

Well it took half an hour to put each one together but I think they look really nice. The trickiest bit was bringing the two threads down through the bottom part, through crimps, through the clasp and back through the crimps and beads.

I might keep the green one for myself. It will be very handy when I am doing my stitching and I won't have to go hunting for my scissors. Because it is a lanyard and you can take the scissors off and replace them with something else, I might give the purple one to my sister. She doesn't sew but she could keep keys or something else on it.

Then I thought I would try something a bit more complicated. These earrings use eye pins and I need the practice at opening the "eyes" and putting them back together. Also in making sure the earrings hang straight. I think they don't look too bad. Jewellery making really is very quick and it doesn't have to be expensive. I picked up the earring kit for $2.

Speaking of craft shows - don't forget that the Stitches and Craft Show is on in Melbourne from October 24 - 27. If you live close enough to be able to get there then I would urge you to go. I live two hours away by train but I know it is a great day out. I especially love the "Make And Take" sessions and the workshops. What makes the show really worthwhile though are the quilt exhibitions and this time there are two: "This Is A Quilt" and "Beautiful Australia". I will be there with my friend Chris and I hope to see you too. I am especially looking forward to seeing this quilt - "Esprit de Corps"



Talk again soon

Jeanette

A joint effort

At a recent craft market my daughter saw some "Steam Punk" jewellery that she liked but was a bit too expensive. I remembered that I had seen some jewellery making supplies at our local Spotlight store that I thought she might be interested in. We found some pieces and went home to get to work. They were very quick to put together.

 My daughter decided that the chain for this first piece was too long so we removed a piece and then added it back separately.That way when she wears the piece she has a double chain with the pendant hanging on the longer chain.

Here is some detail of the corset necklace from the back.

The second piece we made using the full length of chain and a cameo pendant.

Here you can see the detail on the cameo. At first glance it looks like a Victorian maiden but, in actual fact, it is a skeleton. (sorry the picture is so unclear. Both the camera and the scanner gave me unclear pictures)

After that my daughter wanted to get a bit more practice doing jump rings so I found a kit that I had picked up. It is a triple bangle.

The charms are leaves, dragonflies, a four leafed clover, a leaf and a rose. All of these were so quick and easy so if you want to do a quick project take up jewellery making.

On a side note, this week we went to visit my friend Chris who lives two hours away. Her daughter and mine were born one month apart and are best friends. They had fun making jewellery together as well.

Talk again soon

Jeanette

Pressies

Hello

Today I thought I would share with you some pieces I made in a jewellery making class a couple of months ago. I did a two hour class with Susan at The Bead Experience. She offers this class for beginners at a cost of $20 and that includes all the materials that you use. She also offers her expert help if you come back for more classes at a cost of $10 plus the materials that you use.

The first pieces that I made were with beads and spacers threaded onto tiger tail and held in place with crimps. The hardest thing with this was deciding on colours but I eventually chose my favourite combination of red and black. Here is what I created.

I thought I might give this to my sister-in-law for her birthday. I am just not sure whether she has pierced ears or not.

The next techniques Susan taught me was working with head and eye pins. This was tricky but not too bad once she taught me an easy way to do it.

I thought I would give these to my other sister-in-law for her birthday. I think they turned out really well.

This isn't the first bit of jewellery making I have done. I did a couple of bracelets and necklaces a couple of years ago just from following instructions in a book. They were pretty basic though, threading beads onto beading thread and adding a clasp at each end. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos.

Talk again soon

Jeanette