I Have My Own Castle: The Story of My "VIntage Romance" Necklace

This necklace all started with a charm. A very special charm, from a very special person. It was my birthday present back in September from College Boy.

There are so many things about this charm that just made my heart soar. The fact that it was from my son away at school who has a crazy busy schedule and took the time to pick out something with meaning. The fact that he found it at a little shop that specializes in creative and handmade things , and  that he knew that would mean a lot to me. But the part of it that brought me to tears was what he wrote in the card :

“I found it fitting that on this day, and each day after, a queen should have a castle as a reminder of the challenges you conquer”

The past couple of years have had some challenges.  Lots of changes, some planned, some not, and some right on top of each other. Not a lot of time for breath catching shall we say?  So when I read what he wrote in the card and saw this charm ( after melting into tears and slobbering all over myself) I knew I had to wait until the right idea popped into my head. One worthy of his gift.

I was poking around Michaels after Christmas and found this pendant and string of beads from the “Vintage Romance” line by Debby Anderson. My eyes landed on the pendant and it was the perfect backdrop for the charm.

I randomly strung some of the beds on wire and joined them in the middle of silver chain. I added another strand of beaded chain to the bottom portion of the necklace that joins the pendant.

I may never be queen of any country, but it’s more than enough for me that my son think’s I’m queen enough to deserve my own castle that now hangs from the end of the Vintage Romance pendant.

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Wood Beads and Silver: Man Friendly Jewelry

Man crafting remains my nemesis. Fortunately I have a husband and son who do wear some jewelry. College boy even has a Professor who liked an earlier bracelet I made and hinted how much he’d like one. Done!

These are so easy it’s criminal to even post this as a project.

You need:

• Wood beads ( I used a Darice ValuPack)
• Silver spacer beads (Blue Moon)
• Focal bead ( I used an onyx bead)
• Stretchy cord
• Super glue

Here’s how things work in my house. I made one each of the light and medium wood bracelets, let College Boy choose which color he wanted and which to give away so I would know which color I’d be making for Mr. Chocolate. I make something for College Boy, I hear “I want one” . That’s how we roll.

Here’s the really really hard tutorial:
String in a pattern you like; knot, dab glue DONE.

I just decided to use one color of the wood bead for each bracelet but they come in a mixed pack of light , medium and dark.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Winged Hearts Hammered Metal Necklace Giveaway

Being a member of the Blue Moon Beads design team , I am always excited when I receive supplies to play with. The timing was perfect on my most recent goodies which included some pink stone beads. I knew immediately that I wanted to make something in recognition of “Pinktober” being Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I don’t know anyone whose life hasn’t been touched in some way by this disease. Whether as a survivor, family member of a survivor, friend, colleague, neighbor, I really cannot think of anyone I know who hasn’t known someone. This month marks four years since we lost one of our closest friends to this disease and we miss her every day.

I did what I always do with a jewelry project. Laid out a bunch of things I might use and just kind of went from there. I knew for sure that in addition to the pink stone beads and silver chain, I wanted to use the gold and silver hammered metal connectors. All supplies used in this project are from Blue Moon Beads and were provided to me as part of the design team.  Project idea is mine.

They went perfectly with a gold and silvered “Winged Heart” pendant from my Blue Moon stash.

I laid out sections of the chain and metal connectors and then wire wrapped some of the pink beads using gold bead caps and silver spacer beads.

Connected those to the lengths of chain using silver jump rings, and added some to the pendant as shown above, along with a rectangular rhinestone pendant and some lengths of chain.

The clasp is really two oversize lobster claw heart clasps. I wanted to tie the idea of hearts and wings together to match the pendant. We think of our friend soaring above us, and we carry her in our hearts.

Our sweet friend was one of the most giving people we’ve ever known. So I thought it would be appropriate to give away this necklace in her memory. It just seems right. Here’s how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will run through next Wednesday and the winner announced at next week's BFF Open House. 

Batty-Licious Halloween Earrings

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter to win my giveaway from Oriental Trading Company. Go here to enter.

I posted last week about some of the items I received from the. Included were some soldered Halloween themed charms. Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Post by Oriental Trading Company. Project Idea and opinions are my own. 

They have an image on one side and text on the other. I thought they’d make fun earrings to wear throughout October. The earrings are  big and bold but not as heavy as they look.

I grabbed some findings and beads from my stash and played around, stringing a fire polished black crystal bead, some metal spacer beads, and the soldered charms on beading wire. Attached to a square pendant piece and adhered a clip earring back with jewelry glue.

People may think I’m batty, but I’m loving my batty-licious earrings!

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Graduation Gift: Silver Softball Themed Necklace and Bracelet

Sharing a graduation gift I made for the daughter of one of my besties. We have been friends forever (7th grade) and now her baby has now graduated from college!

My “niece” is a lifelong softball player and earned a scholarship to play softball in college. I knew I wanted to incorporate softball into her necklace but now that she’s a college graduate, also wanted something grown up that she could wear. I found this enameled softball charm that was neutral in color and designed things around it.

I used a combination of silver chains and a rhinestone chain I picked up at Michaels and deconstructed.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures while I was making it but basically just laid out the chain the way I wanted it, added a couple of the rhinestone links along the way, and then used one as the base for a pendant, attaching the softball charm, another silver charm, and a silver pearl attached using a head pin.

The bracelet (this pic came out a bit blurry) is a mix of silver crystal beads, silver pieces, and another link from the rhinestone chain.

Graduation was yesterday and I am really honored that she chose to wear these for her graduation. Wishing you all the best Ro!

Jewelry Makeover: Clearance Earrings Into An Easy Necklace

I’ve shared before that since I don’t have pierced ears I often buy pierced earrings and convert them to clips. This time, I found some on sale that I couldn’t see myself wearing as clips, but the parts intrigued me and the price ($4.99) was too good to pass up.

This is the before pic. Aren’t they ginormous? Each earring was made from 16 metal teardrop pieces.

The teardrop metal pieces were attached with jump rings so I disassembled each earring and ended up with a pile of parts:

I had some dark pewter metal chain in my stash, measured out 18 inches and then attached a clasp.

Then I attached three of the metal pieces ( saved the jump rings I’d removed) to a 7 links of the chain.

I ended up using 21 of the 32 tear drops so I have some left over to play with. In deconstructing the earrings, I also ended up with another pile o parts that sparked some more ideas. Stay tuned!

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Jewelry Making With Plaid and Martha Stewart. I'm In Love!

This post is sponsored by Plaid , Martha Stewart Crafts, and The Blueprint Social. Projects and opinions are my own.

When I heard that Plaid was launching a Martha Stewart Jewelry line, I was excited. When I had the opportunity to get to play with products from this new line, there was no living with me. I camped out at the front door waiting for Mr. FedEx man. Martha and jewelry? This could only be phenomenal.  The only thing missing was chocolate.

Let’s start with the amazing variety and choices in this new line. Whether you’re a new jewelry maker or an experienced one, there’s something for you. Findings, chains, beads, charms, rhinestones, bails, bezels, tools. Two of the most exciting new products are the jewelry glazes and enamel paints.

You can make your own very elegant enamel charms in a variety of colors.  There are also  epoxy clays and silicone molds to make even more components. I had to start somewhere (this was the hardest part!) so I decided to play with the jewelry glaze.

I covered two of the silver charms with  Ivory jewelry glaze. To apply it, squeeze a little glaze onto the silicone mat then stipple it onto the charm. This little silicone mat is genius! Works with the jewelry glaze and the enamel paints and cleans up easily.

I wanted a vintage look so I wiped a bit of the Ivory glaze off with a clean dry rag but if you want a more contemporary opaque look, just don't wipe away the glaze. After about an hour’s drying time , I went over the Ivory with a coat of the Light Gold glaze.

While my glaze was drying, I played with a couple different sizes of the rhinestones and settings, using the Martha Stewart jewelry glue to secure the rhinestones.There are two different kinds of settings; pronged and glue in. I used the 3MM and 6MM hematite colored rhinestones and settings .  I've mentioned before that I'm really sensitive to strong fumes and smells. The jewelry glue didn't bother me at all.

I used two types of silver chain that came in my supplies, connecting the rhinestone components with jump rings to sections of one of the chain and using the other chain in its entirety. I made a pendant out of one of the glazed charms and rhinestones and used the other glazed charm (with chain I had on hand) to make a matching bracelet.

The rhinestones come in a variety of colors and sizes and coordinate with other beads in the line. 

There are endless possibilities with these products, limited only by your imagination. You can check out the full line of products (available exclusively at Michaels) and get some other ideas here: 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiredByPlaid
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlaidCrafts
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/plaidcrafts

And be on the lookout because other creative bloggers will be sharing their Martha Stewart Jewelry creations too.

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The Best Blog Recipes

Designer Inspired Super Easy White Agate Stretch Bracelet

I mentioned in my previous post that I was seeing a couple of friends this week and like to bring them something on our all too rare get togethers. One friend is an uber fashionista .Simple but high end style.

I love the Simon Sebbag stretch bracelets I’ve seen at Nordstrom. If you’re not familiar with them :

which remind me of her so I decided to do my own version. The original uses all of the same stone bead with one or two accent beads.

Got my supplies out. For this you will need:

• Stretchy Cord
• Stone Beads ( I used white agate)
• Focal Bead ( I originally planned to use this stainless mesh bead but it didn’t look right so you’ll see what I switched to after I took the picture)
• Small silver beads

Measure a length of your stretchy cord. I generally do about 9-10 inches.

String your beads on. This is THE perfect project for anyone who wants to make jewelry but doesn’t want to invest in tools. You can use what you have on hand. Ruler, binder clips, scissors.

You can see here what I swapped out for the stainless bead. A bronzite bead with two small silver beads.
Once you’re satisfied that you have the right length to go around your wrist ( you want it to fit comfortably, not too tight) then you can tie off your ends and I always add a dab of super glue to the knot then tie once more.

Even using real stone and silver beads my materials were a fraction of the cost of my inspiration bracelets.

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