Robin's Egg Necklace

These beads are leftovers from a ceramics experiment with minty glaze...now reborn as a robin's egg necklace!

Delft Charms

Much to my delight I found these dainty little charms at Michael's and am turning them into jewellery! 

Clay

These are the first things I have ever made out of clay--a pedestal, doily tray, beads, and (quelle surprise) roses. Now I am totally in love with the medium!

There were a few cracks in the edges of the tray after it was fired so I filled them with plaster and then painted the whole thing white.

The "Robin's Egg Green" glaze took me a while to find, since I didn't expect it to be pink!

On the roses I used clear glaze, although I was similarly surprised when I opened the container.

The glaze on the pedestal makes it look like a chocolate chip cake--an unintentionally cute result!

The tray is going to display some of my jewellery so I gave it a gold rim.

I made these into robin's egg beads to use for a necklace or bracelet.

I will use the white roses to decorate my shelves, and the pink ones will be used as pendants.

Barbie Tea Pendant

I added jump rings to this pink-flecked Barbie teacup and teapot and slid them onto a long chain with a droplet bead to create a unique necklace. Suddenly kids' toys have fashionable potential! 

Vintage Baubles Restoration

These costume jewellery necklaces, which were my great-grandma's in the 1960s, have been in my dress up box since I was a toddler. I've always loved their smooth, colorful beads, but I never wore them for real because they were an awkward length. 

I hesitate slightly when it comes to taking a pair of scissors to a vintage item, but, since the necklaces were just sitting uselessly in their jewellery box getting more and more saggy as their string disintegrated, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try to salvage them.

All I had to do was shorten them on some fresh string and now I can wear them as bright, chunky statement necklaces! Plus, there are several beads left over that I can use for another project down the road.



DIY Beaded Tassel

Materials:

A beading needle

A couple inches of wire

Seed beads

Scissors

A large, decorative bead

A spacer bead

Needle nose pliers

Elastic thread

Step 1: Bend a loop in the wire and slide on the spacer and decorative beads. This loop will be the top of the tassel.

Step 2: Bend a loop in the wire, snipping off any extra, on the other end of the decorative bead. This loop will be the bottom of the tassel and will hold the beaded tassel strands.

Step 3: Measure and cut a 10-inch piece of elastic thread. It is going to be folded in half to create two approximately 2-inch long beaded strings of the tassel, allowing fraying and tying room. Obviously if you want your tassel strings to be longer you will have to cut a larger piece. 

Step 4: Thread the elastic into the eye of the beading needle.

Step 5: Pull the beading needle through the bottom wire loop so you have two equal pieces of elastic sticking out each side of the loop.

Step 6: Thread seed beads onto one side of the elastic. Remove the needle and tie a knot at the end of the string.

Step 7: Repeat step 6 for the other half of the elastic.

Step 8: Now your tassel has two full beaded strands. Repeat steps 3 through 7 to add as many strands as you think suits your tassel.

It will add some sparkle to your wardrobe or décor!



DIY Pearl Collar Necklace

Materials:

A bracelet chain with a clasp

4 jump rings

A shorter string of pearl beads (mine was 10'')

A longer string of pearl beads (mine was 17'')

Pliers

Step 1: Secure the two strings of pearls with a jump ring at their centers.

Step 2: Fasten one of the ends of the two strings of pearls together with a jump ring, leaving one pearl free on the longer string.

Step 3: Attach the non-clasp end of the bracelet to the longer string of pearls with yet another jump ring.

Step 4: Use the final jump ring to secure the other two ends of the two strings of pearls together, again leaving one pearl free on the longer string. That pearl will hold the clasp to close the necklace.

There you have it! A classy collar necklace to dress up even the simplest t-shirt.