Monday, June 2, 2008

Jewelry!

Today, I'm showing you how to make this gorgeous necklace. I originally got the idea from Jan Wakeland, another SU demonstrator. I bought a kit that she made. The supplies you need are waxed thread, washers, rub-ons, and embellishments. Here I used the Pretties Kit and Eastern Elegance rub-ons. You can also use eyelets as spacers and crimp beads.
I found this waxed thread at Michael's in both white and black. That is also where I got the lobster clasps, and I got earrings too. My mom was thrilled to get some clip earrings because her ears aren't pierced.
After applying the rub-on to the washer, cut your thread to the desired length. Make sure you add enough to knot the ends. Fold the thread in half and put the ends through the washer hole.
Put the ends through the loop and pull tight.
Add embellishments as desired.
Thread the lobster clasp onto one side of the thread.
Tie a knot and pull tight, moving the knot as close to the clasp as possible. Trim the excess.
Make a loop with the other thread and tie a knot just like the one you made for the lobster clasp. Trim the excess. (As you can see here, I laid my necklace out flat so I could make the loop even with the clasp.)
A note about the thread and embellishments: For some reason the white thread is thinner than the black even though they look the same. Only the white thread will go through the smaller pearls in the Pretties Kit. They fit fairly snugly so your embellishments will stay put. Otherwise, I used the silver eyelets as spacers and then crimped one at the top to keep all of the beads in place. I bought some clear thread, but it didn't work well. So I'm sticking with black and white.
A note about the washers: They are very inexpensive! I got a whole bunch in different sizes at my local hardware store and only paid $4. I found some thinner ones that were called fender washers so they aren't so heavy.
I forgot to take pictures when I made the earrings, so I will make another pair and post those another day.
Happy stamping!

6 comments:

Emily said...

Jana, this is awesome! I need to pick up some washers and give this a try. TFS!! =)

Kathy W said...

who would of thunk it??? washers made to look cool, what a fun project

Marilyn Goodrich said...

Oh my! What an enabler you are! Can't wait to try this out :)

Unknown said...

This is too neat!!!! I will have to give this a try!! TFS!

Debbi said...

My DD and her friends will love this. I think they will make them next week at her birthday party.

Bunny B said...

How cool! Thanks for sharing :)