Guest blog - Ultimate statement necklace

Fran from Fall for DIY wrote a magnificent tutorial in which she designs her 'ultimate' statement necklace. The tutorial is a great read and contains lots of detailed pictures on how to make the necklace.

Used supplies from our shop:

Prong setting with 2 loops for pear rhinestone brass 18x13 mm KLZ-P004B

Prong setting 2 loops oval brass 14x10 mm KLZ-OV002B

Prong setting with 2 loops for navette rhinestone brass 15x7 mm KLZ-NV001B

Prong setting 2 loops octagon brass 18x13 mm KLZ-OC001B

Prong setting 2 loops octagon brass 8x6 mm KLZ-OC003B

Vintage pointed back rhinestone saphire AB glass octagon 8x6 mm PNS-OC002D

Acrylic rhinestone pear crystal 18x13 mm PNS-KP001Q

Acrylic rhinestone oval petrol blue 14x10 mm PNS-KOV002P

Acrylic rhinestone navette light pink 15x7 mm PNS-KNV001A

Acrylic rhinestone octagon fuchsia 18x13 mm PNS-KOC002A

Agate bead faceted drop grey 30x10 mm AG-DR009C

Vintage cameo necklace

This vintage cameo necklace will take about an hour to assemble.
I have used a true vintage cameo and combined it with a contemporary peony and a wee bowknot. The natural Dalmation jasper beads give it that lovely Shabby Chic appeal.
This is an asymmetrical design, placing the cameos on the side. The jasper beads are linked to the cameos. The last bead is placed at the same height as the white bowknot, creating a sense of balance in the design. The bowknot will be placed somewhere around your collar-bone.

What do you need for one necklace?

• Vintage cameo size 25x18 mm.
• Round cameo with peony size 18 mm.
• Lace edge settings, one oval and one round.
• Bowknot connector.
• Dalmation jasper beads, 10 pieces, round, size 10 mm.
• Eyepins size 30 mm.
• Chain bronze colour.
• 4 mm jumprings. I would have preferred to have used bronze jumprings, but I didn't have them at the moment. So I chose antique copper instead. You'll hardly notice the difference in colour with a jumpring this size.
• Glue I used regular Hasulith jewelry glue for the cameos.

How do you proceed?
1. Start by linking the jasper beads with the eyepins. These 3 steps will help you get the best result for equally sized links:
1.1 Place the jasper bead on the eyepin. Place an 8 mm bead on top of this, on the photo above it's a black glass pearl.
1.2 Cut the eyepin above the glass pearl. Remove the glass pearl. Now you have a section of exactly 8 mm with which to form a loop. This way, you will always have the same length for each and every link.
1.3 Form a loop with a round nosed plier.
If you prefer somewhat larger loops, use a 9 or 10 mm bead.

2. Connect the jasper beads one by one. Don't close up the loop until you have attached the previous bead. Try to align the loops, the result will be a smooth chain.

3. Now take the two lace edge settings. Open up a section of the edge at the top and bottom. Connect the settings with a jumpring. Do not glue in the camoes just yet!

4. Attach the white bowknot above the round setting using a jumpring. Connect the strand of jasper beads beneath the oval setting using a jumpring.

5. Cut off two equally long pieces of necklace chain. I have used two sections of 15 cm (about 6 inches) but perhaps you will require a different length. Place one section above the white bowknot, and connect the other section to the Dalmation jasper beads.

6. Attach a clasp to the two sections of chain material. I myself being right-handed, prefer to place the bar of the clasp on the right side, above the cameo.

7. All that's left now is to glue in the cameos. Leave to dry for an hour or so and enjoy you necklace!

Combinaties

Hasulith Glue 31 ml L001

Jump rings copper 4 mm OR-K001

Chain Bronze Luxurious Link 6,5x2,5 mm K005

Eyepin bronze 50 mm KS-B003

Bowtie metal pendant connector white 12x8 mm MH-ST003K

Lace edge setting bronze oval for cabochon 25x18 mm Z041

Setting lace edge antique bronze for cabochon round 18 mm Z055

Round pink cameo with ivory peony 18 mm CABR109E

Vintage Cameo Girl with Ponytail 25x18 mm CAMV057

Toggle clasp bronze 15 mm SL008C

Spring flower earrings

Have you noticed? The seasons are changing! The days are becoming longer, the birds are returning, and although we had snow here no less than a week ago, there's a very fresh feeling in the air ... Spring!
I came up with these Spring Flower earrings quite coincidentally. The majority of these beads we've had for a while now, but I had a few new colour varieties which I wanted to sort out. Lying on the table next to these beads was a 12 mm setting. These flower beads are flat-backed, so I tried fitting one into the setting, and it was a perfect fit! Thus, I combined the beads with these antique copper-coloured earrings as if they were a cabochon.

What do you need for one pair of earrings?

• 1 pair of copper-coloured earhooks with a round 12 mm setting. We also carry these earhooks in the colours bronze, silver, and gold, so the combinations are endless.
• 2 flower beads. We have two series of flower beads which can be used for these particular earrings. These are the beads beginning with the code KSK-BL086 (A, B, C etc) and KSK-BL088 (A, B, C etc).
• Glue. I have used regular Hasulith for these earrings.

How do you proceed?

1. Apply a drop of glue to the setting of the earhook. Leave it for a minute, I have noticed that it makes the glue stick even better.

2. Apply a little drop of glue onto the back of the bead and place it into the setting. The drill hole of the bead won't be hidden by the setting. I placed the hole vertically since people probably will be looking at the earring from the front and the side as you're wearing it.
In a few cases the back of the bead can be slightly larger than the setting, but you can use a piece of sanding paper to make them fit.
3. Wait a while and allow the glue to dry. I tested the earrings after roughly an hour; I dropped them onto the table and the bead didn't separate from the setting.
If the bead won't stick to the earhook, you can either try cleaning the surface of the bead with ammonia, or you can gently sand the surface of the bead to make sure the glue will stick even better.

Combinaties

Hasulith Glue 31 ml L001

Acrylic flower bead cherries red 20 mm KSK-BL086E

Acrylic flower bead apricot orange 20 mm KSK-BL086C

Acrylic flower bead ocre yellow 20 mm KSK-BL086A

Acrylic bead rose pink 19 mm KSK-BL088G

Acrylic bead rose salmon pink 19 mm KSK-BL088F

Acrylic bead rose peach orange 19 mm KSK-BL088B

Earring hooks copper with round setting for cabochon of 12 mm OH016A

Guest blog - DIY Crystal Love Earrings for Valentines day

Have a look at this lovely tutorial all the way from India by Divya. She designed these sapphire blue earrings for her brand Jewels of Sayuri especially for Valentine's day. Thanks go to Totallytutorial for doing the matchmaking.

Used supplies from our shop:

Brass setting with 1 loop for pear rhinestone 25x18 mm KLZ-P007A

Gold earwire with peridot green rhinestone OH013E

Rhinestone foiled glass pear sapphire blue 18x13 mm PNS-P010JA