Wood Bead Necklace Tutorial

Sorry it took so long to get all of these directions up, Andrew was a bit under the weather after his doctors appointment and subsequent blood test (bleh) this week. Oh can I just say he did amazing with getting his blood drawn, he hardly even noticed while I'm sitting there trying not to pass out since I'm holding him!

Anyway all is well and I've finally got pictures of the steps for each of the necklaces I made for the craft club, enjoy.

This one is pretty straight forward, but I love that there are so many different ways you can personalize this one. (source of inspiration here)You'll need: wood beads, ribbon, and paint/spray paint. Also jump rings from the jewelry section are optional, I'll explain later... So start with some wood beads, any size you like and any combination of sizes. I got a large package of 5/8", a package of 3/4" and a package of 1". I actually mistakenly got dolls head for the 3/4"...that means they only had a hole part way through...grrr. Well I just got out my drill and fixed that so either make sure you grab beads or be ready to whip out the power tools. :D
Next paint or spray paint them any color. I went with paint because I had it on hand, but when it was done I didn't like the matte finish. Luckily I had some semi-gloss wood finish in a spray can on hand from when I refinished my kitchen chairs. That really helped the look a lot so I recommend either a gloss finish over the paint or spray paint it with a gloss or semi gloss to begin with. (see V and Co's original post here for a great way to spray paint the beads). I put my beads on a BBQ skewer and painted them like that, it worked pretty well.

After the beads have been painted (and finished if that's what you choose) and they are plenty dry start threading them onto the ribbon in whatever pattern you would like.

ORhere is where the jump rings could come in handy.
I was thinking it would be cool to get the most out of this necklace to paint the beads a neutral color and then have a changeable ribbon. So instead of threading the beads onto the ribbon, thread them with a needle and thread instead and tie both sides to a jump ring.

I double my thread over twice and tied it to one jump ring and then threaded my beads on.

I put a bit of hot glue on the end to make sure the jump ring doesn't rotate. If it does and the seam comes to the thread it could slip off.

Finished with jump rings.

Cut two strips of ribbon a good length for each side and loop them onto the jump rings.

When its all done you can got even further in personalizing it if you'd like and make a pendant of your initial...

Or of different shapes... obviously here it isn't attached, but simply drill a hole through it and attach it with a jump ring.

Phew, well I hope I didn't overwhelm you with all the different ways to make this necklace. Let me know if there is anything unclear about these directions. And if you end up making this necklace, send me a picture of your version!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Don't miss the two other necklace tutorials I put up this week. Here and here.

Pearls and Ribbon Necklace

For this necklace you will need ribbon, pearls, and a needle and thread. Its best to keep the diameter of the pearls and the width of your ribbon fairly similar so the pearls don't get lost.

I found this necklace to be a bit harder to make than it looks mostly because you have to keep it all nice and tight and thread it at the same time.

Anyway start out by cutting your ribbon to the length you want it. I did mine rather short so the little one has less of a chance of breaking it. Next tie a knot at one end of your ribbon where the pearls with start.

Thread your needle and tie a couple knots in the end of the thread. Now run the needle through the knot starting at the outside (the end of the ribbon) through toward the body of the ribbon. (did that make any sense?)

So just start beading the pearls and alternate pearls and ribbon.

Let the ribbon loop a bit around the pearls, but be sure to keep it nice and tight as you go to keep the thread concealed.

When you get to the end you may need a third hand. Hold the thread taught while tying a knot in the ribbon. Once the knot is in place, run your needle through the back and tie it off in a way that will hold it nice and tight. You may want to put a spot of glue over the knot to make sure it doesn't slip. Then trim the ends of the thread and you're done.

I really like how this necklace turned out, it just makes me nervous to wear it around my little cub. I can just see the pearls flying all over the place in church or something. So just be careful and make sure its nice and secure. I was also thinking you could use a sturdier jewelry cord to reduce the risk of it breaking.

Also check out my other two necklaces I made recently. Here and here.

Pearls and Pillows

This week was a bit random when it came to crafting. A friend at church is organizing a craft club and asked me to help sort of lead the group this first time around. We had previously put together a list and gotten feedback about what projects the ladies would like to do. Based on that list I chose a project I felt (kinda) qualified to teach. So I got started on making a couple different necklaces. This first one my friends suggested so I don't know where she got the original inspiration from but I have seen it a bunch in stores.

I really like this look of pearls and ribbon together. The other necklace for the craft club is still in the making and then I thought I would also teach the glass bead and stocking necklace I made a while ago.

The other thing I did was just more for practice. I made two little pillows for the cub's recliner. I just made one straight simple pillow out of left over fabric that I got from my mother in law and the other pillow I was practicing making and doing piping before doing it with fabric I actually buy and for decorating my house. They both turned out just fine. The piping was actually really easy to make since my mother in law had some left over fabric she had already made into the quilt binding so all I had to do was put a cord (stolen shoe lace from husband's shoes) in it and sew the cord in. I'm going to recover/make a slip cover for this chair eventually when my budget for crafts is a bit bigger.

Inspecting the pillow...

Taste test...He really loves to pull them off the chair and throw them on the ground. At least he's got his own now and he doesn't have to pick on the bigger ones.