Before Blogging: Faux Coral Necklace

It’s Friday, so technically I should be sharing Five Things on Friday but it feels like it has been such a long time since I’ve shared a DIY project that is not cottage-related on here!

I must be on a faux kick since I shared a faux zinc tray yesterday at Setting For Four!

This necklace is several years old . . . in fact, I can remember wearing it when I taught my first Kindergarten class, so it’s at least six years old.

I thought it was innovative back then, and I still feel that way now!

I teased you with a photo of this necklace WAY back in April when I shared my iPiccy watermarking tutorial.

 

 My jewelry making techniques have definitely evolved since I made this necklace.

I used the clear beads to make the necklace the proper length to rest on my collarbone. I did this because if I had used two more stones it would have been too long.

 

 

 

Did you spy the photobombing ant? I guess it comes with the territory when you take your photos outside!

 

 So, you’ve seen the finished necklace and the faux coral stones, but what are they?

 

 

 

Plastic stones from Dollarama!

I’m sure they were supposed to be a vase filler, but when I spotted them on the shelf (many moons ago) coral jewelry was just gaining in popularity and I thought it had a striking resemblance to coral. Even back then I was a Dollar Store upcycler!

Once I had my necklace plan devised, my Dad helped me to drill holes through the center of each stone so that I could string them on a cord. I can remember they got very hot!

After I had cleaned up the holes’ edges, I strung the stones onto clear fishing line, adding a Mother-of-Pearl pendant on a jump ring to the center. For simplicity, I used a toggle clasp which makes it very easy to put on and take off.

That’s it!

6 years later, it’s still my go-to necklace when I want to make a statement with my jewelry. It looks great with a simple tank top or my favourite summer dress.

Have you done any upcycling lately? Perhaps you will this weekend! No matter what, I hope it’s a great one!

P.S. Check out another repurposed Dollar Store jewelry project here! I still have lots more of these up my sleeve!

P.P.S. My photos that have a retro look to them were created using the Anthony effect in iPiccy!

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I link up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Someday Crafts, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid, My {Re}purposed Life, Unrefined By Design, Dragonfly Designs, Just Us Four, Liz Marie Blog and The Crafted Sparrow

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Neon Necklace From Repurposed Dollar Store Jewelry

Okay, so this isn’t your circa 1980s neon, but it’s definitely not a pastel necklace!  For a fair-skinned gal like me, it’s just bright enough to make a statement.

I have been on the hunt for an inexpensive way to make my own version of these two filigree jewelry pieces that I found on Pinterest and The Crafted Sparrow (please click each image to be taken to their tutorial or to pin these projects).

While I was in the Dollar Store, I quickly checked the jewelry and found just what I needed! For fellow Canadians, I am a frequent Dollarama customer, but this great find came from the Everything For A Dollar Store chain.

Once I had paraded the earrings around my backyard (thank you, Rebecca from The Crafted Sparrow for inspiring me to hang them on a branch of my Weigela), I was ready to repurpose.

I gathered my supplies . . .

(Pay no attention to the pink earring that was being uncooperative!)

Then, I removed the earring hook, keeping the existing jump ring and attached the three medallions together. In the end, I only needed one extra jump ring.

I tried to attach the three medallions together in an arrangement that would make them fall more in a U shape than a straight line.

Finally, I attached the medallions to my chain, cutting off the unnecessary length from the middle so that it could be reused.

The chain was originally for an 18 inch necklace and I wanted it to sit on my collarbone so I shortened it to about 16 inches. You can view a handy reference for necklace lengths here.

That’s it!

My biggest challenge was the dark, dreary day and having to take indoor photos.

 

 After the sun came out, I returned to my garden and took this fun shot! 

 

I was wearing my newest necklace all weekend and love the pop of colour that it adds to my wardrobe. It will make a great summer necklace!

On the same trip, I found another fun pair of earrings (that I would never, ever wear as earrings). I’m still trying to figure out how to repurpose them . . .

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. If you’re not lucky enough to find jewelry in a colour that is wearable, here is a quick way to fix that! (I bet nail polish would be fun, too!)

 

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I link up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, NiftyThrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid, 413 Sparrow Lane, My {Re}Purposed Life, Just Us Four and The Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all the hosts!

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A Bit of Pinspiration: Bird’s Nest Pendants

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m back with another Pinterest-inspired project, or as I like to call it, ‘pinspiration’

 

As you may know, I enjoy making or repurposing jewelry. I can find my way around chains, clasps and jump rings, but I don’t do a lot of work with wire.

That all changed when I pinned this beautiful image to my DIY Jewelry Board:

 

Source: Sarah Ortega via Claire on Pinterest

Aren’t they gorgeous? You can view the full tutorial here.

All of the jewelry on Sarah Ortega’s website is completely my taste and the way that she styles her photographs is stunning. I aspire to take photos like hers one day!

I initially made several ‘test nests’ with galvanized wire from Dollarama and faux pearls, but then I became paranoid that wearing something made from galvanized wire was going to give me a rash on my neck.

I found my brown (or copper-coloured) craft wire in the jewelry-making supplies at Michaels. One package was enough wire to make more than 5 nests.

I wanted the eggs to look like robin’s eggs so I bought a string of beads that was a mix of the solid blue and speckled green.

Since I already had all the other jewelry-making supplies, the cost for multiple nests was less than $10.

Check out my PicMonkey collage below (a new feature that I just spotted this weekend!):

 

 

 

 

And, one more, using PicMonkey’s “dusk” effect.

 

 

Thank you, Sarah Ortega for sharing your tutorial so that I could learn how to make this beautiful pendant!

 

 

Have a creative week . . . and stay cool!

P.S. You can view two more of my jewelry projects here and here!

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I’ll be linking up at: Serenity Now, I {Heart} Naptime, Under The Table And Dreaming, Nifty Thrifty Things, Simply Klassic Home, Home Stories A to Z, Craftomaniac, Skip To My Lou, Not JUST A Housewife, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Alderberry Hill, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, A Diamond In The Stuff, Creatively Living, The Winthrop Chronicles, Clean & Scentsible, Oopsey Daisy, Lil’ Luna, Live.Laugh.Rowe, The 36th Avenue, aka design, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Crafty Scrappy Happy, How To Nest For Less, Tatertots & Jello, The Grant Life, It’s Overflowing, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time, Six Sisters’ Stuff, Positively Splendid and The Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all the hosts!

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DIY Jewelry - Resin Rose Earrings

Time for another jewelry project that coincidentally would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift!

(I love making jewelry and own a RIDICULOUS amount of supplies. Expect more jewelry projects in the future).

I originally picked up a package of these resin flower embellishments from Michaels with the plan of turning them into magnets. That would have been fun, but I think these are much prettier than magnets!

To make your own earrings, you only need four things:

1. Earring blanks (if these were for me, I would use stud earrings)  2.  Resin flowers  3. Tweezers 4. E-6000 (or another adhesive suitable for metal)

Assembly could not be easier . . .

While holding your rose with tweezers, apply a small amount of glue to the back and adhere it to the earring blank. Adjust the positioning of each rose before leaving it to dry.

My roses were slightly smaller than the diamond shape on the earring blank so I had to move them around to get the right placement.

Tip: Once the adhesive dries, your tweezers are also handy to remove any excess glue.

If you have a Silhouette, you can cut an earring backing card using this shape download. So easy!

To finish it off, I added a strip of “crafting tape” (that’s the Canadian equivalent of Washi tape) to the card. I think it still looks a bit plain, but I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine so this is how I left it (for now).

I have a new-found appreciation for people who photograph jewelry – I had to use glue dots to keep them from moving around!

Do you have any great gift ideas for Mother’s Day? I’d love to find out what you’re making – feel free to add your blog post’s address in the comments!

 

P.S. If you’re looking for these flower embellishments, I found them in the scrapbooking section.

Linking up here as well as to these great parties!

Thank you to all the hosts!

 

Customize Your Jewelry With Spray Paint

Take one package of earrings from the $1 section at Michaels (or in Canada, the $1.50 section).

Add Catalina Mist spray paint.

Attach a jump ring and thread your pendant onto a necklace.

Done!  

 

Hmm . . . what colour should I paint the other earring?

P.S. See Catalina Mist’s versatility here, here and here. It’s a real chameleon paint colour!

Linking up to many great parties on my Link Parties page!