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PrintHow to make your own jewelry
Add a touch to your wardrobe with these steps for creating your own festive necklace and earrings.
Dress up your everyday style, or a Valentine’s Day date, with a stunning piece of jewelry that reflects your personality and taste — because you designed it yourself.
Jennifer Brown, manager of the Pink Daisy, 9908 Riverside Parkway, and former owner of Beaded Sisters, outlines the steps to making a dazzling, shimmering pearl and sparkling crystal multi-strand necklace for a winter soiree, complete with an ornate sterling-silver Balinese clasp.
Cynthia Hawley, associate at Peace of Mind Bookstore, 1401 E. 15th St., and jewelry designer for 15 years, describes how to make drop earrings with richly colored semi-precious stones that heat up any wardrobe.
Multi-strand necklace
Supplies:
A spool of .019 soft flex wire
14 sterling silver crimp beads
A decorative clasp
10-15 strands of a variety of Austrian crystal, Czech glass, a variety of pearls and filler beads
A foot of 1/2 hard 22-gauge sterling round wire
Jump rings
Bead stoppers
Procedure:
Gather beads and use the multi-strand bead board to brainstorm design, color scheme and layout.
For an 18-inch necklace length, cut seven 22-inch strands of soft flex wire for extra space to crimp. After designing each strand on the bead board, bead one strand at a time. Use bead stoppers when the individual strand is complete.
Attach strands to the jump ring. Add the crimp bead to one end of the strand, string through the jump ring, string back through crimp bead and crimp with the crimping pliers. Do one end only so if you need to make adjustments, one end will be open.
Attach the clasp. If using a multi-strand clasp, crimp the strands directly to the loops in the clasp. For this clasp, cut a 2-inch piece of hard wire and make a wire wrap loop on one end and attach to the jump ring with the attached strands. Then move a 1/2 inch down the hard wire to make another wire wrap loop and attach to the loop inside the clasp.
Repeat on the left side. Secure each strand straight across so the necklace can be worn flat or twisted for effect.
For a price inquiry regarding this necklace, call the Pink Daisy at 394-7465. For more design ideas by Jennifer Brown, e-mail her at beadedsisters@aol.com.
Semi-precious stone earrings
Supplies:
8 semi-precious stone beads of various shapes and sizes
2 spacer beads
2 head pins
A spool of 22 gauge
silver wire
2 French ear wires
Procedure:
Add beads. Put the first bead on the head pin, then alternate spacers and beads until the pin is covered. Leave room for a loop at the top of the pin.
Make a loop with the round-nose pliers and wrap the top part of the pin around itself to make a cap on top of the bead.
To make the top portion of the drop earring, cut 1 1/2 inches of sterling-silver wire. Make a loop at the bottom.
Add beads and spacers; make another loop at the top.
Hook the bottom loop of the wire onto the head pin loop.
Hook the drop onto the ear wire. Close the loops tightly.
Tiger’s Eye earrings, $27. For more semi-precious earrings like this pair, visit Spirit Works, 1401 E. 15th St.
Jewelry-making tool kit
Crimping pliers
Round-nose pliers
Jewelry wire cutters
Flat-nose pliers
Bead board
Bead it
Visit these local shops for bead-making supplies and advice on making jewelry.
Alouette
7715 E. 91st St.
615-3555
www.alouetteonline.com
The Beadles
114 W. Dallas St., Broken Arrow
806-8945
www.beadlesbeadshop.com
The Bead Merchant
2745 E. 15th St.
747-3636
Hobby Lobby
5130 S. Harvard
Ave.
749-8736
9717 E. 71st St.
254-0290
www.hobbylobby.com
Island Dreams Beads
1408 S. Harvard Ave.
712-3237
http://islanddreambeads.com
Lyon’s Indian Store
401 E. 11th St.
582-6372
