How To Create a Tassel Color Fade Necklace

This pretty necklace, designed by Aimee Leang, features a mix of tassel colors in a fall fade. I like to think it's the perfect blend to wear over a slouchy sweater and your favorite jeans...mmm, I can almost smell the pumpkin spiced lattes now!

But really, to make this sweet necklace you'll need:
22 inches of chain
13 small cotton tassels
1 silky rayon tassel (all tassels are found here)
1 tulip bead cap (the raw brass one can be found here, the plated ones are sold out but will be back soon)
1 carnelian bead
20 gauge wire
a clasp
13 jump rings

round nose pliers
chain nose pliers
wire cutters

to create the main tassel dangle, check these instructions out right here

Create a dramatic tassel necklace

This new project tutorial is free for a limited time...hop on over HERE and download your own copy!

Ready-to-finish wood beads...I like them!

This necklace has been on my mind a lot lately. I made it for a display at the shop and now keep wanting to wear it. Sadly, it's part of a pretty, chalkboard display created by Maya. That means I can't pilfer it for my daily adornment.

Sigh.

The necklace is made of wooden beads, with the center beads all individually finished in Decopatch papers. The sides are plain, unfinished beads, which I actually really like the look of. The back is a section of Bali batik, so it's super comfortable to wear.

I should post a pic of the display. I should also just make myself another one of these. Maybe with some Sankofa beads thrown in for good measure?

Have you made a lucky penny necklace?

This project is just $4 at our Stamping Station. You can give a lucky penny necklace to a grad, a teacher or a bride. Try making one for that young friend headed off to camp or a summer job...we all need a bit of luck! 

Glistening Garland by Erin Siegel

This pretty project by designer Erin Siegel is in the Winter issue of Jewelry Stringing, from Interweave. The pretty pink cover of the magazine is a nice segue to this lovely project. Erin uses our Silver Twigs Toggle set to finish this necklace. My favorite part about the necklace? The sweet story Erin tells about when she made it. Read that here.

Check out the full instructions in this issue of Jewelry Stringing.

See some of Erin's Tutorials for Ornamentea right here. 

Balanced Crescent Necklace

New Tutorial - Dainty Spring Necklace

This sweet necklace is a great way to add a bit of sparkle to your almost-spring wardrobe. Designed for us by Erin Siegel, these combine sparkly crystals and bits of silk ribbon with the ease of waxed linen. Very nice!

Click here for the full instructions.

New Tutorial - Bodhi Day Wrapped Linen Necklace

We've just released another free project from contributing designer Erin Siegel and I love it. This wrapped-linen band is graphic and pretty. I can imagine making several really long ones to wear at once over a simple black tee.

Erin's necklace honors Bodhi day, celebrated on December 8th as the day Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under a bodhi tree. This would make a great gift for the yogini in your life...or for yourself!

Namaste!

Tutorial - Apothecary Jar Message Necklaces

These tiny bottles are just perfect for summertime memories...read the full tutorial here with loads of how-to ideas for attaching the bottles to cording or chain.

Get 'em while you can...

We are working on some upgrades to our website that will allow us to be more flexible in the way we show you our fabulous ingredients. It's in a very tedious, putting-all-the-ducks-in-a-row stage right now but we know it's going to turn out to be a fab thing.

As part of the upgrades, we are cleaning out the Tutorials and Projects attic. There are some great projects in there that we'll be archiving soon. If the project uses an item we no longer sell, or it is one that has not been downloaded frequently, we will be archiving that project. You can still get them now, and print them out or save the PDF on your hard drive, but that time is running out.
Sunny Day Dog Bone Bracelet
Curved Pin Link Bracelet
A Frayed Heart Fiber Necklace
Last Flight To Paris Necklace
Rainbow Joy Necklace
C'est La Vie Necklace
Octopus' Garden Necklace 
Bird On a Nest Necklace
Four Quick and Easy Earring Ideas(no PDF, shopping list and photos only)
Four Bird Earring Ideas(no PDF, shopping list and photos only)
Fantastic Elaine Ray Earring Ideas(no PDF, shopping list and photos only)
Filigree Earring Ideas(no PDF, shopping list and photos only)

These, and a few others, will be removed soon. If you want them, please download the PDF today.

Now I have to go finish cleaning out the attic.

  

P.S...I love this

 

I just saw this collage on P.S.-I made this and it reminds me of these items.

 

They are all on my studio table right now, awaiting a final home.

I think I want to combine this necklace idea with a tassel somehow...

Maybe right in the center, made of that green hand-painted cotton? Hmm...

anyhow, check out P.S.-I made this. She's makes amazing inspirational collages...

Midnight Shimmer Feather Necklace How-To

For full necklace instructions click here!

New Project - Mina's Necklace

click here for the project instructions

New Tutorial - the Kyoto Posey Necklace

This necklace uses my favorite kimono cording...click here to see it.

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Here is a video of my project for the Bead Soup Blog Party. I was paired with Christine Damm and she sent me a challenging two-strand clasp and a focal adorned with her signature layered patterns. The color palette of the focal and clasp was black with red, white, gold and green accents. If you have been around me lately you know that I have a bright red streak in my black hair, so this palette is obviously one of my favorites! The accent beads Christine sent were mostly in the black-and-white family, although she popped a few green jade pieces and some patinaed brass, too. I used a lot of what she sent me but my big additions were the German hand-dyed rayon cording and the brass ball chain. I love the dots of brass with the dotted-and-striped patterns Christine had on her focal and the red, well, that was a perfect fit. 

The parts for this necklace have been sitting on my studio table since Christine sent them to me. I can be very indecisive with beads sometimes. I would put down accent pieces and remove them, over and over, until I came up with the final design. The design you see is not the 'final' design I thought I would end up with! I had actually paired the focal and clasp with this rayon cording and these ceramic Elaine Ray beads but in the end it didn't seem like the best design. The flower printed rayon took the pendant from Africa to South East Asia and the whole design was much more feminine and floral. It was very pretty, but it was too summery and with fall approaching I wanted to make something that seemed perfect for cooler weather.

While I worked, I mixed metals throughout this design; brass ball chain, silver machine ends, brass jump rings, silver jump rings, steel clasp and steel beads, brass head pins. The mix of colors in the focal seemed to demand a mix of metals. 

I constructed the necklace by cutting the cording strands and gluing the cording and ball chain into the machine ends on one side only. Then I fed beads onto each cording strand and knotted below the bead so that they wouldn't all fall to the center when the necklace was worn. After I positioned the beads along the cording I attached the other machine ends. For this project I used the Beacon 527 glue, which is a great glue that has just enough viscosity to really get inside that cording and around that ball chain. I have made several pieces using this glue and these machine ends and the results are always sturdy. 

After I attached the pendant to the cording using jump rings I began adding the ball chain tassel. Watch the video to see the way I attached the ball chain pieces to the back of the pendant with those clip-in chain ends. I also used the same ends to attach the dangles at the end of the chain pieces. I have to say, those clip-in ends make things easy for an indecisive person like me! I moved several of the charms around on the tassel until I liked the effect. 

I worked on this design both on my studio desk and, in the end, on a mannequin at the store. I like working on a mannequin for larger-scale, drapey designs so that I can step back and see what is lying where. 

Working on this project was a fun challenge and interesting for me. I usually only design with items from Ornamentea and I select most of them so I am rarely pushed to work with an item I didn't pick out in one way or another. There were several other interesting items in the box and I'll post projects using them in future blog entries over the coming months. The first item up on my list is a twisted, coiled bit of steel wire from Christine's husband. It has an excavated, urban look to it that is very interesting to me. I couldn't make it work in this necklace but I have a bracelet idea for it that I'm pretty excited about.

Here is a listing of all the BSBP participants...settle in and visit as many as you can! I'll blog about some of them over the following month.

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York

2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson

3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino

4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner

5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier

6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins

7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor

8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen

9. Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller

10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare

11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman

12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps

13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka

14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson

15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy

16. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price

17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland

18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John

19. Anna Sabina­­­­ and Erin Siegel

19. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel

20. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou

21. B.R. Kuhlman and Deanna Chase

22. Barbara Bechtel and Bryna Lumb

23. Barbara Blaszczyk and DaviniaDesign

24. Barbara Judy and Holly Westfall

25. Barbara Lewis and Cathie Carroll

26. Barrie Edwards and Lyn Foley

27. Becky Fairclough and Jana Tarhala

28. Bella Borgouise and Gillian Lehman

29. Beth and Evie McCord and Erin Prais-Hintz

30. Beth Bricker and Heather Pyle

31. Beth Emery and Cassie Donlen

32. Bobbie Rafferty and Cindy Cima Edwards

33. Candice McGinnis and Sally Anderson

34. Carol Bradley and Cece Cormier

 35.  Cathy Khoury and Molly Alexander

 36. Carol Tannahill and Hilary Frye

37. Carrie Tahquechi and Cris Peacock

38. Cat Pruitt and Cindy Gimbrone

39. Charlene Gary and Doris Stumpf

40. Charlotte Pevny and Kate Gardenghi

41. Cherrie Fick and Cathie Carroll

41. Claire Maunsell and Cherrie Fick

42. Cheryl Roe and Jenny Vidberg

43. Chris White and Norma Turvey

44. Christa Murphy and Kathy Alderfer

45. Christie Murrow and Dana James

46. Christina Miles and Collette Collins

47. Christine Brandel and Elizabeth Woodford

48. Christine Damm and Cynthia Deis

49. Christine Hendrickson and Debbie Goering

50. Christine Stonefield and Dee Wingrove-Smith

51. Cilla Watkins and Johanna Rhodes

52. Cindy Wimmer and Riki Schumacher

53. CJ Baushka and Cory Celaya

54. Courtney Breul and Joanna Matuszczyk

55. Cristi Clothier and Kathleen Robinson Young

56. Cryss Thain and Serena Trent

57. Cynthia Tucker and Kitty Durmaj

58. Dana Johnson Jones and Eva Sherman

59. Davinia Algeri and Janet McDonald

60. Deci Worland and Lara Lutrick

61. Diana Ptaszynski and Kristy Abner

62. Diane Cook and Kerry Bogert

63. Diane Hawkey and Jen Judd Velasquez

64. Dorcas Midkiff and Jill Harris

65. Doris Radlicki and Heather Goldsmith

66. Dot Lewallen and Gaea Cannaday

67. Elisabeth Auld and Jennifer Justman

68. Erin Fickert-Rowland and Geanina Grigore

69. Erin Grant and Julie Jones

70. Eszter Czibulyas and Helena Fritz

71. Fiona Christie and Michelle Heim

72. Gail Zwang and Genea Crivello-Knable

73. Geneva Collins and Jana Haag

74. Gretchen Nation and Heidi Post

75. Heather DeSimone and Karin Slaton

76. Heather Marley and Terry Carter

77. Ingrid McCue and Jennifer Pride

78. Jackie Ryan and Nicole Keller

79. Janna Harttgen and Joanne Tinley

80. Jean Yates and Lori Anderson

81. Jelveh Jaferian and Jenny Davies-Reazor

82. Jenni Connolly and Jennifer Heynen

83. Jennifer Cameron and Kristi Bowman

84. Jennifer Geldard and Lisa Liddy

85. Jennifer VanBenschoten and Kim Hora

86. Jess Italia Lincoln and Lori Greenberg

87. Jill MacKay and Lori Bergmann

88. JJ Jacobs and Karen Tremblay

89. Joyce Becker and Kathy Welsh

90. Judy Glende and Karen Sinkowski

91. Judy Riley and Kelly Morgan

92. JuLee Wolfe and Julie Bean

93. Julianna Cannon and Julianna Kis

94. Julie Nordine and Lesley Watt

95. K. Hutchinson and Shea Zukowski

96. Karen Firnberg and Karyn Bonfiglio

97. Karen Williams and Kimberly Roberts

98. Karen Zanco and Polly Barker

99. Kari Carrigan and Laura Twiford

100. Karin von Hoeren and Laura Blanck

101. Kate Richbourg and Lorelei Eurto

102. Kathleen Lange Klik and Maria Clark

103. Kathy Engstrom and Keri Lee Sereika

104. Kay Thomerson and Loretta Carstensen

105. Kelley Fogle and Laurel Bielec

106. Kelly Ramstack and Sally Anderson

107. Kim Stevens and Tiffany Long

108. Kristi Harrison and Mandy Williamson

109. Kristi Kyle and Lana Kinney

110. Kristina Johansson and Sue Hodgkinson

111. Kym Hunter and Laura Sanger

112. Laura Zeiner and Susan Kennedy

113. Laurel Steven and Mary McGraw

114. Laurie Hanna and Lisa Boucher

115. Lesley Weir and Liz DeLuca

116. Linda Djokic and Tracey Weiser

117. Linda Inhelder and Pam Brisse

118. Linda Landig and Lori Dorrington

119. Linda Murphy and Lisa Hamilton

119.  Line Labrecque and Marianne Baxter

120. Lisa Lodge and Monica Johnson

121. Lois Moon and Melissa Muir

122. Lola Surwillo and Therese Frank

123. Lori Bowring Michaud and Marci Brooks

124. Lupe Meter and Norma Agron

125. Maggie Towne and Marge Beebe

126. Malin de Koning and Susie Hibdon

127. Mallory Hoffman and Shirley Moore

128. Marcie Abney and Patty Miller

129. Marcy Lamberson and Melissa Clarke

130. Margot Potter and Suzann Sladcik Wilson

131. Maria Grimes and Wendy Blum

132. Maria Horvath and Melinda Orr

133. Maria Rosa Sharrow and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp

134. Marian Hertzog and Melissa Mesara

135. Marianna Boylan and Sandi Lee James

136. Marina Dobrynina and Michaela Pabeschitz

137. Marsha Neal and Miri Agassi

138. Mary Ellen Parker and Melissa Meman

139. Mary Elliott and Tamara Soper

140. Mary McGraw and Laurel Steven

141. Melissa Pynn and Michelle Buettner

142. Michelle Hardy and Niki Meiners

143. Michelle Mach and Moira McEvoy

144. Missy Rappaport and Mags Sarri

145. Molly Alexander and Poranna

146. Mylene Hillam and Nicole Rennell

147. Nadezhda Parfyonova and Stacey Curry

148. Nan Emmett and Nancy Peterson

149. Nancy Boylan and Natalie McKenna

150. Natalie Monkivitch and Niky Sayers

151. Natasha Lutes and Pam Ferrari

152. Noemi Baena and Penny Ilagan

153. Pamela Petry and Rebecca Sirevaag

154. Pat Haight and Mary Shannon Hicks

155. Patty Gasparino and Vonna Maslanka

156. Penny Neville and Sandi Volpe

157. Pepita Bos and Wendy Chamberlain

158. Raida Disbrow and Rebecca Watkins

159. Rebecca Anderson and Sabrina Staub

160. Regina Santerre and Rose Binoya

161. Rhea Freitag and Tari Kahrs

162. Rochelle Brisson and Teri Baskett

163. Sally Russick and Tracy Bell

164. Sandra McGriff and Shay Williams

165. Sandra Wolberg and Sara Hardin

166. Sarah Elder and Salla Small

167. Saskia Kaffenberger and Sharon Gardner

168. Sharon Palac and Shannon Chomanczuk

169. Shay Stone and Suzette Bentley

170. Shiraz Biggie and Tammy Powley

171. Staci Smith and Tracy Stillman

172. Stacie Stamper and Tracy Martin

173. Stefanie Teufel and Vicky Taylor

174. Stephanie Dixon and Stephanie LaRosa

175. Stephanie Haussler and Valerie Norton

176. Suzanne Tate and Terri Wlaschin

177. Sweet Freedom Designs and Tammy Jones

178. Tania Spivey and Tari Sasser

179. Tara Plote and Terry Matuszyk

180. Terri Gauthier and Deana Hager

181. Theresa Fosdick and Tracey Nanstad

that amounts to 362 people making jewelry and finding inspiration in each other's stashes! wow! Thanks to Lori for organizing and coordinating this swap and thanks to Christine for the fab box of goodies I got! 

Now I'm off to read some blog posts...

Oh, this necklace will be on my other blog, 365necklaces, maybe today!