Vintage-Inspired Multi-Strand Necklace

  

This necklace started out as an idea to use up leftover beads, and the design was inspired by a vintage necklace I saw a character wear in a Hallmark Channel mystery movie.

(Actress Sarah Strange in one of the Garage Sale Mystery movies from the
Hallmark Channel, wearing the inspiration necklace for the piece I created.)

My original plan had been to use up the many leftover silver and black beads I had from my New Years Eve necklace and earrings set, but of course as I laid out my design and things evolved I couldn't find just exactly the beads I wanted from my stash, so naturally I had to buy some new beads. So much for my plan to try and use up some of my overflowing bead collection!

I think the silver luster glass, antique brass and rhinestone spacers, and crystal bars really give this necklace a vintage feel, even if none of the beads are from a bygone era.

I created the crystal 'bars' by stinging together graduated sizes of icicle-shaped glass crystal beads and wire-wrapping them snugly together to hold their straight shape.

The silver luster glass beads add an elegant sparkle, and when paired with the antique brass and rhinestone spacers definitely have an old-world feel.

 

In the interest of not buying even more new supplies and trying to use up what I had on hand, I created a couple of simple wire connector elements for the sides. These look much too modern for the vintage vibe I wanted, so I tried to help them mesh with the design a little better by embellishing them with small silver luster glass rondelles.

The chain and toggle clasp are handmade as well, and I kept the decoration on the toggle simple to better tie in with the side connector elements. As usual I used German style wire for all of the findings, chain and wrapped components.

 

This necklace was difficult to photograph because of the contrast between the clear crystals, the shiny silver, and the opaque black beads. And I don't think any photograph can accurately capture the level of sparkle this necklace brings when the light hits it.

 

The design for this piece was meant to be simple and striking, rather than one of the crazy colorful and detailed mega-pieces I usually make, and it was nice to give my fingers a little break. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out--I think this necklace is simple enough for daytime work wear, and yet definitely fancy enough for an evening out. 

What do you think, do you get a vintage vibe from this necklace? How would you wear it? I'd love to know!

Possibly linking up with:

Fabulous Party at Lou Lou Girls
Show and Tell Link Party at Flamingo Toes
Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims
Link Party Palooza at Tatertots and Jello

More 'Heirloom' Necklaces With My Grandma's Vintage Jewels

I'm not posting a tutorial this week since I posted two last week, but I wanted to show you the other two necklaces I made using some more pieces of my grandma's vintage jewelry. The two I'm showing you today were both made following the same steps as my DIY Mixed Metals Statement Necklace, so they're a little different from the first and second 'heirloom' necklaces I blogged about. These were just as quick and easy though, and both gorgeous additions to my favorite outfits.

I love love LOVE this yellow version. Not all of the pieces are vintage, but all of the yellow ones are. It's special to me both because of the 'heirloom' pieces it contains and also because of the color--the yellow rhinestones are reminiscent of citrines, and citrine is my birthstone. When I was younger I was SO not a fan of citrine...to me it was this ugly, almost dirty yellow color. Now, I can't get enough of it. It's sort of a sophisticated neutral among the plethora of colored gemstones.

I used bronze chain and gold and brass findings on this necklace since the yellow is such a warm tone. Plus, I think bronze really keeps with the vintage colors, even if using heavy chain is a bit modern.

The second piece is chock full of lovely blue rhinestones in a variety of shades. Again, two of the pieces (the round, clear rhinestone pieces) in this necklace are not vintage, but I added them for a little extra visual interest. I used one of my grandma's vintage brooches as the focal piece and surrounded it with a few pairs of her earrings. It falls pretty high on my 'love' list as well, since blue is my favorite color.

I went with hematite-colored chain and silver and gunmetal findings for this necklace since blue is a cool tone, and I doubled up the chain since I wanted a chunkier look (and it's another way to add a little extra visual interest). I love that the lobster clasp has little jewels in it, although I wish the bright silver jump rings were a little duller and didn't look so shiny and new.

I love these 'heirloom' statement necklaces and the family history they hold; I can't wait to wear them!

Do you love vintage jewelry? Do you enjoy the current big, sparkly statement necklace trend? I'd love to know.

Sarah Marie


Linking up with:

Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims
We Did It! Wednesday at Sew Much Ado 
Show & Tell at Gingerly Made
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
The Party Bunch at 30 Handmade Days
Link Party Palooza at Tatertots and Jello
Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes
I Made This and Love It at Make It and Love It
Take-A-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts

DIY Beaded [Heirloom] Statement Necklace: Valentine's Edition

A couple of weeks back I posted a fun tutorial on making an 'heirloom' rhinestone statement necklace using some of my grandmother's vintage costume jewelry. Well, I still had several pieces of my grandma's jewelry left--enough that I've been able to make several other necklaces, and I wanted to share another version here. This necklace combines the rhinestone bib element of my Mixed Metals Statement Necklace with double strands of bright, faceted beads instead of chain. This makes for a beautiful burst of color and gives the necklace a more classic, vintage-y feel than the more modern industrial chain version. Here is my version in red, just in time for Valentine's Day!

And this one was just as easy to make--and almost as fast--as the first one. Here's how I did it.

*Tip: If you haven't checked out my DIY Mixed Metals Statement Necklace tutorial yet you might want to do so before continuing, as I explain in that tutorial how to attach your rhinestone sliders to filigree blanks and then how to connect those rhinestone filigree pieces to each other. I won't go into detail on those techniques here since I've already detailed them previously, and they're necessary for this necklace .

Supplies:
-5 (or any odd number) Rhinestone earrings/pendants/sliders/brooches, etc. that have already been attached to metal filigree blanks (see steps 1 - 8 in previous tutorial here).
-Beads in a color complimentary to your rhinestone focal pieces.
-Jump rings
-Beading wire
-Crimp beads
-Crimp covers (optional)
-Multi-strand clasp (or 2 connector bars each made for at least two strands and a separate lobster clasp)
-Needle nose pliers
-Flat nose pliers (or a 2nd pair of needle nose pliers, to aid in opening and closing jump rings)
-Wire cutters
-Crimping pliers

1. Connect your rhinestone focal pieces together following the technique outlined in steps 9-12 of my Mixed Metals Statement Necklace tutorial. Here's a picture of the five pieces I've attached together, and a close-up of the backside so you can see how they've been connected with multiple jump rings.

 

2. Now we'll connect one of the 'top' (shorter) strands of beads. String about 5 3/4 inches of beads onto your beading wire (I leave mine attached to the spool rather than cutting off a specific length).

 

3. Take a look at one of the end components of your rhinestone bib and identify two holes at the edge of the filigree where you'd like to connect your (two) bead strands. Using your crimping pliers and a crimp bead, crimp the open end of your beading wire to the top-most of the filigree holes you selected. Here's a good tutorial on crimping. I like to then add a crimp cover over my finished crimps to give my jewelry a more finished look, but this is optional.

 

4. You should now have something that looks like the image above--a beaded strand attached on one side to your rhinestone bib and on the other side to the wire spool.

 

5. Snip the wire from the spool about 1 1/2 inches from the last bead and gather your multi-strand clasp (or multi-strand connector bar).

 

6. Using your crimping pliers and a crimp bead, crimp your wire to the inner hole on your multi-strand clasp (or connector bar). Add a crimp cover if preferred.

7. Tuck in the end of your beading wire through the first couple of beads. (Please excuse my giant man-thumbs and super jagged nails. Jewelry wire-working leaves my nails perpetually dented and ugly...)

 

 8. You should now have something that looks like the image above.

 

9. String and attach the outer strand of beads to the rhinestone bib and the clasp following the same instructions above, but increasing the beaded strand very slightly to about 1/4" to 1/2" longer than the first (inner) strand. On my necklace, this only required one more bead. Tip: Be careful not to add too many extra beads to the outer strand, or the strands won't lay nicely together and the outer strand will appear buckled when worn.

 

Here's a close-up of both strands connected to the rhinestone bib on the first side.

 

10. Repeat the same process on the opposite side of the rhinestone bib to add two more beaded strands, connecting both strands to the other filigree end and the other side of the multi-strand clasp (or another multi-strand connector bar).

 Note: If using a multi-strand connector bar that does not have a clasp already attached as part of the component, now is the time to add it. Use jump rings to attach a lobster clasp on one side and a large jump ring on the other for the clasp to connect to.

Your necklace should now be complete! And if you stuck with a red theme like I did, it's perfect for Valentine's Day. Or really, any day of the year. Because rhinestones and pearls are good every day, no matter the color.

I used a vintage Swarovski crystal double-strand clasp to keep with the feel of my grandma's vintage jewelry (note: two of the pieces in the bib are NOT vintage pieces from her collection--just keepin' it real), but you you can find all sorts of modern multi-strand clasps and/or connector bars in the jewelry section of your local craft store (where you can also find rhinestone sliders to make the bib).

 

I love the asymmetrical rhinestone bib and the mixed metals! And every time I look at this necklace I think of my grandma. With our shared love of color, sparkle, and rhinestones, I think she would have approved.

Are you a fan of vintage jewelry? In what color would you make a necklace like this? I'd love to know!

Sarah Marie

Linking up with:

Take-A-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts
Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims
We Did It! Wednesday at Sew Much Ado 
Show & Tell at Gingerly Made
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
The Party Bunch at 30 Handmade Days
Link Party Palooza at Tatertots and Jello
Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes

The Sunday Showcase Party at By Stephanie Lynn

Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou

DIY [Heirloom] Rhinestone Statement Necklace

I think I get my love of loud jewelry and all things sparkly from my paternal grandmother, Jennie. She passed away over 20 years ago (and was sick for most of the years we did have together) so I don't have many memories of her, but I do know that she was fond of big, colorful costume jewelry, and especially large rhinestone clip-on earrings. After she passed away I was given several pairs of her earrings and a few other small pieces of her costume jewelry, and I've been holding onto them for two decades, knowing that some day I'd find some way to wear or use them. Enter 2013: the rise of the loud statement necklace trend. (Can I get a 'hooray' on this?)

I'm totally in love with all the big, colorful jewelry that is so popular right now, and I've been thinking for awhile that my grandmother's earrings would make some fabulous statement necklaces. They sure weren't getting any wear while tucked away in a bag in my jewelry box. So I got to work and played around with several pairs of her earrings until I came up with a few designs I love. I call these 'Heirloom Statement Necklaces' since they contain pieces that (for me) have a family history, but you could use any sort of rhinestone pieces to make your own version--rhinestone pins, pearl pendants, jewelry sliders, etc. Have fun with your color mixing and try various sizes and metals together. You can create a fabulous and unique colorful necklace or even a simple, monotone statement piece!

Tip: If you haven't checked out my DIY Mixed Metals Statement Necklace tutorial yet you might want to do so before continuing, as I explain in that tutorial how to attach your rhinestone pieces to filigree blanks so as to make them more easily connectable when putting your necklace together. I won't go into detail on that technique here since I've already posted about it previously, and it's a necessary step in this tutorial.

Supplies:

-18 inches of large cable chain
-7 (or any odd number) Rhinestone earrings/pendants/sliders/brooches, etc. that have been attached to metal filigree blanks (see steps 1 - 8 in previous tutorial here)
-5mm or 6mm jump rings
-Large toggle clasp
-Needle nose pliers (I like using two pairs when working with jump rings, or you can use a pair of flat nose pliers in place of one pair of needle nose pliers)

 

1. Play around with your rhinestone pieces until you decide on a design you like.

 

2. Find the middle of your cable chain and attach your center rhinestone piece by using your needle nose pliers to slide a jump ring through one of the holes at the edge of the filigree piece and then close it around your cable chain (at the center point you just found).

 

Note: You'll notice here that I used two jump rings to attach each piece. I did this for extra stability, and also because sometimes it's difficult to connect a jump ring at the exact center of the rhinestone piece if the filigree blank is not perfectly straight.

 

3. After attaching your center rhinestone piece, begin working your way up each side connecting the rest of your pieces.

 

Here is the back side of the two pieces in the photo above, just for a little visual of how each piece is connected.

 

4. Continue attaching your rhinestone pieces until all have been connected and are spaced to your liking.

 

Here is another visual of the back side of the necklace so you can see how each piece is connected. 

 

5. Using your needle nose pliers finish off the open ends of the chain by attaching a toggle clasp. Annnnnnd...you're done! 

Now go check out your fabulous new jewelry in the mirror...even if you're wearing a shirt that totally clashes. Because it's still AWESOME.

Can you tell how sparkly this thing is? I had a hard time getting clean photos because the light kept reflecting off all of the rhinestones.

And if you use pieces that have sentimental value to you, this will be a necklace you'll treasure for a very long time. Also, it makes for a really great story when you inevitably hear your girlfriends exclaim, "Ooh, I LOVE your necklace!".

So go on, give it a try. Once you get started making your own custom jewelry you won't want to stop!

Do you love vintage jewelry pieces? Do you wear special family jewelry pieces often, or save them only for special occasions? I'd love to know.

Sarah Marie

Linking up with:

Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims
We Did It! Wednesday at Sew Much Ado 
Show & Tell at Gingerly Made
Be.You.Tiful Link Up Party at Fry Sauce and Grits
Link Party Palooza at Tatertots and Jello
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest
Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes

The Sunday Showcase Party at By Stephanie Lynn

Block Party at Making the World Cuter

Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou

Take-A-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts