Going Nautical With Tropicali from Cousin

If you are looking for a fresh look for your summer social get-togethers, Cousin's Tropicali line is right up your alley!

I received this gorgeous mix of summery goodness in the mail and my mind immediately started to spin with ideas on how to put it together.  Here are a few pieces I've created that should light your creative spark as well.

The first piece is a necklace made from the blue and cream rope and featuring the lovely silver coral hanging charms:

Simply knotting the ropes together at regular intervals and adding the rope ends using E6000 adhesive it is just that easy to make. 

And by finishing the look with the coral charm grouping, you have a fun, beachy look that would look great with your bikini or a sundress!

The second piece I made is a bracelet using the silver buckle closure with the coral and blue rope:

For this bracelet, I looked up different kinds of knots you can do with rope and (after a lot of trial and error) decided on this simple slip-knot design which gives the bracelet bulk without looking too fussy and still highlighting the sweet charms and buckle-like closure.

From the day I received the Tropicali components I knew I wanted to incorporate the sweet octopus into one of my designs, but was a little stuck as how to do it.  In the end, I decided to make a fun keychain with him:

To make it, I used the coral rope, brass end, E6000 adhesive and the octopus charms which I rearranged a little bit on the focal.

Now that I have my summery jewelry and keychain, I am all ready for the beach!

If you are interested in making your own beachy accessories, Cousin's Tropicali line is available in your local Joann stores now!