Up-Cycling Housewares Into A Fun Windchime

Our Prima Bead assignment this month was to use their products in a non-jewelry craft project.  As soon as I received my box of goodies, I knew what I wanted to make, but had to figure out exactly how to make it.

For a few years now, I've been collecting wind chimes that I hang in the huge tree outside my workshop window.  I love the colors that bounce around when the sun shines through the glass, and the sounds they make are so soothing.

For Christmas my good friend Penny gave me the coolest wind chime that was made out of old silverware, and when the wind hits it, the sound is absolutely beautiful.  I loved this idea, and wanted to build on it for my project by using more beads and kitchen items.  

What I came up with is this up-cycled housewares wind chime:

To make the wind chime I used the following materials:

One antique colander

4 antique / vintage / mismatched forks

Lots of 14g copper wire and 19g steel wire jump rings

A huge assortment of Prima beads and charms

10 inches of copper chain

Trying to get a great photo of the wind chime just wasn't in the cards, but I think you'll get the idea if I include some other pictures here (it is warm here in Phoenix, but a bit windy at my house, making it a little difficult to take a non-blurry outside picture):

Here's a close-up of the curled fork tines and the fun beads and charms.  I also used an antique key on the longest fork, keeping with the vintage feel of the piece:

This was such a fun piece to make - it may become my new favorite!

As always, thank you to Prima Bead for their generosity!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Guest Designer for Prima Bead - Assignment for February

My first assignment for 2014 from Prima Beads is to be a guest designer - so exciting!  This assignment is a little different than others we have done in that we can only use Prima products (no supplementing from our personal stash) and we had to follow directions from their Turquoise Dream bracelet and make it our own while staying within the scope of the project..  

Now for those of you who know me, you know that I really don't like to follow directions - I'm a bit stubborn that way.  But I followed the directions, put my spin on it and really like the results:

Stormy Seas

To make this bracelet, I used the following items:

#34719178  Gemstone Toggle (1pk)

#34741038  70pc 4mm Bicone Mirror Beads

#3202302 .8mm Clear Stretch Cord

#34720024  Dark Grey Seed Bead Mix

#34712131 Silver Crimp Beads

The colors in the clasp and beads are so beautifully rich, and the clasp is a gorgeous focal for the bracelet.  I added some clear bugle beads to lighten the look and add some texture.

For my second project, I wanted to carry the three-strand design to a necklace, again using the clasp as a focal point:

On Wings of Angels

To make this necklace, I used the following items:

#34719180 Silver Wings Toggle Clasp (I pk)

#3467656  36” Oval Black Chain (1pk)

#3467657  60” Black Link Chain (1pk)

#63815146 34” Silver Oval Chain

#34709065 Acrylic Red Crackle Beads (1)

Assorted Cross Charms from the Cross Culture Collection

#65019128 Metal Knot Large Hole Spacer

#34712131 Silver Crimp Beads

#74100049 7 Strand Beading Wire .015in

I really like the graduated look of ombre styles, and wanted to try and reflect that in my design.  I also felt that the piece needed a pop of color, and added in the large red bead with the blacks and greys of the design.

For the tassel, I used the three kinds of chain that I used in the main part of the necklace and added cross charms to the ends of some of them at different lengths, giving it a lariat-ish look.

I love the way this necklace turned out, and will be wearing it this weekend!

Have a fantastic rest of your weekend, and check back this month to see what my March assignment is!

These Ain't Your Grandmas Pearls!

My assignment for December from Prima Beads is to make fabulous New Year's Eve jewelry, and I was sent some really fun beads and components to play with in dramatic blacks and charcoal colors.  For my pieces I will be sharing today, I used the following items:

Various glass pearls in "smoke"

Black and leather connectors

Gunmetal crimp beads

Antiqued silver deco-style lobster clasp

Rhinestone and stainless steel round earring post

Gunmetal and rhinestone rondelles

Various chains from my personal stash

Bead wire from my personal stash

Matte black toggle clasp from my personal stash

And here's my set called "These Ain't Your Grandma's Pearls":

I was going for a statement piece that would still go with the 'little black dress' and this is what I came up with.  The main necklace is approximately 18", and the chains hang down another 2 - 3".

For the earrings, I wanted to tone down the bright silver in the ear posts, so I worked black Staz-On ink into all of the little nooks and crannies of the design and it worked like a dream.  They hang down approximately 3", and would create a very dramatic look with short or pulled-back hair styles.

This was a really fun project to work on, and one that is very different from what I usually create.  Thanks to Prima for helping me get out of my designing comfort zone to try new techniques!

More October Prima Beads Projects

I've been playing with my beads from Prima Beads again and wanted to share the rest of my projects from our October bead box.  In my last post, I used beads in the blue and green color families.  This time I focused on using the reds.  

The first necklace is made using the red swirl glass beads.  I have had a black and red heart focal in my stash for a couple of years now, and these beads were absolutely perfect with it:

Aren't these beads perfect?

I used 14g copper wire that I annealed to make it easier to work with.  Annealing is a process where you heat up the copper wire to a low orange color, allowing the heat to physically change the make-up of the wire.  After the links were made, I gently flattened them with my chasing hammer and re-hardened them in my tumbler.

I finished the necklace off with a double length of black leather.

  I really love this one and can't wait to wear it!

The second piece I made using my red beads is an upcycling project using my son's old black jeans:

I call this design "Industrial Faith"

I used my Red with Silver glass beads and charms from Prima's Cross Culture Collection to make a layered wrap bracelet.

I liked the bracelet so much that I made some matching earrings!

This is a really cool set, and the stretch denim is very comfortable to wear.

Then I was digging through my bead box and found another focal I've had for a while and decided to make one more piece:

I went back to the blue/green family to find beads that would have enough visual weight to carry the gunmetal ceramic focal.

The beautiful Teal and Black glass beads add drama and sophistication to this design.  I added two different gunmetal-finished chains and an antique clasp from my stash.

That a fun month of creating - I can't wait to see what's next!  As always, a big thank you to Prima Beads for their amazing generosity!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Fun With Prima Beads - First Projects Of The Month!

As I said before, being a Prima Blogging Team Member is a fabulous thing!  This month was pretty cool as far as what we were sent to work with.  Laura at Prima asked us some in depth personal questions about what we like to create, what colors we like to use and the materials we like to create with.  In doing this, she was able to send each of us a customized selection of beads and findings to use.

I've finished the first two pieces of many from my personal selection and wanted to share them with you:

The first necklace is using the 6mm Aqua rounds, along with a copper chain from my stash and my handmade etched copper and kiln-fired glass focal:

This is a simple and elegant style that is also very versatile.

The second piece I made is using the 2-Tone Green/Blue glass bead mix, copper daisies and washers from my stash, a lovely cut-out keyhole from Kristi Bowman Designs and a large handmade etched and colored copper heart focal:

The clasp is also handmade, and the whole piece was given a beautiful patina and tumbled in steel shot to burnish the finish and give it a lovely glow.

I'm really looking forward to finishing up a few more pieces this week and will post them soon!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

October Prima Bead Goodies!!!

I have to say that being a Prima Bead Blogging Team member is a pretty sweet gig.  This month, prima sent out a questionnaire to get more of an idea of our personal preferences and areas of expertise so they could personalize the beads and findings we would receive.  I was so excited to see what they sent for me, and I can't wait to share it with you!

Here's what I get to create with this month:

Check back all month for fun new pieces made with these beautiful goodies!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

'Tis the Season (almost) for Holiday Jewelry

This month, I've shared three different Advent calendars made with beads from the 'Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, and now I want to share some fun jewelry pieces I've made from them as well.  

Apparently I was in a bracelet-making mood when I sat down to make jewelry:

This bracelet is made from some fun beads that look like peppermint candies.  I used 14g copper wire to string the beads, and half-hard 12g wire to make the clasp.  I particularly like the swirl pattern in the beads, and I wanted to accentuate it in the clasp of the bracelet.  This swirly copper clasp is BIG - approximately 1.5" w x 1" high - and is meant to sit as the focal of the bracelet.  

To bring out the Christmas colors, I pulled out my lime green artistic wire and wrapped it around the candy beads, and added a bit of coiled lime green wire to the clasp.  

I liked how the bracelet turned out so much that I made a matching pair of earrings:

(Tip: Jewelry Making Daily shared a great article sharing how to photograph jewelry - including using fruit for earrings shots - here.)

The next bracelet I made is also in the traditional Christmas colors, but in a much more rustic design:

First I coiled lime green artistic wire onto 16g brass wire and strung the big-hole beads on top of the coil.  Then I did a "messy wrap" around the whole bracelet with bright red artistic wire, added a handmade clasp with a small coil of lime green wire to add color.

The next two bracelets I made combine the 'Tis the Season beads with some of the Trinkettes Collection beads I received in July from Prima Beads.  I wanted to make some jewelry that wasn't so overtly Christmas-y, so these are made to be worn together for a Christmas-y effect or separately:

These bracelets were strung on 12g half-hard copper wire, and have various pewter and silver-plated spacers and jump rings to coordinate with the silver metal on the beads.

The last pair of earrings I made is a festive pair of snowmen that I hung on ear wires from Prima's Silver Plate Collection:

I used beads from the 'Tis the Season line along with some of the findings from that same line, threaded them on silver-plated headpins from my personal stash and simply added them to the ear wires. Love these!

Now I want to share some jewelry that I made using some of Prima Bead's ready-made charms and components, making it easy to create gifts for the jewelry-wearers in your life:

The first is a simple bracelet made with the big-hole beads and charms that easily string on and off to change the look of the bracelet:

This one is made from beautiful wintery blues and silvers and is strung on the Trinkette Bracelet with a toggle clasp.  It would be so easy to swap out the beads for each season with other beads from the Trinkettes Collection.

The next bracelet is made from a pre-made silver-plated bracelet that I switched the clasp out on for a toggle clasp (both from Prima's Silver Plate Collection):

These sweet charms reminded me of the Nutcracker, and I think this bracelet would be a perfect gift for a little girl.

To make these earrings, I simply took the charms and hung them on more ear wires from Prima's Silver Plate Collection:

So simple, and SO cute!

The next pair of earrings are just as easy:

I hung some of the ready-made gold-toned charms on a pair of gold-plated ear wires from my stash - elegant and fast!

The final piece of jewelry I made is a necklace that I thought would be perfect for New Year's Eve:

All I did was to take some silver-plated chain from my personal stash, added a clasp and, from the middle of the necklace, hung another length of chain to use as the base for the charms.

Making sure I paid attention to spreading out the colors and sizes of the charms to keep the design aesthetically pleasing, I started hanging them on the length of chain, creating a lariat-feel to the long necklace.

Can you tell I've had fun playing with all my goodies from Prima?

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

And Here It Is - The Third (And Final) Christmas Countdown Advent Calendar

Earlier this month, I posted two different Advent calendars that I made using upcycled items and "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, and now I'd like to share the third and final advent calendar I made:

The base is made from a 16" wooden tree form from Woodworks, Ltd. that I spray painted a dark green.  I also spray painted 3/4" wooden circles in a deep red and doodled the numbers 1 - 25.

Using a small paper punch, I punched holes in the top and bottom of the circles, hung on various charms from both the 'Tis the Season line and others from my stash, and hung them on pre-made Christmas tree ornament hangers I found at Joann.

I then added coiled green wire to help hold the ornaments in place, and mounted the whole thing to an antique wood rosette that I found at a local salvage shop which makes the whole thing more stable.

So, there you are - three ways to make the countdown to Christmas more fun in your home:

Come back soon to see some fun holiday jewelry made using more of the "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Another Christmas Countdown

In my last "Christmas in September" post here I shared the first of three Advent calendars I made incorporating some of the "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads.  In this post I want to share the second Advent calendar with you:

I have been wanting to make one in this style for a couple of years now, and this gave me the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I started with a cupboard door that I found at a thrift store, painted it off-white and gave it a crackled aged finish.  Then I adhered the scrabble letters all around in fun holiday words and used my Faber-Castell Indian ink big brush pens to age them as well.

Then, using Christmas-themed scrapbook paper, I covered 25 wooden tags on both sides with the paper, sanded the edges, decoupaged down numbers from one to twenty-five in various sizes, styles and fonts, and aged them with the brush pens.  I then added various charms from the 'Tis the Season collection along with various other Christmas-y metal accents.

On the back side of each of the tags is a bible verse that, as they are turned over each day, will tell the Christmas story from different books of the bible, as well as talk about things like Joy and serving others.

In this close-up shot you can also see the fun 'Tis the Season charms I hung from the top corners with tartan plaid ribbon accents to highlight them.  

This project is one of my favorites I have ever completed, and I can't wait to use it this year.

Don't forget to check back soon to see the final Advent calendar soon!  I've also got some fun holiday jewelry to share with you!

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.

Countdown To Christmas

I've always wanted to make an advent calendar, and this year I've committed to making three - yes THREE - of them!  I want to share the first one with you today:

I've been itching to mosaic lately, and decided that this was a perfect project to break out (no pun intended) the red and green plates and get going.

First I found an 7" x 10" unfinished framed chalkboard at Woodworks, Ltd. and started gluing on the broken plate pieces.  For this type of project, I like the finished frame to look more chunky & rustic, and so I used larger pieces and let them hang over the sides of the wood.  I attached a teacup handle to use as a hook for hanging the chalk.

Next I grouted with an off-white color to further the rustic feeling of the finished piece, and then used a paint pen to write "Countdown To Christmas" on the top of the board, and do some doodling.

To incorporate the "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads, I coiled and flattened dark green artistic wire, carefully drilled holes through the grout, tapped in some nails and wound the wire ends around the nails after hanging the pre-made bead charms to the loops in the wire. 

For a final touch, I attached some beads to the ribbon holding the chalk as well:

I usually like to make my own charms, but these look great and saved me SO much time!  They come in a huge variety of colors and sizes, and are super-cute!

I am so happy with how the final piece came out.  Simple and sweet, and a great way to keep track of the days until Santa comes with your family!

While I was in the mosaic-ing mood, I made a couple of star ornaments using the same process:

Love these!!!

Come back to see more projects through the month using "Tis The Season" beads from Prima Beads

** Necessary Legal Stuff: I am honestly reviewing the products above which I have received free of charge from Prima Beads, and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to them.