Browsing Tag

DIY Christmas jewelry

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 8 – Ceramic Holiday Cookies Charm Bracelet

November 30, 2011

Me. Want. Cookies! When I was in junior high, one of my mom’s friends actually paid me to make Christmas cookies for her cookie exchange each December. I was thrilled to be earning money. She paid me well, but was still getting an amazing bargain considering how many hours I spent rolling dough and piping frosting.

I still like baking, but chocolate chip is about as fancy as it gets. Detailed little gingerbread houses are a thing of the past – or a thing for jewelry. Check out these adorable little ceramic Christmas cookie beads:

cookie-houses-crystals

Ceramic cookie houses with Swarovski crystal bicones.

Amongst our rather large selection of hand-painted Peruvian ceramic beads I also found cute little ceramic gift boxes and ornaments:

ceramic-gift-box-beads

Presents!

ceramic-ornament-beads

These little guys would make great earrings.

There are a many other cuties available, but I digress. Today’s Christmas jewelry project is a charm bracelet using the cookie beads and sparkly little crystals.

Supplies Needed for Charm Bracelet:

Charm bracelet with toggle clasp

Head pins – you can get away with using shorties, but longer are fine too.

Ceramic cookie beads

4mm Crystal Jam bicone mix (I used Karma Chameleon)

Metal spacer beads

Jump rings

Jewelry-making tool set

This design is a great opportunity to perfect your technique for making simple loops! Simply string beads on a pin, bend wire 90 degrees, trim the wire to about 4mm (1/6th of an inch), grab the very end of the wire with round-nose pliers and loop it back over to touch the base of the wire. The metal spacer beads are decorative, but they also help fill the ceramic bead holes.

making-wire-loops

The anatomy of a wire loop.

crystal-pins

Assembly goes faster if you make a little production line out of it.

Once you have all the dangles made, group them together however you like and attach them to the bracelet using jump rings. It seemed to be missing something, so I added a TierraCast gingerbread man charm and a
fern green bicone drop as an accent near the clasp to finish my easy Christmas cookie charm bracelet.

catch-me-gingerbread-man-bracelet

Can’t catch me!

And now I’m off to find some more cookies – edible ones this time! ~ Cindy

Twelve Days of Christmas Jewelry Designs: 5 – Swarovski Crystal Holiday Lights

November 18, 2011
crystal holiday light charms

Swarovski crystal holiday lights

Hi bloglandia! Here is another sparkly design, courtesy of the Create Your Style with Swarovski Elements design team: holiday light charms! You need just four ingredients to make them:

9x6mm crystal teardrop beads

4mm rhinestone wheel beads

5mm round crystal beads

Head pins

Simply stack the crystals on head pins and complete each charm with a simple loop or wrapped loop. The crystal lights can be used individually or en masse to create all sorts of jewelry:

string of lights earrings

Dangly Christmas light earrings are so festive!

crystal light earrings

Holiday light earrings are also cute with just one light bulb.

lights and trees holiday necklace

Or, instead of head pins, string the light pattern on a strand of beading cable for a necklace like this.

For easy charm bracelets, just add some lights to a toggle bracelet!

Aren’t they de-light-ful? (Sorry, that’s the cold medicine talking!) Happy Friday! ~ Cindy