One of my favorite combinations when making bracelets is leather and charms! When deciding what color of leather to use, I chose turquoise because it’s a color that always calms me – plus it seems to work for all seasons. It reminds me of the beach where I would love to be! I decided to make this a multi strand bracelet because the stacked bracelet look is such a huge trend right now. To make your own version of this multi strand leather charm bracelet, read on. It’s easier than you think! Continue Reading…
Make Your Own Rustic Copper Heart Bracelet
December 2, 2015The popularity of bracelets just keeps increasing, and having fallen in love with some similar styles, I decided to tackle copper soldering and hand formed wire bracelet making in the same project.
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Easy DIY Stackable Bracelets
November 30, 2015Ever wonder how to fill your wrists with deliciously colorful and fun stackable bracelets? Well here’s a super trendy DIY bracelet design you can make in about 5 minutes! Best yet, you can customize each bracelet with charms that match your interests — or the interests of friends, family, and customers. This design works great for making Awareness jewelry and seasonal themes too. Since I made these in November, I was ready for some Christmas Cheer. Continue Reading…
Make a Tassel Necklace with Prayer Beads
November 10, 2015People use Mala necklaces for both spirituality and fashion, and making a Mala tassel necklace with prayer beads can be easy and fun! The use of Malas or “meditation garlands” in prayer dates back 3,000 years. Traditional Malas consist of 108 prayer beads, including “marker” beads, plus a larger “summit” or “guru” bead. During meditation, a mantra or prayer is recited 108 times — once per bead. The marker beads serve as a point to re-focus, if necessary, and the summit bead is a beginning and ending point. When you make your own DIY Mala necklace, you can incorporate gemstone beads with properties that benefit you (or your family, friends, and customers). You can also use charms with symbols of your choice and colors with special meanings. Read on for full instructions.
Continue Reading…The Spirit of 12 Adjustable Bangle Bracelets
October 23, 2015Charm bangle bracelets are a great way to show team spirit! With a variety of TierraCast charms and Swarovski crystals, you can personalize them with lots of different colors and themes. I like to make ones that celebrate my favorite sports teams. You can use TierraCast charms with Swarovski crystals already set in them, or glue Swarovski crystals into blank bezel charms. Both are beautiful! See how ridiculously easy these bracelets are to make below! —
DIY Earrings with Swarovski Cosmic Rings
October 14, 2015I am absolutely in love with Swarovski’s cosmic crystal rings. There are so many things you can do with these! These cosmic rings sparkle everywhere you go. Here is one of my absolute favorite designs using cosmic crystal rings from Swarovski. Continue Reading…
Open Hearted Lariat Necklace
September 28, 2015Since October is Breast Cancer awareness month, I wanted to make a pink ribbon necklace that would do many things at once. I wanted it to look stylish, spread awareness, and encourage hope and solidarity. I came up with this simple but elegant Open Heart Lariat Necklace that literally takes seconds to put together and requires no tools! Read on to make your own. Continue Reading…
DIY Team Spirit Earrings
August 31, 2015With football season fast approaching, it’s time to break out your team spirit! Colorful jewelry that shows off team colors will make it easy for everyone to know who you’re cheering for! Simply swap out the Swarovski crystal colors to make earrings that support your favorite team!
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DIY Wire Wrapped Briolette Earrings
July 31, 2015Want a simple and versatile earring design that you can replicate over and over again? This wire-wrapped briolette earring design can be used for any tip-drilled teardrop beads or briolettes. That’s what makes these some of my favorite earrings to make! The result is simple yet can look dramatically different depending on what colors and gemstone beads or crystal pendants you choose.
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DIY Swarovski Applique
December 9, 2014Did anyone else notice that winter hit overnight? The below-freezing temps are here and it’s time to snuggle up in our warm winter-wear! While I hate being cold, I love wearing coats and all of the fun accessories that go along with them – so I obviously need to be cute while doing it! I’ve also found a passion for the ‘DIY’ trend that seems to be everywhere these days, and I have created a basic tutorial for applique work using Swarovski crystals and an old headband I found in my closet!
Supplies
1 – John James Beading Needle, Size 10
1 – The Beadsmith Braided Bead Thread, .006in, 28yd spool (I used White)
288pcs (2 gr) – Swarovski Crystal Jams, 4mm (I used Bohemian Rhapsody) OR any color Swarovski Crystal Bicones, 4mm
9 – Swarovski Double Spike Beads (I use 12mm Metallic Light Gold 2x)
10 – Swarovski Wild Heart Crystal Beads (I used 12mm Golden Shadow)
2 – felt squares, about the size of your hand
Pair of scissors
Now the Fun Part!
The beauty of this project is that you can use an assortment of crystals! I try and keep a good balance of large and small crystals, with the larger ones being the focal point. My image above shows my color and size assortment. I went for more of a neutral color palette, really playing off of the golds and light pinks. The Rings & Things Exclusive Swarovski Crystal Jams bead mixes are great for something like this, as they can help you develop a strong color story from the beginning.
First, I started by arranging my larger beads in various patterns (2 options I came up with are above). I knew I wanted to do some kind of floral-inspired design. For some people, it may be easier to roughly draw something as well.
Needle & Thread Basics
I began by cutting a strand of Power Pro bead thread that was about the span of my arms; you can start with a smaller strand than this as this may be easier to manage at first. This thread is pretty amazing – I would not recommend using other threads that you may find at the fabric store because the crystals can actually cut through that type of thread! Power Pro by The BeadSmith is much more sturdy, and you would hate to lose your Swarovski crystals because of the wrong thread!
Once the needle is threaded, tie a basic knot; I did three loops to create a thicker knot.
Step by Step
1. Now it’s time to sew the final design onto the felt. I like to start at the center of my design when I’m sewing on the crystals. Since you have the basic design laid out and your needle threaded, start by holding one crystal in place with your thumb and index finger; insert the needle from the BACK SIDE of the felt so that the needle appears near the edge of the crystal where the hole is located (see FRONT SIDE image below). The knot that you made should be on the back side of the fabric.
2. Thread the needle through the hole in the crystal, and insert the needle back into the felt. Make sure to stay near the crystal’s edge where the needle just exited the hole.
3. Continue doing this for the center crystals (ie. my ‘petals’) and expand to any other large crystals you have (ie. my ‘leaves’). Once you have each of these sewn on, leave your thread where it is. No need to knot anything.
4. Go ahead and grab your smaller beads – Here, I’m using the 4mm Swarovski Bicone Crystal Jams. We will begin where your left your thread after completing the larger crystal beads. Place 2 bicone crystals on your needle and push them down the thread. I wanted to arrange my bicones around my larger crystals as an outline. As soon as they fit snug against the felt, insert your needle back into the felt, staying close to the edge of the bicone. Continue your way around, using two bicones at a time
This is a fun time to play with color! My outlines consist of 3 or 4 different colored bicones, and they really play off of each other in different lights!
**If you ever run out of thread, just tie a knot on the backside of the fabric, and start a new needle & thread!**
5. Once I made my way around, I decided to add a second outline with the bicones. It is completely up to you – be creative and try some different things! Once you have finished sewing all of your Swarovski Crystals, insert the needle down through the front side and tie a knot in the back; you can use the same knot technique that was demonstrated earlier!
Creating a Finished Edge
1. Cut the felt around the crystals, leaving 1/4 inch allowance on the outside.
2. Take your second piece of felt and cut an identical piece
3. Time to start with some fresh thread! Tie the same knot as shown above and insert the needle from the backside, to the front side like below. Pull the needle through until the knot is snug underneath.
4. Grab your second piece of felt and place it underneath your original piece. Insert your needle through both pieces of felt, starting with the new piece. See photo below for reference. Pull all the way through; the felt should curl up as you pull the thread as tight as you can.
This second piece of felt hides all of the thread work you have underneath, while also stabilizing and protecting these stitches from wear and tear.
5. Start working your way around the felt, using the same technique in step 4. You can see the difference in the two photos below – I have completed the technique on the upper right hand side.
6. Once you have completed this step, your applique is complete! You can use this for scarves, headbands, gloves, apparel, etc. I have attached this to a headband, and I used the same technique from steps 4 & 5. It’s that simple!
All of us at Rings & Things would love to see any applique work you have created! Please send us pictures or post them below! 🙂
Happy Winter!
– Laura