the bradley necklace project

Here's a quick and super fun craft for mother's day or any normal day when you feel like being extra cute.

I call it the "Bradley Necklace and Bracelet".  Here's what you will need:

* Brads- either already made or ones you can assemble yourself.

* Jump rings

* beads

* Jewelry chain

* Clasp

* Needle nose pilers

* Clippers

All supplies are available at the craft store in the jewelry making section and the brads are most often found in the scrapbooking section.

I wanted to use my own fabric to cover the brads so I bought a tool called an iTop from Imaginisce. It allows you to easily cover metal brads with paper or fabric.

Just follow the directions on the package. Or you can just buy the brads already covered or painted. Either way is super cute.  

Once you have all the brads selected that you want to use start making loops onto the back using your needle nose pilers to bend the prongs. 

Like so.

Snip off the ends of the prongs so that you have a complete loop on each side of the brad.  Use your jump rings to join the brads.  For the bracelet, I used painted brads in a strait row, but for the necklace I added a brad here and there to create a cluster.

Play around with it until you get the look you want.  On the necklace I added a few beads and used my fabric to cover some large oval rings.

This project is simple enough to do with children from about age 5 and up.

button bracelet tutorial

I've been totally slammed in such a happy, happy way with jewelry orders. My bff Jenny is coming to my rescue. She will be over later today with her sewing machine and nimble fingers. I'm putting her to work.

That's the thing I love most about Jenny. She's true blue through and through. She's always there when I'm in a pinch.

I made her this valentine. Andre the Greek and Sugar Daddy have been doing a lot of squid fishing as of late and I had sea creatures on the brain so I drew us as jellies.


And then I had the bright idea to make a bracelet to go along with it because, you know, I have soooo much extra time on my hands. It, of course had to be blue to match the card, with one pink button for quirkiness.

And then I thought I should do a tutorial about these button bracelets because they are a super fun and cheap project that you can do with kids and they make really great Valentine gifts.

So here it is, because I have soooo much extra time on my hands.

Supplies:

For a standard 7 1/2 bracelet you will need fifteen or so buttons, fifteen or so jump rings at least 8mm in diameter, a clasp, flat nose pliers. You can find all these things at your local craft store. Or if you are super lucky, you can snatch some vintage buttons out of your grandma's button jar. (I'm not that lucky)

Step 1:
The golden rule to jump rings is "don't pull- twist". If you pull them apart you won't be able to get them back into shape. Instead hold one side with one hand and then grasp the other side with your pliers and twist.

Thread the jump ring through one of the button holes.

Step 2:

Add two buttons on each jump ring so that you form a chain.

Keep going until you reach your desired length and then add on one more jump ring to one end and a clasp to the other.

Simple simple simple. This is a really great crafts for kids and all you need to do to make your bracelet more mature is to use fancier buttons. It is extra special if you can add a button off a loved ones clothing. Baby buttons are ridiculously cute. Give it a go and let me see your finished projects!

FYI: I will be adding a few more items into my shop later today and into the weekend.

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