Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia => Bring and Brag => Topic started by: Eater of Clowns on July 14, 2012, 04:45:07 PM

Title: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Eater of Clowns on July 14, 2012, 04:45:07 PM
For my girlfriend's birthday I wanted to make her something special.  I ordered one of Nigel's incredible frond style beads and made a necklace out of some ribbon and various jewelry making supplies.

This is my first attempt at making jewelry and it's a nightmare.  I stood before walls of tiny, seemingly flimsy materials and just stared for probably two hours in a panic because I'd gotten in way over my head.  Every little piece has a purpose that's completely unknown to me, and they vary so slightly that it was nearly indecipherable.  I asked other jewelry making people in the aisle and all they could tell me about was stringing beads on wires because they did it for fun with their 12 year old daughters.  Eventually I divined a solution.

I bought a length of satin ribbon, some keychain-style sterling silver links, toggle clasps, two sterling silver earrings, and ribbon clasps.  The ribbon clasps were gross so I had to attach them, glue them on the underside of the ribbon, and cut a small hole for the links to pass through to connect to the toggle.  The bead itself is held on by the two earrings.

Well, she likes it a lot, so success!  Here's a photo of the finished product.

(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/9228/frondnecklace.jpg)

Unfortunately the ribbon frayed a bit when I cut it.  Also, the glue discolored it a little, both of which are visible in the photo.  The nice thing is that Nigel's GORGEOUS BEAD is the centerpiece, which means it's infinitely variable with different kinds of necklaces.

In fact, my girlfriend is very excited because we were supposed to go to the beach today, but it's too overcast.  Instead we're going to go get a few different kinds of silk ribbon and some other supplies to make a few more necklaces so she has options to wear it around.  Not pictured, a matching pair of earrings that I found at the local jewelry boutique.
Title: Re: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Telarus on July 14, 2012, 06:12:01 PM
:mittens: Nice work dude.
Title: Re: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on July 14, 2012, 06:28:18 PM
It looks great... good job! Making jewelry has a steeper learning curve than it initially looks like, you did great for your first time out. :)
Title: Re: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Eater of Clowns on July 14, 2012, 10:01:39 PM
Hey, thanks.

I ended up redoing the string so that the ribbon clamps are on the outside.  Even though I don't like them, they're less unsightly than the fray and the glue that came from trying to hide them.

We couldn't find any silk ribbon at the fabric store.  I made that burgundy as well as a royal blue and we bought a cheap black one that was already made and would have saved me like $25 and 4 hours of effort, haha.  If she ends up wanting to vary it any more we'll probably have to order the silk ribbon online.
Title: Re: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Anna Mae Bollocks on July 14, 2012, 10:41:28 PM
If that's your first one, I think you could get really good at this!

Me, I'd have taken the easy way out and just put the bead on a silver chain. And THAT BEAD would have carried it. All by itself.  8)

But it's BETTER with the burgundy and having different colored ribbons to switch around is an awesome idea!
Title: Re: EoC The Jewelrymaker?
Post by: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on July 14, 2012, 11:01:35 PM
I used to buy silk ribbon by the spool, but if you want just a few really, really nice hand-dyed ones, check here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sassysilks21?ref=seller_info