I’ve got to say, Birmingham is lacking in places to buy jewellery making/haberdashery items compared to other big cities (other than The Birmingham Bead Shop of course), and I know it’s a problem that many of our readers also have. This is one of the reasons I love this tutorial. We’ve sourced these materials from all sorts of different places. The massive chunky chain is actually a dog collar (this becomes a little problematic later… I’ll explain further on in the tutorial), the split rings/keyrings are from the key cutters and the embroidery floss is from the Birmingham indoor market. Ok yes,… Read More
Fall For DIY | Crochet Chain Necklace
DIY// Earring Chain Comb
DIY// Pastel Pointed Necklace
1. Using chalk pastels colour rectangular sections of a sheet of shrink plastic in four different colours. 2. Cut the sections into large isosceles triangles, around 10cm in length. 3. Using a hole punch make a hole at the bottom (shortest edge) of each triangle. 4. Heat them in the oven according to the instructions. They usually need around 3-5 minutes. 5. Using a 7mm jump ring attach the pendants to a 50cm piece of chain. Build this up in a random order, mixing up the colours. 6. When your happy with the design, put two jump rings and a clasp onto… Read More
DIY// Ombre Plaited Seedbead Bracelet
Tool list: Tigertail (nylon coated wire) / Seed beads in graduating colours / Crimps / Jump rings / Chain / Clasp Instructions: Cut 6 lengths of tigertail that are all 12cm long / Put a crimp onto the end of one piece of tigertail, then thread that end through a jump ring and back on itself into the crimp / Push the crimp tight against the jump ring and squash between pliers / Thread on equal amounts of each colour seed bead to required length / Thread another crimp on after the the last seed bead / Thread the tigertail through a… Read More
DIY// Totem Pole Shrink Plastic Rings
I have to admit I’ve really been looking forward to this tutorial since we cooked it up. After many many shrink plastic ring experiments and some slightly burnt fingers I’m starting to get a bit addicted to making them. The studio is littered with various misshapen mishaps…as you will discover it takes a little bit of trial and error to get the sizes down and if you do anything but a straight ring it can be a little tricky to keep the shape. So after all that practice we decided that one ring just wasn’t enough and today we’re bringing… Read More
DIY Collar Tips Necklace
looking forward to this tutorial for ages! This is definitely one of my favourite pieces of jewellery at the moment. It’s a nice twist on the conventional collar piece or collar tips (which I love!). I’ve used a heat gun to heat and shrink the polyshrink plastic. I actually find it much easier to heat in the oven instead of chasing bits of plastic around a plate! I’ll be posting tomorrow my hints and tips, and ways to stay safe when using shrink plastic, so if your a bit unsure check back tomorrow for my guide. (click here to see… Read More
DIY// Ombre Plaited Bracelet
Materials 9 metres of cord (3 metres of each colour) 18cm of chain x 3 Bell closer with extension cord and clasp attached Glue Instructions: Cut each metre of cord into 3 section (giving you 9 pieces in each colour) / Put them all together and glue into the bell closer / Section off one colour and begin to plait into two of the chain pieces / Make sure you keep to the same pattern. I have chosen to go from under the middle, over and into the chain / Continue until the end of the chain, then do the… Read More
