Tree of Life Pendant

I am joining Ginger Snaps Crafts for {wow me} wednesday with this little creation. It's my third attempt at jewelry-making. You can see the other by visiting the "What I'm Crafting" tab above. Thanks for stopping by!

These pendants were one of my first discoveries on Pinterest that I fell in love with. I love trees. I love statement jewelry. Add the two together and you get the Tree of Life pendant. I looked through several examples, and had a few abandoned attempts before I invested in this design and finished it... and l-o-v-e it!

My biggest challenge was trying to find a silver hoop to start the project. The "magical" size was not to be found. So I narrowed my choices down to a set of bracelets I found at Michael's that were 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and a hodgepodge packet of rings in various sizes- the largest being 1 1/2 inches.

Well, since we are in the south, I decided to "Go Big or Go Home!" (even though I was already home)

I did try to make my own circle from a heavy gauge wire as many of the tutorials suggested. But that did not go well at all. Many failed attempts to make a silly circle!

Next you are going to take medium-gauge wire, cut many strips about 8-inches long each and bend in half. This wire came in an unmarked spool from Wal-Mart for $1. I would guess it's about 18-20 gauge.

There are many methods to attach the wire to the hoop. What worked best for the aesthetic I wanted was to loop the wire around the hoop once and then twist tightly twice.

Continue this method until your trunk is the desired thickness. I used 24 wires. However, I wanted a design with a very wide trunk and... well, this pendant is close to the size of a CD hanging around my neck (not really... but close ;).

Then, it's just twist- twist- twist. This is when your creativity shows and you make the piece yours. Do you want many or few branches? Keep in mind that the more you twist, the less beading you can add. 

Once you have figured out all your branching, then begin adding your beads, one strand of wire at a time.

As your beads reach the hoop with each wire, use your needle-nose pliers to tightly wrap the remaining wire around the hoop.

Just continue this method all the way around the hoop. When you have excessively long wires in some areas, you can trim them before beading to give yourself an easier branch to work with. I also cut some branches shortly after the twist and wrapped it down on the twisted wired beneath it, just to be able to comfortably fit all all branches around the hoop.

I did not like the inconsistent look of the sporadic wrapping around the hoop. So, I took a lighter wire, 24-gauge, and wrapped the entire hoop. It was easiest to do this by folding the wire in half and just tucking it between any two random branches then using needle-nose pliers to wrap it tight along the hoop, replacing with a new wire and repeating when needed.

The end result was a much more meticulous look.

Below are some ideas for other Tree of Life pendants I want to try!

Button & Ribbon Necklace

Yesterday while the men were a'fishin and the baby was a'sleepin, Momma went a'craftin and made this funkalicious necklace! I love all things BUTTONS and have a fondness for ribbon too. I had become recently frustrated working through various tutorials with another necklace project, so I

decided to just "wing it" and come up with my own lil' creation... which I love!

Keep three things in mind with this supply list and some of the directions:

#1- I have a large neck.

#2- I like to wear my necklaces long (or find myself claustrophobically clawing them away from my neck).

#3- I have a pretty big button collection to work with.

So, you may want to make adjustments anywhere along this process to fit your tastes, supplies, and needs. 

The materials I used were:

- 12 inches of chain (You want it to be a bit heavier and bigger to handle the weight & appearance of buttons. I used some from a 7 yard spool I bought at Michaels; Brand name is "Bead Landing.")

- 4 pieces of a light gauge wire, each cut to 4 inches in length. (I used 24 gauge.)

- 9 mm jump rings ( I used 25 of these.)

- A tool to open & close jump rings (I used my 3-in-1.)

- Buttons! (also used 25 of these)

- 2 pieces of ribbon, 9 inches in length each

- Toggle Closure

- Beading Board (optional, of course)

And... This is what I did:

After having already sorted my mountain of buttons by colors with an earlier project, next I sorted through the red ones for this project.

(Obviously this isn't an important step to the non-OCD tinged of us.)

First I chose what would be the center button for the necklace since that would the "statement piece." Then I chose to build it symmetrically on both sides.

I thought a Beading Board was a frivolous purchase, but still got one when I saw them 50% off at Michaels and I had a coupon and I

 get a Teacher's discount, so it ended up being 75 cents. I'm really glad that I did now.

It helped in visualizing the lay-out much more than just positioning them on the work table would have.

Using the 9mm jump rings, I attached the buttons to the chain. I wanted an "intentionally cluttered" look. So, I chose to work with the larger buttons first and spaced them with three open chain links between them. This was my first time working with jump rings, so a few went to waste, but it was pretty simple & quick once you got into the groove. (I only used my teeth to close few of them ;)

Next, I chose the smaller buttons to fill in the gaps between the ones already attached.

Having left three empty links between each of the first set of buttons, I then went back to the chain and added one smaller button

between each of the larger ones. The pattern this created in the end was big-skip-small-skip-big-skip-small-skip-big-etc...

I varied the pattern on both ends by finished with two of the smallest buttons on the necklace.

It gave it a nice graduated look, as if tapering off.

Next loop one piece of the ribbon through the end of the chain. Then, wrap one piece of wire around the two-ribbons, about 2-fingers width from the chain to secure them together, and the ribbon to the chain. This one is wrapped about 11 times and then I cut off the excess. Be mindful of where you are cutting to make it pretty or make it hidden! Also, use your needle-nose pliers to wrap! It is much cleaner than just using your hands to twist. (I just figured this out and am trying to sound experienced here.) Of course you are going to repeat this entire process to the opposite side of the necklace.

Next, I used a small wire to wrap the top of each ribbon in the exact same fashion as before. For this necklace I left enough wire at the top of the wrap to attach the toggle closures. Next time though, I will attach the wire to the closure first and then wrap the ribbon. So, I suggest trying that way instead.

This photo was taken before I used a lighter to singe the edges of the ribbon just a bit to clean it up.

And there you have it, you're own funkalicious button and ribbon creation!

I am going to try some other colors and variations of this- will post pics soon!

DISCLAIMER: "Funkalicious" was not a word in my vocabulary prior to this post... but feel free to use it as your own!

Spoon Pendant

This is an easy craft for the most novel crafter. This is my first attempt at making jewelry since friendship bracelets in the 8th grade,
and even those were only the simple braided ones. It is a unique piece of jewelry that you can make "yours" and then make
another one... and another one... because they take less than an hour and cost less than a dollar to make!

First, obviously you need... wait for it... a SPOON! Our local Habitat Re-Store sells silverware for 10 cents a piece, so I grabbed a varied selection of spoons to work with.

You will need to cut the handle of the spoons about an inch up from the neck (actual cup of the spoon). I enlisted my husband for this task. After attempting several methods, he thought the easiest way to do it as with a jigsaw using a hacksaw blade (whatever that means).  Then, you are going to curl the remaining piece of the handle to create a loop for the pendant. I did this with needle-nose pliers.

When choosing the spoons for this project, I focused in getting a varied collection. After having worked with them, I would suggest getting the "cheaper" quality spoons that are going to be easier to cut and bend (and hammer).

Next you are going to hammer the "cup" out of the spoon, flatten it. I found the easiest way to achieve this was to duct-tape the spoon onto a brick and hammer it!

The art of the spoons is created with scrapbook paper! Cutting a stencil for the spoon and then using the negative space will give you the best preview of how the design is going to look. This will help you choose the best paper and the best area on your paper to work with for an optimum design.

Next, cut the chosen scrapbook paper to fit the face of your spoon pendant and Mod Podge it to adhere to the metal surface (and, of course, let dry).

Then it's time for embellishing! I may make another version of the pendant that leaves the spoon "natural." Then benefit of "tarnishing" it though is that it blends the paper onto the spoon so it's not so obviously... paper glued on a spoon.

The tutorial that inspired this project instructed crafters to try and create a rusted look on your pendant. I could not get the color combo right to achieve that effect. So, I just played and played until I found something I liked. I painted the front of the pendant and then wiped it off a few times. When the paint dried I wiped over it a couple of times with a fine sandpaper, especially the edges, to try and give it that rustic look. For the back of the pendant, I just swirled and swirled paint until it was the appropriate level of whimsical funkiness.

Lastly, you will need to seal the pendant, which will make it shiny(!) and prevent any wearing away of the paint.

Add to a chain or leather cord and hemp and Voila! A unique new piece of jewelry that will make folks say, "That's not a spoon. Is that a spoon? Did you make that?"

The tutorial that provided this project can be found at  Busily Spinning Mama.