by Mark Montano
HAPPY HEARTS BUDDHA
Have you ever seen sets of these little Buddhas at the dollar store? I see them all of the time and always wonder what crafty magic I could make with them. I always buy them and line them up on my kitchen windowsill. One day I took a drill to one and figured out that it could be made into a large bead. How lucky for me! I guess my little Buddhas really do bring good luck! Lucky, playful, colorful, and happy. That’s what this piece is all about. Wear it and just see how much good luck flows into your life!
YOU’LL NEED
24 inches of 1/2-inch satin ribbon
Scissors
16 inches of 3/8-inch gold-tone chain
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
1 Lucky Buddha
1 large and several smaller gold-tone jump rings (for the charms)
Drill with 1/16-inch drill bit
2 gold-tone flathead jewelry pins
3 to 5 small jump rings
3 inches of long fringe (I used green)
Several heart charms
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Needle-nose pliers
HERE’S HOW
1 Cut 24 inches of ribbon. Cut 16 inches of chain. Weave your ribbon in and out of the gold chain and tie knots on the end links to keep it in place.
2 Drill a hole in the bottom of the Buddha at an angle out toward the front as shown below. Take your time with this.
3 Push one flathead pin through the drilled hole, cut off the excess, and create a loop so that it’s secure and you can hang the large jump ring from it in step 7.
4 Roll your fringe around the other flathead pin and hot-glue it as you roll to secure it and make your tassel.
5 Cut the pin and create a loop at the top of your tassel as shown below.
6 Attach small jump rings to your heart charms at the loop at the top of the tassel and hang the tassel from the loop at the bottom of the Buddha.
7 Attach the large jump ring to the chain and then hang your Buddha from it.
8 Tie the excess ribbon in a bow at the back of your neck for the closure.
THERE’S AN ELEPHANT ON MY FINGER
I couldn’t resist this project. It was just too easy and way too fun. It reminded me that sometimes it’s fun to wear something out of the ordinary just because you feel like it. Hit junk shops, Chinatowns, souvenir shops, or dollar stores for the perfect elephant or Buddha to turn into your lucky ring.
YOU’LL NEED
Small good-luck elephants (or Lucky Buddhas)
Ring blank
E-6000 glue
HERE’S HOW
1 Find a way to secure the elephant so the bottom is level. You can put it on a dish towel. Just make sure that it won’t move while the glue is setting.
2 Use a generous amount of E-6000 and let dry for a few hours.
BUDDHA BOW
Buddhas, beads, and bows—what could be more perfect together? Hit the dollar store for sets of these little sculptures. I’ve been finding them everywhere. Whip out your drill and you’ve got the centerpiece for an amazing piece of jewelry. Not only that, you’ll be carrying good luck around your neck. You could make this without the bow, but I thought it added a little something special to the piece. Mixing it up is what it’s all about!
YOU’LL NEED
Beading wire
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
Crimp beads (gold or silver)
1 lobster claw closure
Pearl beads
1 Lucky Buddha
Drill with 1/16-inch drill bit
3 gold- or silver-tone jump rings
8 inches of 2-inch wide ribbon
8 inches of 3/4-inch ribbon
Scissors
E-6000 glue
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
HERE’S HOW
1 Cut 18 inches of beading wire. Place a crimp bead on the end of the wire, loop it through the lobster claw, and back through the crimp bead. Crimp with your needle-nose pliers.
2 Drill a hole through the neck of your Buddha. (Wow, that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?)
3 Add pearl beads and then the Buddha to the wire to create your necklace, making sure it’s even on both sides.
4 Finish the necklace by adding a crimp bead and a jump ring, then looping the wire back through a crimp bead. Pull taut and crimp.
5 Cut 8 inches of the 2-inch ribbon and create your bow by folding over the ends so they meet in the center. Hot-glue them down.
6 Crimp the bow the way you want it to look and hot glue it in place.
7 Tie a knot around the center with the 3/4-inch ribbon. Add a dab of hot glue if you feel like the knot will come undone.
8 Glue the bow to the underside of the Buddha with E-6000 and let dry.
GOOD LUCK ELEPHANT CUFF
Yes, you’re strong enough to lift en elephant. At least, that’s what you should be thinking when you’re wearing this piece, even if you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders.
YOU’LL NEED
1 flat metal cuff
Small elephant sculpture
E-6000 glue
Krylon gray primer
Green seed beads (or any color you like)
Lumiere metallic bronze paint
Paintbrush
Elmer’s Glue-All
Minwax Polycrylic clear coat
HERE’S HOW
1 Glue your elephant on the center of the cuff with E-6000 and let dry.
2 Spray the cuff thoroughly with gray primer.
3 Paint the cuff with Lumiere metallic bronze (or any metallic color you like).
4 Brush some Elmer’s glue on your cuff around the elephant, sprinkle on some seed beads, and let dry.
5 Repeat step 4 until you’ve added as many beads as you want.
6 When the beads are dry and in place, coat them and the entire cuff in at least two coats of Minwax Polycrylic.
LUCKY ELEPHANT
Did you know that only elephant sculptures that have their trunks up in the air are lucky? Also, if you have an elephant sculpture in your home, the trunk should be facing the door. Well, at least that’s what I’ve heard. I was lucky enough to find these little pieces not only with their trunks in the air, but I also found the perfect place to hang a chain. Now that’s lucky!
YOU’LL NEED
Small elephant figurine
Drill with 1/16-inch drill bit
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
Piece of scrap wood
72 inches of fine gold-tone chain (www.createforless.com has a terrific selection)
3 large gold-tone jump rings
3 inches of gold-tone beading wire or flathead pin
Large jade bead or bead of your choice
Small gold bead or bead of your choice
HERE’S HOW
1 Drill a hole in the base of the elephant and drill all the way through the figurine, from bottom out through the back at an angle using the drill bit. Do this on a scrap piece of wood so that you don’t ruin your countertops or a nice piece of furniture!
2 Cut ten 4-inch pieces of gold chain. Create your tassel by placing the chains on a jump ring.
3 Place one large and one small bead on your gold wire and create loops on both ends with your needle-nose pliers.
4 Hang your chain tassel from the end.
5 Place a jump ring through the base of the elephant and hang your tassel from the jump ring.
6 Thread the 32-inch chain through the elephant at the top and close with a jump ring to finish the necklace.
Hint:
If you don’t have a hole made near the trunk like I do, you can simply drill a hole through the top, too. If this is the case, you will need an extra jump ring or a hole big enough for the fine chain to go through.
SIMPLY CHARMING
You know what puts me in a terrific mood? Bling. More specifically, lots of charms and goodies hangi
ng from a necklace or choker. Whether you use crosses, tassels, or random danglers you’ve collected at the bottom of your jewelry box, these next few pieces are sure to make a statement and get the conversation going.
CROSS MY HEART
Eat your heart out, Madonna! Since wearing crosses has become a fashion statement, I thought I would take advantage of the MANY offerings at my local dollar store. I can’t think of a better way to keep away an army of vampires and look chic at the same time.
YOU’LL NEED
10 to 12 different cross necklaces and rosaries
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
44 inches of large silver chain
Silver-tone jump rings (enough for your charms)
HERE’S HOW
1 Remove the crosses from all the necklaces.
2 Create a multistrand set of chains with the chains. Cut two 22-inch pieces of the large chain and add them to the strands. Make sure all of the chains are large enough to fit over your head.
3 Connect all the chains at the back with jump rings.
4 Start adding crosses to the chains one at a time to create a design that you like. In my design, I used the larger crosses in the middle and worked the smaller crosses up the sides.
CRYSTAL TASSEL TRIO
I showed this to a friend of mine and she basically told me that she liked everything but the tassels. (We’re not friends anymore.) Perhaps if I had told her I called it the Crystal Tassel Trio, she would have understood it was the point of the piece. A week later I took off the tassels and realized that she may have had a point. You could really just stop before adding the tassels and still have an amazing necklace. Maybe I should give her a call?
YOU’LL NEED
Gunmetal chains of various thicknesses (enough for five 16-inch strands)
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
27 gunmetal jump rings
1 large gunmetal lobster claw closure
20 crystal beads
3 black cord tassels
1 brooch (2-inch-diameter)
Krylon high-gloss black spray paint
25 flathead gunmetal jewelry pins
HERE’S HOW
1 Cut five 16-inch strands from your various gunmetal chains. Create your chain base by attaching the five chains to a jump ring at each end and a lobster claw on one side for the closure.
2 Create your crystal charms by placing a crystal on a flathead pin, cutting off the excess wire, and creating a loop with your needle-nose pliers.
3 Working with three chains, hang the charms with jump rings at various places on the necklace.
4 Push a flathead pin through the center of each tassel up through the top, add a crystal bead, cut off the excess, and bend a loop with your needle-nose pliers.
5 Spray-paint the brooch black and let dry.
6 Hang one tassel from the bottom center of the brooch with a jump ring and pin the brooch in the center of all five chains, going through several loops to keep it together.
7 Hang the other two tassels evenly on both sides of the center brooch with jump rings.
Note:
I got my tassels at www.createforless.com, but you could just as easily make your own! Check out my instructions.
GAMBLER’S GOOD LUCK
Next time you head to Las Vegas, this is the necklace I think you should wear. I found all these terrific colorful dice at the dollar store and was able to drill a hole in them quite easily. Make a shorter version to create a bracelet, and if you win big, make sure to send me a cut! Remember to check the Resource Guide for unusual jewelry supplies and novelties.
YOU’LL NEED
Gold-tone chains of various sizes (enough for five strands of 22 to 26 inches)
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
26 gold-tone jump rings
1 gold-tone lobster claw closure
12 dice
Drill with 1/16 inch drill bit
Scrap wood
20 crystal beads
12 (3-inch) flathead jewelry pins
16 inches of dark green crystal chain (or any color you like)
16 inches of light green crystal chain (or any color you like)
4 flat eyes from hook and eye sets
HERE’S HOW
1 Cut five strands of gold-tone chains ranging from 22 to 26 inches long. Attach your multistrand necklace base in the back with jump rings and a lobster claw for the closure.
2 Drill holes in all of your dice with your drill and small drill bit. Do this on some scrap wood so you don’t ruin your countertop or work surface.
3 Create your dice and crystal charms by placing a crystal and then the dice on a flathead pin, cutting off the excess, and looping with your needle-nose pliers.
4 Attach the dice to the chains in various places with jump rings.
5 Cut 16 inches from each of your colored crystal chains. Glue the flat eyes to each end of the crystal chains and let dry. Using jump rings, attach the flat eyes at the ends of your crystal chains to the gold chains by weaving them in and out to create a loosely braided look as shown below. You want it to look a little jumbled.
6 Create crystal charms by placing crystals on flathead pins, cutting off the excess, and creating loops with your needle-nose pliers. Hang them where you like with jump rings.
ONE-OF-A-KIND JEWELRY CHARMER
It’s time to forage and gather some trinkets, key chains, and game parts that have been hanging around the house. You’re going to make a choker that would easily sell for a few hundred dollars in any boutique. The great thing about this piece is that no one else will have the selection of unique items you use—it’s guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind. Aren’t you one-of-a-kind already anyway? I think your accessories should be, too.
YOU’LL NEED
Old jewelry, key chains, charms, game pieces, dominos . . .
Drill with 1/16-inch drill bit
Silver- or gold-tone chain in different sizes
About 30 silver- or gold-tone jump rings
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
1 silver- or gold-tone lobster claw closure
HERE’S HOW
1 Gather all the fun pieces you can find—the sky’s the limit—dice, dominos, Scrabble pieces, old jewelry, magnetic letters . . . Take apart the jewelry and see whether the pieces have holes in them.
2 Drill a hole in all your pieces that don’t already have one.
3 Cut the chains the length you want for your necklace, and as many as you want. Connect your chains with jump rings at the ends, either leaving two longer ends for the neck or cutting two equal lengths to make the back. This will vary depending on the chains you have. Add jump rings and a lobster claw for the closure.
4 Start adding your pieces one by one until you get the look you want. Remember, MORE IS BETTER! This is not a case where less is more.
PEDAL TO THE METAL
Aluminum flashing saved my life. I first found it on a roll at the hardware store, and once I figured out that you could very easily cut it with tin shears or heavy-duty serrated scissors, I was hooked. Anytime I want to make something that I know will last forever, I make it out of tin. And if I want to mount something or create a backing, I know the answer: TIN! Make sure to wear cotton gloves when cutting tin, as the tiny scrap pieces can be sharp.
THE TIN IS “IN”
I really love playing around with spray paint in the backyard. I’d say it’s a daily event for me since I started writing craft books. This necklace happened by accident when I began looking at my spray-paint station. It was filled with so many different colors, and somehow it looked perfect. I wanted to capture that random explosion of color on a necklace that someone could wear with almost anything, and this is what happened.
Hint:
Serrated edges cut the tin with a tiny jagged edge so that the metal is not sharp and won’t cut you. V
ery important!
FOR THE NECKLACE
YOU’LL NEED
Aluminum flashing
Tin shears or heavy-duty scissors with serrated edges
Hammer and nail
Scrap wood
Several different colors of Krylon spray paint
Newspaper or magazine page
Krylon Acrylic Crystal clear coat spray
6 gold-tone jump rings
12 inches of gold-tone chain (your choice)
Needle-nose pliers (and wirecutters if the pliers don’t have them)
1 gold-tone lobster claw closure