by Staci Louise Smith
I have been wanting to do some posts like this for awhile, but like always, busy busy busy!
I have a bunch of Sugar Skull focals in the shop, as well as some other focals similar to the sugar skulls, and I wanted to give you guys some idea of what you can do with them.
I had a few laid out on my desk, as I am prepping for a show this weekend, not sure what to do with them.
At first I wanted to just add chain and a dangle and keep them super simple. But it was too simple.............so I planned to add charms to the chain. I wasn't sure how much to do charm wise, and was sort of thinking they needed chunky charms.
I hadn't finished figuring out that part, when Linda Landig posted a necklace she had made with one of my old bronze skulls,
(you can purchase Linda's necklace here
and seeing her little dangles sealed the deal for me. That is what my plain old necklace needed. Just some simple dangles. It really captures the Dia de los Muertos feel I think.
So I added my double dangly charms (flower beads by Lisa Peters Art- they were the perfect match!!!)
And I added my chain, and picked out charms to accent the colors in my skull, and voila! I love the results!
(ceramic stars by Starry Road Studio)
So here are my tips when doing a charm style necklace- not quite a tutorial, but this should help if you tend to struggle with them.
1. pick out way more stones and beads in a variety of sizes then you will use
2. lay them out, spacing out larger beads, and filling in the spaces between them with smaller beads
3. when you use a cable chain, like this one, only hang charms on EVERY OTHER LINK so they lay properly. the links alternate directions and your charms won't hang right otherwise. Also, be sure to keep the chain from turning. I pick it up and make sure the chain is laying correctly so the charms are always added to the bottom of the link
4. skip a few "hangable" links for each big piece. I like to hold the piece up to my neck and look at it each time I add a bead to make sure they hang right
5. Fill the links you skipped with tiny beads to create movement and fill the space without them bumping into the other beads causing them to lay inccorectly.
6. Try to use beads of a consistent thickness. if you use beads that are tooooo round they will stick out when you wear it and roll around.
And there you have it. A simple necklace that is not too plain, not too much! I haven't taken this one off yet and I cannot wait to design the others on my table.
Remember, you too can make some "charming" necklaces using the components in my shop. Lots of sugar skulls left. I love taking the form of a skull and making it pretty. So fun!
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