Makeover Monday: Smile Necklaces

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There might be a better name for these necklaces, but I think they end up looking like mouths and smiles, which I rather like. This is another easy jewelry tutorial. Before I left for Baltimore I busted out my rather large jewelry supply and got experimenting. It was fun to pick up this hobby again. If you have not noticed Linz and I are dabblers and like trying a plethora of different crafts. While I love this about us, I do find that some crafts get left on the shelf for a while as there is not enough time to be active in all our different interests. For instance I am excited to say I just started knitting again, I haven’t completed a project since this one.
Supplies Needed:
-jewelry wire (I used wire that had a enough give for me to form)
-jewelry wire cutters
-jewelry round nose pliers
-beads
-chain
-clasp
Decide how long you want the bead part of your necklace to be. Also, figure out if you want your necklace to curve into  a “smile” or a straight line.
Add the beads to the wire and leave extra space on each side of the wire to attach the wire to the chain. Curve wire to the general shape you want. Add end of chain to one end of wire.
Use round nose pliers to curve wire around end of jewelry chain. Then curve wire around the end of wire and cut wire (see pictures below).
Cut chain to length you desire. Attach clasp to end of chain. Cut a second chain on the other side the same length. Repeat steps above for other side.
Finished Product:
Variations:
To create the necklace with the chain above the beads I determined the full length of chain I wanted and attached the wire with the beads to the chain. It is a reversal of the above steps where the chain is cut in half and the wire is attached in the middle. Here you keep the chain whole and use the wire to attach to the chain in the middle.
To make the necklace with two rows of beads I created the original necklace and then made my second wire and bead “shelf”. Then attached it to the the same loop of wire that connects the first wire and chain.
The possibilities with these necklaces feels endless. I feel like I could have kept going, more beads, more layers of chain, but at some point I realized I had a lot of necklaces. The length of the necklace can change the look of it too, short or long works well.
 

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