How to Make a Gemstone and Silver Necklace

Heyyy guys,

I haven't written a blog post in a while.  I was pretty busy: got married, changed careers, experimented with red-blond hair for a while. Two of the three weren't mistakes.  

But now I am back, brunette, and here to teach you how to make a really pretty fluorite heart and sterling silver necklace for not a lot of money.  All supplies were purchased on Etsy from JW Beads and RiverSong Beads about a year ago, so prices may have changed in the meantime. If you're a beginner and don't want to invest in silver and semiprecious beads to make a necklace that you may mess up, then you can find glass beads and silver-colored wire for a lot less money.

Supplies and Equipment:

Start with:

• 9 fluorite heart beads, 6mm size 
• Price: paid $10 for 65 beads, so about $1.40 
• 16-18" of silver chain
• Price: paid $10 for 5 feet so about $3
• 12" of half-hard 22 gauge silver wire
• Price: paid $9.60 for 5 feet so about $1.92
• one spring-lock clasp
• Price: $0.75 

Total price for this necklace: $7.07

For Equipment: You will need one pair of needle-nose pliers (left) and wire cutters (right)

Step one: use the wire cutters to cut off two pieces of 22 gauge hard silver wire about 0.5" long

 

Use your needle-nose pliers to twist one half of the wire into a loop, making sure not to fully close it. Then repeat on the other side to make an S shape.

Loop your S into the spring-lock clasp, as shown below. Then using the pliers, press the loop connected to the clasp closed.  Connect the other part of the S to the end-link of your chain and press the loop closed. Now your S should look like an 8.

Take the second piece of wire and fold into an S, then close on one side.  The the other side and attach to the last link on the other end of the chain.  Use the pliers to close it into an 8.  Now you have a necklace chain! Feel free to play around clasping and unclasping the chain. Or not, because of course you're not that immature.

OK, now you are going to set up your 0.7" pieces of wire to fit your beads. Spiral 5 pieces of the wire with the spiraled bottom (left). These are going to be the end heart in each chain.  Create loops on the end of the other 4 pieces just a little bit smaller than the loops on the 8s you did.  

Now line up the beads in the design that you want. I chose a drop-style necklace so that 

the focal point is a line of three hearts, with two rows of two hearts on either side, and then one drop heart at each end.  Cut 9 pieces of silver in 0.5" lengths (left pile) and 9 pieces in 0.7" lengths (right pile) 

Slide the hearts on and close the loops. Then admire your handiwork. Don't you feel great about yourself?  You deserve a spoonful of Nutella. I will wait.

Repeat for all of the beads and then line up again.  All of your 0.7" pieces of silver should be gone now, leaving just your 0.5" pieces.  You are going to use these to make the same connecting S pieces that you did for the chain.

Link them together like below, and then turn the S pieces into 8s.  Connect each line of hearts carefully to your chain.  Make sure to count the links on each side of center so that your necklace is symmetrical. I spaced each drop-chain of beads 12 links from one another.

When you are all done connecting, it's time to celebrate - you just made a gorgeous necklace! Drink some champagne, quit your day job. Steal a boat.

Jennifer Lawrence's Look for $107.00

I think that it is safe to say that America has fallen head over heels in love with Jennifer Lawrence this past year.  We love the movies she does, we love adorable personality, and we love her gorgeous style.  Unfortunately, no matter how much Jennifer acts like she could be your best friend if you only knew her in real life, she happens to have a much higher wardrobe budget than the average American girl.  If you love her clothes but not the price tag, here is how you can steal Jennifer's style for a total price of $110.00

The Look:

 Jennifer looks fresh and chic in a white button down, navy blue skirt, and sandals.  Also, her hair looks fantastic. 

The Top:

It is so easy to find white button down tops for low prices, but it is far more difficult to find white button down tops that don't make you look like you are about to perform in a middle-school band concert.  This summery Decree button down keeps things sophisticated but flirty for an effortless, stylish look.  If you're dressing for a date, undo a button to copy Jennifer's sexy style, or keep things conservative for class or work.  Buy it now for $22.00 at J.C. Penney.

The Skirt:

  Navy blue swishy skirts are just plain cute.  They make you feel girly, and it is always fun to spin in them to make them float around (or is that just me?).  This Mossimo skirt is long enough to be classy, but it is also young and fun, and it will make you feel good about yourself - it basically exemplifies Jennifer Lawrence's fresh, sweet style.  It also happens to be completely affordable at Target right now for $19.99, that is a win in my book.

The Belt

When you are selecting boring sophisticated colors, it is really important to wear a bright accessory to make sure you don't fade into the background.  Jennifer chose a fun, skinny red belt to tie her look together, and to keep her outfit exciting.  The thing that I like about this red Fashion Focus is that it is subtle enough to make your outfit pop without overpowering it.  The thing that I like is that it is only $20.30 (58% off) today at Bluefly, so my frugal fashionista side is getting all excited.

The Shoes

I love love love Jennifer Lawrence's white sandals with her outfit.  They make her legs look killer, and they are a clean, classy way to finish her look.  These sexy Audrey Brooke Olena sandals can be dangerous if you are a high heels novice, but for those of us who are more experienced, they are to die for.  The best part is, of course, their affordable price.  They are 44% off at DSW, for a total of $45.00.

If you are as handy with a calculator as myself, and you have no qualms about rounding .99s up to 1.00, then you know that you can get Jennifer Lawrence's fabulous outfit for a grand total of $107.00.  I did my best to get it under $100.00, but that's life, this is  good enough for me.  And who knows, maybe once we start dressing like Jennifer Lawrence, some of her success and charisma will rub off on us - it's possible.

Happy Shopping :)