One of my favorite pastimes is visiting
little antique shops (especially on rainy days).
I could wander for hours examining the trinkets and dusty books. In eclectic places like that, you can almost feel the rich history and stories surrounding you. With the smells of old fabric, furniture polish, and mothballs, it’s easy to get lost in time. So often I discover fascinating little things and try to imagine what interesting conversations I might have had with their ancient owners.
I could wander for hours examining the trinkets and dusty books. In eclectic places like that, you can almost feel the rich history and stories surrounding you. With the smells of old fabric, furniture polish, and mothballs, it’s easy to get lost in time. So often I discover fascinating little things and try to imagine what interesting conversations I might have had with their ancient owners.
This handmade necklace is a collection of materials from
several different windows in time.
Vintage lace, industrial chain, and modern mass produced plastic beads come
together to create a pretty necklace that almost has the look of an estate sale
treasure. Here’s how to make your own:
You will need:
String of plastic beads
Chain
Lace
Ribbon
Scissors
Needle and thread
Hot glue gun
Start by trimming the chain, lace, and
ribbon to the same length. My sections
are about ten inches long.
Using the needle and thread, sew the ends
of the sections together. This will keep
them secure and prevent your necklace from unraveling in the future.
Braid the three sections and then sew the
other ends together.
For the plastic beads, I used a very cheap strand from
Goodwill. The little gray beads are
fused to the string. You could also use
Mardi Gras beads or inexpensive strands of beaded garland (I come across these
at thrift stores all the time). I cut my
strand of beads to twenty eight inches long.
On another section of ribbon, add two dabs
of hot glue to attach the end of your bead strand and the braided segments.
Roll the ribbon around until you have the
ends completely concealed. Trim the
ribbon and fold in the raw edge to avoid fraying.
Glue or sew the folded end to the wrapped
ribbon. Repeat with the other side and
you are finished!
What makes this necklace beautiful and interesting is the
variety of textures. Try experimenting
with other materials for the braided section, such as: shoelaces, strips of
fabric, leather cord, rope, bike chain, or anything else you can find.
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this is amazing! Im going to have to try with this with some of my thrift store finds!
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