DIY Beaded Necklace Charm

Disclosure: My beads were provided free of charge by Wholeport.com.

Sometimes, when I create, I get an idea of what I want to do and then I search for the supplies I need to make it happen.  This time, though, it was just the opposite.  My beads inspired my project.  I saw these Faceted Crystal Beads at Wholeport.com and thought they were absolutely gorgeous.  Since Wholeport is one of my sponsors, they were happy to send me the beads to play with {woohoo…I love this job!}.  As soon as they arrived, I immediately knew one way I wanted to use them.  Take a look…

Beaded Charm

Many of you already know that I’m an Origami Owl lover!  Back in March, Kristy Rohr {who is also one of my BloggyCon sponsors!} sent me my first locket and five charms to review.  I. fell. in. love.  Since then, I’ve added some new charms and plates to my collection, including a cute little silver heart accent to go on my chain.  Origami Owl sells a number of different dangles you can get to clip onto your locket; all different colors of pearls, crystals, little roses and more. I kind of wanted them all.  But that would cost a small fortune.  Then, I got my beads in the mail from Wholeport and right away, I knew I wanted one on my locket.  I decided to try my hand at making my own dangle!  {All you Origami Owl designers out there, don’t hate me, read on…}

charm

Materials:
– bead of your choice {mine is the Light Blue 10mm Faceted Crystal, but you could use any size and color bead you like}.
– head pin
– jump ring
– lobster clasp
– jewelry tools: wire cutters, flat nosed pliers, needle nose pliers

Step 1: Place your bead onto a head pin.  Because the hole in my particular bead was too large for a “normal” head pin, I got a pack of decorative ones that had tiny silver balls on the end.  You can get all different kinds of decorative head pins to achieve whatever kind of look you want.

Beaded Charm

Step 2: Bend the head pin above the bead at a 90 degree angle.  Wrap it back over your pliers to form a loop, then wrap the excess wire around itself for a wire-wrapped effect.

Step 3: Use your pliers to add a jump ring and lobster clasp to your wire loop.  Remember to always twist, never pull apart, when opening jump rings.

beaded charm

Step 4: You’re finished!  Now all that’s left is to clip it onto your necklace!  If you don’t have an Origami Owl locket, you can use this on any necklace you have, or make two of them and turn them into earrings by adding ear wires in place of the lobster clasp.

DIY Necklace charm

Ok, so I told you that you’re not allowed to hate me for sharing this if you’re an OO Designer…here’s why.  First of all, this is a great thing to do because it allows you to totally customize your locket by using whatever size, shape, color, and style beads you like!  Because it’s quick, easy, and cheap, you can make lots of these and change them out depending on your mood or outfit.  And because you’ll be saving money by making your own dangles, you’ll have more to spend on the things you can’t make yourself, like charms and lockets, right?

So, what do you think?  I love having it on my locket, and I plan on making more in other colors too!  Would you have a use for a beaded charm like this one?

Hugs & Glitter,

siggy

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3 Comments

  1. SO CUTE! I’d love to make a bunch of them and hang them off a bracelet – maybe a chain one, or perhaps between contrasting coloured beads…!

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