Love Ankle Bracelet

Hey, friends!  If you’ve been following along lately, you know things have been very busy here in the Artsy House this summer!  Which means that this Artsy Mama hasn’t had a whole lot of time for jewelry making…or anything-making, really, unless it had to do with Little Crafter’s Pirate Party!  But this past weekend, things finally settled down enough for me to pull out my fun supplies and create this special birthstone ankle bracelet.  Take a look!

FAMILY LOVE ANKLE BRACELET

A few months back, I got a bag of these pretty antique bronze “love” charms.  I tried making a very simple ankle bracelet with one of them, just using the charm, some jump rings, and a chain, but never really loved it because there was no color other than the metal itself.  So, I decided to turn it into a special piece of family jewelry instead and add color by incorporating birthstone crystals.  Here’s how:

Materials:
– “Love” charm
– chain
– four jump rings
– lobster clasp
– eye pins
– birthstone crystals {or any small beads of your choice}
– jewelry making tools: wire cutters, needle nose pliers, flat pliers

Step 1: Attach a jump ring to each side of the “Love” charm and set it aside.

Step 2: Place each of your birthstone crystals on an eye pin.  Bend the wire 90 degrees, trim, and form a loop so that you have the crystal in the center and a loop on each side of it.  Of course, you can use any small beads you like if the birthstone crystals aren’t your thing.

Step 3: Cut pieces of chain to go between each crystal and your charm.  Because there are three of us in our family, I used six crystals.  When I measured my ankle, it worked for me to use eight chain links between each bead.  If you use more crystals, you’ll have shorter chain lengths between them.  So, this part varies a little for each person, depending on the number of crystals and the size you need.

Step 4: Attach your chain segments by opening the wire loops on either side of your crystals and adding jump rings to the “Love” charm.

 

Sorry for the scary foot photo, but I wanted to give you an idea of how it looks when you wear it!

Step 5: Finish off the project by adding a jump ring and clasp to join the final chain segments.

What do you think?  I’m loving it, and the fact that it’s family jewelry makes it even more special!  What about you?  Do you wear anklets?  What’s your favorite kind of family jewelry?

Hugs & Glitter,