Necklace Alterations

I'm enjoying longer necklaces at the moment, so I took some chunky but fairly short necklaces and added components of chain, cord or bead strands from other necklaces or from my craft box to create new longer necklaces. All of these can be simply dropped over the head, with the slimmer portion passing round the neck but the chunkier bead sections adding interest at the front.

All with added chain of various types and lengths. A bit fiddly but only needs two pairs of jewellery pliers.

I shared these on Facebook with the group from Inside Out Style Blog and also asked Jill Chivers how she makes the necklaces which are in the videos, which I've edited to share here

In brief, the way I do it involves having quite a beading kit, which if you don't have or don't want to create, will probably mean finding another way.

So in my beading kit I have quality beading wire and crimping beads (found online, don't buy the stuff from Spotlight for those Aussie ladies) and a set of beading tools/pliars (including a professional crimping tool, which really helps). I also have quite a few beads in my kit from other projects, so often I don't have to buy any beads as I already have them.

I start by pulling my necklaces completely apart. I often place the free beads into glass bowls (kitchen mixing ones). Sometimes they sit like that for days, and when I walk past them I just look at them or give them a little swish. This is the mysterious creative incubation "black box" where ideas are swishing around but I haven't actually DONE anything. I don't mess too much with this process, I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I know *something* is happening!!

When I'm ready to start, I pretty much follow a straightforward beading process, with the clasp findings, crimp bead, starter bead, then off I go, bead after bead... You can find necklace making using bead tutorials online which give you some great How To.

I love this process, it's creative, relaxing and fun for me. But if it isn't for you, that's okay - we all have different things that float our boat. And you can find people who will rework your existing pieces for you, at a cost of course.