Fancy Bat Necklace
I made this little bat into a necklace charm awhile ago, and I love it. The rings it hangs from are on the tip of each wing, and I didn’t like how the cecklace chain went between them when I was wearing it. I decided to attach a chain to each end to make a necklace. I got a 60″ black chain (on sale) at Hobby Lobby. There’s plenty of chain there for a couple projects. I used the jump rings that were already on the necklace, and used a necklace clasp I scavenged off of some stuff Mi Madre had given me.
The first thing I did was use my pliers to open up 2 links in the chain to get a segment about the length I wanted.
I then folded it in half, and removed the middle link, to give me two pieces the same length. I then measeured it around my neck, and ended up removing about an inch from each so the necklace would be the right length.
I attached one end of each to the bat using the jump rings already on it (see how to in this post). On the other ends I attached the necklace clasp parts. While you’re attaching them, make sure you put the clasp on the correct side. Most necklaces are made so that you use your right hand to open the clasp and put the necklace on. I used a giant jump ring to clasp onto because I hate fiddling around with necklaces trying to get the clasp onto a tiny little ring. This method works great.
I just love this necklace now, even more than I did before. A little more Halloween in my wardrobe.
– That Clever Chick
Spider Earrings
We all know by now that I love skulls. I think I really just love Halloween, and so it has started over-taking my wardrobe. By the time I’m thirty I’ll be like Miss Havisham, but wearing Halloween costumes instead of a wedding dress. Oh, that would be an awesome Halloween costume!!! Anyway, I was at Hobby Lobby this weekend, and a bunch of awesome crap was on clearance. I grabbed these black plastic things, but they were a little too tame for me, so I added a pair of half price spiders. This is what I used for each earring:
First, I pulled open the giant jump ring. I bought a back of these giant jump rings (pictured above in the upper right hand corner), awhile ago, and they are a life-saver. They’re a little thick, but they are so much easier to use than the normal dinky ones. I like to use them on necklace charms to make them easier to hang on my necklace chain, and on the end of necklaces to make it easier to close the clasp.
The large jump rings were just the right size to hang the spiders so that they nestle into the opening of the earrings.
Jump rings are easier to re-close if you twist them open sideways rather then pulling them apart. They also retain their circular shape this way. I used my needle nose pliers to close the jump ring and secure the spider.
I would have just put another large jump ring through the top to hang the earring hook from, but the hole was too small, so I used one of these:
I’m not sure what they’re called, but they’re definitely for making jewelry. I think you’re supposed to put a bunch of beads on them. I inherited a big box of beading stuff from Mi Madre, so I keep finding new and interesting things. I bent the post thing around the top of the earring;
And folded the ends over with the pliers. I used the shape of the pliers to bend the post, basically wrapping the wire around the tip, so that both halves had the same shape bent into them. I cut off the extra wire with my pliers, and then bent the loose ends down.
This shows how I used the tip of the pliers to bend the loop at the top. I squeezed it around in manipulated it until it was smooth and lined up nicely.
Next it was time to add the tiny jump ring and earring clasp. Double and triple check to make sure the earring part is facing the correct way so that the spiders will face forward. The tiny jump ring also assures that the earrings face forward and not sideways while I’m wearing them.
Here are my spectacular new earrings!
I probably spent about $3 total on materials, and it only took me 15 minutes or so to assemble them. And now I can be even more Halloween-y all year long!
– That Clever Chick
