Good morning, everyone! Yet another month has flown by, and it is time for another tutorial 🙂 I’ve had some recent requests to do some jewelry tutorials, so I thought now would be a good time to create a necklace using many of the goodies in my shop. Here’s what I came up with:
Materials
A list of the materials you’ll need to create this beauty include:
- Gilders Paste – Black, Blue Iris, Pinotage
- Bronze jump rings
- Bronze eye pins or wire
- Silver Round Metal Filigree Embellishment (#286-P)
- Bronze Metal Filigree Embellishment (#316-B)
- Bronze Metal Filigree Embellishments (#677-B)
- Bronze Leaf Metal Filigree Embellishments (#852-B)
- Bronze Filigree Bead Caps (#CAP827-B)
- Bronze Figaro Curb Chain (#CH206-B)
- Bronze Bee Tibetan Charm (#J836-B)
- Bronze Floral Toggle Clasp (#J928-B)
- 4x6mm Purple Pearlized Faceted Glass Abacus Beads
- 7x10mm Purple Pearlized Faceted Glass Abacus Beads (purple)
Tools
A list of the tools I used include:
- E-6000
- Mineral Spirits
- Paint Brushes
- Sharpie Marker
- Steel Wool
- Soft rag (or flour sack towel)
- Tim Holtz Scissors
- Ruler
- Chain nose pliers
- Bent chain nose pliers
- Round nose pliers
- Bail making pliers
- Flush cutters
Method
Step 1
Rub the surface of the base filigree (#316-B), leaves (#852-B) and bee (#J836-B) using steel wool. This creates tooth for the Gilders Paste to bond to. For a refresher on how to use Gilders Paste to alter your metal filigrees, check out this tutorial right HERE.
Step 2
Add Gilders Paste to the filigrees in Step 1. I opted to use mineral spirits and a paint brush to apply a blue iris color.
After adding the blue iris, I added a liberal amount of pinotage colored paste and blended it with the blue to create a deep purple color:
Step 3
Allow the Gilders Paste to dry, then buff the surface using a soft rag. I sped up the drying process using my heat tool. This allows for a denser color; however, you must be careful to allow your filigree to cool after heating in…it gets really hot!
Step 4
Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 for the leaves and bee charm. I used black Gilders Paste on the leaves:
I blended the blue iris and pinotage Gilders Pastes for the bee:
Step 5
Glue the round silver filigree (#286-P) to the center of the base filigree (#316-B) using E-6000. To find out why I use E-6000, check out my tutorial on how to adhere metal to just about anything right HERE.
Step 6
Place one of the leaves (#852-B) onto the pendant, and mark a center cut line using a Sharpie marker:
Step 7
Cut the leaf filigree (#852-B) along the cut line made in Step 6. Using the first leaf as a template, layer it onto the second leaf and cut the second leaf filigree.
Step 8
Glue the two cut leaf filigrees (#852-B) onto the round silver filigree (#286-P) using E-6000.
Step 9
Glue the bronze bee charm (#J836-B) onto the center of the pendant using E-6000. The bee should completely cover the cut ends of the leaves (#852-B). Now set the pendant aside to allow the glue to set.
Step 10
Now it’s time to shape the two bails for the pendant 🙂 Place the center of bronze filigree #677-B into a pair of bail making pliers, with the back side of the filigree facing the large side of the pliers.
Then just wrap the filigree around the large side of the pliers:
Step 11
Use a pair of bent chain nose pliers to bend a small portion of the ends of the bail back. Then pinch the bail so the ends meet. I pinched the bail together using the small side of the bail making pliers so that I didn’t kink the filigree while pinching it closed. Repeat Step 10 and Step 11 for the second bail.
Step 12
Add eye pins to 8 small 4x6mm glass beads, and finish the second end with a p-loop. Repeat for two 7x10mm glass beads, adding a bead cap (#CAP827-B) on either side of the bead. If you’re new to jewelry making, make sure to check out my tutorial on making chunky charms right HERE. I go over the basics, and show you exactly what a p-loop is and how to create one 🙂
Step 13
By now, your glue should have set up enough to handle the pendant portion of your necklace…BUT make sure to handle it with care. It takes several hours for E-6000 to finish setting up.
Attach one bail to either side of the pendant using 2 large jump rings per side:
Step 14
Cut a 4″ long piece of chain (#CH206-B), and thread it through one of the bails. Add one small bead onto each end of the chain, followed by another ¾” long piece of chain. Finally, attach each of the short ends of chain to one large bead from Step 12. Repeat for the second bail.
Step 15
Add two pieces of ¾” chain to the other side of the large bead, and finish the ends with a small bead. Repeat on the second side of your necklace.
Step 16
Add a length of chain to the remaining small beads, and add a toggle clasp (#J928-B) as a closure for your necklace. The length of chain you use will depend on your desired necklace length. I ended up using two 5¾” lengths of chain, which I cut in half to add the toggle clasp.
Step 17
After the Gilders Paste has cured for 24 hours, I recommend adding a clear spray to protect the finish. It will wear better and add some longevity to your necklace. You may also want to do this before attaching the bails to the pendant to avoid over-spray. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s directions and use in a well ventilated area 🙂
Here’s a look at the finished piece:
This is a close up of the pendant. Note that I have not added any clear spray yet, but I will…and I’ll use a gloss finish to make everything nice and shiny 🙂
Here’s another close up of the beaded detail in the necklace:
One last note…don’t be afraid to experiment with other colors and brands of patinas. There are also an endless number of beautiful pendants you can create just by layering different styles and colors of filigrees. Just have fun, and be creative!
As always, I thank you for taking the time to visit me over here on my blog, and hope you have loads of fun creating your own masterpiece! Cheers!
Very pretty.
So beautiful!
Just beautiful, you did a great job! Love bees!
very pretty. I love it.