Petite Black Choker and Earrings Set

Petite Black Choker and Earrings Set

Hi there. It's Dominique here, with a New Year's Eve themed choker and earrings set. It's sparkly, but  simple, for an effortless, yet effective look. I think this choker is also quite minimalist, which is a style that I love, and I think the lovely beads from Just Bead It work perfectly with the design, whilst remaining understated and elegant. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and hope that 2019 can be your best year yet!

For the choker:

Just Bead It products used:

• JBX75 - black faceted glass beads

Additional products used:

• silver eyepins
• silver lobster clasp
• silver extender chain
• bent-nose pliers
• round-nose pliers
• wire cutters

For the earrings:

Just Bead It products used:

• JBX68 - large black faceted glass beads
• JBX75 - black faceted glass beads
• JBX82 - small black faceted glass beads

Additional Products used:

• silver headpins
• silver eyepins
• silver hypo-allergenic surgical steel earring hooks
• wire cutters
• round-nose pliers
• bent-nose pliers

To make the choker, begin by threading an eyepin through a single JBX75 bead. Gently bend the tail into a 90 degree angle, and use wire cutters to trim the tail into roughly a centimetre in length. Next, using round-nose pliers, grip the tail and gently curl it inward, until it forms a tight loop. Take care when forming the loop, so that the pliers don't scrape the bead. Since it is made of glass, the bead can easily become damaged if you are too careless during this process. Process shown in pics below.

This is basically the extent of the technique I have used to create the necklace. This procedure is very simple, but extremely repetitive, since you will need to repeat this step about 30 times to form the entire necklace, depending on the desired length.

Nevertheless, as you make the double-sided "charms", use a pair of bent-nose pliers to open the links and attach them to their respective eyepin loops. Keep repeating these steps to form a long chain. When opening the links, be sure to twist the loops into an "S" shape, rather than pulling them into a "U" shape.

Once the choker has reached the desired length, simply attach a lobster clasp and extender chain to their respective ends.

Now, to make the matching earrings, the technique is essentially the same as the choker's. Using the larger JBX68 beads first, thread a single bead through an eyepin, and bend into a 90 degree angle. Trim the tail as before, and form a loop on the other end with round-nose pliers. Next, using the medium-sized JBX75 beads, repeat the exact same step with a single one of these beads. Now, using the small JBX82 beads, and a headpin this time, thread a single bead through the headpin, and perform the same process. You should have two double-sided "charms", and one single-sided one, formed by using a headpin. link all of these together; the larger bead on top, the medium in the middle, and the smallest one on the bottom. Lastly, attach the top bead to a silver earring hook. I always use surgical steel, hypo allergenic earring hooks, but this is optional. Repeat this process once more for the second earring.

And there you have it! A beautiful petite choker, with matching earrings, handmade using a very simple technique. I think this necklace looks best as a tight-fitting choker, so I have made it fairly short in length. Depending on preference, the necklace can be elongated to suit your individual style. I think this set is perfect for New Year's Eve, with just the right amount of sparkles and understated elegance.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and all the best for the New Year!!

I hope you enjoyed this post - if you would like to view more of my designs, I also have an Etsy store called DominiquesWares which features more beaded jewellery. This particular choker set will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

If interested, you can follow me on Twitter @DominiquesWares

or Instagram: dominiques_wares

You can also follow my Dominique'sWares blog

Thanks so much for reading - happy beading!

Festive Pearl Bracelets

Festive Pearl Bracelets

Hi everyone. It's Dominique again, and today I'm going to share with you two elegant Christmas-themed bracelets, made with the green, purple, and white pearl beads from the Just Bead It Christmas Range. Perfect for gift-giving! 

Just Bead It products used:

• JBXM20 - green glass pearl beads
• JBZ65 - white small glass pearl beads
• JBXM06 - purple glass pearl beads
• JBXM51 - small ivory glass pearl beads

Additional products used:

• beading wire
• crimp beads
• silver crimp covers
• 5-strand silver bar ends
• silver lobster clasps
• silver extender chains
• wire cutters
• crimping pliers

To begin, start by attaching a crimp bead and crimp cover to the middle loop of the bar end, leaving a short tail of wire to thread through the beads later. Do the same with both of the outer loops (the 1st and 5th loops), so that you have three strands of beading wire ready to work with. Since the pearls are fairly large, I used a five-strand bar end as opposed to the three-strand bar end, because I think the pearls need a larger width so they fit nicely against the wrist without being squashed together as they might be with a 3-strand finding.

Secondly, you can now begin to thread on the first few beads. I have started with the purple bracelet, so begin threading the JBXM06 pearl beads onto the middle wire, making sure to tuck the excess wire through the first couple of beads. Continue threading the glass pearl beads until you have reached the desired length.

Make sure to tuck the excess wire through the first couple of beads

Next, you can now start to thread the pearls on either side. For the purple bracelet, I chose the ivory/cream pearl beads (JBXM51) over the slightly lighter colour, because I think it makes the bracelet look warmer, and matches the purple colour nicely. So, thread the beads on both of the remaining wires until you have reached the desired length.

Lastly, once you are happy with the length of the bracelet, you can crimp the other wires on the opposite end, and add crimp covers to finish the design. 

Add a lobster clasp and extender chain, and the bracelet is done! So simple, yet so elegant. The design is festive, yet still appropriate as an accent piece for any outfit.

Now, for the green bracelet, the steps are exactly the same, except I chose to use a lighter coloured pearl (JBZ65) to accent the green on either side of the middle strand. I felt that it made the green pop against the whiter tone, and thought it added a bit of differentiation to the other bracelet as well.

I won't explain the steps again, but a picture tells a thousand words, and I have added 6 so that should be plenty clear for you to follow! :)

This picture reminds me of a Yin and Yang symbol,  except in jewellery-style!

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year, and I love being able to share my festive jewellery designs on the Ruby Rock It blog :) I hope this post has inspired you to Just Bead It, and make some lovely jewellery pieces to give to friends and family this year. Thanks for reading :)

If you would like to get more information on some basic jewellery-making techniques such as how to use crimp 

beads and covers, and attaching lobster clasps etc, you can refer to my more thorough jewellery tutorial on the Just Bead It blog.

I hope you enjoyed this post - if you would like to view more of my designs, I also have an Etsy store called DominiquesWares which features more beaded jewellery. These particular bracelets will soon be uploaded to my store, so stay tuned for that :)

If interested, you can follow me on Twitter @DominiquesWares

or Instagram: dominiques_wares

You can also follow my Dominique'sWares blog

Thanks so much for reading - happy beading!