Sparkly, Shiny Gifts

How did Christmas get so close? Ack! These are some sparkly necklaces I saw on Martha Stewart’s show back in September, at the time thought they'd make great gifts. I even ordered the supplies I needed. Then I forgot to make them.

They’re made with this amazing stuff called Wirelace. It’s a tube of super fine woven wire. You can order it at wirelace.com (where else would you get it?) and they’re superfast with delivery; I think it was less than 3 days until I received it.

You can find the directions on Martha’s website, or at Wirelace.com. The nice people at Wirelace also included a copy with my order, which was nifty.

6 mm beads, in 3 graduated colors or 3 strands of the same

monofilament to string them on

1 yard of Wirelace

Size 9 and Size ginormous (15 or 17) knitting needles

Jewelry findings: cones, jump rings, lobster claw clasps

Restring the beads on monofilament. If you’re doing the ombre look, like the neutral one above, refer to Martha’s instructions for stringing. It’s a little tedious, but since I have about a dozen sappy Hallmark Christmas movies on my DVR, I don’t mind.

Use the ginormous knitting needle to gently open up the wirelace all along its length.

Use some sort of tape to secure the end of the monofilament to the smaller knitting needle. Be sure you cover the ends, as the wirelace will snag easily.

Thread the needle with the bead strands attached through the wirelace….gently and without snagging. Center the bead strands in the wirelace and remove from knitting needle.

Tie a knot at each end, making sure you catch all the monofilaments.

Measure how long you want your necklace to be, and fold the wirelace there. Use a small wire loop to pull the wirelace through a jewelry cone.

Attach a jump ring through the wirelace so it can’t slide back through the cone. Then attach a lobster claw clasp and you’re done…almost!

Cut off the excess wirelace…it cuts really easily with any scissors. Fill up the cone with some E600 or other handy dandy adhesive. Let it dry, and package it up prettily. Or hang it with your jewelry and enjoy wearing your creation!

If you get one of these from me for Christmas, act surprised! I’m not at all experienced with jewelry-making, but I think these turned out really well. Give it a try…it’s kind of addicting and pretty much instant gratification. It took a little less than an hour for each necklace, if you’re making a schedule!

And now I’m taking down my fall decorations and cleaning house in preparation for Christmas decorating. If I’m not mistaken, our Elf on the Shelf will be returning to our home tonight…if he’s not lost somewhere in the basement since our move! Wish me, I mean him, luck!