Michaels held a free collar necklace making event, and the first fifteen guests scored a free gift. I’m a sucker for freebies so of course I went. Plus, I was hoping to pick up a jewelry tip or two!

I might have arrived early to shop and be one of the first in class to snag a seat and a prize. They gifted us a Glam and Go bag and a create necklace – perfect for all crafty days! It ended up being a small class so they gave each of us a freebie second helping. Double score!

I dabble in jewelry making, but I never officially learned, nor have I ever made a bold statement piece like a collar necklace before. This class was a good introduction to larger bead/stone use. I chose the above green stones, which we’re guessing are of the jasper variety. Michaels provided the rest of the materials and tools for our projects.

Our instructor for the evening was Cindy, an avid beader and overall fun lady! She’s got an awesome collection of bead findings that she brought to share with the group, and by awesome I also mean super organized.

For this project we used:

• Beads/stones (use as little or as many as you wish)
• Spacer beads (use 1-2 between each main bead)
• Accent beads (optional; I used two gold beads on each end)
• Beading wire (cut a piece long enough to string through your project plus 6-8″ extra) 
• Chain (cut two equal strands depending on how long you want your necklace to be)
• 2 Crimp beads
• 2 Jump rings
• 1 Lobster clasp
• Pliers (have two on hand to easily open and close jump rings)
• Wire cutter
• Crimping tool (game changer!)
• Bead board (keeps beads and findings in order)
• Bead stoppers (secure the beads while you are stringing)

How to:

1. Line up the beads on the bead board.
2. Clamp one end of the bead wire with a bead stopper and string on your beads. When you like how it looks,
3. Eyeball where you want the necklace to sit. Measure from the back of your neck to one side of your strung beads. Cut two equal strands of chain this length.
4. String on a crimp bead to one side, string through the end of one strand of chain, and loop the wire back through the crimp bead plus two of the main beads. Crimp the crimp bead using a crimping tool. Do the same for the other side. Snip off the excess wire.
5. Attach a jump ring to the end of each chain, and the lobster clasp to one jump ring.

Viola! My finished piece:

I learned how to better secure crimp beads with a crimping tool. I had been using a pair of regular pliers this whole time and was never sure if they were secure enough. I was so impressed by the crimping tool that I bought one after class. And then we had a photoshoot…

Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year! Heh. Here’s all of our finished works. These look so profresh.

What new jewelry techniques have you tried lately or want to learn soon? Share below!