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Dreams in Flight Necklace
Project N665
Designer: Julie Bean
This Steampunk statement necklace is sure to draw attention whenever it is worn. Multiple layers of gears, cogs, rhinestones, stampings, and more make this necklace a treat for the eyes and a muse for the imagination.
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What You'll Need
Purchase All Supplies
Specialized Tools
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Instructions:
Note: A lot of this project will involve looking at the photo for the placement of the items on the necklace or you can just free-form your own design. The beauty of a mixed media piece like this is that there is not right or wrong way to make it. Have fun with this design and let your imagination flow!
- Start this project by creating the resin pieces first, since they will need time to cure. First, out of your "Paris Postmarks" collage sheet, cut out the two blue-toned carousels, cutting around their curves so that they will fit into the round Art Mechanique hobnail bezel connector (see photo). Once you have cut them to size, glue them into your bezel using Nunn Glue. Next cut out the image that looks like the backside of a Paris post card and glue it over the carousels. Now find the image which has blue sky and the Eiffel tower on the side and cut it to fit into the rectangular Art Mechanique bezel (cut it so you cut off most of the trees and show more blue sky). Glue in place. Once all your images have fully dried, paint 3 layers of Nunn Sealant over them - letting each layer dry thoroughly before applying the next.
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Take your Vintaj Steampunk clock hands and spread some Nunn Glue on the backside. Flip over and center on top of your collage papers in the round hobnail bezel. Open up your Lisa Pavelka Micro Elements cogs and gears and select a random assortment to place into your round bezel setting. Using a toothpick or small piece of wire as an applicator, place small dabs of glue wherever you want to place a gear or cog, then use your tweezers to lay the gear or cog into the glue. Let all this fully dry.
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Mix up 1oz of Ice Resin. Fill your rectangular bezel half way full with resin. Fill your round hobnail bezel all the way full with resin (do not let it spill over, if you can dome it slightly, great, if not, flat is ok). Let the round bezel cure for 3 days and the rectangular one for 24 hours. Out of your Decorative Words transfer sheet, cut out the one that says "dream", and apply this transfer to your hardened resin in your rectangular bezel. Mix up another batch of Ice Resin and pour it over the word dream and to the top of your rectangular bezel. Let cure for 3 days.
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Use your Vintaj Relief Block to gently sand and buff all of your Vintaj elements, exposing some of the shiny brass below.
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It will be easiest to assemble this necklace if we work from the bottom up, starting with the Steampunk Art Deco button. In the center of this button, place a dab of E6000 glue. Into that glue, place a Vintaj decorative pinwheel washer. In the center of that washer, place another dab of E6000 and place into it a Swarovski Crystal chaton. Let dry.
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Using your flush cutters, carefully cut the two connector loops off of one of your Vintaj Flying West Sparrow connector links. Repeat this with one of your Vintaj Flying East Sparrows. Referring to the photo for placement, place E6000 glue onto the backsides of your two sparrows and place them directly on top of the resin in the round hobnail bezel. Let dry.
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Take your two Vintaj blossoming duet flower links and bend them (using your hands) to curve over the sides of the rectangular "dream" bezel. See photo. Place a dab of E6000 glue into each of their holes, and into this glue, place Swarovski Crystal chatons. Let the chatons dry. Spread E6000 on the backside of the curved blossoming duet flowers and press them into place over the rectangular bezel sides. Let dry.
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Your etched cable chain actually consists of a series of open links which can be used like jump rings. Separate two of these links and use them like jump rings to connect the three elements you just made (the Steampunk art deco button, the round bezel, and the rectangular bezel). See photo.
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Cut a 3 inch piece of baby blue silk fabric. Tie it to the backside of the "jump ring" connecting your two bezels. Trim off all but 1/2" on either side.
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Our focal is now complete! The main body of this necklace is basically free-formed, adding a chaton here, a Lisa Pavelka gear there, and arranging things as they are pleasing to the eye. Several main elements you might want to keep where they are because they help with the structure of the necklace include the two Vintaj flying bird connectors linking the chain to all the "do-dads" on the front part of the necklace, the Vintaj open gear wheel stamping is a nice way of connecting your two necklace sides and the focal, and the riveting of the larger Vintaj gears and filigree is a secure way of keeping them in place. For the riveting, I made sure to add a little pinwheel washer to the side that I flattened the rivet head on, even if this meant that the washer would be on the backside of the necklace - it just made it easier to rivet. The added little gears and Vintaj decorative beaded flower washers are all able to just be glued in place using E6000.
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A couple techniques you will need to know include How to Use Rivets in Jewelry and How to Make Wire Loops Correctly. To make the segments which use the black druk beads, just place onto an eye pin: 1 Miyuki 10/0 bead in matte metallic green pink, 1 antique brass cone flower bead cap, an 8mm Czech glass druk bead in black, another bead cap, and another Miyuki bead. Create a simple wire loop directly after the last bead and snip off excess with flush cutters. These little segments make great connector pieces. Also feel free to use links from your etched cable chain as jump rings in addition to your black pewter jump rings. Gluing on embellishments is fine as long as the base structural pieces are either riveted or connected with links or jump rings. Have fun with this stage of the design.
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To complete the necklace, cut two segments of your etched cable chain, 3 inches long each. Cut 2 segments of baby blue silk ribbon, 6 inches long each. Onto the end link of one chain segment, tie the end of a ribbon piece and place a small dab of E6000 into the fold if need be to hold the ribbon in place. Take the long end of the ribbon and thread it in and out of every 3rd or 4th chain link. When you get to the other end of your chain, tie your ribbon around that end link. Again place a dab of glue if need be and snip off any excess ribbon from both ends. Repeat this step with your other length of cut chain and cut ribbon.
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To connect your chains to the body of your necklace, open a black jump ring and connect it to the end loop on one of the sparrows tails and the end chain link of one of your chain/ribbon segments. Close the jump ring. Repeat this step on the other side your necklace with your other chain segment.
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From the amount of chain you have left, open and remove 2 chain links. Use these like jump rings to attach each half your black finish pewter clock toggle clasp to the chain ends.
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You did it! Have fun wearing this statement piece!
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Keywords: mixed media, collage, bead style july 2012, bead style magazine, steampunk, magazine, btq-steampunk
Tip: Check package quantities for each component. You may have extra material to make more than one finished project, or will have leftovers for other projects. In some cases, adding on just one more package of a component may be all you need to make multiple pieces.
All designs © Beadaholique Inc.
You may use our designs to make items for personal use or gifts.
Sale of our designs, whether in written form or assembled, is prohibited.
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