Hi there! What’ve you been up to? I’ve been making chain bracelets with Martha. Kinda.
I will say that these are not my favorite of the jewelry projects. The good news is that they are easy to do. The bad news is that they are kind of “meh.”
The hardest part of this project, actually, is finding the chains. I went to the garment district in LA; it’s not really something that you can find in a Jo Anns, it seems. Although everything’s available on the web these days, I suppose.
Two versions, here: chain with ribbon and chain alone. Here’s a fancy photo of me wearing all four I made:
I’m wondering if you noticed how sassy I am, with my hand sitting jauntily on my hip?
To make these, you either take some chain and thread it through some ribbon and tie it on, or you take some chain and add a clasp. Like I said, really easy.
The only problem I encountered was with the ribbon ones. It’s quite difficult to get the chain to sit flat as you want it without securing it in place. I ended up using a little jewelry cement to secure the ends of the chain to the back of the ribbon. I tried sewing, but that didn’t really work well. Once I had glued the chain at the ends, it laid a little better. Another bonus was that it didn’t slide along the ribbon, either.
Practically, the ribbon bracelets pose a problem, too, which is that you will pretty much always need someone to put them on for you. I had RD husband put mine on, but I had him tie a knot instead of a bow (he was an Eagle Scout, so he’s well-versed in knot-tying). I hate being beholden to people, though. I want a bracelet I can put on myself.
So, cute idea in theory, not so much in practice, I think.
TIME INVESTED
Ribbon bracelets: About 15 minutes each
Chain bracelets: About 10 minutes each
DIFFICULTY
Easy
TOTAL COST
Ribbon bracelets:
- ribbon, $1.99 a roll
- chain, $4.00/yd
- Jewelry Cement
, $6.91/tube
Total cost = $12.90
Chain necklace:
- chain $4.00/yd
- clasps, $1.99
Total cost = $5.99
WAS IT WORTH IT?
Well, I don’t necessarily love them, but that might just be a taste thing. The chain-only ones I think are cuter, but depending on the chain you use they can look really cheap, like Claire’s Accessories-cheap. So I’m going to vote no on this one.
Okay, I see how this is a taste thing but I LOVE THEM, especially the ribbon ones. They just don’t look like something you see everywhere. I can imagine how, in person, the all-chain ones are Claire’s-ish, but in the pic they all four look cute together.
If you are not going to wear them, my bday is in December. JUST SAYING. LOL jk jk not really.
xoxo