New Jewelry A Day: LEGO

Showing posts with label LEGO. Show all posts

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Make a Super Bowl Necklace from LEGO®

Before: in the toy box

Today will be a brief post because we spent the day getting ready for the super bowl and the evening will be spent watching the game and then recovering from our party.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

We went to the toy box again to string a simple beaded necklace using green and yellow. Go team! ....and enjoy the game.

Materials
Leather, imitation leather, satin or other stringing material
LEGO®
Clasp

Tools
Beadboard

Step 1
Go to the toy box and collect the LEGO® of your choice. Arrange design using a beadboard. If you do not have a beadboard, then you can use a plate to prevent the LEGO® beads from rolling as you arrange your design.

Step 2
Cut 21-inches of 1mm imitation leather or the stringing material of your choice.

Step 3
String the LEGO® beads.

Step 4
Add the clasp.

Related Tutorials
Make a LEGO® and Chain Necklace
Use LEGO® as Beads to Make a Necklace
Make LEGO® Christmas Earrings
Make a Giant LEGO® Necklace
Make LEGO® Earrings

Day 78. Month 4. Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: LEGO®
New Jewelry a Day.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Make a LEGO® and Chain Necklace

Before: LEGO® in the toy box

We are still playing with LEGO®. Isn't it great that we do not have to stop?

This project took on a completely different look from yesterday's LEGO® as bead necklace or the Giant necklace we made influenced by Emiko Oye. Rather, this necklace was influenced by the work of Susan Lenart Kazmer's talisman style art jewelry.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

I've always liked Kazmer's mixed-media necklaces and I admire her generosity in sharing her ideas and techniques. This necklace incorporates LEGO® rather than metal, so it is really just the talisman feel we emulated.

If you are not familiar with Kazmer's amazing work, I recommend curling up with her book Making Connections: A Handbook of Cold Joins for Jewelers and Mixed-Media Artists.

Materials
LEGO®
Brass Chain
18-gauge round brass wire or
20-gauge round brass wire

Tools
Bead board
Side cutters
Wire looping pliers
Flex shaft or Dremel and cup burr
(or wire rounder )

Arrange the LEGO®

Step 1
Gather your tools and materials. Arrange the LEGO® on the bead board in the design you like.

Attach the LEGO® to the chain

Step 2
Attach the LEGO® to the chain and to each other as arranged. I used 20-gauge round brass wire to attach the LEGO®charms because we have a lot of the 20-gauge wire. If I made the necklace again, I might substitute 18-gauge round brass wire for durability.

Clasp made by GeltDesigns.com

Step 3
Select or make the clasp. Attach the clasp to the chain.

Step 4
Check all wire to be sure there are no sharp edges. File the wire with needle files, if needed, to remove any sharp spots.

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Day 54. Month 3. Jewelry from Found Objects. $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: LEGO®, chain
New Jewelry a Day.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Use LEGO® as Beads to Make a Necklace

Before: LEGO® in the toy box

So today we played with LEGO®. Again. It turns out New Jewelry a Day is a great excuse to play with toys. My delightful daughter and I happily sifted and sorted and arranged colors. The result was a bag full of odd shaped LEGO® sorted into possible projects and a colorful LEGO® beaded necklace accented with sterling silver parts.

Materials
LEGO®
Leather, imitation leather or other stringing material
Six sterling silver beads
Sterling silver clasp

After: Necklace by GeltDesigns.com

Tools
Bead board
Scissors or wire cutter
Glue (optional)

Step 1
Select the LEGO®. Arrange the LEGO®. We used a bead board when creating our design.

Bead boards are not necessary (a plate or bowl will do) but bead boards are a great tool to prevent beads from rolling while you work. Bead boards come in a variety of sizes ( 9x 12 inch, 34-inch, travel) and are made by many different vendors, including Beadalon and Beadsmith;; they all serve the same purpose.

Step 2

String the LEGO® and beads

Make or select the accent beads and clasp. We used sterling silver beads and a sterling silver "S" clasp, but picking the beads and playing with the pattern is half the fun. There were a lot of designs we liked and could have used.

Step 3
String the LEGO® and beads onto the stringing material.

Step 4
Add the clasp. We used a sterling silver "S" clasp but selecting the clasp is part of the design.

Make loop

Make a loop at the end of the stringing material. Slide the last LEGO® to secure the loop.

Make knot

Make a knot or two below the first and second LEGO®. Secure the knot with glue.

Slide the second LEGO® over the knots and snap the first and second LEGO® to cover and secure the knot.