Hemp Necklace

I have just made the Hemp Necklace Kit - one of the new kits available in out Fabulous Felts range
Above is what you get in the kit, needle, balls, hemp cord and beads and each kit is different with different balls and beads.

I cut the cord in half to have two strands. I also divided the balls and beads into two groups so that I had around the same number on each strand

I then threaded the beads and the balls in random order

You need to use the Felts Needle to easily create holes through the balls but the beads just thread easily straight on the cord.

When you have threaded it all on the cord then you then space either single beads or combinations and tie knots to lock the beads and balls in place

 

Space them at random - makes it more interesting

Once the first cord is full  you do the same with the other cord.
The four ends were tied together to create the necklace. A drop of white glue locks it in place.

  

Now that I have made one - I can see lots of possibilities for additional embellishment including lots more beads and interesting charms.

I think I would also not bother dividing everything in half. It would be just as effective to make one long one and then adjust when wearing.

This took me about an hour to do and very satisfying.

Fabulous Felts

When I was at Houston I was on the lookout for products that I could add to our range while still maintaining our obsession with colour and texture and I think I found it. The talented ladies at Handbehg have created an amazing range of true recycled woolen felts which are just so tactile and colourful that they fitted our brief perfectly.

We have just received the first part of our order and I couldn't wait to get them on the website and I plan to showcase some of them over a few blog posts.

I have bought most of their kits which are just brilliant. Original designs with everything you need to make a variety of jewellery and accessories.

The Charm Bracelet was my first attempt. I have to admit that although I have a zillion beads and lots of findings etc (the bits to make jewellery) I have never really done much apart from a few earrings. The kits are well described to tell you what you have in the kit and what extra you might need - which is usually not very much. But in this case it called for jewellery pliers. I had some (of course) but most people don't so I have also sourced some sets of three jewellery tools and have them available on the website in our increasingly popular Accessories Section

Here are some of my little felted balls with the beads and eye rings attached and coiled ready to be attached to the bracelet chain with jump rings (all included in the kit)

It tool me about 2 hours in front of the tv to get them all done and attached to the bracelet and the next day I fine tuned some of them. I think I have left the chain a bit long and could adjust it if I felt like it but I probably won't.
Here is the final bracelet - isn't it gorgeous? (Thanks to my talented hand model Sarah Fielke)

So this is the Bracelet Kit and I think it is really clever. You can get more details on the website here.

I will be increasing the range over the next few weeks but wanted to show you ASAP as these kits are sure to be very popular Christmas gifts either made up or given as the kits. They are suitable for ages over 9 years old and will appeal to a large range.