Thursday, February 5, 2009

Presto Chain-jo!



What's better than buying new jewelry? Reinventing the jewelry you already have! For free! Almost any bracelet can be changed into a necklace really easily (and then changed right back with no problem), using things you already have at home. If you have a pretty chain (maybe something that has a removable pendant on it), simply attach the claw end of the chain's clasp to the hoop end of the bracelet's, and the claw end of the bracelet's to the hoop end of the chain's. If the hoop is too thick to fit in the claw (like on the acorn bracelet/chain combo above), just thread the claw through the hoop and clasp it to its own chain.

Or, for something more romantic looking, thread a length of pretty ribbon through the hoop and claw clasps and tie pretty bows or knots with the ends. Most ribbons will hold with no problem, but if your ribbon is really slippery and your bracelet is heavy, you might need to use a needle and thread to put one quick stitch in each bow to prevent it from untying (or just opt for a simple knot instead). Once the bows/knots are how you want them, trim the ribbon ends at pretty slants or in "v"s.

I discovered this trick when I wanted to wear my mom's charm bracelet (pictured above), but found it too noisy to wear around my wrist while typing at a computer (or, rather, my office-mates did). In the end, I found that as a necklace it's even more, well, charming, to wearer and office-mates alike.

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