Making Charming Accessories

Charms can make almost any accessories a little more personal and a little more you! Here are some ways to personalize a number of items you see or use every day.

Cell Phone Charm

Items Needed:

• Cell Phone Cord
• Charm
• One Eye Pin
• One or Two Lightweight Matching Beads
• One 7mm Jump Ring
• Pliers
• Wire Cutters

1. Attach the charm to the loop on the eye pin.
2. Place the 1-2 decorative beads you have chosen on the eye pin.
3. Use the Jewelers Looping Method to close the top of the eye pin. (Jewelers Looping Method - Hold the pliers approx 1/2 inch from the end of the wire and bend it at a 90 degree angle. Then grab the end of the bent portion of the wire with the pliers and tightly wrap it around them creating a complete circle.)
4. Use a jump ring to attach the top loop of the eye pin to the cell phone cord.
5. Attach to your cell phone and you're ready to go!

Adding Charm to your Pet's Collar

Most people treat their pets like a part of the family. Why not give them jewelry, as you would any of your other kids? Now you can with an adorable pet charm. In addition to a wide variety of adorable pet related charms available for sale, there are also some great pet themed beads available. So, enjoy shopping for the few beads that will really make your furry friend fashionable.

Items Needed:

• Lobster Clasp (that is large enough to clip onto the collar loop of your dog or cat's collar)
• Charm
• One or Two Beads (that compliment the charm)
• Eye Pin
• Two -7mm Jump Rings

1. Gently open one jump ring and attach it to the bottom loop of an eye pin.
2. Also, thread the charm onto the jump ring.
3. Close the jump ring.
4. Thread your complimentary beads onto the eye pin.
5. Use the Jewelers Looping Method to close the top of the eye pin. (Jewelers Looping Method - Hold the pliers approx 1/2 inch from the end of the wire and bend it at a 90 degree angle. Then grab the end of the bent portion of the wire with the pliers and tightly wrap it around them creating a complete circle.)
6. Use a jump ring to attach the top loop of the eye pin to the lobster clasp.
7. Attach to your pet's collar!

Key Chain Charm

• Key Chain Loop
• Five - 7mm Split Rings
• Four Charms
• Various Metal, Glass, Acrylic, and Wooden Beads (to compliment the charms)
• 30 Inches of Beading Wire
• Eight Crimping Beads
• Crimping Tool
• Jeweler's Pliers
• Wire Cutters

Designing the Key Chain

It is best to lay out a design before committing to it. If you do not have a proper beading surface (a surface where beads will stay put and not roll around), try using a bath towel.

We are going to make four dangles to hang from the keychain, so place the beads and charms into the four rows you would like to use as your keychain design. Remember that if you vary the lengths of these rows it will make the keychain look a little more unique, and will also let your charms be easily seen and not pile on top of one another. We would recommend beaded lengths of 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches and 7 inches

Once you have the beads laying in the designs you would like it's time to thread them.

1. Cut the beading wire into pieces that are 3 inches longer than the desired length (So for 4,5,6, and 7 inch pieces, you would cut 7,8,9, and 10 inch pieces of beading wire).
2. Lay the pieces of beading wire beside the lines of beads and charms they are going to have threaded on them.
3. Start with the first dangle and thread a crimping bead onto one end of the wire.
4. Now string the charm onto the beading wire after the crimping bead.
5. Loop one inch of the beading wire through the hole in the charm and back up through the crimping bead. This will hold your charm in place and help you make an ending for the strand.
6. Using your crimping tool, tighten the crimping bead.
7. Trim the excess wire.
8. Now thread the rest of your beads onto the beading wire.
9. Add a crimping bead to the top.
10. Loop the wire through a split ring and back through the crimping bead.
11. Using your crimping tool, tighten the crimping bead.
12. Cut off any excess beading wire.
13. Once you have the dangles created, its time to attach them to the keychain. You can do this in one of two ways. If you want a more free-flowing keychain, you may thread the dangles individually onto the keychain loop. If you would like a bit more controlled of a keychain, you may want to string all the dangles onto one split ring, then thread that split ring onto the key ring loop.