How to make your own necklace - Top 5 handmade jewelry ideas

Many of us dream of making our own homemade jewelry - to explore our creative minds and produce something that you can wear or give as a gift to a friend or loved one. Making your own jewelry can be fun, inspiring and therapeutic. The more you do, the more you learn and the more you learn, the more you want to do. We have listed our top 5 tips and ideas on how to make your own necklace at home.

1. Tools & Materials
   When making jewelry at home, the first thing you must do is collect all the tools you have in your house and place them all together. If you feel that you are missing important tools, such as a pair of pliers, then you should invest in that tool right away. That being said, if you find it too costly or do not have the time then you may need some help. For example if you wanted a monogram necklace or a name necklace, then you can send the initials/name that you would like to a jewelry company online - they will do the cutting of the initials/name into the material that you choose, then all you need to do is add your own personal embellishments.
   
   Here is a list of useful tools when making your own jewelry:

   • 2 sets of pliers - these act as very strong, slim fingers, enabling you to open and close rings or clasps and to hold on to those most intricate pieces or charms.
   • Wire cutters - Sharp implements to separate and shorten pieces of metal.
   • Pencil, ruler, paper - to help you with measurements and designs.
   • Silver/Gold wire and chains - You don’t necessarily need to decide what type of chain you will be using, you can select a variety to give you options.
   • Ribbon & threads - When attaching pieces together, these items could really come in handy.
   • Clasps & jump rings - to connect or close chains and attach charms.
   • Charms, beads and stones - Go to a jewelry store where they sell ‘bits and pieces’ for creating your own jewelry. You can pick out all the beads and charms that you want to work with. It’s good to have a selection in sight when designing as it gives you an idea of what you are working with. If you need to, you can always go back for more. You can also use old pieces of jewelry that you may have in the house. Find broken necklaces and scraps from old pieces of jewelry and add them to your collection - you will be surprised by how much you can re-use.

2. Ideas
   You must explore your possibilities for your handmade jewelry ideas. A great way to start is by looking through fashion magazines and seeing what will be in fashion for the coming season. Cut out things you like and build yourself a mood board by sticking your ideas to a large piece of card and commenting with any notes that may help you when designing and creating your own piece. You can separate the board into sections, for example: ‘Style options’, ‘Inspiration’, ‘In fashion’, ‘Season’, ‘My favorites’, ‘Materials’.

3. Design
   Now it is time to put those ideas into action. With a pen or pencil, start by drawing your designs on paper. Include measurements so that you know the size of the materials that you are going to cut. Once you’ve done this, you may create the graphics of the design in 3D by using design technology programs - this part is not essential but is a possibility if you’re interested in graphic design and wanted to go a touch more pro.

4. Create
   Once you have your ideas, designs, materials and measurements you are now ready to create your own pieces of jewelry. This is the really fun part. By crafting and producing your own jewelry you are allowing your mind to be creative and pool together all your ideas. There is no better feeling than when you’re connecting pieces of material together to create an object that you can then use- that moment of completion can be incredibly rewarding.

5. Time and Ability
   If you’re not the artsy type, have no idea about graphic design or simply do not have the time, you too can still have a part in making your own jewelry. It is possible to design your own necklace online by giving professional jewelers your own ideas and they can produce the graphics of the design. You can then either try to make that design on your own or you could have a professional create it for you. You may even just need the pendant produced and then you can incorporate that with your own chain/s and embellishments at home.

The most important part about making your own jewelry at home is that you enjoy yourself. Allow your mind to work creatively and you will be surprised by how much fun you can actually have! The first piece you make may not be the best, but don’t give up, practice makes perfect.