The Little Box of Basics

If you're new to jewellery making, it can be quite daunting trying to find which findings to use. There seems to be an infinite supply of chains, rings, pins and tools to choose from and it can be quite costly with trial and error to find the right size and type to suit your style of jewellery making.  You might have an idea to turn some really nice beads and charms into a special pair of earrings or some tassels and bells to add to a bohemian style bracelet, but how exactly does it all connect?

We've decided to put together The Little Box of Basics which contains a starter amount of everything you need to make several pieces of costume jewellery. The first box has bronze findings with gold, silver and copper to follow.

This box contains 117 individual items. This allows you to figure out what you will use most of, and you can buy those items in larger quantities if you need to.

You'll find an 18" bronze necklace, 8" bronze bracelet, 5 pairs of kidney ear wires and 5 pairs of fish hook ear wires, and 10 each of 5 different sizes of jump rings, split rings, 25 head pins and 25 eye pins. With the basics included you'll be able to make 12 pieces of jewellery when you add your own charms, beads and embellishments, and you might have some leftover pieces to work with too.

It's only £5 (with £1.50 p&p in the UK) and is slim enough to fit through your letterbox.

See more information about The Little Box of Basics in bronze here.

Easy DIY Make A Geometric Wooden Bead Necklace

These geometric wooden bead necklaces are everywhere and are the perfect summer accessory - easy to wear, pretty colours and fairly minimalist so it's good to know they can be made in a few minutes; in fact, these necklaces are so easy to make, you won't stop at one and will keep on until you have them in several colourways!

Choose a selection of geometric wooden beads - we have polygon beads and various shapes, colours and sizes of wooden beads in stock.

You'll also need some cord to string them onto. We used 1mm thick white waxed cotton cord as it's cheap, strong and goes with all the colours. You can cut the cord to your required length, but around 70cm should be long enough.

You'll think you're back in kindergarten when you start stringing your beads together. 

  Cut the string to length and tie behind the neck.

We chose beads to match a Thank You card to give as a gift - much nicer to receive than a box of chocolates, the happy recipient wears hers all the time...

Easy DIY Tutorial for Floral Hairclips

In the first of our Easy DIY Tutorials, we show you how to make some super-fast hair slides, perfect for giving as inexpensive gifts, as prizes for little girls’ parties or even a goodie bag filler.

You don’t need many materials and certainly don’t need any skills or lots of time to spare, so follow our easy step by step tutorial and you’ll have unique hair pins made from scratch in just a few minutes. You could even do this crafty task with a child, and involve them in the making of gifts for classmates and friends.

We’ve picked the dark bronze coloured metal hair slides from our shop. 

Then we chose some flat-backed cabochons; we have a wide selection, but thought the vintage Japanese rose cabochons were really pretty and sure to appeal to girls of all ages.
It’s important you choose something with a flat back or the cabochon won’t adhere to the pin correctly.

Now choose your adhesive. We like Evostick ‘Serious Glue’ as it dries clear and has a gummy, texture which allows you to reposition. It holds fast in a few minutes, but it does say to allow 24 hours for it to be completely set. An alternative, very similar glue is the silicone based E3000.

Squeeze a small amount of glue onto the reverse of your cabochons, then place the hair pin onto the glue, allowing it to squidge out just around the edges of the pin base. This will dry around the edge and give extra strength to the pin.

Be sure to ensure the rose cabochons are placed correctly, and in the same position on both pins.

Wait until the glue is completely set, then package your hairclips ready to gift. We like to slide them onto a small card – a nice quality plain white card or thick brown kraft card would be nice, or something relevant to the occasion such as a small thank you or birthday card.

Frida Fever

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo may have died in 1954, but her popularity has never waned. Since opening the MyVintageCharms shop on Etsy I've seen an incredible amount of Frida themed pieces I'd love to own; dolls, prints, jewelry, hairpieces and clothes - she really is the independent artist's choice for inspiration.

Some of my favourite Etsy finds are :

Papier Mache Frida Doll from BarbaraCharacters - this doll (not a good enough word to describe this piece of art) is just sensational.

A4 print from Little Frida's Dream - this unframed art is really pretty, and would be ideal for a little girl's bedroom wall.

Cushion from Chunchitos - chosen from a range of really cute Frida themed pieces - and the artist is actually from Mexico!

How awesome are these leggings?! By CaraCarmina

The MyVintageCharms shop has a changing selection of Frida Kahlo charms and trinkets, some one-off mixes that can't be repeated, and other charms and Mexican themed pieces that stay in stock.

An 8 piece vintage Frida Kahlo mix with an old red-eyed and top-hatted skull - my favourite piece!

This filigree brass and domed glass charm is perfect for making a necklace.

The Bohemian Way

As the mornings are getting brighter and the evenings a little longer, my thoughts already have turned to holidays...beaches, long tousled hair, bare feet, sun tans, freckles, picnics and outdoor parties, fairy lights on gazebos and jugs of icy margaritas under shade.

My newly created Pinterest page has me actively pinning everything that makes me yearn for sunny days and warm evenings. It also seems like a good time to introduce lots of Bohemian style charms, beads and findings to both the My Vintage Charms website and Etsy shop. These are perfect for spring/summer designs of anklets, charm bracelets, trinket necklaces and wrap bracelets, with bits of frayed cotton or thin strips of leather, adorned with little evil eye charms or Hand of Fatimas charms, laughing Buddha beads and peace signs.

Therevada Buddhist Beads

Goldtone sitting Buddha charms

Neon Hamsa hand charms

Goldtone Peace connector charms

Neon metal peace sign charms

Ornate Hand of Fatima Charms

Mini Evil Eye connector charms

Sparkling Evil Eye / Hamsa hand

Laughing Buddha Head beads

All items available from My Vintage Charms website and Etsy shop.