From The Nuts and Bolts Department

Just finished this necklace using wing nuts, washers and chain links. All from the Hardware Store. Added resin purple beads, round silver spacer beads and different sizes of black glass beads.

Without chain links…

And with chain links.

And I made two pairs of earrings using smaller wing nuts. They look really heavy, right? But they aren’t. I tried them on. I did use a different type of ear wires, different than what I normally use. I thought the design required something a bit stronger. This works well.

And more necklace views….

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This is an original design created by yours truly. Please do not copy, post or distribute without my permission. Thanks.

Oops… Wing Nuts!! (More Ideas)

Hey!! What do I know, LOL!! Thanks, Nana.

One of my readers, who is a good friend, has my back. She just told me those are Wing Nuts. Not washer nuts. Wonder where I came up with that. 😀

Anyhoo…. more ideas.

I am having fun with this. Who knows what it will look like when the dust settles.

Tila Beaded Bead and Wing Nuts

Since I already had all the beads still out from making my bracelet, I decided to try my hand at some matching earrings.

Instead…

I ended up with a Beaded Bead. What a nice surprise!! I can make up a bunch of these for stringing a necklace or bracelet. This isn’t the best photo but you can see the design is like the bracelet. But first, I will make earrings.

Here’s what I have come up with for the wing nuts. So far. This is just temporarily strung until I decide whether to soften it up more. Seed beads in between the larger beads. Or silver spacer beads. I have an idea for the clasp. Hope it works.

I only bought enough for four sections like this. I may go back to Home Depot to get enough for two more. And I hope they have smaller ones. Earrings to match would be cute. Wing nuts dangling from your ears.

Well, off to sleep. I was in bed but couldn’t sleep. Not with ideas spinning around my head.

Surrounded By Men

One of my errands today took me to Home Depot, the hardware store.

Talk about being out of your Comfort Zone!! Do they ever have the customers. I had to dodge wooden planks sticking out of carts everywhere. And those rolling things. That look like a golf cart. You could step up on them and make your way through traffic. Picking up passengers. If you wanted to. All aboard!!

I mean, gosh guys. Leave some space for this little old lady just trying to find the Nuts and Bolts department.

Found it!! Look what I got.

I have lots of ideas. Let’s see where they take me.

A Clasp on Memory Wire? Huh!!

Sunday, July 27

Trying to be different. That is me.

I made this new bracelet… from more black rubber tubing… but this time with a jungle flavor. Don’t know what the focal beads are called. I searched for them in my Bead Directory but couldn’t find them. I think they are bone beads but not 100% sure. They look like someone dipped their foot in brown ink and stomped all over them. 😀

Anyway… after adding the beads, I bent the ends of the memory wire as usual. Then added a few dangles. BUT I also added a few jump rings PLUS a toggle bar so when connected, the bracelet has the look of a chain going across the memory wires. You also do not have to worry about the bracelet falling off your arm.

I used various sized wooden beads, 5-6mm black glass round beads, black rubber tubing and the four larger bone curved rectangular beads.

This design is kind of what I have in mind to make jewelry for men.

Look What I Made From Black Rubber Tubing

Saturday, July 26

Yesterday felt like a summer school project. One of those “How I spent my day” days.

I spent it following behind hubby going from an auto parts store to hardware store to gigantic handyman’s store. Looking for more rubber tubing and washers. I found everything I was looking for though I didn’t BUY everything I was looking for. The price of brass washers was way too high for what I wanted to pay. I got 300 zinc washers in three different sizes for a song and a dance. But for the same price I paid for the 300, I only got 30 of the brass ones. What a rip-off!! 😀 Remind me to stick to Michael’s and stay out of hardware stores.

But the experience was an interesting one and I had fun watching hubby go up and down the aisles. Same as I did. And look for a floor person. Same as I did. And ask a lot of questions. “Where is… Do you have it in…” Same as I did in Lowe’s. LOL!!

I sort of went crazy making stuff with my black rubber tubing. I had some agate gemstones and wooden beads I thought would go nicely with the tubing. I added several other bead sizes and ended up with these. I had enough beads to make two sets. 2 necklaces, 2 bracelets and 2 pairs of earrings. Except for a couple beads they are almost identical.

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Then I made this yellow bracelet.

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I like working with tubing if only I could figure out a way to cleanly cut the rubber. I have tried scissors, small and large. Also my fabric rotary cutter, a knife. Nothing so far cuts clean. Hubby suggested a paper cutter. Haven’t tried that yet. On my list.

My bracelet looks nothing like those in the book I used as a reference. But I still like how it turned out.

I found clear plastic tubing at the hardware store that I am dying to experiment with. I have an idea of stringing beads INSIDE the tubing. Not sure if it will work but I am thinking it will.

Here’s how I spent my Friday. How did you spend yours? 😀

I Got Some Rubber Tubing. Yippee!!

Thursday, July 24

Hubby came through. He told me yesterday he would get me some black rubber tubing. He said I should have gone to the AUTO parts store. Who knew. 😀

Here it is. All 12 inches of it. LOL!! I guess I will be making just one bracelet.

I will chop on it, dig out my memory wire and make something tonight. BBL to show you.

Shopping In The Hardware Store for Jewelry Parts

Wednesday, July 23

Decided to go to Lowe’s yesterday to buy washers and rubber tubing. Saw the neatest jewelry in one of my books utilizing plain hardware parts. Washers in gold, silver and copper made into a necklace and a bracelet made with memory wire and black rubber tubing.

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Not being a tool kind of gal, I was thinking it would be easy to walk in, find what I wanted and walk out. Inside Lowe’s, lost in a sea of men, two other ladies looking as lost as I was…I went up and down several aisles. I spotted a person with a Lowe’s name tag and asked for help. Can you please steer me in the right direction. His response, while pointing straight ahead was, “See that man. Bent over? There you will find rubber tubing.”

I walk about half a mile, it seemed, and sure enough I see tubing. BUT tubing large enough to push through a small dog. Now, I know I told that guy I wanted it FOR CRAFT MAKING. Nope. Won’t be needing THAT much tubing. The tubing I want, maybe a family of ants could travel through it if a sugar cube was on the other end. Big Sigh. I gave up on the black tubing.

Next I searched for washers.

I don’t know about you but my last memory of seeing washers was at the corner hardware store where you could pick up a handful and toss them around in your palm. Like nickels. Those at Lowe’s were nicely packaged. BUT only saw two and for a nifty price. The packaging probably cost more than the washers. Nope. Not what I wanted. Not what I wanted to pay. So… like the other ladies I saw inside, wandering around, I spotted them in the parking lot, same as me… emptyhanded.

I left Lowe’s and walked two doors down to a place I was VERY familiar with. Michael’s Art and Crafts store.

No, I wasn’t expecting to find washers and rubber tubing in Michael’s. Didn’t know exactly what I was looking for but I had a 40% off coupon which was burning a hole in my purse. I bought these.

I won’t be using them for earrings per the packaging suggestions. I am going to be different and make a bracelet. See… I have already connected them with jumprings and added a lobster claw clasp.

Will sleep on it for a few days and see what direction my thoughts take.