How to Create A Memory Frame Pendant Necklace

I love these sweet little Memory Frames. They are so easy to use and work great as pendants. The package encourages you to make a bracelet out of them, but I like the idea of highlighting an image I love. Oh, and did I say they are two sided? So you can actually highlight TWO images! Perfect for a mom with two children, or any woman with two boyfriends!*

To make this necklace I used a 1x1 inch Memory Frame in Antique Copper and two stamps from a Stamp Assortment. The ribbon and leather mixed together on the necklace makes the colors of the stamps pop out and the bead dangle ads a tiny bit of sparkle.

Ingredients:
1 Antique Copper Memory Frame, 1x1 inch
2 pieces of Memory Frame Glass, 1x1 inch
1 Antique Copper Spring Ring Clasp, 9 mm
1 Antique Copper Square Jump Ring, 1/2 inch
1 Antique Copper Head Pin, 1 inch
1 Indicolite Rhinestone ball
2 Antique Copper Fold Over Crimps
2 mm dark brown leather, 16 inches
light blue Satin Ribbon, 16 inches
dark blue Mini Satin Ribbon, 16 inches
2 postage stamps

Tools:
scissors
chain nose pliers
round nose pliers
bone folder, burnishing tool or small wooden spoon

1. Trim postage stamps to size with scissors. Place between both pieces of glass and slide glass into Memory Frame. Depress tab on frame and burnish with bone folder or wooden spoon until smooth.

2. Feed the rhinestone ball onto the head pin. Using the round nose pliers, loop the head pin. Using the chain nose pliers, gently open the loop on the head pin and thread it through the ring on the bottom of the Memory Frame. Close securely.

3. Line up the leather and both pieces of ribbon in one of the fold over crimps. Using your chain nose pliers crimp it firmly. Thread the remaining ends of the leather and ribbon into the other crimp and close it. Thread the closed ribbon crimp through the ring at the top of the Memory Frame.

4. Using your chain nose pliers open the square jump ring. Feed it through the hole on the end of one ribbon crimp. Close securely. With your chain nose pliers open the loop on the spring ring clasp and attach it to the other ribbon crimp. Close securely.

Of course, all the supplies and tools can be had at Ornamentea.com. Have fun!

You can get a free PDF of this project here.

*That is a joke, if you had two kids they'd always argue over who was the one on the 'front' of the pendant.

How To Make A Ribbon Tied Necklace

This necklace used some of Elaine's lovely lentil beads strung on waxed Irish linen to create a peaceful design. The silk dupioni ribbon is adjustable. I'd wear it long-ish, but you could tie it up closer to your neck and have a dramatic bow at your hairline. That would be lovely in the summer with a linen tank. Tied as shown the length is about 17 inches, but you could wear it as long as 30 inches if you prefer.

I have mixed colors of beads in this design. You could use all one style or even use another type of bead. Imagine large pieces of carnelian knotted and strung this way, or wooden beads, or large glass pearls. Lovely.

For the full directions you can visit the tutorials page at Ornamentea.com. We have lots of Elaine's beads on line or you can see her in person at her bead trunk show, Friday and Saturday, March 13th and 14th at Ornamentea in Raleigh.

Elaine's glazes are so beautifully mixed and applied. She loves clay and loves the chemical magic that occurs when glazes meet heat and you can tell when you look at her beads.

Makes my heart sing...

I had a little company in the studio. The girls just got to work on their own beading projects. After a few minutes I just sat down there with them...

Finishing up projects...

So today I stocked myself up on findings. Ear wires, clasps, crimps, the whole shebang. Somehow even though I have the keys to a big selection of beady goodness I never have the jump ring I need at 2:00 a.m. I made a few pairs of earrings, or should I say I finished a few pairs of earrings as I made the bottoms months ago but didn't have any ear wires. Now I think I will send these off this weekend, tucked in letters to friends who I have ignored for ages. I think a surprise gift of earrings will make up for my neglect, right?

What I would rather be doing...

Tomorrow I have to get a filling replaced. It's been in my mouth for about 30 years or so and gave up recently. I am not one of those people who hates the dentist. I grew up going to the dentist who lived across the street; a visit to the dentist was just a trip to see my friend's dad where I got a new toothbrush and a lollipop*. I enjoy the slick and minty feeling my teeth have when I leave the dentist after my regular cleanings. I tend to drift off in the dental chair like a hippo in the mud; the hygienist a chatty bird. Still, I don't look forward to tomorrow as I would rather be at Ornamentea making three pairs of earrings with Ndidi. I have played a bit with Art Clay Silver but not enough. I have some hoarded away that I want to use-it's part of my opening of boxes. I also think a small pair of earrings tucked in a card or note would be really nice, and since that's another resolution of mine I was hoping to tick two things off the list tomorrow morning. Instead I will just be a dozy hippo, reclined and minty.

(If your teeth are just fine, call and register for class today. There are still a couple of spaces. Tonya has some spaces in her class this weekend, too. Dentists don't usually work on Saturdays, do they?)

*yes, I am old enough that I remember when you received a lollipop from your dentist as a reward for sitting in the chair with minimal squirm. This was a few years before the irony of that treat hit the Society of American Dental Treat Manufacturers and they turned to stickers, tiny plastic animals and choking-hazard plastic rings.