INTERIOR DESIGN: button necklace

Sabtu, 03 November 2012

button jewelry, button necklace, buttons, Dishfunctional Designs, diy, how to, jewelry, jewelry tutorial, mother of pearl, necklace, silver, tutorial

Bohemain Mother Of Pearl Button Necklace Tutorial

I've had these old mother of pearl buttons lying around on my workbench just

waiting to be made into something special. Before I turn some of them into a home

decor project though, I picked the nicest ones out and decided to turn them into a

beautiful piece of Bohemian button jewelry. Check it out!

I measured and cut a length of sterling silver chain

I cut some 3 to 4" lengths of sterling silver wire

Threaded a wire through a button hole then bent into a U shape

Pressed the wire snugly against the button

I wrapped the shorter end of the wire around the longer end

I then created many!

I found the center link of my chain and attached the first button with a wrapped loop

Then I attached the rest of the larger buttons, equally spaced on the chain

Then I added the smaller buttons

Then I gave each one an extra wrap of sterling wire, nice and thick

Deciding whether to add some Amethyst or Apatite gems... decisions, decisions!

I wrapped a few blue Apatite briolettes and then decided to add some crystal clear quartz beads too.

I love how these look like raindrops! I attached the quartz crystals to the buttons.

Almost finished... next this will go into Liver of Sulfur mixture to oxidize the silver...

Liver of Sulfur oxidizes the silver and turns it black

How it looks after the Liver of Sulfur bath...next it will be polished up with silver polish to bring out some of the shiny silver to create a nice contrast...

All polished up and finished!

I love how this turned out!

What do you think?

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(This necklace is available for purchase here)

Check out my new jewelry instruction book!

Senin, 23 Januari 2012

bohemian, button jewelry, button necklace, button pendant, buttons, Czech glass, glass buttons, vintage glass buttons

Vintage Bohemian Czech Glass Buttons made into Jewelry

Sometimes great beauty can be found in a small simple household object, such as button. Some of the most beautiful buttons are Bohemian Czech glass buttons, which are made in Prague. A few factories still produce newer versions of these vintage beauties, using the same traditional molds, tools and methods that their ancestors did.

Czech glass buttons made into beautiful jewelry pendants by Dishfunctional Designs

Below is a glimpse at a small part of the tools and the process of making pressed glass buttons from molds. Some of the molds are well over 100 years old.