Some jewelry I've made...

Here are some things I've made, some recent, some old.

[caption id="attachment_119" align="aligncenter" width="535" caption="Leopard pendant choker."][/caption]

I made this about a year ago. I am in love with it. I like chunky and dramatic jewelry, and I couldn't really find things I liked in stores, so I started making my own. A necklace like this takes less than ten minutes to make and it relatively inexpensive. You can purchase neat beads on etsy or at stores like Michael's.

[caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="528" caption="Vintage pendant."][/caption]

My friend Kathleen gave me this vintage pendant for my birthday. Because it's already a "dramatic" piece, I decided to just string it on a piece of blue cord. This takes no time at all, but still looks pretty rad.

[caption id="attachment_121" align="aligncenter" width="464" caption="Game Piece Earrings."][/caption]

These were so easy and they look really chunky and cute. I made them in about five minutes using game piece beads I picked up at Michaels (a string of six was $1.99), and some seed beads.

[caption id="attachment_122" align="aligncenter" width="399" caption="Buddha chain dangle earrings."][/caption]

I made these Buddha earrings fairly quickly as well. I used leftover chain from an old broken necklace to add some interest, as the Buddha beads alone might have been kind of boring. I love making new jewelry out of old jewelry. I suggest picking up old jewelry at yard sales and reusing the components for new projects, as yard sales usually have the cheapest jewelry, and since they're so cheap, you won't feel so bad about tearing them apart.

If you want to make jewelry like this, you need jewelry making pliers. You can get a cheap set at Michael's or Wal-Mart. I have a miniature set, which I would not recommend as they are very frustrating to work with.  Websites like Threadbanger.com offer tons of great DIY tutorials. I can spend hours on that website, and I have made a lot of their projects. Threadbanger doesn't have an enormous amount of jewelry tutorials, but it's a good place to start off and get inspiration for your own projects. Craft stores sell magazines and books on jewelry making that offer patterns and tutorials that will have you get started.