Happy New Year!

Ah, it’s the start of a new year with the promise of so many great crafting projects. Although I am still putting away the Christmas supplies and finishing up scrapbook pages, I’m already looking toward Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day projects. A great assortment of Valentine paper and embellishments by K and Co. are already at Ben Franklin Crafts and they seem to be moving fast. I’m always amazed at how the various companies can keep coming up with such beautiful products.
Just before New Year’s Eve I decided I needed some black and white jewelry to go with the outfit I was planning to wear to a party. Lacking a lot of time I decided to make a simple necklace of nine black and white ceramic beads on a leather cord. It took less than ½ hr. to put it together. (See the photo. Click on photo to enlarge.) If you decide to make a necklace like this one, be sure that the holes of your beads are big enough to accommodate the leather cord. Also check that the cord fits through the tube of the clasp, and then to attach the clasp put a drop of jewelry glue on the end of the cord and crimp the clasp. My necklace had knots between the beads and a sterling silver extension chain. I like putting extension chains on my necklaces because it allows me to adjust the necklace to suit the neckline of my outfit. After making the necklace, I had one ceramic bead left so I decided to incorporate it into a bracelet. I like the current trend of large silver circle links and chains so I mixed in some black and white beads along with a Japanese character charm. The result was an eclectic bracelet that matched not only my necklace but also the black and white Asian print of my outfit. It was a fine crafting start to 2008. Hopefully, if folklore is correct, it means that I will be crafting all year!

Lynn