Tweens are at a special point in life. A tween is growing up quickly and wants to express her style and flair. Making jewelry is a great way for a tween to express herself creatively. There are several different kinds of jewelry crafts, but here are some of the more popular ones.
Paperclip Necklace
This is a really cool idea, especially if your tween is into unique looking jewelry. It’s a great gift idea for kids to make as well.
Materials Needed
- Paper Clips
- Magazine Pictures
- Scissors
- Glue
Assembly of the Necklace
- Connect 25 paper clips into a chain.
- Cut out a variety of pictures. Try to find those pictures that have an inch square of interest. You will need 26-inch square pictures. You can use magazines, wrapping paper, or seed catalogs.
- Wrap the square around the paper clip and glue the edge.
For a variation you can use some of the colored or striped paper clips and solid colors of wrapping paper or even fabric.
Fish Swivel Bracelet
This is a jingly bracelet and super easy for kids to put together.
Materials Needed
- #10 Fishing Swivels
- Small jingle bells (6 mm)
- Seed Beads
Assembly of the Bracelet
- Unclasp the swivel. Bend the prong so it straightens out. Put a few of the seed beads on it, and then put the circular end of another swivel over the straight prong end.
- Bend it back to its original shape. Put on a bell and close the swivel clasp.
- Unclasp the second swivel and do it all again until your bracelet is as long as you want it to be.
You can leave the last swivel free from beads and use it to put the bracelet on and take it off.
The Hardware Necklace
Imagine using nuts and bolts to make cool jewelry! Make a trip to the hardware store to find the unique items you want to use.
Materials Needed
- Leather or cotton cording
- Scissors
- Pencil
- 20-gauge wire
- Needle nose pliers
- Lanyard hook
- Small hardware items
Assembly of the Necklace
- Cut a 14-inch piece of cord. If you want to tie knots between the items, you will need 28 inches. Tie on one of the lanyard hooks at one end.
- Wrap 12 inches of wire around a pencil to make the tight coils.
- Turn the wire ends in toward the inside of the wire coil.
- Thread the hardware pieces and the coils onto the cording.
- Tie a knot on the end of the cord and leave a loop to fasten.
This can really be a cool piece of jewelry and most of lanyard hooks, wire, and cording can be found at a local craft store.
Making jewelry can be a lot of fun with the right craft ideas. There are beads available in every color of the rainbow, shape, and size. The nice part about beading work is that you can buy kits that literally have thousands of beads. Some have letters so that the work is personalized. Many have interchangeable, snapping beads, which is nice for variety. No matter what your tween chooses to make, join in the fun and see what you can create, too!
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