Saturday afternoons with Anthropologie Inspiration

I saw this Anthropologie Necklace:

And I liked it.  So I made one of my own.

It's not nearly as long because I don't like my necklaces to go down to my belly button.  The gem is amethyst and the cord is from some leather rawhide scraps stitched together.  I love the idea of reusing leather because it is so soft and people with metal allergies can still wear it.  In addition to that it doesn't end up in the dump just because it's not in fashion any more.  I didn't realize at first that I inadvertently switched the colors around!  Sorry for the sad photo.  My light box isn't finished yet!

Materials:

Leather scraps
Leftover medium sized chain
Medium gauge wire
A bangle that will never get worn again

Instructions:

Start by cutting a 5 inch strip of wire.  Find the center and place the gemstone there.  I wrapped the wire around the gemstone three times and then brought the wire up to wrap around the bangle.  I tried to position the stone in the center of the bangle.  I wrapped the rest of the wire around the bangle saving about 1/2'' to attach it to the chain.  Measure the chain to the length desired and remove extra.  Make sure to have an odd number of links and attach the pendant to the center link.  Cut the leather in strips as long as you like.  I had short strips so I sewed them together in the center.  I then sewed the ends to the chain making sure that the chain was lying flat so it didn't twist.  I sewed the leather with a thick needle and button thread because it is much stronger that normal thread.  This would be a place you could do fancy embroidery if you wanted but I chose to keep it simple by using three lines.  Make sure to double knot it and hide the end by pulling the needle through after you have knotted it and cutting the end flush.

Someday I'd love to have some metal working equipment so I could make bangles of my own but until then I think it turned out pretty well.  What do you think?


Linnea

P.S.  My good friend over at Sunsets & City Lights is currently on hiatus and I'm missing her posts terribly! I've been praying for her Dad because he's in the hospital.  You can blame her for the inspiration to finally get blogging again.  Meanwhile head over and give her some love.  Please?  People like her are why I wake up in the morning on those days when the world screams, "Don't go out there! Stay in bed!"