If you're reading this, I'll assume you're ready to make a necklace - and I'm here to help!  Step-by-step instructions are available to download and/or print HERE. Just follow along and, soon enough, you'll have your very own necklace for wearing or sharing!

You can also check out my (very amateur!) video tutorial COMING SOON to help walk you through the steps of necklace making with your DIY Kit.

Either way, I can't wait to see what you create, and I hope you're having fun along the way! Thank you so much for wanting to make something wonderful with me!

Questions? Email me here.

Care to share your design on the webs?

Tag us @elvafields #madewithloveandElva

A long holiday weekend and lots of rainy weather meant some crafting was bound to happen with my little ladies to keep us (me) from going stir-crazy. Thanks to an earlier trip to my new favorite art store in town (Louisville peeps, if you don't know, now you know: Artist & Craftsman Supply!) I had a paper bag full of polymer clay and some packets of paracord that was a sure bet of at least an hour-ish of jewelry-making with my favorites. And as long as they're crafting, they're not whining, so it's a win all around.

Here's what we used to make the magic happen:

• colorful packets of polymer clay (we used a few of these and these)
• wood skewers (actually, we didn't use those, but I wish we had...we made do with the handles of our trusty paintbrushes, which was a little tricky, so something with a point would've been money)
• a small and very dull knife (my kids are old enough to be moderately safe with a little kitchen knife, but if you wanted to get fancy and have the official tools, my guess is this set would be legit)
• our hands
• a cutting board
• an oven
• parchment paper
• cookie sheet
• paracord (make sure the diameter of the cord is smaller than the holes in your beads...I've heard meltdowns can happen when the beads can't actually be strung on the cord you originally purchased because it's too thick and "why didn't you tell us to make the holes bigger???")

 

Honestly, it was pretty great just letting the girls do their thing and make whatever kinds of beads they wanted, but the style that was easiest for us all (seen above) involved rolling a base color of clay into a ball, then applying little confetti-like pieces to the outside of it, and rolling it a bit more to create a fun dotted design. 

Once we made our beads and created a hole through it (or tried to) we placed them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and baked them at 275 for 15 minutes (I think. The packet of clay will walk you through that part...)

After letting the beads cool, (and waiting a week because Mom's eyeball measurements don't always pan out) we strung them on the CORRECTLY SIZED paracord and now have awesome necklaces to remind us of being together for a long weekend and surviving...mostly with smiles on our faces!