Shamballa and Skeletons!

At this week's jewellery making class we made a

 rather grand looking necklace.

The 'U' shaped links were created with 

0.8 gauge wire shaped by bending the wire

around a little bead container.

The ends of each 'U' were then curled around,

beads threaded on, then the other end of the 'U' curled.

These curls were then used to attach the 'U' to the 'U' above.  

Each of the 'U's in a row were attached with jump rings.

The main lesson learned was measure each link

accurately and try to bend all the 'U's the same

because although the finished article looks fine,

when it's lifted up it doesn't lay flat -

 so when wearing it, I become a Tarzan impersonator -

keep patting my chest to flatten the 'U's - lol!

As the lessons are held in a bead shop I've

been getting into the habit of buying a few things at

the end of each lesson (as you do!!)

Last week I bought a kit to make a Shaballa bracelet.

Once I'd worked out how to do the knots, these

were an absolute breeze to make.

This week I bought some little skull beads and 

made a bracelet for my niece and nephew for Halloween.

Whilst knotting the thread around one of the skulls,

I thought I could make a complete skeleton ....

I only did a few knots as you can see, but added a 

few additional glass beads.

I'm not normally a fan of skeletons or Halloween things,

but I do think he looks rather cute!

Wonder what I'll buy next week!