blog hop - coachella hat jewelry + armband

It's time to start thinking about festival season. A time where bohemian style stars, meaning flowy silhouettes, loads of accessories, wild hair and body paint shine. What better way to celebrate than creating your very own, customized jewelry to rock out in?!



I've created these two pieces entirely from Cousin Corporation materials (which you can find at craft stores like JoAnn fabrics, Michaels, Meijer, Walmart and AC Moore) as part of March's Cousin Ambassadors Blog Hop. You can view links to more projects made by the other ambassadors at the very bottom of this post. I've also got the full "ingredients" list of our blog hop supplies in Step 1 of my tutorial.

We were all given the same materials, hand-picked by Ambassador Dawn Doucette. She gifted us with a mix of sparkles, print, color and texture that inspired us all to go our unique routes. Me, being a lover of the "bohemian luxe" style (as I call it), immediately thought of making pieces perfect for Coachella, Lollapalooza, Stagecoach, or any other upcoming music festival.

My first creation (seen above) was a beaded hat "belt" that adds a total unique touch to any fedora you've got. And if you DON'T have a fedora or wide-brim hat, what are you doing with your life?! Chain, beads and crystals combine to give spice and sass,  and this is interchangeable; use it on any hat in your wardrobe!

My second creation is this totally hippie-chic armband. Retailers like Free People and Planet Blue are totally on-trend, showing arm cuffs and bands as the go-to accessories for summer. But, did you ever think about making your own?! Handmade jewelry is always the best kind!

The key here is the elastic woven crystal top, which holds tight and keeps your jewelry secure. The copper dangles and large leaf charm accents complete the look. When paired with a crop top and cutoff denim shorts, how could you NOT be ready to rock any festival?!

I've got a full tutorial with pictures for my beaded hat jewelry. I'll walk you through what I did to make the armband, but I don't have pictures. I made it as more of an inspiration piece.
Let's start!

Here's the full boat of products used in the hop. This was a mix of earthy browns, pops of blue and green, rustic gemstone beads mixed with luxe crystals, and a bit of metal thrown in for industrial shine!



Step 1: Gather materials. Needed for this tutorial are:
Pliers (roundnose, wire cutters and flatnose), Cousin Oval Cable Chain (Sku 34718105), 16g Cousin Copper Wire (shown here is .3mm beading wire - why? Because I for some reason thought this was my spool of 16g wire. Disregard the beading wire, use 16g copper wire ☺), Cousin Turquoise Oval beads, Cousin "Nicole's Bead Shoppe" Cheetah oval/round beads (available at AC Moore Stores, or there are marbled zebra gemstone beads here), Cousin 8mm Chocolate Moss round beads, Cousin fluted crystals and faceted round crystals (similar here and here).
You will also need a hat! Obvi.



I started out with the copper chain, measuring a length that went all the way around the hat. Cut this length and then attach it to itself by opening one side, and looping in the other sides' ending link (You can definitely design without connecting the ends, but I kept them connected to sort of judge how it would go around my hat). I started by laying out all my beads, putting the turquoise at front and alternating the shapes of the cheetah beads. I actually didn't bead all the way around, as shown here. You'll see later. I used my copper wire to create simple bead links….



I attached one side of the beaded links to the chain, keeping the pattern that I laid out (and starting at the middle). I put each bead four links away from its neighbor for even spacing. Continue adding all your beads (I stopped so that I had an even 7" or so of plain chain, opposite of the front turquoise part. You'll see why…) Now, with another piece of chain (simply just use the rest of the length you haven't cut), attach it's center link to the other side of the beaded charm. Then, continue linking on all beads, all four links apart. Keep your chain from twisting here so that it stays a nice flat panel.



When you've linked up all your beads, simply cut the chain so that four links remain on either side of the last bead in the panel - attach these four links together with another link. That means that there will be a 9-link "u shaped" end to each side of your panel. This is why you must leave excess chain without beads. As you can see, I have 15 beads in my panel. One central, and seven on each side. Now, create two more bead links with the cheetah ovals and connect them to the fifth link in the "u shaped" ending. Then, add that 6" to 7" piece of chain that we sort of took off before. You may need to measure more precisely - make sure that it will fit snugly around your hat.



To embellish, simply create charms out of the fluted beads with headpins. Create double-sided links with the gemstone beads. Add three crystals per gemstone bead. Attach these top loops to the chain links below the turquoise and cheetah beads.



You'll have a finished piece looking like this. Just simply place to sit on the brim of your hat. Also a cool idea; add a clasp at the empty chain part to be able to wear this as a necklace too. Cool, right?!

I love the way the zebra beads and turquoise give a slightly "safari" type look to the piece. The fluted crystals move and sway, sparkling as they do. Wear with a crocheted top and jeans for casually chic style. If you're going for a sharper look, pair with a white blouse, black boots and dark denim skinny jeans.

** CRYSTAL LEAF ARMBAND

Materials:
6mm black crystals
Metal copper charms 
4mm mirrored crystals
Leaf charm
Jumprings
24g wire

I started by cutting a 2 foot length of stretch elastic. I did a right angle weave with the 6mm and 4mm crystals, long enough to go halfway around my arm. Crimp the open end shut. Cut a piece of chain a little shorter than this ROW panel, attaching each end to the ROW panel's end. You should have a "bracelet" that sits snugly around the top of your arm. Simply add chain dangles, attaching each end to the junction of the ROW panel and chain bracelet. Add the copper charms and leaf charm (which I decorated by weaving in 4mm crystals with 24g wire, the original charm is plain) to these dangling chains. I did three dangling chains. These measurements will vary depending on your arm's size, so experiment and see what works! To wear, slip on so that the original ROW/chain bracelet is what your arm goes through, the ROW facing out. The chain dangles also face out, laying against the top of your arm.

You have my permission to make a bunch of these, for both you and your friends / cousins / bf's / siblings / neighbors / basically anyone who's cool. As always, if you follow my tutorial post your picture to Instagram and tag me @quietlioncreations - I'll repost you!

You can check out the other Cousin Ambassadors' posts at the following links:

Ambassador Dawn Doucette
Ambassador Shelly Owen
Ambassador Rachel Nielsen
Ambassador Molly Moore Alexander
Ambassador Rebecca Grafton Untermholen
Ambassador Carolina Moore
Ambassador Lisa Crone

A special thanks to my model Nikoletta!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations. DO NOT post or re-use photos without crediting me and linking to me.