Rocker Wrap Bracelet; For Girls or Guys!

As you all already know, the Punk fall trend is in full swing! So for this tutorial, I decided to make a cool wrap bracelet with slick metal beads that can go with basically anything. Girls or guys can wear it, as it is pretty neutral and would be a great addition to any outfit.

It only takes a simple technique of wrapping between two outer cords to make, and can also be customized to your tastes; use different colored metal beads, or even gemstone rounds instead of the silver ones I have picked! However, these great silver acrylic beads by Cousin have a faceted cut that allows for maximum sparkle and shine, so I highly recommend them. You can follow Cousin here on Twitter for new product updates and more!

If you are in the mood for more Punk, head over to my Punk Nails tutorial.....that manicure will definitely look awesome when paired with this bracelet! 

This tutorial makes a bracelet that is about 2.5' long, which wraps perfectly 5 times around my wrist. You may need to alter the length a little bit to make sure it will fit you!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are pliers and scissors, 6mm acrylic silver rondelles (from Cousin), black cord (from Cousin)--also called "rat-tail cord", clear monofilament (from Cousin) and a silver button (for closing).

Step 2: Cut about 7' of your monifilament. Cut about 5' of your black cord, and string on the button. Make sure the button is in the center of the cord, and make a knot, securing the button in place. Tie a tight knot (use your pliers to pull snug) with the end of your monofilament right up against the knot to secure. Cut the small amount excess string when done.

Step 3: String on one silver bead. Bring the monofilament in front of your righthand black cord, then behind it and through the hole of the bead again. Pull snug; the bead should be caught in place and the monofilament looped around the righthand cord. Bring the cord behind the lefthand cord, then around towards the front; add on another bead. Repeat what you just did by bringing it in front of the righthand cord, then looping behind and through the hole of this bead. Pull snug again. The bead should look exactly like the last one, caught in place with the monofilament looped again around the righthand cord. 

Keep repeating this same technique....

Step 4: Repeat the tecnhique all the way until your bracelet is the desired length, I made mine 2.5'. When it is the desired length (make sure it wraps at least 3 times around your wrist), simply tie all 3 cords together in a tight knot. I tied the monofilament into a small knot again so it wouldn't slip through the bigger knot, then I added a bit of glue to secure. I then cut the monofilament after this knot. Leave about a half inch or so (enough for your button to snugly fit through) and tie another overhand knot with the two black cords. Cut excess string off.

Two wear, simply wrap and secure closed with your button closure! It helps, when doing the bead wraps, to hold the panel with your left hand and wrap with your right. It is a bit tricky at first because the monofilament will be so long and it tends to get tangled. Just go slow and you will get the hang of it!!

See? Great for guys too! If you aren't into metal, use wood beads for a guy's bracelet or even lava beads for a cool textural effect. For girls, sparkly crystals would be awesome as well!

If you share/use/post this tutorial, you must link back to me please. All photos 

copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not use photos without crediting me!

Men's Jewelry Tutorial: Hemp Surfer Necklace

Last year, I went on a trip to Cali. Too bad I didn't blog about it or anything, like I did while in Miami. I stayed in San Francisco, and traveled down to Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz AND to Napa Valley!!! Total missed opportunity :(

Lesson learned.

So I will play catch-up.

It was Surf Country. I had never seen anything like it. Windsurfers, surfboarders, swimmers and all. The ocean there was not an aqua color, like in Miami. It was more of a Cornflower Blue, a truer blue.

And with surfing, comes seriously cool, laid-back jewelry. To me at least.

Natural hemp, wood, and glass beads combine with an easy technique to make this surfer-style men's necklace.

The colors can be changed, depending on what beads you have on hand. If you want to make this in a more feminine color scheme for girl surfers (or wannabes) feel free. 

The black beads and glass beads you see are all from Cousin Beads. You can find these at craft stores all over like Michael's and JoAnn Fabrics. I think the contrast between the natural wood and hemp, and then the shiny glass beads makes a seemingly-simple necklace very multi-dimensional.

Ok, enough talk. Let's start pretending we're in Cali (and for readers who are, I envy you).

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are: scissors, natural hemp cord, a 20mm (millimeter) oval black bead,  10mm wood beads, assorted glass beads (from Cousin, Jewelry Basics card #34713074), and black 5mm beads (from Cousin, Jewelry Basics card #34722032).

Step 2: Cut about a 4 foot length of hemp. With one end of the cord, it helps to dip it in ModPodge and let it dry: this will make the end you will be stringing with strong and easier to string with, it's a simple tip I do for all types of soft cords including embroidery floss if I will be stringing with it.

With one end, fold over a couple inches of the cord, and use this to create a looped knot right at the end. Just tie a knot like you would if you had one string, but make sure to incorporate the two. It should look like the last picture.

Step 3: It helps to have a bead board here; that way, you can lay out your pattern and make sure it will be long enough! If you don't, you can use a bead mat as well to make sure the beads don't roll around everywhere!

To make my pattern, place the oval black bead at the center. My necklace ended up being 17" long. Alternate between the 5mm black beads and 10mm wood beads, adding in a glass bead every two to three beads. You may need to alter this pattern some, depending on how long you want your necklace to turn out! 

You need to make sure these beads' holes are large enough for the hemp, but not too large that they won't be caught by your knots. If you need to make a bead's hole larger, you can use a bead reamer (mine from Cousin). DO NOT use reamers on crystals!

Step 4: Add on your bead and string up right to the end, where your first loop knot is. Make another knot right after this bead, and pull tight. It will catch the bead in place. String on your next bead, and make yet another knot. Just keep repeating this method over and over again until....

Step 5: You finish. After the last bead, add on a glass bead that is large enough to go through the loop knot, can catches sufficiently (doesn't fall through the loop). This will be our closure bead. Just simply catch this bead with a last knot, making sure you leave a very small amount of string (as seen in the second pic) as a place for the loop to sit, when closed (third pic).

You are finished! This is a super-simple pattern that can be changed up to create a bunch of different looks.

Mix contrasting colors for maximum impact; try pink and lime, neon orange and blue, or even lemon yellow and bright purple. I bet it would stand out great against summer-tanned skin, of which I do not have :( .........

This is meant to be more of a choker-style. Make sure to measure your neck before doing this project to make sure of the size you need at the end.

Thank you, Bobby (NOT a surfer, just a brother) for modeling.

Instructions and all photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Don't post this tutorial or any of my pictures without crediting me, and don't claim as your own please!

ASOS Ribbon Stretch Bracelets

Who would pay $17 for two simple ribbon bracelets?! Not me. And don't you either. Follow my tutorial below to make the ASOS Ribbon Stretch Bracelet yourself.

This tutorial produces the SAME EXACT bracelets that ASOS sells. Know how some of my tutorials produce "look-alike" results? Not here. 

Here, you will make literally the same piece of jewelry. 

For literally less than $2.

Are you stoked yet?

All these bracelets are is a ribbon strip woven on stretchy cord.

 Believe me, I checked it out.

The results will vary if you use thicker ribbon, or different color ribbon. Feel free to make your fav colors into bracelets. Maybe even use different strips of ribbon in the same bracelet? Could be cool!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are scissors, tape (not completely necessary), ribbon (I used satin ribbon a little more than 1/4" thick, this produced great results. Don't go more than 1/2" thick and don't go too thin), pliers, a crimp, elastic cord, and a large-holed embroidery needle. You also need clear nail polish to coat the end of the ribbon so it doesn't fray. Your ribbon needs to be different lengths depending on how large your wrist is. The best bet is to use ribbon still on the spool so you have a lot left! This ribbon above gave me just the right amount, I was lucky!

Step 2: Cut a length of elastic about 1.5 times the length you want your finished bracelet. Thread on to your needle; leaving about 1/2" loose on one side. Secure needle to the cord by tying a knot with the long end and 1/2" end, then tie another knot nice and tight to completely secure the needle on. Coat the end of your ribbon with clear nail polish to make sure it doesn't fray. 

Thread the ribbon on your needle, then as seen in the second pic, bunch it up a bit and stick the needle through again. There should be a little less than 1/4" between each time you stick the needle through.

Step 3: Continue threading on your ribbon, bunching it up again and again. Slide the ribbon down gently every so often onto the elastic. When it is long enough (bottom pic), slide all the ribbon onto the elastic, cut the ribbon and coat the ends with clear nail polish. Center the ribbon "snake" on the elastic, and cut off the knot/needle. Slide on a crimp and bring the other end of elastic through the other side, pull tight so the ends of the "snake" meet. Crimp shut, cut off excess elastic.

These would also make good scrunchies. For a pop of color use neon ribbon!

Feel free to make them in different colors!
Also, I used ribbon with those loops on the sides for the yellow and blue here. Cute.