Skull Jewellery
6th Aug 2014
A few weeks back we got a new delivery of beads in, hundreds of new colours, shapes and sizes but what caught my eye straight away were these skull beads. They have been cropping up around the place for awhile now, I know I’ve seen them myself in many high street shops in town and on various celebrities as well, so naturally I jumped at the chance to get my hands on them and have some fun. It’s not just the look of them that I love but the idea behind them as well. They can be linked to skull prayer beads, a type of Buddhist mala. They originated in Tibet and help users contemplate the meaning of life and death during meditation, helping you surpass the fear of death and instead celebrate life. I am a big believer in positive energy and symbolism and absolutely love when I get jewellery to match those ideas. So, with all that in mind why not make some on trend, good vibes jewellery myself and for a good price!
What a lot of people seem to find difficult is actually visualising what to make when just looking at the bare materials, so I’m going to show you three of the ideas that popped into my head when seeing the beads.
All three of these pieces took only the bare minimum when it comes to jewellery making skills. The earrings are actually the first thing I ever made. All it takes are the right materials and then just the time to string them all together!
Earrings:
- 2 earring hooks, available here.
- 2 small skull beads, available in store.
- 1 pack of leaf charms, get them here.
- some wire, available here.
- some small beads.
All
that had to be done here was to thread the wire through the hole in the
leaf and wrap it around itself to secure it, then string on the small
beads, skull bead, more small beads, and once again thread the wire
through the loop in the hooks and wrap around itself to secure, done and
dusted!
Necklace:
- 1 metre of chain, available here.
- 1 large skull bead, available in store.
- 1 eyepin, available here.
- 1 crystal charm, available in store.
- 1 clasp
Cufflinks:
- cufflink bases
- 2 small skull beads
- jewellery glue
It was my brothers birthday recently and I decided this year to make him some funky cufflinks since we got the bases in work. The skulls were a perfect size for this, except that they were round of course, and in order to stick the bead to the base I was going to need a flat surface. Not to worry though, all I had to do was sand down the back of the bead then simply stick it on with some jewellery glue and I’m already done!
So there you have it, three very different ways of using the beads, all of which are incredibly easy and cheap. I was able to make the three of these pieces for under €10. I think you will agree that that’s pretty amazing!
‘Till next time.
Emer, x