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Classic Charm Bracelet

05/07/2013 by Adrianne Surian 14 Comments

Today’s project is a perfect one for a girls’ craft night or even a camp craft for older girls.  Making charms aren’t difficult, but it does take fine motor skills that younger girls probably won’t have.  The first charm bracelet I ever made was a a woman’s retreat a few years back, and it was the perfect activity.  And by perfect activity, I mean I ended up at a table with some hilarious women who let me make all the charms and they just put them on their bracelets.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

So I guess I am not in a position to make claims for how easy it is for those of us who DON’T enjoy jewelry making, but you will find this to be a really simple project if you DO enjoy this type of creating.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

The thing is, with endless ways to personalize, this is actually a great little mother’s day gift, if you’re still trying to think of something with a handmade touch.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

Let me show you! What you will need:

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

Some random beads that coordinate.  You want different shapes, and textures.  Try to pick a couple different sizes that can be combined to make similar-sized charms.  If you buy a glass bead mix of a certain color, that is a great way NOT to over-buy beads.  But if you’re a beader – just raid your stash!

  • 2″ head pins
  • Jump Rings
  • Chain link bracelet
  • Round-nosed pliers and wire cutters

I post a lot of tutorials that show how to make charms (because I never know which project will be the first one people see).  So if you read here often, you will find that part repetitive – feel free to just skip ahead!

Charm-making is more about finding the right mix of beads than it is technique – for me anyway.  You may want to try threading a couple different combinations onto a head pin and see what you like before proceeding.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

If your beads have a little larger hole, you will want to add a small bead (like a seed bead) on first to make sure your bead stays in place.

Once you have a combination you like, you will grasp the head pin just above the top bead with your round-nosed pliers, and wrap the excess over the pliers, making a loop.  Next, wrap the pin around the “neck” of the loop you just made.  Once you’ve wrapped 2-3 times, you can nip off the excess with your wire cutters. (Do be careful, that little end can go flying.)  You may need to use your pliers to bed that end completely around the “neck” of your charm.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

Your charm should look like this.  If it’s your first-time charm-making, just a couple tries should be enough practice to master it.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

Make enough charms to fill your bracelet.  I liked the looks of adding a dozen, but that may be too many or too few, depending on what size beads you are using and how full you want yours to be.  Then, use a jump ring to attach each charm to a link in the bracelet.  Try to space them evenly, if you can.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

And that’s it!  Now it’s ready to wear, give as a gift… or be snatched up and claimed by someone else in the house.  I swear, my daughter has a thing for bling already! Haha, I can’t say I blame her… I just can’t wait until we can have some great craft time together.

Classic Charm Bracelet at happyhourprojects.com

Adrianne

Filed Under: Bracelets, Fashion, Jewelry, Tutorials Tagged With: beads, bracelet, charms

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I love it when you love my work! All tutorials and photos published at Happy Hour Projects are copyrighted. If you would like to feature my tutorial on your website or share it on your social media you may use one photo to feature, as long as you provide a link back to the original post.

If you feature a photo, it may not be accompanied by the project tutorial or recipe, whether in my own words as it originally appears or paraphrased by you. This also includes personal sharing on social media and Pinterest. Publishing multiple photos from a project, or including instructions with an accompanying photo are not permitted and you will be asked to remove them.

I love to share my projects, and my tutorials, recipes, and e-books are ALL free for your personal use. However, photos and ideas that are published to this site are my protected intellectual property. You may print them at home, but please do not copy or distribute them. I also allow all designs to be made and sold at fundraisers, craft fairs, etc. If you are selling a piece made from one or more of my free tutorials in your online shop, I require that you use your own, original photography, and include a link back to my website to credit me as the designer.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Calisa Rhose

    05/01/2014 at 8:44 am

    This is a great gift idea! I can’t wait to finish this current wip so I can drag my beads back out and create. :)

    For projects that use larger beads I try to keep two head pin sizes on hand, but even then the largest head sometimes isn’t big enough and I use seed beads. Great tip.

    Reply
  2. Marilyn

    05/09/2013 at 12:44 pm

    This is a gorgeous charm bracelet. You always find the most stunning beads and supplies! Very classy!

    Reply
  3. Crystal

    05/08/2013 at 8:42 pm

    Another awesome fun project!! I love this!! This will be fun to do with my teenage daughters (who absolutely love jewelry)! This is going on our “Summer To Do List”. Thanks for the awesome idea and tutorial!!

    Reply
  4. Ange

    05/08/2013 at 12:43 am

    Gorgeous as always!!!

    Reply
  5. Sonya Neal

    05/07/2013 at 10:21 pm

    Oh My GARAGE! You are an amazing lady! I just love your blog and all that you do! What another fun project from you! Thank you so much, Adrianne!!!

    Reply
  6. Kelly

    05/07/2013 at 10:08 pm

    Your jewelry is always so pretty. I’m always amazed at people who can make things like this.

    Reply
  7. Natalie

    05/07/2013 at 7:26 pm

    yay it turned out so lovely! Dont blame Raya for snatching it up!!!

    Reply
  8. Kelsy

    05/07/2013 at 6:05 pm

    I love a good charm bracelet. They are so easy to make and fun to customize!
    ~Kelsy

    Reply
  9. Kirsten

    05/07/2013 at 1:24 pm

    This is so pretty! This would be a great gift for just about anyone and any occasion. Love it Adrianne!

    Reply
  10. Sarah Ogden

    05/07/2013 at 12:34 pm

    What size jump rings do you use for these charms?

    Reply
  11. Bethany

    05/07/2013 at 10:15 am

    This is so cute!

    Reply
  12. Kristy

    05/07/2013 at 9:39 am

    Very nice! And you make it look so simple! :)

    Reply
  13. Melissa

    05/07/2013 at 9:34 am

    I love this project and would love to make one for my daughter but with my RA I’m afraid I don’t have the fine motor skills these days to do it…maybe when my hands are feeling better! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Video Tutorial: How to Make Jewelry Charms says:
    05/13/2014 at 6:01 am

    […] a place where you can listen to audio, or you prefer the classic photo step-by-step, I also have a photo tutorial for making charm bracelets you can check out instead that I posted last […]

    Reply

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Hello, and welcome! I'm Adrianne, an artist, author, designer, and blogger in mid Michigan. I work from home, chase my two kids, and this once-city-girl is learning how to care for chickens and adjusting to life out in the country. I have a compulsion for daily creativity... sometimes it's jewelry-making, paper crafting, metal stamping, mixing and baking, or giving new life to recycled items. But with 2 young kids, time is short! My goal here at Happy Hour Projects is to share projects and tips that you can do in an hour or less. The ideas you find here are designed to add a little creativity in your day, no matter how much (or how little) time you have!

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