How to Turn Halloween FSL Charms into Jewelry

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Do you love the Creepy Cute FSL Halloween Charms from the Sept./Oct. issue of Creative Machine Embroidery? We do! We chose to use them to create some cute party décor for the feature in the magazine, but the great thing about these charms is that they can be used in all sorts of different ways. One of the obvious things to do with Halloween FSL charms like this is to make them into jewelry. It’s fairly simple, even for a jewelry-making beginner, and who doesn’t love spooky Halloween jewelry? Read on for some ideas about how to make your charms into jewelry. The easiest way to make a piece of charm jewelry requires nothing more than a jump ring and two pairs of jewelry pliers. Use the pliers to hold the jump ring on either side of the opening, then open the jump ring using a twisting motion. Always twist jump rings; if you pull them directly apart, they’ll never line back up completely. Slip the charm eyelet onto the ring, then reverse the twisting motion to close the jump ring. Fee a chain or narrow ribbon through the jump ring and you have a spooky Halloween FSL charm necklace! Making earrings is barely more complicated. Follow the instructions above to put a jump ring onto the charm, but before you close it, slip an earring finding onto the ring as well. Hook earrings are readily available, but you can also find post and clip-on earring findings in craft stores that have loops for attaching charms. Make a matching pair (consider mirroring the design when embroidering, or just leave them identical) or choose two coordinating designs for a mismatched but thematic pair (crystal ball + witch’s hat, anyone?).

More Ideas for Halloween FSL Charms

If you want fancier, dangly earrings, pick up some jewelry chain. Make sure the links are large enough to grab and open with your jewelry pliers. Select the length of dangle you want and separate the length of chain by opening the last link and removing the remaining chain. Slip the jump ring with the charm attached to it onto the link before closing it. Open a second jump ring, slip the link on the opposite end of the chain onto it, then add an earring finding. Close the ring and you’ve got a dangly earring. Or use three different chain lengths on one earring finding for a really fun waterfall of motifs. Use the same motif multiple times or choose three different ones for more variety. I have to admit this is one of my favorite ways to use these motifs. If you want to add your charms to a traditional charm bracelet, you have a few options. You can easily attach them to the bracelet link with a jump ring if you don’t plan on moving them around a lot. If you want more versatility, use the jump ring to attach the charms to a small lobster clasp, which you can then attach to and detach from the bracelet links without needing the jewelry pliers. Of course, that’s just the beginning! You can use these charms in any application that you could use a pendant-style jewelry finding. Check out interweave.com/jewelry for ideas. Creepy Crafting! Kate