Steampunk Charm Necklace

I used to make my own bracelets back when I was at college, I still have a load of elastic and beads left over from it. I haven't had chance for ages to make my own jewellery but ended up buying some chains and charms the other evening and decided to get back into it.

Making necklaces using chains needs a tad more effort and tools than simply threading beads onto elastic, but you end up with something that could quite easily have been shop bought (but for a hell of a lot cheaper), and all the added bonuses of having made it yourself!

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To make this necklace I used about 86cm (34in) of antique brass chain, 4 jump rings (used to attach two of the charms and as part of the fastening), one clasp and 3 charms. I also needed wire cutters and pliers, provided by my boyfriend (I'm not exactly the type to own tools!). You can usually buy these from the same shops/websites when purchasing the charms etc.

Firstly cut the chain to the length you want. Attach a jump ring to each end of the chain, using the pliers to open and close the ring, and a clasp to one of these jump rings to make the fastening.

Decide where you want the charms to go. The heart I chose is quite big and didn't need a jump ring so I threaded it onto the chain. I attached jump rings to the other 2 charms and attached them on links further up the chain.

And viola!

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As well as the steampunk inspired charms I used for this necklace, I've bought a big dragonfly charm I'm planning to use next time. There are so many different charms out there so it's quite easy to get carried away with different ideas, I have a whole jewellery box crammed full of bracelets as proof I did last time!