WIRED!!!

It's been over a year since I've made jewelry for my girls. Like everything else I do here, I tend to favor edgy looks over the classic bead-on-chain variety. As usual, I try to keep everything simple (yet stunning) as well as keep the cost of making my doll jewelry to a minimum. For this project I'm using 20 gauge wire and even.....twist ties from my package of coffee!

When trying to come up with ideas for doll jewelry, don't rely on what's in your memory. Instead, do a web search, or better, use Pinterest to collect ideas to serve as a catalyst. Above is a sampling of items that inspired me for much of the jewelry you see in this post. I like the movement of the metal, the timelessness of these looks. Of course not everything you see will work for the doll. So I tend to look at the pictures, then put them away and let the materials guide me. Below is what I came up with.

I cannot stress enough....KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Your doll's neck is tiny and her arms are even tinier! So there's not a lot of real estate to work with. Let's start with a few simple items, just in case you haven't thought of them already yourself.

A little bit of wire and a lovely stone or pearl (upper left photo) is a simple, elegant compliment to nearly any way you dress your doll. Next to it are two bracelets. I threaded seed beads onto superfine wire for my beaded bracelet. Next to it....one of those small rubber washers wrapped with the same superfine wire. Either of these can also be adapted to make choker necklaces. With the bottom photo, I've taken my wire and made vertical loops. Instead of wrapping the wire around the doll's wrist, you can use a pencil or a paintbrush instead. Use jewelry pliers to squeeze the loops close together.

This bracelet is simply slid onto the doll's wrist and squeezed in place to fit. If you are afraid of scratching the doll, glue a tiny bead to each loose end.

Instead of making the loops up and down, I decided to make them round and round. I used my paintbrush and swirled the wire helter skelter around the side of the paintbrush, leaving an opening to fit onto the arm (left photo). Again, place on the doll and squeeze to fit.

I love coil necklaces but I am not yet ready to embrace the soldering iron. However, I made this choker using the same idea of the loop. Black wire is looped from side to side in a width that will fit around the doll's neck. It is one continuous loop. Again I've used pliers to squeeze the loops close together and glued beads at the ends to keep from scratching the doll.



I love twist ties because you can do so many things with them. Here, I've taken this one from my package of coffee. For my necklace, I've left it as is but then folded it into a series of small horizontal loops. I wrap one end around the doll's neck, then twisted and turned the rest into the look I want. I added a bit of bling with a few spots of rhinestones. And voila! A high end piece of "art wear."

I kept the bracelet very simple, cutting off just enough to wrap around Billie's wrist. I didn't need to do anything else but add a few rhinestones there, too. Of course you can add anything else you want, or even paint your cuff!

I could have stopped there but was having way too much fun.

So I made a braided cuff out of a twist tie. I cut it down close to the wire into thin 1/8" (3mm) strips.

You'll need three strips. Bring them together and fold them down. Then braid as you would hair. When you have finished, fold the ends down and, using pliers, squeeze them. Bend around the wrist. The bottom photo shows what it looks like with traditional white twist ties.

I love "statement" jewelry. And I love the simple, sensual elegance of designers like Elsa Peretti (Tiffany). Your base can be wire, but I decided I'd like the look of black matte clay tipped in gold on a base of black rubber.

I began by rolling the clay into one, long, thin tubular shape. Tie it into a simple knot, then slide onto the rubber washer and try on the doll to check for scale. Make any adjustments and remove from doll. Just to give it a bit of an edge, I tipped the ends with gold powder. Before you bake it, roll a bit of aluminum foil and place instead of the larger loop to keep it from collapsing.

Finally, I like this chain/wire/bead pendant.

Begin by taking a bit of wire and creating an "S" shape with curly ends. The chain goes in one end of the S and a bead (or charm) is attached to the other end. Place around the doll's neck, sliding the other end of the chain into the larger loop of the S.

Be sure to stack the bracelets!!!!

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