You don't wear the same underwear every day, why wear the same jewelry? In this tut from KanduBeads, we'll show you how to make these neat, interchangeable focal necklaces so you can strut your stuff, change out your focal and strut all over again whenever you please!

What We Used:

Tools:
Round Pliers

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Cutters

Materials:
30 Inches each of two types of chain

(we like 2 chains because it gives the piece a lil' sumthin' sumthin')

2 Magnetic Clasps

Wire (color of your choice)

Jump rings (color of your choice)

Pendants, focals, beads of your choice

Step 1: The Basics: Make It Stay Together

Hokay, this project aims to bring out the inner designer in you all. There are only a few, simple technical skills we need to know in order to put this piece together and have it stay together and the rest relies upon your ability to be amazing with the materials you have available.

Let's start with the most important technique to know- Bail Making. After this, the rest is smooooth sailin'.

Learn that Bail:
*Bail making interlude

Do we all know what a Bail is? A Bail?... Bueller? Bueller? A Bail is a loop made of metal wire that connects

one bead, focal or pendant to a chain or jump ring.

Bail. Bail bail bail. It sounds funny after saying it so many times. Bail.

Here is how to make one-

1. Pass the wire through one side of the bead and leave about 1 inch to one side and about 5 inches on the other. Cross them at the top of the bead.

2. Now wrap the shorter end of the wire around the longer end. Do this about three times. Anything less than three times will end the world.

3.Great! You're so good at this game! Now, chop off any extra (short wire) wire you may have left after wrapping the short wire around the long wire.

4. Now, take your round nose pliers and as close to the already wrapped wire there, make a loop. Once there is loopage, take the rest of the wire and wrap it around the rest of the already wrapped wire. This will be tricky on your first attempt and some what sloppy but practice makes perfect, believe me.

5. Ta-dahh!

Step 2: Get on With It!

Now that we know how to make bails, let's make some necklacesssss.

Take your 30 inches of both types of chain and using your needle nose pliers, open on link on each chain. Just one.

Attach each of these one links to a jump ring and pass the jump ring through the top (round, "female") part of your magnetic clasp. Close the jump ring.

Remove the "male" part of the clasp and hold onto it until we get to the focal making part.

The tricky part: Magnets attract metal. Chain is usually made of metal. Until there is weight or a focal piece at the end of the magnetic clasp, the chain will stick to the magnet. Just a heads up.

Now What?

Now, you go ahead and make any kind of combination of small charms, focals, pendants or beads and mix and match them all up on one jump ring.

Two to three danglies of anything are usually a good amount to start with. If you like more, by all means, add as many danglies as you see fit. We chose these neat faux ivory carved fox heads, gold metal spike, magnesite wheel and feather charm for our first focal and a pyrite slab with a faux antique type charm for the second focal. Everything is attached to a jump ring by using the Bail Making method we learned earlier.

See?

Once you make your combination of rock-awesome focals, attach them to a jump ring and hook it up to
the "male" part of the magnetic clasp.

Step 3: Time for the Hook Up:

Clasp it all up to the magnet attached to the chain and you have yourself a swankified new necklace,
or shall I say, two new swankalicious neckalces?!

Hope you enjoyed this tut and totally send us photos of what you made (info@kandubeads.com)
and we'll feature it on our Facebook page!

until next time!

<3 KanduBeads