"Dragonfly" Necklace Made of Beads and Jewelry Mesh

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Step 2

Making jewelry at home is quite simple. You need very few tools, and materials are available at craft stores. Let's make an original "Dragonfly" necklace together. You will need needle-nose pliers, flat-nose pliers, wire cutters, scissors, and a lighter.

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Step 4

Materials:
• two kinds of beads—large, medium, and small;
• 1.5-2 coils of 10 cm diameter steel memory wire;
• 40 cm of jewelry mesh to match the beads;
• hollow rubber cord.

Use wire that is as stiff as possible so it holds its shape well. It is important that the wire passes through the beads and rubber cord, and that the beads fit inside the mesh.

First make the "dragonfly." Trim the mesh edges with scissors and cut it into 4 equal 10 cm pieces. Fuse 2 pieces of mesh with a lighter. To do this, pinch the ends with your fingers, heat them over the flame, and press them together. You can repeat this several times. The fused corner should be sharp. Fill the mesh with beads of a suitable size and fuse the other side in exactly the same way. Make the second wing in the same way.

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Step 6

Now string the beads onto the necklace. First use needle-nose pliers to make a loop at the end of the wire. String several beads onto the wire, add a short piece of rubber cord, then string several more beads. Continue to the end of the wire. It is important to leave a small length of bare wire, about 1.5 cm.

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Step 8

Thread the "wings" onto the wire.

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Step 10

The wire should pass through the mesh. Compress the beads on the necklace and secure the "wings" with one more bead. If desired, you can attach a chain and clasp to the loops at the wire ends. But thanks to the wire's rigid shape, the necklace sits beautifully even without a fastening.

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