Necklace Tutorial by Amanda of Creations By Little B! {Guest Blogger}

Good Morning my lovelies! 

Today I have a special guest post for you!

I would like to introduce you to Amanda, the GORGEOUS newly engaged, new momma who is also a newbie to blogging!

Amanda contacted me not too long ago with such sweet words about me and my blog and asked for any advice I had, if any to help a newbie out! She totally made me feel like I was big time. haha And though I dont feel like Im a big time blogger I was very flattered and offered all the help I could give! :) And now just a couple short months later she is already up to 42 followers. I am proud to say I am her very 2nd follower! :) Thats pretty good.. considering it actually took me almost a year to figure things out.. and about hmm.. maybe 8 months to get to 50 followers! (yeah.. Im totally not big time! haha) It took me a lot longer to figure out how things work around blogland! :)

Anywho.. enough of my yappin'! I am just happy to hand you over to Amanda, she is super sweet, creative and way talented! 

And today she has a fun jewelry tutorial to share with you today! :)

Lets maker her feel welcome with lots of Comment love!
Oh and be sure you also check out her {BLOG}{FACEBOOK}{ETSY SHOP}

Hello friends!

My name is Amanda, author of the blog little b.  First of all, I am super excited to be guest blogging here today.  Maria has been such a great bloggy friend and really made this newbie feel welcome in this huge blogger world.

I'm a new momma, art enthusiast and craftaholic so I thought I would share a fun little tutorial with you :)

I made this fun little necklace from things I already had lying around my home {and I was able to get it done during our little b's nap time with time to spare :)}...

So here's what ya do...

First you need:

~An old t-shirt {a long piece of a knit fabric would work well too}

~Your desired amount of beads, I used 21:  6 large beads and 15 small {you can follow my bead sequence or make up your own}

~Beading wire {you can use beading thread but I like the wire for this project because it helps the beads hold a better shape}

~2 crimp beads

~Flat nose pliers

~Scissors

First, lay out your beads in the sequence you want to bead them onto your wire {this helps me visualize what my end product will look like and makes beading quicker}

Next you need to measure out your wire.  I usually just eyeball it by stretching it the length of my bead design and then I double that length and add a couple inches to be sure I have enough.

Once you have your wire ready take your first bead {the one to either the far right or left of your bead sequence}.  Slide it onto your wire and center it.

Now slide on one of your crimp beads up next to your bead.  Then put the end of your wire back through the crimp bead and create a small loop.  Pinch your crimp bead closed, using your flat nose pliers, to secure your loop.  Then slide that same piece of wire through your bead so both ends go through your bead.

Slide the rest of your beads onto your wire in your bead sequence and repeat the above process to create the same loop on the other end.  It's okay if you can see your crimp bead because it will get covered by the end :)

Now it's time to cut up your old t-shirt!  First cut one of the sleeves off...

On that same side, cut up the side seam and shoulder seam.  Then lay your shirt out flat with the back of the shirt in front of you.  Cut up the middle of the back of your shirt...

Using the smaller half, that has been cut away from the rest of your shirt, cut two strips about 1/2 inch wide {don't worry about cutting them perfectly straight, having them ragged makes it more unique!}

You won't be needing the rest of your shirt {to find out what you can make from the remainder of it stop by my blog this Friday, 7/8/11, for another fun tutorial :)}

Next, take these two strips and give them a good tug to stretch them out a bit.  They should look more like this after...

Take one strip and fold it in half and pull it through one of your loops that you made with your wire on your beaded sequence, only pull it through about an inch...

Next, stick the end of your fabric strip back through the end you put through the wire loop...

Pull it tight to the wire.  Repeat this with your other fabric strip on the other side...

You're done!!!  How easy was that?!  Now you just need to wear it to show off your snazzy new necklace!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

I always love seeing your final products if you make one, feel free to send me photos!

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Amanda,Thank you so much for guest posting! This was an awesome tutorial! :)

To all my lovely followers, isnt Amanda great!? Get more of her here: {BLOG}{FACEBOOK}{ETSY SHOP}

OH and be sure to also check out my linky parties tab, to see where I will be linking this up!

 Thanks for stopping by!

Much Love & Hugs,