Inspired 2009 Charms...DONE!

SPOILER ALERT!
Okay, if you are a participant of either Inspired Charm Swap #1 or #2
and you don't want to see the charms before you get them,
STOP READING and have a great day!! : )

If you are curious, then scroll down...














Keep going.....












Ahhh, here you are!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional jewelry craftsman (um,
craftswoman) and I don't claim to be so I may not have
made my charms 'correctly' but I am proud of how they
turned out. If I did it wrong feel free to correct me,
politely, please.

Yesterday afternoon I finished my charms for the second charm swap
and since I haven't posted my charms from my swap either, I thought
I would post them all together.

This is the pile of packaged Charm Swap #1 charms. I love the look of
the printed cardstock toppers on the little cellophane baggies and to make
these toppers a bit different I used the new Fiskars Apron Lace border
punch and some aqua cardstock to make fancy edges. Punkin was a big
help filling the baggies and then stapling the toppers on. She loved
putting these together with me. We had a nice production line
going and got them done pretty quickly.

Here is a close up of the charms I made...

I placed the penny in the photo so you could get a better idea of how
long the charms are. I used 2 black seed beads, 2 pink glass cube
beads, a clear glass bead with the black center with pink flowers
embedded in it and a spiral dangle charm all on a 3 inch head pin
that I curved, added the lobster clasp and spiral and then twisted
around itself. No pesky jump rings here.

My first prototypes had jump rings but the tops of the charms were
so bulky that I decided I needed to cut down on some of the extra
metal, hence the long head pins. I have decided this is the easiest
way for me to make charms. At least until next time! LOL!

Here is the pile of packaged Charm Swap #2 Charms.
I didn't have the help to put together the toppers 'cause Punkin was in
school so I decided to be a little less decorative with these toppers. But
can you see the little flowers peeking through?

Well, here's a close up...
Okay, these were fun to put together. I used the same 3 inch head pins
and did the same kind of finish so I didn't have to use jump rings. I did
notice that it works much better on the stiffer, heavier weight head pins
than on the soft super bendy ones. The soft pins tend to break if they are
twisted too hard. So keep that in mind if you plan to do the same thing.

I started with the 3 inch head pin, then 3 small wooden beads, an
etched glass leaf charm, a green sead bead, a pink mother of pearl
flower with an amber Czech glass barrel bead in the center and then
bent the wire with the round-nose pliers, added the clasp, and used
the chain nose pliers to wrap the wire.

I felt like I was making Spring while I was working on these. Of course,
I had to make extras because Punkin likes to have one of each charm for
her own charm bracelet she is putting together and presenting her with
one made up for finishing the project before she got home.

Now, I need to get the box addressed and get #2 in the mail to the
Hostess. Fortunately, I don't have to mail the first set of charms. I just
have to wait for the last 10 or so ladies to get their charms to me so I
can sort everything out and get those mailed back.

Off to the post office! Have a great day! I'll be back with my
layout for the week either later today or early tomorrow - I'm
not waiting until the last minute to post it this week. (I hope I get
it done today! LOL!)

xoxox
Csmoferret