Tutorial: Chains and Flowers Necklace

Sorry for not posting earlier, but I was slightly busy and tired. What happened was that on FRIDAY, I passed my driving test! Yay! But I couldn't get my provisional liscence until Saturday, because I was missing a point of identification. You have to have 6 points, and I had my school ID, but not a report card to verify it. So, on Saturday, I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes waiting at the DMV, but it was worth it. I also hit up AC Moore on Saturday, and I was supposed to make this post also yesterday, but... I was tired and I wanted to watch TV.
Anyway, this tutorial is on a necklace that I saw in a Macy's ad in People en Espanol. I like that magazine even though I don't really read Spanish. I do study it in school, but the curriculum in my class is slightly horrifyingly bad. Hence, I just look at the pictures and kinda skim a bit. Picture below:

What You Need:

1. Chain (s)
2. Zipper
3. Pliers
4. Lace
5. Clasps
6. Buttons

Instructions:

• 
  
  Let's start with something easy first. First, take the 3 pieces of lace and braid them together. I took a large piece of lace, chopped it in three and then braided them. There should be two knots on either end. Since this is the back of the necklace, it should be around 6 inches. 

• 
  
  Making the flower is the hardest part and it might not be too easy to get. Sorry, but sewing is the best way to do this. You'll need a zipper, between 2- 3ft long, like the ones on trench coats. Since you'll need 2 parts, if you can just find an old coat, it would be best. But if you want to buy it, then you can probably find detachable ones to make coats. First, you want to make a loop with the zipper side facing out. Sew that sucker on, then with the end, make another loop approximately on the opposite side. Sew, then continue. I have done a demonstration with paper, with the black stuff simulating the zipper side. If you can't get this done, you can always use silk flowers and such! There's an easier way to do this flower, and I'll do a demo on that once I get some more zippers.
  
  

• 
  
  Once you are done, pop a button or two in the center.
• 
  
  Now, to the lace braids, you want to attach the clasps with some thread to the knots and then glue one end of the knot to the flower. This is what it should look like right now. I used Gorilla Glue which I LOVE. You just need to wait a bit for it to dry.

• Now, it's time to attach the chains. I used one link chain that is 100 inches. You can use different chains of varying lengths to achieve this look. Note that not all chains come in 100 inches. Some go from 12 inches to 72 inches, so do read the fine print. I used a pair of pliers to open the links. First you open one end of the link, attach it to the knot behind the flower, measured it as long as I wanted it to be, opened that end of the link and then attached it to the knot. Since the material is lace you should be able to push the link inside. With the pliers, you can close the link. If you have something like a twisted link chain where you can't open the links easily, I recommend getting Jewelry Wire Side Cutters Pliers or Craft & Jewelry Tool - 3 In 1 Pliers which is the one I got from AC Moore to cut the chain. Then you would need some Jump Rings to attach it onto the lace knot. You can buy the jump rings either opened or closed.
• Keep adding the chains of varying lengths and here is the finished product!

Wow that was a long post! Keep crafting ladies! Now I just have to find something to wear it with! Any suggestions? Also, I currently HATE HATEHATEHATHEATHAETHAEHTAEHTHAEHTAEHTAEEhate the new image uploading thing. I wish that they'd bring the old version back becuase this time, you can only do left, right and center, no custom. Now, I hate posting pictures becuase I can't put them next to each other. If I try to do that, the pictures jump all over the place, pictures won't go under each other. I read reviews about now everyone LOVESS the new post editor because it makes it easier to do pictures. That's bull shit. It's only good if you don't have many pictures to upload at once.

Toodles