Beach Babe

Stand out from the crowd in Brenda Harvey's bold designs, the perfect accessories this summer

Brenda Harvey, Project Designer

A babe dd a fresh burst of colour to any ensemble this season with this stunning beaded trio. The vibrant tones pack a punch, while the delicate silver details keep it looking elegant. We've used different textured beads for an interesting and original finish that will provide the wow-factor you've been looking for!

Necklace

1. To form the lower hanging strand, cut 40cm of 8mm link chain and at the midpoint, attach a faceted heart with a 9mm jump ring and a bail. Make 16 head pin drops using a mix of wooden, acrylic and silver beads; each one should also have a turquoise seed bead at the top and bottom. Add silver bead caps to the wooden beads and silver spacers to the chunky turquoise ones.
2. To form each drop, bend the wire above the beads at a right angle with roundnosed pliers, then trim to 1cm. Holding the end with round-nosed pliers, turn your wrist to create a circular loop. Attach the drop to the chain, carefully closing the loop by reversing the action, then repeat until all 16 have been added.
3. Repeat for the top strand, but use a smaller link chain and trim to 21cm long. Decorate with a chunky turquoise bead at the centre, and six assorted beaded head pin droppers, evenly spaced.
4. For the middle strand, cut 50cm of suede and 50cm of cord. Thread a large silver sphere onto the centre of the suede and, with the cord alongside, tie them together in a single knot on either side to hold the bead in place. Working symmetrically away from the centre, tie on a selection of other beads, knotting in between each one. Thread beads with larger holes onto the suede, and those with the smaller holes onto the cord, but make sure you form the knots by tying the suede and the cord together each time for a consistent look.
5. Attach the top and bottom chains to the two outer holes of two three-way connector bars with jump rings. Trim the remaining strand to allow it to hang comfortably between the two chain rows, then take this piece through a jump ring. Loop it back on itself and wrap silver wire tightly around several times to hold securely in place. Secure to the middle hole in each connector. To finish, attach a single strand of 8mm link chain on each side of the connector bars and add a lobster clasp and ring with jump rings.

Earrings

1. Cut 10cm of 4mm link chain and attach it to an earwire with a jump ring, so that the two ends hang at slightly different levels. Add five beaded head pin droppers, using a variety of different colour and sizes of beads. To finish, attach a carved silver tooth charm to the bottom of the longest chain with a jump ring. Repeat to make a pair.

Bracelet

1. Cut 25cm of 1mm elasticated nylon cord, and thread with your chosen selection of beads and silver spacers. Tie the finished length in a tight double knot, adding a dab of beading glue to secure. Finally, trim the ends and tuck the knot inside one of the beads to hide.