El Día de los Muertos Bracelet Instructions Designed by Cheri Carlson
Wear this eclectic bracelet on November 2nd to honor the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. This bracelet features a diverse collection of components from pewter gothic charms to colorful Czech glass flowers for a spectacular result that is simple enough for beginners to construct.
Step one: Cut a 10-inch piece of ZambaPro 49 .019 30ft jewelry wire. Thread one end of the wire through a 0.90x5.95mm sterling silver open jump ring and fasten using a sterling silver 2x2mm crimp tube. For help using crimp tubes refer to the handy tips section of the learning center. Attach the heart-end of a TierraCast® antique silver sacred heart toggle clasp to this jump ring using a second 0.90x5.95mm sterling silver open jump ring. Set aside.
Step two: Create the bellflower dangles. We created nine bellflowers using the following components: four Czech glass large bellflower orange beads, two Czech glass large bellflower orange opal beads, two Czech glass large bellflower aqua and white beads, one Czech glass large bellflower lemon lime bead, three 6mm Czech fire-polished cobalt vega beads, three 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic citrine beads and three 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic hot pink beads. To create the first eight bellflowers; string one Czech fire-polished bead followed by one Czech glass large bellflower onto a sterling silver 22 gauge 1 1/2-inch head pin and finish with a simple loop. Create the last bellflower the same way but add a TierraCast® antique silver skull bead before completing the simple loop and attach to a 0.90x4.30mm sterling silver open jump ring. Set the bellflowers aside.
Step Three: Create the flat flower dangles. We created six flat flowers dangles using the following components: one Czech glass large flat flower purple bead, two Czech glass large flat flower orange silk beads, one Czech glass large flat flower opaque orange bead and two Czech glass 14mm opaline purple flat flower beads, one 6mm Czech fire-polished cobalt vega bead, three 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic hot pink beads and two 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic wasabi beads. To create the dangles; string one Czech glass flat flower bead followed by one Czech fire-polished bead and finish with a simple loop. Attach each dangle to a 0.90x4.30mm sterling silver open jump ring and set aside.
Step Four: Now you are ready to thread the components onto the wire you prepared in step one. It isn't necessary to string the components in a specific order though we generally tried to space out components that were similar in appearance. We attached up to three 0.90x4.30mm sterling silver open jump rings to the charms depending on how much length they needed to dangle freely between the surrounding components. We used a TierraCast® antique silver talavera cross charm as the focal point in the center of the bracelet and dangled it from three 0.90x5.95mm sterling silver open jump rings. In addition to the dangles you created in steps two and three, include the following components in the bracelet: one TierraCast® antique silver guitarra charm, one TierraCast® antique silver Katarina charm, one TierraCast® antique silver coffin charm, one TierraCast® antique silver skull head bead, one TierraCast® antique silver dancing señor charm, one TierraCast® antique silver dancing señorita charm, one TierraCast® antique silver 11mm large hole spacer, two TierraCast® antique silver 10mm joy large hole beads, two TierraCast® antique silver 10mm spacer beads, two stoneware small round-aqua blue beads, one stoneware short fat cylinder-purple bead, one stoneware round spacer-dark orange bead, one stoneware small round-yellow bead, one stoneware large round-yellow bead, one stoneware large round-light green, one stoneware small round-dark orange bead, two 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic hot pink beads, two 6mm Czech fire-polished cobalt vega beads, one 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic citrine bead and two 6mm Czech fire-polished metallic wasabi beads.
Step Five: Be sure to check the length of the bracelet on your wrist. This bracelet will fit more snug because of all the bulk. When you are happy with the fit you can finish with the other end of the clasp. Thread the wire through a 0.90x5.95mm sterling silver open jump ring and fasten using a sterling silver 2x2mm crimp tube. Using an additional jump ring, attach the bar-end of the TierraCast® antique silver sacred heart toggle clasp.
Alternate Components:
These are fun alternatives to those listed above:
Stoneware round bead - red and yellow drops (SW-BD233)
Stoneware square spacer - dark green (SW-BD150)
Stoneware orange and red stripes round bead (SW-BD251)
Stoneware round spacer - red (SW-BD161)
Stoneware large round - maroon (SW-BD176)
Czech glass bead large bell flower ruby (CR-FL060)
Czech glass bead large flat flower matte coral red (CR-FL082)
Czech glass bead large flat flower matte opaque green (CR-FL083)
Fire-polished bead 6mm opaque bright orange (50pc pack) (FPS-OBO6)
Fire-polished bead 4mm metallic violet (100pc pack) (FPS-VIO4)
Getting Started Stringing Beads (BOOK-139)
