Make Your Scarf Jewelry Interchangeable!

Next to our new Snap Decisions Collection, our scarf jewelry is still a popular selling items at shows.  Since publishing my tutorial, Constructing Accent Pieces for Your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls, we discovered a special clip finding that could make our designs interchangeable.  And now with our snap base pendants, we can combine the two making them even more versatile!

This scarf necklace is one of my favorites -- We filled the metal scarf bail from behind with clay and then added color with mica powders.  The Swarovski crystal was added later with Apoxy clay.  To create the matching clay beads in the cascade, I made my own texture stamps from the metal bail (see page 45 of my tutorial).

Using the special clip type clasp, the bead cascade can be removed and interchanged with any of our "snap" base pendants for a different look.

We now have a supply of these special clips available in our new online store along with other supplies that are hard to find and used in our tutorials.  Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss out on any specials or promotions.

Interchangeable Scarf Jewelry Pieces

I love things to wear that are multi-functional and interchangeable.  An item that can be used in more than one way is a great wardrobe extender as well as a budget saver.  Obviously others feel the same as me as our earring sales increased a fair bit when we switched over to the interchangeable system with several ear wire styles to choose from.

So now we have come up with a new twist on our scarf jewelry pieces ... we now have a new "interchangeable" series.  The scarf necklace consists of a scarf bail, a pendant charm and a set of cascading beads so they can be easily switched out.  As another alternative, the beads or the charm can also clip on to a chain or cord to wear as a regular necklace without the scarf.

In my tutorial, Constructing Accent Pieces for your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls, I show how to create a scarf bail from polymer clay as well as to create the bead dangles several different ways.

Here is some feedback we have received so far on this latest tutorial:

"Great thorough tutorial. Very easy to follow."

"Good clear written instructions accompanied by great photos, leaves no lingering question to be answered.  The inclusion of extra information and tips at the end are an added bonus."

Creating Shawl Pins and Scarf Jewelry in Your Own Style

Ever since I discovered polymer clay, my whole world had changed.  I have had several careers in my life but I have never felt so fulfilled as I do when creating with this wonderful medium!  I find working with the clay in my hands is therapeutic and very satisfying.  What I really enjoy most is that there are so many things you can do with the clay.  I really love the engineering part and figuring out how I am going to tackle a certain project.  This is how my scarf jewelry came about.  More than 3 years ago I saw some metal pieces on the internet and I couldn't get the image out of my head.  I was dreaming how I could create something similar in clay.  The first prototype I worked out was a metal bail with one of my sculpted flowers added.  We showed the piece to several stores that sold our work and they were an immediate hit.

One of my first original designs from May, 2011 using a metal bail

I was then brainstorming as to how I could make the scarf bail all from clay and once that was worked out I discovered that all types of techniques could be incorporated into the design.

With my new tutorial, Constructing Accent Pieces for Your Scarves, Sweaters & Shawls,  I teach the basic construction of making shawl pins and scarf jewelry.  The idea is that once you know how to make the basic forms, you can apply almost any technique to give your pieces your own personal style.

An example of this is how I have incorporated techniques from my other tutorials to show how they can be applied to the various forms in this lesson.  For instance, the flowers from my "Sculpted Flowers" tutorial can be used in several projects in this lesson to make:

A shawl pin:

A shawl / hair stick:

Scarf Jewelry:

This is just one technique of many that can be used.  Included in my lesson are several pages of photos showing other examples for more ideas and inspiration.