And here's one we made earlier...

Big embellished collar/bib necklaces were a key statement jewellery trend for A/W- one that Olivia Palermo (the queen of accessorizing) was seen working with typical panache in New York and London.

Unfortunately, much as I have scoured the shops and the internet, I have been unable to find a similar necklace which I liked or which wasn't in the price range of above £250 which is so ridiculously beyond my shopping limit for a necklace.

So, if you can't buy it, MAKE IT!

My mum and I found a simple template on the internet and set to work pulling apart bits of old jewellery to convert into something new. I realised that there is so much you can do to reinvent old bits and bobs- we used belt buckles, gemstones from bracelets and bangles, old earrings with the hooks taken off, little sequins and gems, old corsages. It was great!!

So we got one of our many boxes of old and unwanted jewellery plus some shop bought self adhesive gems and diamonte studs...

We bought a few packets of felt squares in different colours (we started with black because we thought it would be easiest), and then just pinned on this simple stencil we printed off the internet and cut the semi circle for the neckline and then just straight down the sides (not the bottom) to create a long rectangle which would give us enough space to play around with different designs and positioning of the stones.

This was necklace number one! We went for a vintage-esque theme with the main focus being the central diamonte brooch. We used other black gems, earrings and diamonte studs to create a glamorous and glitsy design.

This was necklace number two. A bit younger and more fun and playful. I wanted it to have a luxe-hippy feel to make it more versatile for wearing with day-looks rather than the one above which has such high-impact that it is best saved for evening. I used some old gems cut out of a bracelet (the black stones across the top) and the rest was made with gems and self adhesive diamonte studs which we bought from craft stores in town.

Once you cut out your design and add some ribbon to the top edges you're good to go! Doing something creative gave me lots of other ideas for fun things to make, I might have to dig out my sewing machine again!!