{styled}™ by Tori Spelling is a brand-new line of chic jewelry components that you can use to make your own jewelry without the use of any tools (no pliers necessary!)

Available at both Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics stores (though the items available may vary per store), the line is divided into 4 “styles” of components: Noir, Boho, Glitz, and Glam, with different-colored stones and metals that are mix-and-match.  The components are designed to work together and to be easily assembled into finished jewelry.

The unique points of this line are:

No tools are needed.

Anybody can do this.

The pieces are interchangeable so you can mix and match them to fit your unique style!

I was fortunate last month to be selected as a reviewer of the line, and received a GINORMOUS (!) box full of pieces to create my own Styled by Tori Spelling masterpiece.

That is one big box!!

Of course I went a little nuts (how could I resist, with so many components to choose from??!) and created a whole bunch of projects, putting my own personal spin on the finished creations.  (Isn’t that what makes DIY great??!)  In particular, I love the look of layered, jumbled-up, chunky jewelry, so created a glamorous DIY Jumble Chain Choker Necklace which I’m loving over simple shirts to dress up any outfit.  Here’s how to make on yourself:

You Need:

Styled by Tori Spelling Components: (NOIR) TSP-15 Small Link 2 Chain Black Necklace Top, TSP-P15 Hematite Large Burst Pendant, TSP-P13 Fancy Black Rhinestone Design Pendant, TSP-18 Multi Chain Hematite Necklace Bottom, TSP F25 – Connectors (black); and
(GLITZ) TSP-37 Multi Chain/Pearls Silver Necklace Bottom, TSP-07 Small Link 3-Chain Silver Necklace Top

Other components and tools: extra dark silver jumprings (2-6), two sets of pliers (or pliers + jumpring tool)

How To:

1.-2. Lay out the lighter-colored Necklace Top, and attach the Multi-Chain/Pearls Necklace Bottom partway along the chain using 2 black Connectors.

3. Open one of the jumprings at one end of the Necklace Top, and connect the ends together in the middle.

4.-6. Attach the Multi-Chain Hematite Necklace Bottom to the middle of the necklace, prying open the jumprings attached to it and connecting to the chains.  Wrap it around the pearls a couple times and secure the jumpring on the other end to the necklace chains.

7. Separate the black Necklace Top pieces, and clip one of the pieces onto the choker near the clasp.

8. Wind it around the choker, and secure with another Connector to the center.

9. Pry open the jumpring on the end of remaining Necklace Top piece, and attach to the other side of the necklace.

10. Wind it around the pearls, and double-back to where you started, securing the end with the last Connector.

11.-14. Remove the jumprings from the top loops of both pendants, and secure the pendants to the necklace using jumprings that thread through the loops on the undersides.  (You may need to use a couple jumprings to hold the weight of the pendants onto the chains.)

And you’re done!  Super-simple and super-chic!

Of course I made other projects too, but just haven’t included the step-by-step here.  Here are the finished pieces I was able to craft:

Ombre Gold Chain Earrings

    materials: Styled by Tori Spelling (NOIR) Chain Dangle Earring Components and Leverback Earring Wires, gold metallic spray paint, masking tape

Preppy Ribbon Necklace

materials: Styled by Tori Spelling TSP-42 Multi-Style Chain Hematite Necklace Bottom, striped grosgrain ribbon, needle & thread, lighter, scissors

Turquoise Cross Long Necklace

materials: Styled by Tori Spelling Long Turqoise Cross Necklace (GLITZ) TSP-71 Chain/Beads Silver Necklace Bottom, TSP-38 Small Link Chains Silver w/ Tassel Necklace Bottom, TSP-12 Medium Link Chain Dark Silver Necklace Top; turquoise cross beads, silver-tone eyepins, pliers

Stacked Chain Bracelets

materials: Styled by Tori Spelling (NOIR) TSP-F4 3 Strand Toggle Hematite Clasp and Hematite Black Diamond Strand [only the rhinestone chain from that group], (GLITZ) TSP-B4 Silver Crystal Strands, TSP F3 3-Strand Toggle Silver Clasp, TSP-B6 Ant. Silver Flowers Strands

3-Link Dangle Earrings

materials: Styled by Tori Spelling (GLITZ) TSP-F20 Bright silver w/ Rhinestones links, TSP-F10 Dark Silver Leverback Earring Wires, TSP F-22 Dark Silver w/ Rhinestones Links, (NOIR) TSP F24 Hematite w/ Rhinestones Links

Overall, I had a fun time playing mix-and-match with the components, which I found, on the whole, to be of high quality for the price point and fairly easy-to-use.  There were a couple drawbacks that I noticed:

The wire ties securing each component to the cardboard backing drove me INSANE.  I know they’re there to prevent shrink [in-store theft], but I’ve never seen anything as strong as these ones on any jewelry component I’ve ever bought at Michael’s or Jo-Ann’s in the past. 

Look at those ties! &%&$*#(>:(

Getting the pieces off the backings required tons of patience (and more than a few epithets uttered under my breath), and over the week or so I spent making the projects I ended up with 3 broken nails, smarting fingers, and 2 lacerations on my fingertips.  The time (and pain!) in getting the darn things off in order to make jewelry with them took away some of the joy in the jewelry-making itself.  If the designer of this line is reading this, I’d strongly encourage rethinking the security methods for these components, especially in light of the fact that they’re supposed to be easy-to-use.  (You need tiny wire-cutters to cut through them and they’re secured so tightly it’s almost impossible to get wire-cutters into that space…which negates the “No tools needed!” tagline.)

The orientation of the clasps cause the chains to not sit flat on the body.  Not so obvious in the Jumble Chain Choker Necklace above, but a huge issue for the bracelet components.  Simply by having the clasps separating the jumprings from the chain causes the chain to not lay flat when connected to the toggles.  The rhinestone chain is perpetually lying on its side, for instance; an issue that could easily by resolved by adding another small jump-ring in-between.  Quite a few of the components should probably be re-designed to include that extra jumpring…or utilize lobster clasps that have the connection ring set perpendicular to the clasp, rather than parallel to it.

The Connectors are very difficult to open and close.  (see the Connectors in the long Pinterest step-by-step graphic, above) Normally connectors of this sort would have a loop at the bottom to connect to jewelry; your thumb is placed against the loop and the forefinger manipulates the lever that opens the clasp.  Without the loop on these particular Connectors, there’s nothing to place your thumb against and hence no torque to allow you to get the clasps open!!  The smooth round outsides are very difficult to manipulate and deal with, and it took me quite some time to grapple with them (and placing them on a surface to push against to get that little clasp open).  I’d recommend a re-design that either incorporates a loop or a textured area on the outside of the Connector in order to have something to place your thumb against.

The existence of the clasps made it harder for me to connect pieces in some cases.  Sure it makes for a quick connect, but if you’re anal about the finished look to your jewelry, you’re going to have a lot of extra clasps and jumprings sitting in the middle of your designs, which may not particularly aesthetically pleasing to some people.  The quicker time it takes to assemble the finished pieces into a full jewelry creation is offset by the aesthetics of the connectors, which is something to take into consideration when linking pieces together.  Having finished components to work with takes much of the guesswork out of designing, but it also relinquishes much of the control of the look of the final piece…and can mean more work down the line to pare down and remove extraneous connectors or parts you don’t like.

However, despite these issues I still had a lot of fun playing and designing with these components – and they truly lend themselves to DIY since you can so easily customize the look to the finished piece to your own tastes.

Have any of you tried the Styled by Tori Spelling line of jewelry components before?  I’d love to know!

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