Creativity 521 #3 - Bead fantasies come true

I've loved beaded jewellery since I was a teenager.

Simple beads threaded together to form a vibrant and beautiful final piece.

Just how I like my life to be, simple but yet these simple moments add together to form a great journey.

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Last year, I finally got my act together and decided to make my own beaded jewellery as farewell gifts to dear friends whom I had known in Sweden but were heading home to Singapore earlier than me. I wanted to do something handmade but yet hope that the receiver would like it, use it and not just chuck it somewhere and find it full of dust years later.

So I thought of making a pair of earrings for each of them. Every girl can do with one more pair of earrings, right?

I bought books, read them, learned about the basic techniques, searched for beads and other materials in town and I was all set!

What you need: (for making simple earrings)

1) Basic guide book on beaded jewellery
2) Assorted beads
3) Flat nose pliers/ round nose pliers/ wire cutter
4) Head pins/ eye pins/ ear wires
5) Nylon thread
6) Scissors

I love this book called Bead Fantasies by Takako Samejima. It provides concise information on beading techniques, teaches you about the different bead supplies and the stringing instructions are simple and clear. I especially love the colourful pictures and there are also hand drawings to help you comprehend the instructions. It is suited for beginners just starting out on beading and would like to try their hands on making jewellery that is easy to make yet beautiful.

Start off by stringing the motif of your earring according to the instructions and drawings. This is a case of practice makes perfect. To date, I've made nearly 20 pairs of earrings and if I used 3 hours to make my first piece, the last one probably took 40mins. Tie thread and cut off excess.

If you do not have the beads as stated in the book, you can always come up with the next best alternative and choose beads of the closest size. The best thing is that you can also invent your own designs by varying the colours, changing the bead type or adding extra beads here and there!

Insert a head pin and cut off excess using a wire cutter. Add on final beads to the earring as you desire (you can also use unique designer beads) and round the ends with a round nose pliers. This also takes practice but once you get the hang of it, you'll be rounding ends like a pro!

Finally, attach a ear wire and you are done with one earring. Repeat the same for the other side (isn't it great earrings don't distinguish by left and right?) and ta-dah, it's finished!

So what do you think of these handmade beaded earrings?

If you have interest and time, you can also try making other jewellery from the book, including necklaces, bracelets, rings, brooches, hair ornaments, cell phone straps and even eyeglass chains. I did a bracelet and ring but I realised earrings still make the best gift (no sizes involved), plus they are less complicated to make.

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Anyway, I was making a pair of earrings recently when my girl got so fascinated and said "Mummy, I also want to make!"

So we had another beads stringing session using her own set of beads and this time round, she was so engrossed in making her masterpiece that it pleasantly surprised me to see her stringing the beads one by one for that half an hour.

I guess, in a sense, she wanted to be like Mummy.

Dear Angel darling, Mummy is sure you will be a much better 'jewellery maker' than me in future. Because you know what, this necklace that you did today, it was perfect and better than any I've ever made. String from the heart and your pieces will always be full of love, just like how Mummy loves you each day and every day.

For more craft ideas and DIY tutorials, visit my gallery here.

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I will be hosting Creativity 521 every fortnightly and I hope you can join me on the 5th and 21st of every month! Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!