Project ideas, suggestions and instructions for making jewelry, including beadwork, wirework and crochet design.
Shopping for beads and findings is a great way to get those creative vibes humming. New beads and findings hit the market on a seemingly daily basis. Therefore, a trip to your local bead store or paging through the latest copy of a bead catalog is an excellent way to start. Often, we will have an idea poking around, but just cannot seem to define it. However, as we pour through the catalog or sift through an assortment of beads in person, we suddenly know what our idea was all along. One particular bead or finding can often help us "˜define' it.
Still coming up blank at this point does not mean that you will never come up with a design; it just means you have to help yourself define what you want to do in a more detailed fashion. Consider an occasion that you will be in need of a jewelry item that you do not yet own. Weddings, for example, often call for sophisticated styles of earrings and necklaces that many of us will not find in our jewelry boxes. Or, what if you are planning on making items to sell, and while you make beautiful jewelry, what you do make never seems to sell well. Be realistic when approaching a market that is buyer made. Learn what is popular, and then try to combine your own style with the current trends. Oftentimes, a bead artist can successfully pull the two together into uniquely styled items that are sure to be top sellers.
Ideas to Build On
Still at a standstill when it comes to breathing life into your creativity? Start with the basics. This is better than not working on any project. By assembling some basic jewelry items, you may be inspired to create some one-of-a-kind works. Crochet a bracelet from a combination of black glass beads and a basic single crochet made up of white cotton thread. Crochet the ends into fringe for a twenties inspired look.
Salvaged beads from an old rosary will work brilliantly repurposed into prayer beads or a beautiful brooch.
Beads made from everyday items can bring instant zing to a tired worktable. Look around your house, in your junk drawer, the cabinets, your toolbox, everywhere, and see if you can turn some items into instant beads. Straws, for instance, can be cut up into colorful beads and spacers, paper can be cut and rolled (roll the paper over toothpicks), and then given a "˜Modge Podge' coating for a glaze. Look "˜outside' your house for even more bead ideas"¦porcupine quills, washed in a degreasing soap, such as Dawn dishwashing liquid, and with both ends cut off, make wild beads, and will even take a dye for colorful creations.
