Beads are one of the most versatile and visually appealing items in existence for people who enjoy crafting, and who enjoy spending hours creating jewelry and other objects for personal use, or as gifts for friends. These days, it’s very easy to secure some really stunning looking beads for your crafting projects, with a number of online stores offering beads as well as other accessories to help you get started.
One of the best places to shop for truly beautiful beads is Woman Shops World, where you’ll find everything from wooden beads to diamonds and gemstones, as well as African trade beads. Once you have the beads you want to use, you can start your next crafting project, and you might want to use one of the suggestions below for your next terrific bead creation.
Bead Lizards
The first step in making a bead lizard is to cut a piece of string about three feet long, so it can serve as the ‘backbone’ of your bead lizard. Then you’ll need to fold this string over and pass both ends through a clamping hook, which will hold both ends together. Then take a single bead and pass both open ends of the string through it and slide the bead all the way down to the end where the hook is.
Next, put two single beads of the same color on just one of the sides of the folded-over string, and pass them down to the end as well. Then take the other string end and pass it through the same beads, but going in the opposite direction, and pull the string tight. Next, you’ll be creating the ‘eyes’, bypassing single eye-colored beads on to both strings, before again tightening. The next body part to create is the neck, and that will consist of four beads, all added on in the same manner as the eyes.
Use the same technique to add the arms, legs, body, and tail. Then tie a double-knot to keep all the beads in place, and step back to admire your handiwork!
Beaded Bookmarks
For this project, all you will need are some scissors, a pair of jewelry pliers, waxed linen twine, either two beads or two charms to be used as focal pieces, and then a number of beads of various sizes and shapes. The first thing you have to do is cut a stretch of waxed linen to a length of about 15 inches, although it can be shorter or longer depending on how many beads you’re going to use.
Then you’ll need to tie an overhand knot about three inches from the end of your string. If you’ve chosen to use charms, you should first add a few beads to your string, and then insert a crimp bead. Thread the charm onto the string, and then feed the end of the string back through the crimp head so as to secure the charm. Then you should crimp that end with your pliers and trim off any excess.
Then tie a knot about four inches from the other end of the string, and thread on two or three beads, before adding a crimp bead. Just below the crimp bead, you should thread on a few smaller beads before adding in your focal bead or charm. Then you can add in all the rest of the beads and thread the tail end of the string back through the crimp bead, so the whole product can be tightened up. Then all you have to do is crimp it closed with your jewelry pliers, and trim off any excess. Voilà! A new bookmark to use for your hours of reading pleasure.
Homemade Napkin Rings
The first step in this process consists of painting and decorating your beads if you choose to do so. It’s very easy to use a toothpick to add polka dots, and to use a paint pen to add swirls to your beads. Put each bead on a toothpick and let them sit on top of cardboard tubes, so they don’t come in contact with any other services. Next, you will have to cut the wire into 4-inch segments and run them through all the beads, then set the fraying edges using hot glue.
Then, add some pony beads to the ends. Now you can poke the end of the vine-wrapped wire through the pony bead, and repeat the process on the other end of the wire for all your napkin rings. Then you can wrap your napkin ring right around your napkins while bending the vine-wrapped wire so as to accommodate the form and fit of the napkins.
Bead Wind Chimes
This is a very easy object to make, and it can be not only useful in alerting you to wind strength, but it can be a colorful addition to your porch or back yard. First, cut sections of a string of several different lengths, and put a knot at the end of each of them. Then, add an ‘anchor’ object at the bottom of the string, which will be something heavier than the beads themselves, for instance, something circular and metallic.
Next, you can add as many beads on each stringer as you have room for, but make sure to save room at the top of the string, so it can be tied to a dowel or stick. When you’ve finished adding on all the beads, tie each one of the stringers to your dowel, and tie a string on each end of the dowel, so it can be secured to a nail where it can be hung from, somewhere outside. Now, just enjoy your home-made wind chimes.
Bead Bracelets
All you’ll need to create your bead bracelet is some stretch cord, the beads, and some scissors. First, thread your beads onto the stretch cord, but don’t bother cutting the stretch cord immediately, because this will prevent your beads from falling off the other end. Continue threading beads onto the stretch cord until you have reached the desired length of your bracelet.
Then make a couple of knots in the cord until you’re sure that the bracelet is secure. Then you can use scissors to cut off any excess cord, and this will detach your bracelet from the roll of stretch cord. In just these few simple steps, you’ll create an attractive and fun bracelet that you can show off to all your friends, and which you’ll get lots of use from.
Keychains
All you’ll need to create your bead keychain are black embroidery floss, a black ring, embroidery needle, matte black spray paint, matte white spray paint, and some wooden beads. The first step consists of painting your wooden beads and then leaving them to sit for about an hour so they can dry. Next, you need to take your black embroidery floss and have it threaded through the needle eye.
Then string on any number of beads that you want to use on your keychain, understanding that the more beads you thread on, the longer will be your keychain. Once you’ve added on all the beads you intend to use, you can add your black ring and tie a knot just below the ring, so as to separate the beads from the ring. The last step just involves taking that string back through the beads, and tying off the two ends together so that the beads remain firmly in place.
Dream Catchers
In order to make your bead dream catcher, all you need are some yarn, a small piece of felt, a small piece of polyester batting, pony beads and wooden beads, a wooden embroidery loop, needle and thread, and some washi tape. Start by covering your hoop with small pieces of washi tape, and then choose two different colored yarns and wrap them around the hoop.
Next, you’ll have to do some sewing to attach strings to your hoop, and when you thread your needle, make sure to double the string and tie a knot at the end, so the thread won’t fall out of the needle. In the last step, you’ll have to put everything together. String some beads on the strings, and tie them onto a hoop at different lengths, and then make a hook at the top which you can secure with the glue gun or bondic pegamento. Now you’re ready to hang your dreamcatcher anywhere about the house.
Your Imagination is Your Limit
There is any number of fun projects that you and your children can involve yourself in using beads. Your kids will feel a great sense of accomplishment, and they will also be proud of the fact they’ve created something useful. It’s also a great learning experience for them to see how things are made. You’ll enjoy it yourself, if you happen to be a person with crafting talent, and you will have endless projects to choose from, using all kinds of beautifully colored and decorative beads.