One of my biggest learning curves was differentiating between "really pretty beads" and as
Kate describes them, and "really good beads."
I spent countless weekends shopping at JoAnne Fabrics, Michaels and ACMoore with an
occasional stop at Walmarts or Hobby Lobby shopping for beads when Kate was out of the
country teaching in Costa Rica.
I would buy pretty beads, on strands or from Jessie James beads and spend money to
send them to Costa Rica so Kate could bead when she was out of school and could not get
to a store.
She had access to some natural beads that she bought locally in Costa Rica but I still felt
like I needed to shop with my teacher discount card and send her beads.
Buying beads for her became my hobby.
One day in 2014 she wrote and said, " I really appreciate your sending beads, but please
don't waste your money on pretty beads that are junk."
I had no idea what she was talking about. She said, " I like to bead with gemstones not
acrylic."
This started a new chapter in our beading. There are countless, REALLY PRETTY beads in
packages that cost $3.00- $8.00 in all of the major craft stores. They used to be packaged
as Jessie James and one pack could make up to two REALLY PRETTY lanyards. BUT!!!
This is the big BUT!!! Some of the beads are glass and some are acrylic. If they are acrylic,
sometimes the color wears off.
If you are just getting started, they are not a bad investment because you get a really pretty
lanyard very quickly and inexpensively.
 |
Usually the packages of Jessie James beads have a large bead that can be used on the end. They can be mixed with any inexpensive glass beads that are really inexpensive. |
 |
This is a sample of a lanyard made with a very inexpensive package of seed beads from Walmart. There are premixed assortments that can turn our perfect. They are glass and pretty. The down side is they are not all uniform in size and shape so you get a bumpy final look. You can buy countless bead assortments in the craft department at Walmart to get a pretty lanyard without spending a lot of money. Interestingly, this lanyard was one of the most popular in the last school where I worked and I made some to give away to the teachers and cafeteria ladies who were nice to my kids.
MORE SAMPLES of Bright Colored Fun Lanyards
|
MATERIALS USED
- 60 pound test fishing line
- lobster clasp with D ring
- large end bead with a hole large enough to hide the knot from the fishing line
- 30 inches of 6/0 seed beads
- assorted 4-6 inches of fun and fabulous beads you love
- spacers
- clear nail polish to cover the knot
For more information and instruction: Please see my YouTube Playlist with 7 videos.
https://youtu.be/Mdf0lKY4SFQ
Happy Beading!
No comments:
Post a Comment