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Beading for pleasure

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  • On the lighter side, has anyone else tried beading? I love jewelry of all kings--earrings especially, but necklaces and bracelets,too. A friend was recently talking about her beading projects, how much fun they were and how much she enjoyed wearing jewelry she made. So I gave it a try. With a few inexpensive tools, a beginners book and a handful of supplies, I've been enjoying it immensely. (In fact, I wearing a pair or earrings right now I made this morning in about 15 minutes!

    Earrings are especially fun, since finding nice non-pierced earrings with a little flair is not easy.

    Just wondering who else does this for pleasure--or even profit.

    Emily
      June 16, 2010 5:53 PM BST
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  • My wife took a short class on beading and just loved how easy it was to do. We went to the craft store and purchased some odds and ends but never have really set aside time to make anything. Maybe now with most the kids out of the house we can once again give it a try.
    Hugs,
    Marsha
      June 17, 2010 12:34 AM BST
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  • My partner Carrie-Anne makes jewelry. She finds it rewarding as a hobby and some of the things she has made me are really lovely. She buys some of her bits locally and some semi-precious stones from the internet, As for non-pierced earings: she makes some standard for me and her freinds and some non-pierced for herself and my mum and gets the screw findings from the internet for very little money..http:///www.mailorder-bea[...]x.html
    She only makes items t ogive as gifts as it is her way. Some of her work can be seen here

    http://www.turboimagehost[...]/crafts
      June 17, 2010 2:48 AM BST
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  • I have been waiting to take a class in basic jewelry making for years. It's right around the corner but I have never been able to afford it. It's also good for fixing your purchased jewelry.

    I found a great item at Walmarts. It is a pack of soft, plastic, plugs that slide onto the end or your pierced earrings. Alone or outside the normal holders, they keep the earrings secure. I have not lost an earring from my ear since purchasing them, even in the shower. A wonderful lady in VA showed them to me when I was buying some replacements for two I lost on a trip.
    "A live lived in fear is a life half-lived." - Native American proverb. "Inside every man is a woman who was drowned in testosterone before birth". - Wendy Jeanette Larsen "It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you're not." - Andre Gide (French writer)
      June 17, 2010 8:22 AM BST
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  • Wendy, that was such a great point about beading being good for fixing purchased jewelry. The little tools and findings come in really handy for repairs and at this point that is about all I have done with it. You mentioned the little plugs for backs of earrings, those are the greatest. I have a few probably like the ones you are describing and I also try to hold onto the tiny tubes that come with a lot of the pierced earring jewelry you purchase.

    On a side note. The first jewelry my wife purchased for me after my ears were pierced was 2" 14kt gold hoops with delicate closures. My favorite for a long time but you need to stay on top of closures loosening up over time. Eventually I lost one while I was out and had no clue where it may have been lost. About a month ago now while cleaning out my truck, there it was. It had been at least a year since I had lost it and I had cleaned out my truck several times during that period. Amazingly enough it wasn't damaged at all. Needless to say the first thing I did was tighten the closure.

    Hugs,
    Marsha
      June 17, 2010 12:17 PM BST
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  • Wendy:

    One of the great things about beading is that you don't really need to take a class. Lots and lots of books out there for not too much money on the basics, and lots of the beading suppliers offer tips and techniques online.

    Here's one with some video tutorials:
    http://www.firemountaingems.com/beading_howtos/howtos_results.asp?multicategory1=projects&multicategory2=tutorials&kwsearch=fmgvid_0802&navsrc=2

    Emily
      June 17, 2010 7:50 PM BST
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  • Hi Emily,

    My experience is mostly with "de-beading". My fiance had door frame to floor beads strung vertically on fishing line across the doorway between our living room/bedroom and the hallway that lead to the bathroom (it was 1969).

    My particular talent was to catch a string of the beads on my belt or boots or whatever when I was on my way to the toilet. You guessed it, line breaks and hundreds of beads everywhere. When it happened multiple times I think she thought I was doing it on purpose...

    I got out of the doghouse when we were out and her cat, Frodo, managed to break half a dozen lines of beads - must have been over a thousand multi-colored little balls and squares and oblongs scattered in every corner of the apartment. We were still finding them in nooks and crannyies months later.

    Best,
    Melody

    <p><span style="color: #800080;">Girls will be boys and boys will be girls It's a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola</span> - Ray Davies, The Kinks</p> <p><span style="color: #3366ff;">(S)he's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction</span> - Kris Kristofferson</p>
      June 17, 2010 8:23 PM BST
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  • Melody:

    Debeading: That's hilarious. I can just picture it: it sounds like something out of I Love Lucy.

    Just today, I had to chase my dog out the room when I dropped a bag of beads on the floor and he wanted to gobble them all up.

    Thanks for the laugh.

    Emily
      June 17, 2010 10:42 PM BST
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