Hand Beaded Earrings, Etc.

Ta-dah! The first pair of earrings I sold (just this week)!
These were custom made for a teen-aged girl after her mom saw
the lime green glass cube pair (shown below) I was wearing.

It's funny how I got back into beading earlier this year. I was at a rubber stamp workshop making cards with a group and complimented the woman sitting next to me on her beautiful jewelry. She graciously thanked me, and then it was the Close to My Heart Consultant who said, "Oh, Kelly makes all her own stuff. When she's not stamping, she's beading." Then Kelly offered, "You can always find me at the bead shop."

BEAD SHOP?? Huh? We have a bead shop in town? (The last one I knew about had closed decades earlier.) I started gathering info about the local bead shop, and then I had to go there and check it out.

The Spirited Bead is a branch of the original shop located in Tehachapi, CA and was established by Karen Lewis (a.k.a. Klew), an amazing artist who makes extraordinary beads, jewelry, and wearable art using polymer clay. To see what I mean, take a peek at her website: http://www.klewexpressions.com/

It turns out, the local bead shop has been around for over four years. Okay, so I'm slow on the uptake, but just think how much money I've saved! Oh, no, that's not right. I spent the money I might have spent on beads on rubber stamps, cardmaking supplies, scrapbooking stuff, and books. (Not to mention a foray into Claire's Accessories in the mall where I picked up a huge number of earrings right before I began making my own.)

Ten or fifteen years ago when I first tried beading, I was feeling my way in the dark. I didn't take any classes or find any books with instructions. This time around, I've taken two hands-on classes at the nearby Spirited Bead as well as found a number of great beadmaking books to refer to.

Here's a photo of my recent creations. I really enjoy making earrings for myself and others. But you can see, I've made a couple of necklaces to coordinate with earrings, and even an anklet (the project from my Basic Beading class, not shown).

The lime green glass cube earrings referred to above are in the bottom right of this photo.

I have to give credit where credit's due: the frame with chicken coop wire which is home for my creations was an idea my older daughter told me about. I passed the word to my hubby, and he made me three!

I use a variety of beads: Swarovski crystals, clear glass, crackle glass, cultured pearls, and wooden, to name a few. I work with colors I like together or drawing from clothing I'm trying to match.

Beading is a soothing activity and is even easier since we bought an Ott lamp for the living room!