Making Beaded Jewelry, One of my Favorite Hobbies
I am not sure exactly when and how my hobby of using beads to make jewelry began, but it is something I love to do. My very favorite types of beads to use for the jewelry I make are real stones. I really love precious gems, but those get expensive of course, but there are many semi-precious gemstones out there now that are readily available even at places like Michaels arts and craft store. I realized that there are magazines and many online sites and groups dedicated to the art of jewelry making with beads.
I mostly make earrings and bracelets, and have made a few necklaces as well. I love to use freshwater pearls, and sterling silver if I can, but again using the more precious metals can add up. If you keep an eye out you can find some great sales. There are bead stores as well, dedicated totally to beads and jewelry making. You need to look locally for what is near to where you live if you want to find them. Some people look ahead when they will be travelling for special local stores in different areas. Ebay is a place you can find a lot of beads as well.
One neat thing to do with this hobby is to make gifts for people, which I have done. Its exciting to see people wearing what I made for them. Sometimes if I have a friend over or my sister or Mom, we will make some pieces too, which is really fun. At Christmas one year, I made a special bracelet for a couple of my Aunts, using black onyx beads and blue/purple freshwater pearls and some silver. They still wear things and I love to see them. I may be different from others, but I love a gift like that, made from the heart.
