Chunky Me

The past few days have been so swift it is like the year is in a rush to end… I am so glad you have visited. I have been working with seed beads a lot. This time around I have this multistring and multicolored seed bead necklace.  I collected 6 different colors of beads for this piece.

So, armed with:

·         About a gram of seed beads (mixed color/similar sizes)

·         nylon string

·         scissors

·         2 Silver cones

·         Silver lobster clasp

·         2 medium size red wood beads, I set to work.

Each string is about 24 inches long so that’s a lot of patience with these tiny but very beautiful beads. Since I wanted the necklace chunky I thought 15 or more strands would do the trick. The stringing process is actually not so hard if one has a long wire to use like me who doesn't have the seed bead stringer yet. When finished with stringing the number of strands, it requires more care with holding them together and passing them through the cone and wood bead. I knotted one side of the bunch into a simple note that wouldn’t cause my beads to scatter all over the place, but still easy to remove.

When done with passing both ends of the gathered strands through the silver cones and wood beads, I attached the silver lobster clasp. Below is the outcome.

Cheers

Rainbow bracelet

Seed beads have a way of mesmerizing me every time I look at them. To me they are simply beautiful, vibrant, little beings that need to be handled with love and care. Just think about it-they are so minute and because they are rounded, if not careful the beads will spill and scatter all over the place.

These colorful seeds are formed when a long tube of glass is broken into numerous tiny segments, melted a bit to soften their edges and then come up with the smoother, rounded shape.

Seed beads come in a variety of colors, sizes and finishes. Their sizes range from 1 ½ -4mm. The predominant color of the bead comes from the color from which the cane was made. The hues are then created when different minerals are added; the result if rich finishes like metallic, matte, silver-lined and others.

I find that seed beads I have purchased within Uganda tend to be uneven in size, whereas the ones I have got on eBay or Panda Hall have a more uniform shape. 

The bracelet below was inspired by my love for bright colors.

 I had earlier strung a 30 inch long strand of different colors of beads-1 ½ mm. Then I thought…”why don’t I make a bracelet?”

So as I was still toying with the string in my hands, I realized a pattern was developing. I was weaving it with my hands, just like you would with a crochet needle.

Mhmmm, this was getting exciting so I continued. However towards the middle, the loops were getting bigger making the whole thing less uniform. So I had to undo it and weave more carefully and slowly without getting too excited. When I was done, I attached a silver lobster clasp then thought of putting a center bead. This red acrylic button came in handy.   This was the result. 

Amber and Shell necklace

A friend of mine was planning her introduction ceremony some time in 2012. This is a traditional occasion in Uganda, where a bridegroom-to-be and his family are invited to the home of the bride-to-be to be introduced to her family and declare his intentions. It can be such a glamorous event. Anyway, she requested I make her some jewelry to adorn one of the attires she would be wearing.  She emphasized the need for something out of the usual.

Wow, so I get thinking and come up with using shells. When she gave me a go-ahead, I searched around the shops and finally found them at a place called Taloso Bead Jewelers in Kampala, Uganda. From the minute I got these shells I started imagining what the jewelry would look like.

 So I made necklace using white acrylic cylinder beads, painted orange shell beads, lovely amber and orange seed beads. There were also a few orange citrine beads which are on both sides of the cylinder beads at the center of the necklace. 

So this was the final outlook. 

Tell me what you think. Thanks for visiting, please do so again.

Shell and seed bead stunner

Below is one of the first jewelry pieces I ever made. I purchased the beads on eBay.

This 3 piece set comprising of a necklace, bracelet and earrings is made from orange/yellow painted shell beads (heart shaped and oval) and red seed beads.

I wanted a very simple piece of jewelry to match already very elaborate attire so this is what I came up with. There are about 15 seed beads in between the orange/yellow shell beads which make up the necklace and bracelet. I used a gold clasp to attach each of the pieces. The necklace is about 20 inches while the bracelet was 7.5 inches long.

For the earrings, I used gold colored head pins and fixed flower bead stoppers, added the shell bead and seed beads then attached to the gold colored hook.  There we go, ready to be worn.

Thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear from you.