Beading - How To Make Key-Rings

If you have made necklaces, bracelets and earrings, then key-rings will be really easy.

Firstly you put a bead on tiger tail. It should be in the middle. Then you use a crimp to keep it in place.

You then add your beads of choice. Then next step is to finish it off. You basically finish it of the same way you would finish off a bracelet or necklace. The only difference is that you use the big rings instead of jump rings.

If you want to make more complex key-rings, you can use the same method you would, if you were making earrings. But instead of attaching it to hooks, you attache it to chains.

You could use these on keys, on doors and on cupboard handles.

I hope you have enjoyed the basic beading tutorials and that the instructions have been easy enough to follow.

Have a good rest and a blessed Sunday :-)

Lena

Beading - Making Bracelets And Necklaces

Making your own jewellery or other beaded items can be really rewarding. You can sell your handmade items or wrap it up and give it to a friend as a birthday gift. And what is really special, is that whatever you make, is unique. No one else will wear that exact same specific item.

I am going to start of on how to make bracelets.

You will need some beads, tiger tail, crimps, clasps, jump rings, pliers and side cutters.

First you need to put a piece of tiger tail through a crimp, then through the clasp, fold it over and through the crimp again.

Then use the flat nose pliers to flatten the crimp. I know some like to use a special tool specifically designed for crimps, but I have found that these tools sometimes end up breaking the crimp.

You can then start adding beads. You will see that there is a shorter piece of tiger tail left. You can just push it through the beads too.

Once the bracelet is long enough, you put the tiger tail through a crimp, then through a jump ring and then back through the crimp again.  Pull the tiger tail through a couple of beads like you did with the first piece of tiger tail which was left when you started adding beads. This will make the bracelet stronger. If you cut the tiger tail off RIGHT against the crimp, the bracelet will break pretty soon.

Once you have pulled the tiger tail through a couple of beads, you can use the side cutters to cut of the excess.  And there you go, you have just made your first bracelet.

 

To make necklaces, you use the exact same method as making bracelets, you just make them longer.

If you want to make a necklace, where the beads are spaced, like this blue one, you just use crimps on top and under each bead to keep them in place.

Happy beading
Lena

Beading - Making Necklaces With Jump Rings And Head Pins

A couple of days ago I posted a blog on how to make earrings. Making necklaces like these follows basically the same concept as making earrings.

First you need to make a loop on the one side of the earring. You can make this loop using round nose pliers. Then you need to cut of the head of the pin to look like the below image.

You then put some pretty beads on and make another hoop on the other side of the pin. So you will basically have a pin with two hoops on the ends and beads in the middle.

You need to make +- 20 of these. The amount you make, will vary, depending on your preference on how long you want the necklace to be. Once you have made a couple of them, you use jump rings to attach them.

And you keep going until all of them are attached to each other to make a pretty necklace.

 

Once you’ve got the hang of the above necklace, you can try something like this….

Enjoy making yourself some unique necklaces.

Lena

My Love For Beading - How It All Began

 

Nine years ago a friend gave me this beautiful blue watch as a present. I had a look and told my then fiancee (now husband) that I am sure that I could make watches if I tried.

I took the watch to the nearest bead-shop and started looking for parts similar to the blue watch. I went home and made my frist watch. I got hooked on beading. Since then I have made watches, earrings, necklaces, bookmarks, table weights, keychains and the list goes on. I even made a necklace for a bearded dragon once. ;-)

Here are some of the pieces I’ve made for myself.

Hope this inspires all new to the beading world.

Happy beading
Lena

Beading - How To Make Basic Earrings

I remember the first time I made a pair of earrings. I actually wish I took a photo to show you what it looked like. It wasn’t rounded off pretty but I was proud and I did wear them often.

Here is a basic tutorial for those of you who are interested in making your own earrings.

You will need flat nose pliers, round pliers, a side cutter, some jump rings, eye pins, hooks and some pretty beads.

The first step is to slide the beads onto the eye pin and then cut a piece of the eye pin to make it shorter. Then you need to use the round pliers to turn the top part of the eye pin. Leave a small opening to insert the hook. Once you’ve inserted the hook, use the flat nose pliers close the eye pin.

You can play around with the length of the earrings, and mix and match colours to your own taste.

If you want to make earrings with charms, you simply use the flat nose pliers to open the jump rings. Then you hook the charm onto the ring and hook the ring onto the earring hook. Then use the flat nose pliers to close the jump rings.

Earrings are really easy to make and because it doesn’t take a lot of time, you can literally make them JUST before any event.

Enjoy making your own earrings.

Lena

Paperclip Bookmark

Last month, my aunt/dear friend, gave me a paperclip bookmark.

I thought it was really pretty and something that I could make myself. So basically, all you will need is scissors, a highlighter, paperclips, buttons, material of choice, a needle and thread.

First I drew shapes on the material and cut it out. Then I sewed the shapes and buttons onto the paperclip. Just like that, I made a paperclip bookmark without a problem.

This blue and brown paperclip bookmark was the one I recieved as a present.

Basic supplies

The result. You can place it in one of these plastic bags and give it to someone as a gift. It might also be a nice (affordable) thank you gift for a babyshower or birthday party.

Or you can use it for decorative purposes...

 I was just thinking that you could sew it onto a keyring instead, which would also make a thoughtful gift.

Enjoy trying this easy craft.
Lena

Rice Filled Cabbage

Every now and again I will go through a phase of eating EXTREMELY healthy. I also go through phases of eating less healthy but overall I prefer to eat healthy and have a treat just every now and then.

Over the weekend I was sorting through some folders and came across a meal I made in 2013 and thought it would be nice to share this with you. I wil definitely make this again as I do recall how delicious it was.

I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did

Happy cooking
Lena