Beading Day with the Beadshop.com Team

Every other week, our small team gathers around our bead table for a lesson in beading. Prior to the class, Janice chooses a technique that she thinks would be both fun and challenging for us. Then, she sets up a warm and inviting classroom environment and calls us to the table for an afternoon of laughter and learning. This week, we focused on patterning various beads into multi-strand bracelets. We used our Tricks of the Trade handout and an assortment of beads, wire, crimp covers and clasps.

Of course, we were so excited when we sat down to the table and saw that Janice had included her personal collection of beads in our class supplies. You can be sure that we have all admired Janice’s baubles and beads many times throughout our time here. As we “ooh-ed” and “aah-ed" over the gorgeous assortment of beads, we did begin to wonder how we could create a cohesive design with an eclectic mix of beads that were not identical.

Ever the voice of wisdom, Janice promptly reassured us that things don’t have to match perfectly to work well together. One only has to look at each unique member of the Beadshop.com team to see that truth!

Instead of focusing on the differences between the beads, we needed to see how the various shapes and colors could blend into a single, cohesive design. We began by stringing beads along the first strand of the bracelet - following our instincts to create a pattern or story. From there, we moved on to the next strand by choosing beads that would echo or speak to the first pattern created. As we beaded our way through the afternoon, we began to see that our seemingly mismatched bracelets were, in fact, transforming into incredible pieces that we could not wait to wear. In fact, many of us stayed late on that afternoon to finish our creations.

We were all incredibly happy to have learned such a wonderful beading and design technique, but it also seems that there was another lesson that Janice wanted to make sure we took away from this beading day: vastly different elements can often be combined to make something beautiful if we are patient, don’t rush to finish and let our creative voices wander.

We hope that you will use this idea to create your own unique bracelet or necklace. Happy beading!