Beaded Dangle Bracelet

I’ve been into bracelets lately.  (I’ll have to post about something else next time–sorry about this.)  I guess I enjoy making them because they are often a quick project, and they are such an easy way to dress up an outfit.

This is actually a fuller version of a bracelet that I made for my teenage daughter (hers had less dangles).  It began as a length of chain to which I attached a bunch of beaded dangles using wire wraps.  It was really easy to attach a toggle clasp to the chain.  I used various shades of an aqua blue as a color scheme, but once again, all the beads came from our leftover beads bin.  No need to buy anything fancy, just another project that uses whatever you happen to have on hand!

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Kids as Great Beaders

I wanted to continue with the theme from the previous post in which I mentioned that kids can be an amazing source of inspiration in your own jewelry designs.  I recently bought some beautiful beads on a whim with no plans to use them in a project–I just loved the colors and the “sparkle.”  They sat for a few weeks and I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to use them. I asked my thirteen-year-old daughter if she could help me make a statement necklace.  We have a few bins of miscellaneous beads, so we set them out and this is what she put together.  I LOVE this necklace!  She was able to showcase the individual beads, follow the color scheme, and design a piece that I enjoy wearing.

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Kids are often so much more uninhibited and experimental in their design choices.  I really like seeing what they are able to come up with.  Often they create color combinations or designs ideas that I wouldn’t necessarily think of.  The kids can go to the bins of odds and ends beads whenever they feel like beading and some of their best designs have come from this hodge-podge.

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Kids as Inspiration

We’re definitely a family of beaders, and often I get inspired by watching my daughters work on their projects.  My eight-year-old recently designed this multi-strand necklace.

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She came up with the design, and we worked together to find the components that she needed to put it together.  While she needed a bit of help to attach the wire, she strung the beads and put on the clasp by herself.

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I personally thought it was an elegant necklace and liked her decision to pair the gold chain (I’m not sure if it shows up in the photo, but there are two different kinds) with the white glass pearls.

As I mentioned, my daughters’ jewelry is frequently one of my sources of inspiration.  Now she’s got me thinking of multi-strand necklaces using chain….

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Quick Multi-Strand Beaded Bracelet

This bracelet is one of my most recent projects.  I’ve been inspired by the recent trends in mixing different textures and bright colors.  In addition, I especially love making bracelets because these are a quick project and don’t require very many beads.  In fact, I mostly used whatever beads I had in my stash (amethysts, red agate, and pearls) and bought the gold and turquoise beads from Michael’s during one of their weekly sales.

Beaded Bracelet 1

Once I figured out the beads that I actually wanted to use together in this piece, the whole bracelet came together really quick.  It took me about an hour from start to finish.  Because the beads ended up being a little heavy, I strung them onto Soft Flex and used some sterling silver crimp beads and a two ring tube clasp to finish it off.

Beaded Bracelet 2

I like the feel of this bracelet when I wear it and it has become one of my new favorite pieces.  Given that there are so many colors in it, I can wear it with lots of different outfits!  Beaded Bracelet 3 Beaded Bracelet 4

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