A little bit about me: I've been a Books editor at Kalmbach Publishing Co. for the past three years, and unlike our talented Bead&Button editors, I began with no jewelry-making experience of any kind.
As a new Books editor, I quickly realized that a practical knowledge of beading might come in really handy, so I decided to try my hand at this craft. We all have to start somewhere, right?
I didn’t have a particular idea in mind, although I had
spent the past weeks reading beading magazines and books. All the riches in
those glossy pages made me itch a little to give it a shot. If I
could get the hang of crimping, how hard could stringing a strand of beads
really be?
I made a plan to visit the local bead store, pick up a
strand of stones, string them on beading wire, and call it a day. I borrowed a
pair of pliers (I found out later they were chainnose) and made a mental list
of the extra things I would need: beading wire, crimp beads, clasp.
Staring at the strands of beads, mouth agape, I wondered how
in the world I would ever be able to choose. And wait—there was more! Small
tubes of crystals, locked cases filled with precious metal charms, an entire
wall filled with pearls…. Completely overwhelmed, I wandered the bead shop,
mind whirling at the huge variety of colors and sizes and shapes and textures.
Okay, clearly I needed focus.
So I went with good ol’ black.
I found pretty black onyx stones shaped in twisted
rectangles. I couldn’t resist the sparkle, so I grabbed a tube of 4mm black
crystals, too. When I started moving toward the checkout line, crimp beads,
clasp, and stringing wire all gathered, I paused at a shiny larger onyx bead
that would make a pretty pendant. But the hole was vertical, which meant I
couldn’t just string it with the rest of my beads.
Wait, a head pin could work, right?
My first design challenge! I located that last important item,
paid, and rushed home to bead.
I put all the materials on my kitchen table and stared at
them for a few minutes. First, I strung that large bead on a head pin and made
a plain loop at the top. Instant pendant! After five separate attempts to
string something more complicated, I went with an easy crystal-stone-crystal
pattern, adding the pendant loop in the middle between two crystals,
successfully crimped a clasp half on each end, and trimmed the excess beading
wire without accidentally cutting my strand.
It still makes me proud to look at my monochromatic, strung
necklace. After all the time and effort put into choosing, deciding, and
stringing—it’s perfect! Just don’t look too closely at the mangled crimps or
the slightly uneven loop…
So, how did your first project go?