Thursday, February 7, 2013

A little Valentine

St. Valentine's Day is just a week away and it's time to start thinking about making a little gift for the people you love in your life.

(Did you notice that I said SAINT Valentine's Day?  I think people have forgotten that February 14 is the feast day of St. Valentine...not purely a Hallmark holiday.)

I digress.  Back to making a little gift for someone you love.

Here is a simple bracelet that will take an experienced beader just 15 or 20 minutes to put together; a newbie can finish it up in about 30 minutes, with a little help.


































I used red rondelle crystal beads, with gold beadcaps, strung on Softflex beading wire for one half of the bracelet.  To give the beads some 'breathing room,' I added a size 11 seed bead between each crystal unit.

I crimped one end of the beading wire to an open jump ring and added a lobster claw clasp.  The other end was crimped to about three inches of chain to complete the bracelet.  I covered the crimp beads with gold-plated crimp covers to give it a finished look.

Selecting the charms was the fun part!  Most were attached with open jump rings, except for the red crystal ball.  I used a headpin and two small gold beads on the top and bottom, then attached it to the chain with a wire-wrapped loop.  There are ten charms on this bracelet, but it can be made with fewer.  Depending on the number of charms and the cost of each, a bracelet like this can be made for between $10 and $20 dollars.  (All of my supplies came from The Bead Garden (www.thebeadgarden.com), my local bead store.)

Don't you think it's charming?


1 comment:

  1. Very cute!! About how much a piece are those golden charms at the Bead Garden? And is that a Shamballa bead?

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