Keiki Gifts, Crafts & Activities

I borrowed these Japanese bead books and created a few beaded charm project.

The directions for the flower charms are taken from the book and they were very easy to make.  I used recycled glass beads from a broken necklace and pearly charms for the center.  The hanging ball charms are also made with glass beads and the design “inspiration” is from the bead book. 

Designs for beaded bracelets, necklaces, charms, rings, hair accessories and more are found in these books.  The instructions are in Japanese but the diagrams are easy to follow. 

Technorati Tags: beads, Craft Books, japanese

Here is my “Crystal” choker necklace.  I like the clean look of the clear bead and the luster of the pearly beads.

To make this I used 3 strands of twine, rondelles crystals and acrylic pearl beads.

• I started with a pearl bead that went through the 3 strands of twine.
• Follow  up with a crystal on each one of the individual strands.
• Thread a crystal through all three strands.
• Add 3 more crystals - one on each strand again.
• Start the stringing pattern again until you reach the length you want.

Experiment with the beads you have and see what you can make.  It took me about 4 tries to come up with this choker necklace.

Here is craft tutorial with pictures to make a beaded necklace.  It is not the necklace I made but it demonstrates how to crimp and finish off your necklace.

Technorati Tags: beads, craft tutorial, necklace