Past Tense

More and more people are designing beaded jewelry than ever before. Making your own handmade jewelry is a fun way to relax while still feeling productive knowing that you’re making a beautiful piece of jewelry that can be worn or sold. While many people only make their jewelry using traditional materials you can really make hand crafted jewelry out of just about any material available and you are only limited by your own creativity. In fact, some of these non-traditional beads can be much less expensive than traditional jewelry supplies, especially if you make your own jewelry supplies.

Making jewelry out of objects that are not primarily designed for jewelry making can be physically and mentally challenging. The first step is often figuring out how you’re going to mount your items on a string or chain and the next challenge is working out how you’re going to make it both beautiful and wearable at the same time! After all, the best way to make your own bead jewelry is to make your own handmade beads! Here are some unique materials you can make jewelry from:

Make Jewelry Beads From Beans or Large Seeds: You can make all sorts of funky beads from dried beans and seeds. Think about coffee beans and other fairly large seeds or beads that could easily be threaded on a wire. Then you will want to protect your beans with a spray on plastic to make sure they don’t break and shatter.

Paper Bead Jewelry: This clever idea dates back from the Victorian times when making beads out of paper was a popular pastime. All you do is cut strips of paper and roll them around a small straw. You may want to seal these as well so they don’t fray and get damaged at the first hint of humidity. You can experiment with different types of paper, different colors and even different shaped strips of paper when making your beads.

If you run your own handcrafted jewelry business, then you know how expensive beads can be. Making your own beads is a great way to save money on your costs while still producing amazing jewelry. Since you already know how to make your own handmade jewelry then you probably already possess the knowledge and even the tools to make plenty of cheap beads that can be turned into profitable jewelry!