Are you the type to go to the beach and you want to match your beach attire with accessories like necklaces, bracelets or even anklets? Of course, you might want to wear the usual jewelry that you have in your closet but what if the one you’re wearing is too expensive and an accident happens like it gets washed off because of how strong the current of the water is while you’re walking or while you’re swimming in the ocean. Did you know that you can make your accessories out of beads and create a design you like? You can also use these to match your beach outfit in terms of colors too.
Making beaded accessories is not that difficult, maybe the difficult part is when you have to look for beads and buy them. As for the designs, getting inspiration for creating them can come from anywhere. You can also consider selling the accessories you made for additional income. Plus this could be a new hobby for you or therapy when you’re having a stressful day at work or school. This can be a form of healing.
How do you start making your own accessories?
To make your own accessories you have to start with getting supplies, so if there is a local store near you, you can check what they have and purchase it immediately, plus you don’t have to order online and you can avoid shipping fees as well. But if your only choice is to order them online that’s okay too. Note that there are hundreds of beads available online with so many different colors, designs, and material types and it could be expensive due to shipping fees, but once you have it and start working on it it’s going to be worth it. You can even order a pendant or a charm to go with the accessory.
Also, if you’re having a hard time choosing individually you can get a set of beads that already have the chosen colors and other beads that go with the set. But if you prefer getting them individually, that’s alright too. Another thing you need to consider is the bead size. There are different sizes of beads out there that some people can’t tell if it’s small or big, but if you compare them by placing the beads next to each other you would see the difference. The smallest bead is 2mm and the biggest bead could go up to 10mm. If you’re looking for a standard size it would be 3mm, it’s not too big nor too small.
Next, after the beads would be the type of string that you want to use. There are different kinds of strings that you can use like nylon. There are also strings like silk, monofilament, nymo, silamide, and coated wire known as beading wire, tiger tail, leather cord, waxed linen cord, hemp, and kevlar. Most people use nylon for these types of accessories and take note that there are different sizes of nylon in terms of thickness and length.
After getting the basic materials (the beads, the strings, the charms or pendants), you’re going to have to measure the size of your wrist if you’re making a bracelet for example. You can either make it a comfortable fit or a little loose. Also, consider how you’re going to remove the bracelet. Would you want to remove it by pulling it out of your wrist or by lock? You can also purchase a lobster clasp which is normally used in necklaces if you don’t want to risk the string of your bracelet getting over stretched. If you’re going to make an anklet, it’s suggested to use a lock for it.
Creating a design or pattern
Moving on to pattern making or design making, if you’re having trouble on creating your own you can check out designs in google or pinterest. Another idea is to match the colors of the beads with the colors of your outfit or from your favorite album cover or painting. To give you an idea, you can start with neutral colors. You can use brown beads, white beads and if you have it a cream colored bead or beige. Those colors would look so nice for your beach attire. Then again, all the designs are up to you. Each of us have our own personal preferences when it comes to matching colors.
How long is it going to take you to create an accessory?
That depends on how many you want to make. If it’s just one or two and considering you already have a design in mind that would probably take 20-30 minutes. But if you’re having troubles with putting things together, making mistakes or getting distracted while making your accessory that could take an hour. It all depends.
If you’re going to make a necklace, the method is the same with the bracelet. All you have to do is to measure your neck size and adjust the measuring tape around your neck to how fit or loose you want it to be. Then put everything together on the string and with a pendant if you like, but this time we have to add a lock. As mentioned above, the type of lock that can be used is called the lobster clasp but there are other types of lock out there you can choose from. The same method applies for making your anklet. For a ring, this doesn’t require a lock so if you have small beads like the one that are size 2mm, those are the best ones unless you want it to consist of small and big beads that’s fine as well.
After creating the accessories you’re going to wear for your beach trip you can show it off to your friends or family members that you created this masterpiece. Then who knows they might want the same and ask you to make it for them. This is where you can turn your hobby into a small business. You can bring the designs that they have in mind to life and earn a bit of income as well. Then later on you can expand your catalog by adding other accessories like keychains, cell phone straps, mask straps, and even straps of your eyeglasses or sunglasses.
You can also create your own pendant or charms out of the beads if you don’t have any budget for buying them.
There are tutorials available on Youtube if you’re interested in making one.
Not only that you have learned something new and started a new hobby, you also get free therapy from this. No stress involved, making an accessory at your own pace and even learning a new skill.
By the way, if you haven’t found a place to go yet for your beach trip, check out slingo.com for options.
