Holiday shopping madness is upon us, and it would seem as though everyone- Young, old, wealthy, or of humble means- Is out in force, buying up anything that could possibly be wrapped up in paper and topped off with a bow. I’m not one to advocate such excessive consumerism, but if it’s possible to make conscious purchases that aren’t simply wasted on meaningless plastic and glass, I personally would certainly be more inclined to fork of my hard-earned money. Shouldn’t a gift be something of actual value, and not just the numbers on a price tag? If no store has that “perfect gift” and you find yourself at wit’s end, looking to please the person who has everything, I have one little suggestion to throw into the ring.

One of the most thoughtful presents I received in a while was this beautiful bracelet made of paper beads, from a good friend who seems to know me better than I know myself. Thanks to Bead for Life, an organization that allows women from Uganda to sell their lovely handiwork, it’s possible to support those in need and give a lovely piece of jewelry to the loved ones in your life. It’s like donating to a charity, with benefits for all those involved!

Being a compassionate consumer means taking into account the welfare of animals, naturally, but I think that the well being of our fellow man is often swept under the rug in this equation. Think about what’s going into your store-bought gifts this year, and decide: Do you want something mass-produced that’s supporting sweatshops and suffering, or something unique, handmade, and actually bound to send money where it’s needed?

Like thousands of jewel-toned grains of sand, an impressive collection of glass, plastic, and stone beads lay at my disposal, practically in front of my nose for half the day, but completely invisible to my mind’s eye. Tucked away in a carefully organized case, towering above my book shelf with its numerous cloudy drawers, you would think that something that size would be extremely visible, a constant reminder of the treasures it holds. In reality, concealing the hundreds upon thousands of baubles prevents them from ever entering my consciousness, causing this otherwise obtrusive grey storage bin to blend into the background along with the long forgotten books and DVDs residing on shelves directly below it.

For this reason, all these available, gorgeous beads keep crying out to be used without being heard, sometimes for months on end. Taking note of the passing of one year since I began posting, I decided to take a brief look back at old posts for nostalgia’s sake. Patterns began to emerge in short time, and I can’t say I was entirely surprised at the number of entries that fall under the greatly neglected “beading” category. Knowing that there was no way to make up for all this lost time, I thought it would be best to atleast make an effort to dabble again in the other wonderful crafts I have experience with. Expecting little from my stash after having turned my back on it for so long, such a great pleasure it was to take in all of the colors, shapes, and sizes all at my disposal. I’m out of practice in this field, to say the least, but motivated by my inspiring materials, I pressed onwards and ended up with a nice, easily formed choker.

Selecting beads based on color alone, the resulting combination wasn’t entirely satisfactory when brought together, creating seemed to be a slightly off-key harmony. Many of the awkward notes came from the size – Using all medium sized seed beads in addition to the token drupes, the whole piece may have worked better with the incorporation of smaller pieces. Still, for the first stab at the craft in who knows how long, it could certainly be worse!

The design was based on one that was found online, but that site seems to be having trouble right now, so I’ll add the link in if it decides to straighten itself out soon. I just found the concept too cute and simple to pass up, the picots reminiscent of little bows adorning a child’s ribbon.

Hopefully I can get back up to speed quickly, allowing me to return to creating the intricate beaded lace that I once found deliriously thrilling to complete. For a little while though, my efforts may have to be focused on new strategies of how to spill the tiny little beads everywhere only two or three times in the course of an hour. Darn my clumsy reach!

Poking through thrift stores, scoping out Goodwill or the Salvation Army, no matter where I attempt to pick up second-hand goods, it seems like the odds are always against me. How is it that almost everyone else I know owns the most amazing things that not only used, but more importantly, cheap, while I’m doomed to keep coming up empty? It’s not like I don’t try, either – There are atleast two or three Goodwill stores nearby that I keep hitting, but the best I found was a metal pizza tray for $2. Unfortunately, I bought it to hold magnets and things in my room, but when I got it home, it turned out that it wasn’t even real metal! Honestly people, that’s such a rip off, it should be a crime!

Trying to put that awful piece of useless junk out of my memory, I gave thrifting yet another go when I heard word that there would be a flea market held at one of the high schools in town. Now, I didn’t have high hopes in the least, seeing as the flea markets around here are notorious for boasting the largest amounts of old, broken, or worthless crap ever to be witnessed in just a few square feet. These garbage dumps are held quite often throughout the summer, so figuring that this would be the last I might see for a while, I figured there was no harm in trying.

Wouldn’t you know it, hardly two tables into the cacophony of rowdy voices and dusty relics, I found the most amazing treasure that was clearly meant for me and me alone. I can’t even assert that I found it; Really, I think that it found me. Gazing down upon it in its transparent plastic baggie marked with “$1″ written in black sharpie, I wondered if this was all a joke. Well, I didn’t wait around to find out. Snatching up my new found pendant, I dashed home to begin planning out what it would become a part of.

Such a strong yet simple focal point, how could I help but being whole-heartedly inspired? I tried to match the sharp silver of the metal for the main color of the necklace, but added little accents of multicolored beads, mimicking the depth and brightness brought by the “key” in the pendant.

Although I hadn’t beaded anything in a good deal of time now, this piece practically made itself. I only provided the hands with which to make it – The heart shaped lock really spoke to me and told me what it was meant to become in the new life it was about to enter. It was all pre-destined; I simply aided to create the inevitable final product.

I adore how this necklace came out to such a degree that I don’t think that any amount of money would persuade me to part with it. I rarely wear any sort of jewelry other than the earrings that I never remove, but this is one piece that may actually stand a chance at making it into my normal wardrobe. Believe me, this means a lot more than any sort of words I could use to describe how attached I’ve become with it.

Lace is definitely my thing. Whether it’s knit, crocheted, beaded, what have you, I really love making it. Something about its intricate patterns, the delicate lines and open spaces… I just find it so rewarding to create, and the finished project is almost guaranteed to be an instant beauty. In this case it was a beaded choker on The AntiCraft that caught my eye a few months back, beckoning me towards my needle and thread.

It had been such a long time since I’ve attempted any complex beading pattern, I was at first a bit imtimidated by the seemingly demanding instructions. Taking a deep breath and preparing my thread, I took comfort in the fact that if I screwed up royally, it would never have to see the light of day via my blog. And of course, the first tier into it I got a huge knot and the nice little ending leading towards the clasp completely died. I had no choice but to cut out the snag and just tie in the second side of the clasp, so the two ends aren’t exactly symmetrical. Just do me a favor and don’t look too close, okay?

Once I got further into the pattern, the thread wasn’t nearly so long and wild, just waiting for the opportunity to tangle. After the whole clasp fiasco that nearly ended it the whole project in tears and spilled beads, there was not a single issue with completing my choker.

It’s a really lovely pattern, and trust me, much easier than you might think!

Hundreds upon thousands of glittering glass beads call to me from their tiny little plastic recipticals perched atop my book case. How my hands itch to grab crazily and pull random colors, stringing them up into fantastic designs. And yet…

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a serious beading project now. While I’d love to just take the plunge and attempt some intricate lacy pattern, I think it may just end in a whole mess of tangled threads and all of the hundreds of thousand seed beads on the floor. Hoping to preempt this hiroshima in bead-form, I carefully picked through my collection and picked out some of the cheapest, bulkiest plastic numbers I’ve got.

A very simple one-shot deal: A medium chain with large spherical pink and white beads threaded through eyepins, topped off with black seed beads, all crimped and cut short at the end. Not my usual racket, but a very enjoyable venture. I guess I had been taking my crafting a bit too seriously, so it was very refreshing to ease back into beadwork and do something more bulky and fun.

Some might say I can be almost comically neurotic when it comes to timing, and unfortunately I can't entirely disagree. It wouldn't kill me to show up somewhere slightly late, but I would much prefer arriving 10 minutes early, just in case. That's why my dilemma of not having a watch was really screwing with my head, you understand. I'm generally on a very tight schedule, so if I don't know what time it is when I'm out of the house, I start to get a bit anxious, although usually for no good reason.

For the past couple of months, I've sort of been "in-between" watches, ever since my adorable Hello Kitty watch broke and I was unable to find a replacement. I had been borrowing one of my mom's old clunky things as a temporary time piece, but it seemed like there would never be a chance to find one I actually liked. And then there was the thought of getting out my crafty side and somehow making one…

And when the temporary watch slipped off my wrist and into a pot of parafin wax the other night… That cemented it: I could put it off no longer. What was blocking my good intentions from manifesting themselves in the first place? My reluctance to actually do something about an issue that was so important to me was bordering on appauling. The very next day I hauled my ass down to ACMoore's and bought myself a plain watch face and some beads, and the end result is what you see above.

It may be extremely simple and perhaps plain, but I'm honestly really happy with it. I see it as being elegant but still neutral, so I don't need to worry about it whether I can wear it to school versus a formal occasion.

I find it deeply satisfy to finally resolve this whole thing, and to have beaded the band myself, despite its simplicity. Screw that mass-produced crap that is never quite what you're looking for – Do it yourself, and do it right!

For once, a search of my local library actually yeilded a book of some interest! A rare occassion indeed; It's such a small collection of books, organized very poorly or not at all, I never walk in with much hope for actually finding a specific title. The only time that it usually satisfies my desire for printed text is when I just want a reading book, any reading book, and have the time to just browse through the new selections.

Sadly… I have already returned this particular treasure, and I can't recall the exact title. I believe it had something to do with 'Beaded Acessories' and had a purple spine… but I can't be 100% sure. Anyway, I'll probably have to hunt it down again, there are so many interesting projects, ideas, and just useful techniques.

What really caught my eye was the concept of a beaded raspberry. How cute! Easy enough to make, just really tedious. I think that my berries each used about 40 – 50 seed beads… It took a very long time just to accumulate enough finished raspberries to make something. I sketched out a few ideas and settled on the finished product you see here. I'm actually rather proud of this original design, because it's more complex than I usually have the patience to put together.

I had planned on making a choker, just because I have a certain bias towards them, but when the chain went on it became a bit long, so it turned into a short necklace. No matter, it's still just as nice, in my opinion. Ha, I guess I finally found those illusive raspberries after all, huh? Too bad these aren't nearly as tasty, and would probably hurt your teeth. I think you'd be better off if you just wear them around your neck instead.

Nothing special, just another flowery brooch to show off today…

Can you believe that's the closest I could come to peach beads?  Pretty pathetic, but I guess peach just isn't a popular color in general…

Yes, my crafting ventures have been fewer than usual, but hopefully I'll come out of this funk soon.  Maybe if it could stop raining for more than 30 minutes… Bleh.

The beautiful thing about spring break, for me atleast, is getting the time to work on all of those little projects that I've been dying to do for what seems like ages.  I've been accumulating so many craft magazines, books, and links, it's practically impossible to sort through all of it!  The craziest part of the whole situation is the fact that I'm actually attempting to reorganize to fullfill my need to do some spring cleaning, so all of the crap I have lying around is driving me crazy!  The best way to take care of messy supplies:  Craft with them.

Ordinarilly, I really suck at working with wire, but lately it has actually been kinda fun.  The first attempt at this sort of bracelet, though, has all sorts of issues, and I'm not so happy with it.  The inspiration came from the latest issue of Bead Style magazine, which is usually about as helpful has a computer manual written in Latin.  I've only received two copies because they were free, but this last one shocked me – There were actually projects I wanted to make.  Every other issue (As far as I can see) has really just been one big ad.  Even the projects are no more than lists of supplies to buy, which you're instructed to string onto some wire, and you're done!  I guess it's better for inspiration… And cleaning out your bank account.  Though painfully expensive, I've gotta admit that the beads that they advertise are truly gorgeous.

So anyway, I tried again and came up with this.  I like it a lot more, so I'm almost okay with letting go of some of those nice glass beads.

They really do look pretty nice, probably much better in person, because as I'm now learning, jewlery is one of the hardest subjects to photograph.  In fact, I had so much trouble with backgrounds and lighting, the above picture was actually taken on the lid of my toilet!  That's why it's a bit reflective… but look how clear and bright it is!  (Don't worry, it was clean.)

I tend to get better pictures outside, so the rest were taken on my patio, in case you were becoming worried.