Crafty Girls' Night Out 8/20: Bead Class

A group of us ladies at work go out from time to time and do some "art projects" -- we're trying different stuff, because everybody's got their something. Back in June we did a ceramics class, where I made my sister a tea-for-one set that I gave her as a shower gift. This time, we took a class on making beaded necklaces and bracelets at The Potomac Bead Company in Phoenixville.

I admit, I'm not much of a jewelry person, but I do like to work with my hands, and I do like pretty things. Going in, I knew I wasn't going to make anything for myself, but I was thinking about potential Christmas presents. It's always nice to keep your options open, you know? So I decided to start with a matching necklace and bracelet for Shae.

Funny thing: even when I'm not sure what I want to do, I still have ideas in my head. I was thinking about making a cute little rainbow bracelet, with different colored beads or crystals. Except that the materials don't come that way, which I didn't know when I walked through the door. (Research, dammit: look into it!) So I thought I would do something yellow, maybe with ladybugs, but I didn't really find anything that tickled my fancy (or my wallet -- lots of the beads the store had available were stunning, but I wanted to do something lower-end to start with, in case I turned out to be completely inept).

What I ended up with was this color pallette.

I know, I know -- pink. But there's green in there, too, and some cream and coral. My original raw materials for this project were:

• 8mm candy jade beads, 16" strand
  
• Czech glass beads (flat green ovals and pink diamond cubes), 8" strand each
  
• Pink calcite stars and butterflies, 3 each
• Chrysoprase stars and butterflies, 3 each
• 8mm copper beads, one bag of 20
• Small magnetic copper clasps (x2)

I can't really get into the ins-and-outs of the creative process, because there really isn't one -- basically, you lay the beads out on the little measuring board they give you, so you know everything will be long enough, and then you arrange everything, and then string 'em up -- but here is a (not very good) picture of the finished product.

The good news: Shae likes both pieces. She said the necklace makes her feel pretty. But the bad news is that the bracelet is too small and will need to be restrung. That's a blessing in disguise, though, because when the bracelet was originally tied, I wasn't sure how I felt about the lack of "symmetry" -- I think the butterflies and the stars should be alternating. Also, I want to add a clasp to the bracelet, to make it feel more "grown up."

Didn't use everything I originally picked up. The strand of pink beads was returned uncut, and I only used two pink stars and two green butterflies by the time I was done. Including the cost of the class ($12), the entire project cost $34. More than I would have liked to spend (I wanted to keep it under $25, for this first time, anyway), but not unreasonable, I don't think. And next time I am definitely going to make something in yellow, and possibly millefiori beads.

I have a couple of pictures of Shae modeling the necklace but I want to try again when she is in clothes and not pajamas, so hopefully I will have an update soon.