Making your own jewelry is always fun but even more so when you have a great new DIY idea to jump into. As a kid I was forever breaking into my older sister’s jewelry box to see if she had any old pieces I could break apart and turn into my own glorious jewelry. You might say I was born to be a DIY jewelry queen. Today, of course, there are some amazing places both online and at brick and mortar locations where you can get every kind of bead imaginable. The wholesale beads Los Angeles will often offer in the Jewelry Market are just one great example of where a DIY craving can be satisfied with a minimum of fuss. So to get you started, here are some easy to make ideas you can do on your own, with friends or even with your kids.
Bead Looming
Yes this was big in the 60s but you can find these guys at craft stores again and they are fun. There are all kinds of places online you can go to if you want some original designs to work from, but the best of them all is Bead and Button. This is an online version of the beading magazine and they have some great bead loom ideas all the time. The looms are cheap to buy, under $20 and will entertain you for hours.
African Bead Bracelets
You can find these trade beads all over the place these days and they look wonderful on a bracelet or necklace. I love the idea of an African bead bracelet because it would be fast to make. Pick colors to your favorite colorful outfit and you will have a great bracelet to wear in an hour or two.
Glass Bead Wind Chimes
If you live near the beach you can use a piece of storm tossed wood to get this started. Then just hang long chains of glass beads from it, changing the length as you go. Throw in some beach glass to add to the theme and you have a beautiful wind chime.
Buttons and Bows
Do you have a jar of old buttons? I grew up with one and because of that still keep the buttons when something becomes too worn to wear anymore. Those old buttons make a great bracelet, strung along safety pins and attached with an elastic thread. Mix and match size and color to make an eclectic piece of jewelry.
Rolled Paper and Wire
This is where you get to make your own beads and then turn them into cool necklaces. I use ordinary copper wire that I get from the hardware store and grab some magazines for the beads. Tear the paper into strips that you then curl up into little balls. Wrap the paper balls in the copper wire, leaving enough at each end to make a loop. Attach them together like a rosary and you have a long strand of colorful paper beads and copper wire.
As you can see, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coming up with cool DIY ideas for making your own jewelry. The sky is the limit really, all you need to do is look around your home for what is colorful and eye catching and start thinking, how can I make this into jewelry?