New to Beading

Hello....... I'm afraid to tell you how long I have been procrastinating over this make. So I was determined that as it was the New Year it was time to get on with it and learn a new craft.

 I bought the beading thread and beads for this make last summer and have been putting it off since then, as I thought I was going to struggle with beading big time.

It's not the pretty coloured seed beads exactly as I'm a little bit in love with them

  The problem was more there size as they are so teeny tiny and I'm a bit all fingers and thumbs when it comes to fiddly things. 

I'm making the necklace for a local craft exhibition, which is on at the end of February, so you see time was running out.   I've never really taken to jewellery making, but I needed something to fit one of the themes of the exhibition which is 'Eygpt' and to tell the truth beading sprang to mind straight away.

Just one small problem I had no clue how to bead, but that's what the Internets  for right? So after a bit of a look about.  I found this wonderful tutorial from Beading4Perfectionist 'here'  As soon as I saw the words simple and beginner I knew it was the one for me.

So with a tiny bit of fear lots of concentration and few beads pinging off all over the place, I added  my stopper bead and started to follow the tutorial.

As it turns out it wasn't so very bad I picked up the relaxing rhythm of the pattern fairly easily, I think thanks to the wonderful tutorial.

It's a slow old process though but gradually it's started to look like a necklace.

About four hours in (which took me about a week and a half to get too)  it looked like this and I thought yippee I'm nearly there.

But then it seemed to take me hours to add in a additional strengthening thread to the top of the collar adding in black seed bead between every third blue. Then I had to make two little beaded rings to attach the clasp too before finally tying off the necklace.   

A friend kindly helped me put the clasp and extender chain on

 So my Beaded Collar was ready for it's

Grand Ta-Dah moment.

Hopefully with its blue and black beading fits the theme of Egypt for the exhibition but with a slightly more contemporary twist so it can function as a modern statement necklace too.

Here's a closer look at the pretty beads, I just keep looking at it in wonder and thinking wow did I really make that! with my shaky fumbling sausage fingers.

Happy Crafting 

Clare xx