A couple of weeks ago, I found some big-hole  silver-colored (SC) beads (@4-6mm), which were the same color as my real silver bracelets, at Beads World (Broadway, between 37^th and 38^th Sts. inManhattan).  I bought a 72-ct. pack and went home to see what would happen.  I had some black leather cord left over from the Christmas gifts, so I used the thick one to make a bracelet.  My idea was to use all of the SC beads for the bracelet.  Soon into it, I saw that I would need more beads to get a triple wrap bracelet, so I looked into the stash of solid copper beads I bought a while back, and decided on the melon beads which were approximately the same diameter as the SC beads.  Then, as I started to string the beads on the cord, I saw that a) I needed more beads, and b)I needed some sort of design element.

I decided, at that point, to make a simple knot between every 5 SC bead-1 copper bead-5 SC beads set and the following“copper-silver-copper” set. (does this make sense to you? I did 5 SC beads, one copper, 5 SC, KNOT, 1 copper-1 SC-1copper, KNOT, repeat.)  I made a tied-off loop with the leather at the end, and added a cheap SC lobster clasp (I’m usually allergic to anything that is not solid copper, at least 92.5 silver, or 24K gold, so this was a good way to test out two sets of suspect jewelry elements – I don’t like to make jewelry-for-sale that I am allergic to)

Turns out, I liked the look.  I’ve been wearing the bracelet with my silver-colored DKNY watch for a couple of weeks.  No allergic reactions, even though I slept in the bracelet.

Today, I was looking for a simple necklace to wear, and I decided to use the bracelet.  Voila! Necklace!  Got a few compliments, even.  Then, I felt I needed to get some more of the beads and make a 3-strand necklace to go with my turquoise bead necklace.

Here begins my adventure:

First, I went over to BeadsWorld  and got 2 pkgs of 144 SC beads each (that was the steepest discount they were willing to give – I asked).  Their leather cord, I knew, was $1.50-$2.50/ft, and I knew I’d seen it cheaper elsewhere, so I moved on.

I went down 38^th St. and looked in B & Q Trim (a place so cheap their only sign is a computer printout taped to the door).  This place has all sorts of things to drool over, no matter what you are into. (I get the idea that they cater to theater and low-end clothing designers/factories, but they have all sorts of interesting stuff that you could want, depending on your mood – I have to scope out the whole place every time I go)  Today, I saw some interesting acrylic chains, some great fake leather trim, some enticing studded trim – that I want to use to repair my worn-out boots).  The only problem was that, although they had all sorts of leather and faux-leather cord, they did not have the size I needed in black.  Boo hoo.

Next stop, I ran across the street to Joyce Trim.  Wrong color, right size (slightly higher price)

Even though I was pretty much worn out, I decided to back-track and go to M&J Trimming – they have almost everything you could want that you haven’t found somewhere else, and lately, they are into some beading supplies as well).  There, I found a cord that was almost but not exactly the size I needed.  I started to walk, figuring I’d find it another day, but, then, the difference in price between what Beads World had and what M&J was offering, and the closeness in size (and the physical pain I was experiencing after all that walking) seemed to diminish, and I decided that 3 yds of cord @ $2.50/yd was a much better deal than 9ft @$1.50/ft, and I relaxed my design requisites.  I’m sure this stuff will work… ah…. I know it will work, because it is what I have.

There you have it.

If I get lucky, I may find someone who is willing to photograph some of my pieces so I can post them here.

Meanwhile, you can just imagine the cute bracelet I have, and the nice necklace I am going to have.

I was worried it wouldn’t come out right, so I started with 4 ft of leather cord, which was a bit more than the instructions suggested (I’m glad I did).  I decided to use a lobster clasp (I found a big gray-colored one at the bead store for $1.00).

The 12 inches of crystal chain ran out before the length of cord I needed did, but I just tied things off and then knotted the leather cord, then added the big lobster claw clasp, and voila!

I did mine with a “turquoise” chain.  I could not find waxed linen, so I used heavy black cotton thread.

I tried the bracelet on so that I could tell the recipients how to put it on. Looks cool. Now, I hope they like it. It took about 1/2 hour to put together.  I’m going to make one (or more) for me, too.

As I was shopping for stuff, I came up with two very interesting options on W 38th St btw Broadway and 6th Ave.  The one called Joyce was on the north side of the street.  The one I got lost in, and almost did not make my way out of is directly across the street – they have a paper sign on the door — and they have an amazing stock — if you get all the way to the back, you find a very interesting selection of chain (mostly plastic), but you can start getting ideas of fancy things to make really fast if you stand there for more than 10 seconds.  (This place has all sorts of trim and hat forms.  You can go in there and get all kinds of ideas for fiber art, or even for alternative jewelry designs.  Aaaah!  Their chain prices were much more reasonable than Beads World, the Chinese jewelry hobby store around the corner.

While I was there, I found this Gemstone Jewelry-Making e-book. Ha!, I thought.  How good can it be if it is free.  So I downloaded it because it was free, and then I read through it quickly, because I was thinking about posting about it here, and  I figured it wouldn’t be much to sing about.  Boy was I wrong!  This is a very nice little “intro to gemstones” with some nice tutorials which have been previously published in Interweave magazines.  It is definitely worth twice the price! (is there such a thing as “2 x free”)?

If you go to Beading Daily to pick up a copy, do be sure to look around. There is so much there!  

Jewelry Making Basics had these cute earrings – as well as several other nice tutorials.

At Beading Daily, you can find lots of free tutorials.  I liked these swirl stud earrings

I googled stud earring tutorials, and found a lot of ideas, actually, but these are the ones that fit what I’m looking for tonight.

The brass washers are such a great idea, but you might find stone donuts that would work as well!  The world is your oyster, yes?

So, you’re lucky! You’re in town. Here are the dates and the info!

WHOLE BEAD SHOW
October 14-16, 2011
Metropolitan Pavilion
South Pavilion, 1st Floor
125 West 18th Street between 6th and 7th Aves

Friday and Saturday 10am to 6pm
Sunday Noon to 5pm

Admission $10 payable by cash or check and valid for all days of the show.