I truly have been busy this last week! However, I have been deep into making gemstone bracelets and finally feel confident that I can now explain some of what I’ve learned. I do believe it would be worth your time…if you think you might enjoy learning how to make them yourself. Making things with beads is the hot craft at the moment. The youngest kid (that can safely not put them in their mouth!) can make bracelets out of inexpensive plastic or ceramic beads and trade them with friends. They can stack them up their arms and show off the variety of novelty beads available…from sports to animals to letters. I started with some letter beads illustrating a poem (see https://marykisner.com/making-bracelets-with-words/). That was fun but didn’t satisfy my interest in using gemstones. The hardest part was tying the knot of the elastic string and figuring out how to hide the knot in a spacer bead. A spot of jewelry glue really helped keep it tied!
Learning about the gemstones I’m using is expanding my interest in this craft. I started with making bracelets I wanted for myself. Bert made an adorable stand for me to display them. Then, he made a second one that I can use at the craft fair in July.
Each bracelet I make uses one to three different gemstones. Over time, I could see that if I didn’t label each bracelet, I’d never remember whether that white bead was Moonstone, Quartz or Howlite! For example, here are the three bracelets that will be my “Patriotic” theme:
My three bracelets can be worn as a red/white/blue set together. I really couldn’t afford to make very many bracelets like this to sell…they’d be too expensive for the craft fair. I finally got some red and blue glass beads and used Howlite for the white ones. Now I have some Patriotic bracelets to sell at the craft fair that won’t be as expensive.
Then, I wanted to make some blue and white bracelets (since Penn State is nearby) and first made a few with the letter beads P S U on them. When I had used up my assorted letters of P S U, I tried just blue and white…understated PSU, right?
I’ve now acquired a variety of beads in 3 sizes so I’m ready to make more bracelets. I will try to include glass and ceramic beads to reduce the cost, but I think the real gemstones give a bracelet its sparkle! As I’m learning about the beads I’ve discovered in their descriptions that each stone holds a unique vibration that can enhance things like mental clarity or alleviate stress. In another post, I’ll try to explain how that is possible. In the meantime, my bracelet production is underway. So many beautiful beads to work with! Enjoy!
