Beading Enthusiasts Unite

I always have admired people who could make neckaces, earrings, and bracelets and I thought it was just too hard to learn how to make beautiful things. But, we were planning to go to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show again this year and I wanted to learn how so I could buy some beautiful semi precious gem beads. My goal was to make some pretty things right in the hotel room in Tucson after each night of the show because I am into instant gratification! Aren't we all?

So, I bought a kit which featured a booklet called "Jewelry Making for Dummies." In just a few hours, I learned how to make some snazzy things with the plastic beads and base metal "findings" (pieces you need to finish jewelry such as beading wire, clasps, earring wires and hooks).
What a hoot! Now I am totally hooked and have found a couple of great companies to order beads from. I really like http://www.artbeads.com/ because the postage is included in the price and there is no minimum. Another great company is http://www.limabeads.com/. They have nice gemstone beads that are color coordinated into very attractive groups. Beadaholique http://www.beadaholique.com/ is also great. You can "feed your need to bead" there. Great findings and easy to find items on their site or at http://www.amazon.com/ including the tools you will need like cutters, pliers and special gizmos that turn a crimping tube into a bead. What a country!

The kit is available at Joann's or http://www.joann.com/. Trust me, this is something you can teach yourself. After that, all you need to do is find money to spend and friends to give your jewelry creations to. The former is harder than the latter.

ENJOY!