History in the making

I'm not one of those types that was drawing jewelry designs at 5 years old, or always had just the right necklace for every single outfit, or went to any kind of art school. I've always liked wearing jewelry (especially earrings), but I usually had my small handful of favorite pieces that I wore ALL the time.

After Derek and I got married I felt like I needed to grow up a little. Every once in awhile I was going to need to wear something other than jeans and a tshirt with very old silver hoops in my ears every day. I went shopping with my mom-in-law and got a couple dressy outfits that just needed fancy jewelry to compliment. I managed to convince my husband that I needed a set of jewelry for both outfits. (He seriously has a hard time saying no to me). I thought the beaded jewelry I bought was so fantastic that every day I found myself wishing I had some cool jewelry to wear even with my casual clothes. Of course our budget did not support this in the least, so I continued to sport the little silver hoops on a regular basis.

Derek's grandma was visiting and she and I were chatting... I honestly can't think of what the initial point of our conversation was, but she told me about a lady at her church who got simple supplies from a craft store and had a bunch of ladies over from church to make jewelry. She said it was so easy. I was immediately interested and began researching...

Go ahead, google "how to make jewelry" and see if it doesn't stress you out a little.

Not only is there TONS of info out there, there's TONS of different ways to make jewelry! The tools and supplies necessary seemed endless. And so many terms had me wondering if there was some sort of jewelry-making dictionary I could refer to. Typical me, I decided to give up on the idea. But not before I mentioned it to my sister and sis-in-law.

Christmas that year (2007), my sisters combined efforts and got me a little starter kit! And the best part, my sister's friend makes jewelry and agreed to teach me some basics! I honestly don't think I would be doing this right now if it weren't for Jen, Steph, and Candace. Thank you.

Ever since I've been stocking up on beads, studying and learning new techniques, and selling my creations online and to friends and family. Sometimes I like to look at old beading books I got in the beginning and look at the designs I thought were way too hard for me to ever create, that now are part of my regular repetoir. I love teaching myself and whipping out pieces that make my husband proud :)

I'm currently venturing into the world of wire jewelry. My sister-in-law is helping me by designing beaded jewelry while I focus on learning the new and more difficult techniques of wirework. Steph is so good at designing! I love that she enjoys creating with me!

One of Steph's designs - Crystal Ball Dangles. Love these!

One of my fave wire wrapped creations - Forever Pearls Ring.

So that's the background. In the near future I'm going to post about some basic tools needed for making simple beaded jewelry. Then an earring tutorial! Until then, enjoy shopping :)

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