Make Bracelets Your Thing in 2012
Aqua Allure by Glenda Payseno | |
Heavenly Hexagons by Mikki Ferrugiaro | |
Hopeless Romantic by Lanai Kinsky | |
Blue Rondo earrings by Laura McCabe | |
Mandala Magic earrings by Maggie Roschyk |
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my annual beading challenge to myself to make a pair of beaded earrings every day for an entire month. Doing this earring making challenge is a way to get myself to start thinking differently about my beads and my beading designs, and it seems like a great way to start a new year!
But if making a pair of beaded earrings every single day for a month is a little bit overwhelming for you, you can try an easier challenge to get your beady brain going: try making a beaded bracelet every week for a month! That's only four bracelets, and they can be as intricate or as simple as you like!
The great thing about beaded bracelets is that most of them can be worked up in a relatively short amount of time. Even if you spend an entire week making a beaded bracelet, you'll still have a week's worth of new bracelets ready for you at the end of the month!
Mortira over at the blog Inspirational Beading has been doing just this for quite some time now, and her bracelets are truly beautiful and inspirational! Each bracelet is a perfect example of how to make the most of your beading time, whether she makes a bracelet with intricate peyote-stitched components or a bracelet that just uses simple stringing techniques and some of her favorite seed beads.
She started her challenge in January of 2011 as a continuation of her Necklace a Day challenge from 2010. (And I thought I was crazy for trying to make a pair of earrings every day for a month!) But Mortira's blogging about each bracelet that she makes every week is a great documentation of her exploration of a full range of beading and bead-weaving techniques and materials.
Are you looking for a good beading challenge for yourself in 2012? Whether you want to do a Bracelet a Week challenge like Mortira over at Inspirational Beading, or you're going to participate in our own Earring a Day challenge here on Beading Daily, you can always find a slew of great beaded bracelet making projects in the pages of Beadwork magazine. For a limited time, you can stock up on back issues of Beadwork and Stringing magazines in both digital and print! Check out the deals in the Beading Daily Shop and get ready to start beading in 2012!
Interested in participating in our Earring a Day Challenge? Check out all the details on the Bead Along page here on Beading Daily!
Bead Happy,
Jennifer
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