Braided Bead Necklace

Since we got back from Aspen, I’ve had my hands full with all kinds of things, and I was bummed that I hadn’t gotten to any of the projects I had planned to do. I spent several days feeling bummed that I was feeling bummed, and then, magically, a breakthrough moment came to me, and I was back in action. I’ve found that the best way around a creative block is to just make something, although that always seems like the hardest possible thing to do at the time. It’s definitely much easier said than done, and I rely on grace to carry me through those times. Thankfully, it never fails me, and then I’m back to making all the little things I make. It doesn’t even matter if they are good are not, since the pleasure is in the making itself.  I don’t know that I have any great wisdom about creative blocks, except that they happen to all of us, and that it helps to be as compassionate toward yourself as you can, and to gently set about doing something very small that seems do-able until you find yourself on the other side of it. This necklace, which had been taking shape in my mind for a long time, brought me back to the sheer pleasure of putting things together with my hands. I’m so grateful for that.

I bought these tiny and shiny (!) beads months ago at the fabric store, and I got the idea that I could string several strands of them and then braid them for a thicker look. It came together just as I’d hoped.

This necklace was very simple to make, and I loved the feel of the beads in my hands. I first measured and cut a long strand of thread, and then I looped and tied it onto a necklace hook, so that each side of the thread coming from the hook was even. I then used my beading needle to string beads on both sides of the thread, tying off the ends, and tying them together.

I did this two more times, ending up with six individual strands, or three doubled strands. I liked the combination of red and blue, and I decided to make the colors slightly imbalanced, but you could use any color scheme that strikes your fancy!

Once I had all the strands completed, I braided them and tied them together at the end before looping then through the other hook. That’s it! I love how this necklace came out, and my biggest problem at the moment is that now I want to make one million more of them, in every possible color scheme! That should keep me busy for a while. Happy beading!