Labor of Love Gift Suggestion: Handmade Beaded Jewelries

Beads! Beads! Beads!

I have a cousin from San, Jose California who visited the Philippines about two years ago. I went to see her at her place in Quezon City to catch up and was surprised to see beads and strings all over! Even the household helpers were so engrossed in it! I said hey, what are you up to? Knowing how enterprising my cousin is hehe. True enough, she said she'll make lots of beaded jewelry sets and bring it home with her to sell to friends, neighbors and colleagues! In fact, she averred, she already have tons of orders and sure buyers for it as we are speaking because she just uploaded on FB the pictures of her new designs! And I went hmmnn okay, teach me!!!




So she handed me the two basic tools: The round nose pliers used for bending wires and making loops and the flat nose pliers which is very useful to hold still your beads and rings and also for fastening and cutting wire, I prefer the flat nose with serrated insides for better grip. There are other kinds of pliers but you may already start a project with just these two. Don't use the hardware store pliers because they're not for jewelry making. They're too heavy and big, you might end up breaking your materials or injuring yourself. Buy the right tools, you'll be surprised that they don't really cost much.




Then she gave me the standard measurement of strings for  necklaces and bracelets. I was not too ambitious and confident so I opted to play around with a choker length necklace around 13"-16" length of wire then mixed and matched beads of different sizes and colors. I found this experience very enjoyable and actually easy! And the end product was the most beautiful bead necklace I've seen (remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder), which I didn't get to take home with me but it's okay because she gave me many pasalubongs instead LOL!




I enjoyed my first experience at bead making that I decided to do many more! I found all the materials I needed from Quiapo. I just Googled the best place to buy beading materials and Wellmanson was on the top list so off I went to Villalobos Street in Quiapo. Do not be afraid to go because it's not as if you're gonna be mugged and held up at the place! My trip was actually safe, with no untoward incident. Wellmanson was just a small store but it's a haven for all your beading needs and the prices are reasonable. I also bought some of their finished beaded jewelries and headbands to use as my guide and model for my projects. I set a budget of P3,000 but the beads and other materials in my basket amounted to P5,000 plus! But it's worth it!

Cuz so happy with her present, she danced for joy! :P

As an outgoing person, my friends sometimes couldn't believe it once they find out that I'm so into handicrafts making like crocheting, cross stitching, paper tole cutting,  sewing, scrap booking and now beading! I'd like to show my finished projects for each but for now, I'll showcase my beading creations worn by the lucky recipients...who else but my relatives and friends! I purposefully bought the raw materials and labored with love to give it to them as Christmas presents 2 years ago and they seemed to be genuinely happy about it that I'm thinking of giving them new sets this year haha! Notice how they're all making the peace sign! I wonder why?

Oh sis was so, so happy! She even had a matching swarovski headband!

Bejeweled Cousins: Is it just my imagination that their smiles looked a little forced? Maybe their earrings and necklaces were so long and heavy... hehe