Bridesmaids Necklaces As Gifts

(all pointing to my sister's big boobies)

My first wedding project (and one of my favorites) was creating necklaces for my bridesmaids. At first I had no clue where to begin, but I came across an awesome beading book written by Takako Samejima. Her designs were different from all of the other designs that I had seen before and wow were they gorgeous! I was immediately inspired and thought to myself, "This is no big deal. I can surely figure this out."

Well, let me tell you that creating these little suckers was no cake walk. For starters, it took quite awhile just to learn how to read the diagrams and to understand the concepts behind "weaving." I started first by creating a necklace for myself as practice. I went to several bead stores and picked up beads as closely matched in color and in size as the necklace I chose in the book to make. That was time consuming, but not as time consuming as making the first piece. I had to start over 3 times and over a period of 3 days I had put in about 13 hours.

OK, so the good news is that once I figured out that seed beads are not created equally (there are several sizes), figured out that I needed VERY thin nylon thread and a very thin needle (because you have to weave in and out of the same bead several times) and figured out how to read the diagrams I have gotten to be quite good I must say! To make the same necklace, I went from 13 hours to 1.5 hours per necklace. Not bad!

The fun part is that once I got over the learning hump, I've been able to make many more designs out of Takako Samejima's books as well as others without much effort at all! And, of course now I'm hooked. I love beading! My sister and I have both made several pieces of jewelry including necklaces, bracelets and rings. I definitely know for sure that I'll keep beading for years to come - no kidding!

The very best thing about this gift is that my briedsmaids LOVE their necklaces. The colors of beads chosen go with just about any outfit and they've been able to wear them over and over again.


Happy crafting!

Sincerely,

Celina Baginski
HSW Editor

Resources: Takako Samejima is the name of the jewelry designer mentioned in this article. She has a collection of books that are titled Bead Fantasies. There are 4 books in her collection. Bead Fantasies I, Bead Fantasies II, etc. If I remember correctly, the bead necklace that I made for my bridesmaids came out of Bead Fantasies II.