Learning to bead 101
I remember the first time I strung my own necklace- it was unstrung very quickly, but it was my necklace. It was a strange collection of turquoise and coral bead (supposed to be very trendy right now!) regardless my creation was less than eye appealing. I learnt that beading is sometimes like cooking, you can have all the right ingredients but the sum of the parts to not come together as planned or envisioned. Don’t get disappointed when your fine collection of parts doesn’t come together in that just so way. Like cooking remember some basic rules.
1 don’t overdo it, enhance the natural flavors of your beads and don’t over spice them. You can move on to more complicated projects later but first master the basics.
2 Follow a recipe if you can’t find the inspiration to go off on your own. Its amazing what you can learn by following classic designs, eventually like a cook you gradually learn to adapt the recipe to your own personal tastes.
3 Engage yourself with people who are also interested in beading, you will be amazed what you can get from fellow beaders, guidance inspiration and networking. There are lots of beading societies and clubs around, join one.
4 Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, unlike cooking the ingredients can be mostly re-used, so knock yourself out if at first you don’t succeed try and try…well you know how it goes.