TUTORIAL: Beaded Bows

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I have a quick tutorial on how to make these beaded bows. You can string them on necklaces or even make them into earrings!

TUTORIAL: ROSE QUARTZ EARRINGS

I picked up these gorgeous rose quartz hoop beads from CJS and had a good time utilizing them in different creations.

TUTORIAL: FISHBONE EARRINGS

I love fishbone chain. I first discovered fishbone chain in a NYC bead store years ago. I love incorporating it into my work in different ways.

EARRING SHOWCASE

It's been an incredibly long time since I've posted one of these. (Here are some past ones.) Hello Whimsy is very tutorial heavy blog and I thought it would be fun to bring this section back.

I've been on a pretty creative high right now--especially after struggling through some ruts. I hope you enjoy!

TUTORIAL: BRACELETS

I picked up these beautiful beads from CJS & wanted to share how I made these delicate bracelets.

CJS SALES

CJS Sales is a place of dreams.

In short, it is a wholesale bead/chain/jewelry/everything supplier.

I first discovered CJS probably a year ago through For The Makers, a now defunct subscription box that had great tutorials. Their site seems to be down, but this was the link to their blog post. I didn't have a tax ID then (which you need to shop there), so I squirreled away the post for when I decided to bite the bullet and get one.

I finally got a tax ID a couple months ago in November--and the first thing I did was look up CJS, but only to discover they lost their lease and are going out of business.

So, everyone out there, you have until the end of February to visit.

TUTORIAL: TUBE EARRINGS

I picked up these fantastic tube beads mostly to make necklaces, but I think they also make a terrific statement earring.

JEWELRY BASICS: TOOLS AND MATERIALS

Years ago I wrote a Jewelry Basics Tutorial. I wanted to put together another basics tutorial--but on materials and tools.

It doesn't take much to start making your own jewelry (or more specifically, earrings). It's the options afterward that are endless. I started with a little kit which slowly over years expanded into a collection that is in no way portable.

These are the bare bones basics. Even if you don't want to start making your own earrings, these will be nice to have if you want to do any repairs.

TOOLS

There are many, I only use two.