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Today, I learnt how to make bracelets!! Derek started the lesson by teaching me how to make little loops out of head-pins using the round-nosed pliers. It’s not as easy as you think…trying to get it looking all uniformed and curling it while there’s a bead threaded through is super-tough! My fingers were aching by the end of the class! Anyways, for the bracelet, we chose lilac, purple and black beads…and here’s the result after one-and-a-half hour twisting head-pins (and thanks to Derek for keeping my mind off my sore fingers by telling me stories about his dog!):

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As usual, after class, I bought more beads to practice on. This time, I finally got to use these odd shaped beads that I’ve been eyeing at for the past two lessons and we paired it with light pink beads (I think it’s rose quartz) and Swarovski crystals in a deeper pink.

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I also bought similar beads as the floating necklace I made in lesson 2 to make earrings (the technique is the same as bracelets, just different findings at the ends):

Didn’t blog about this earlier coz no time…hehe…=))

Derek taught me how to make a floating necklace during lesson 2 last Friday. It’s a variation of the three-strand necklace I learnt in lesson 1, and this time, we chose a light green square glass bead and matched it with freshwater pearls (hmm…I hope I’m getting the names of the beads right!!). The result is a really delicate and sweet necklace…I like!!

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After the class, I bought more beads to practice the same necklace, and here’s the result using a purplish color scheme (which I wore for my birthday dinner at Alexis coz it matched my dress!)…:

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I attended my first Jewelry Class today at Strands Gallery. The first 10 minutes or so were spent on going through the basic tools and equipment used, as well as the different types of beads, strings and findings, after which, we dived straight into the first project: A three-strand necklace. I choose purple seed beads and white and light pink cut glass, and one-and-a-half hours later…:

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My fingers were still itching to do more, so I ended up buying some smoky quartz and rainbow obsidian beads to make a similar necklace at home (also wanted to make something to match a new dress I’d bought). As soon as I reached home…I dumped my bags aside and started work…and the finished product:

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This is so fun! Can’t wait till my next class this Friday! My fingers kinda hurt though…=P

FYI, I�??ve been asked by the owners of Strands Gallery to take down the photos of the pieces made during the classes�?�so if you want to see what you�??ll be making during the classes, you�??ll have to make a trip over to their shop at Plaza Damas to enquire�?�sorry!

After a not-so gruelling one hour at the gym (ooo…I like saying that…”at the gym”…hehe…), I attended a two hour jewelry making workshop at The Curve, organized by Foodies ‘n’ Friends. The instructors are from Strands Bead Gallery & Academy @ Plaza Damas (there were three of them, two ladies and one cute guy…even the older aunties were flirting with him…*grin*), and about 22 people attended the workshop.

We learnt how to make a simple bracelet consisting of square beads (there’s another name for it, but I just can’t remember) and seed beads, and since we were given a choice of eight different colours to mix-and-match, I chose the see through (white) square beads and turquoise seed beads. Once we were taught the basic pattern of the bracelet, it was just a matter of repeating it till it’s long enough to wear. But it’s the technique of pulling the nylon string tight enough so that the beads sit pretty, how to end the bracelet and hide the string, how to attach the lobster clasp that we struggled with! And man, I swear my eyesight got slightly worse after beading those seed beads…they’re sooooo damn small. Anyways, I had a good time and time passed rather quickly as we were chatting and beading at the same time (not a good thing actually…I lost count of the number of beads I was supposed to put in countless times!).

If you’re interested in taking a course, The Strands Bead Gallery & Academy does offer classes on bead jewelry and design. There are three levels (8 classes each), priced at RM360, RM380 and RM400 respectively. I can’t remember the time slots, but they have about five per day, Mondays to Saturdays. I’ve decided to sign-up for Level 1, hopefully, I can begin this coming Tuesday! =)