Thoughts on jewellery making

I have been out to a music festival all weekend so have had no time at all to do any clay work. Despite this I have had plans in the back of my mind to do something useful with the beads I have made. It seems such a shame that they are just sitting in my little plastic box, hidden from view.

So now I have to tackle the challenge of making a piece of jewellery with the beads. Now I have to admit that jewellery making is a mystery yet to be revealed to me. I have so far skimmed through a few books and magazines in my local Hobbycraft but the construction of a simple necklace remains alarmingly complicated. I have literally no thread, cord, wire, findings, beads of any kind to play around with and also no clue where to start. Of course the answer to this is to buy a beginners' guide to jewellery making, but in the meantime another source of information is at hand.

My friend at work has developed a nice little homemade business out of making and selling jewellery and other fashion items, including clothing. She's only just starting this up with a friend but it is interesting to see the ideas she comes up with.

I have managed to identify the fact that you can make a simple bracelet from buying some elastic cord and then threading the beads on that, so this look simple enough to try out. I would like to put some spacer beads in between the beads I have made, so I will hopefully get some off Ebay (althought the size, colour and amount is an added concern). My friend has some elastic cord that she says I can use to string the bracelet. Fingers crossed a finished piece may appear by the end of the week!