Bright, bold ... beads

The important thing to remember about beads, says Christy Puetz at The Bead Museum in Glendale, Ariz., is that they have always been a means of communication.

"Without written language," she says, "beads were a form of storytelling."

Native Americans, for instance, chose to wear bright beads with bold patterns over lighter-colored clothing or saddles so that messages could be relayed from a distance. Chiefs and wives of chiefs wore certain beads to signify their roles. Good hunters often wore "beads" such as bear claws and wolf's teeth, to show their accomplishments. This was also a way to honor the animal by not wasting any of it, Puetz says.

Even the beads' colors were important. Red often signified blood or war, whereas blue was a more peaceful color representing the sky.

The earliest glasslike beads came from Egypt around 1400 BC. Egyptians had been making shapes out of clay and then started to glaze clay beads.

Mummies were often buried with nets of these colorful ceramic beads because they were thought to aid in preservation. Beads were also meant to convey information about the person buried.

Before long, beading was considered a fine art. People worldwide used pieces of stone, porcupine quills, or animal teeth to carve shapes out of beads or make holes in them for stringing.

Over time, various techniques used to carve beads became top secret and prized - sort of like secret recipes or computer codes that are valuable today. Many bead producers use machines to cut beads and sell large quantities of them, yet you can still find intricate beads made by hand. Either way, the techniques used to make them are highly valued.

Once you learn to crimp and string, you'll have the skills you need to make jewelry for yourself and your friends. Here's how to make a beaded bracelet:

You can buy most of these items at a bead or craft store.

• Assorted 3-to-7 mm beads
• Flexible beading wire
• Lobster-claw clasp and split ring
• 2 crimp beads
• Crimping pliers
• Diagonal wire cutters
• Paper
• Scissors

Steps:

1. Measure your wrist using a strip of paper. You don't want the paper tight around your wrist, but you don't want it so loose that it slips off. Fold back the paper where it meets the end and cut.

2. Cut a piece of flexible beading wire 5 inches longer than the piece of paper. String a crimp bead and the clasp on one end of the wire. String the wire through the crimp bead again, leaving a short tail. Slide the crimp bead toward the clasp. Make sure the loop of wire around the clasp is large enough that the clasp can move. Flatten, or "crimp," the crimp bead with crimping pliers.

3. Lay out your beads on a flat work surface and arrange them into a pattern you like. Thread them onto the wire. String the first few beads over both the wire and the wire tail until the tail is covered. Finish stringing the beads.

4. Using your paper strip as a guide, string beads until your bracelet is within 1/4 to 1/2 inches from the end. Attach the clasp to the split ring. String a crimp bead on the wire, then go through the split ring. String back through the crimp bead and then through several adjacent beads. Pull on the wire until there's a small loop around the split ring and no big spaces between beads. Flatten the crimp bead. Finally, trim any excess wire. You're finished!

Source: BeadStyle Magazine

• Resources that can help you learn more about beading: 'Getting Started Stringing Beads,' by Jean Campbell; 'Beads: A Book of Ideas and Instructions,' by Laura Torres; 'Easy Beading' by BeadStyle magazine. See also www. beadshak.net.

Page: 1 | 2