What I Did Today(But Really It Was Last Week...)

I HATE having idle hands. I totally have an idle body, judging by how fat I am, but I rarely have idle hands. They are always making something.

Sometimes I get really bored or stressed and need an activity that those hands can do on autopilot. One of my favorite things to make, during those times, is beaded necklaces.

ANYBODY can make a beaded necklace. You only need three tools-beads, something to string the beads onto and something to secure the thing you are stringing the beads onto. The simplest method is to tie beads onto a string, but I like something a little more secure, especially when it comes to my pretty vintage and glass beads.

This is my favorite way to go-

Beading wire, jewelry pliers and some sort of clasp. (I wrapped my wire around a piece of junk mail because it kept getting tangled up.)

Here are some of my latest stress relievers. I use a lot of vintage bits and baubles collected from thrift stores, my granny and various other random places. (I am a total pack rat).

Dyed howlite and a vintage turquoise pendant.

Plastic sheriff's badge from Hey Yo Yo on etsy, glass, plastic and wooden stash beads.

Another sheriff's badge and a bunch of odds and ends from my stash.

This pendant and earrings were in the stash bag I brought back from Texas. I added the beads, of course.

Really random bits, mostly vintage beads from broken necklaces.

Pendant from the Texas stash, polymer clay roses made by me, lots of vintage beads.

One of those heart lockets like you used to get in Valentine chocolate, and lots of vintage beads.

A wooden arrowhead from The Husband's youth, a vintage wooden Monopoly house and miscellaneous beads.

Polymer clay roses, made by me, and new and vintage beads.

None of these are incredibly amazing or anything, as I am not reinventing the wheel here. They are just some nice, simple, colorful, stress relieving pieces to add to my daily wardrobe.

Because, you know, beaded necklaces look fabulous with pajamas and/or oversized Nirvana/Rush/Michael Jackson tour tee shirts...