Bead Making

I recently spotted some beautiful little flower beads being used as part of a memory wire bracelets.  Gorgeous, huh?  I immediately became obsessed.  This led me to start looking up cabochons on ebay.  But ebay purchases take time don't they?  You have to bid on them, wait to see if you've won (I didn't), and then wait for them to actually arrive.

Could I wait that long?  Er, no.  I started having a look round for ways to make my own.  I found this video about using some of those glass gems to make jewellery.  I had some glass gems in the cupboard as I bought them to decorate playdough with some time ago, and later we used them as part of fairy garden creations.

I had a go with the galaxy style gem first, and it was looking good.  I am super pleased with it.  I've no idea what I'm going to do with it yet, maybe a magnet.

Then I had a try with the marbling technique.  I've never been very good with my nails, but I like buying polishes so I have a few available.  My first attempt went ok, but I was too slow and it dried a bit.  By the second attempt I had got it to work.  Pretty patterns, loads of fun, cheap, what's not to like about it!

These techniques would work so well at a jewellery making party for girls (or ladies actually!).  Now I just have to decide what I'm going to do with a load pretty gems! 

 And still I've not managed to get my hands on some of those beautiful flower cabochons.  Sigh.