Jewelry Making 101

The theory:  This year, I decided that I really need to know more about I love to do and what I'm passionate about.  The most obvious way to do this is by going out there and trying out different things.  This week, I decided to go to a jewelry making class.  

The reasoning:  It just sounds like a very fun and girly thing to do.... 

The analysis: Oh that's right, I suck at art and crafts.  Within the first 10 minutes of the class:  deja-vu! This reminds me of a not-so-fond childhood memory.  Growing up in an odd Southeast Asian country, I had the joy of going through 6 years of formal art and crafts class as part of my very diverse grade school coursework.  

I'll stick to buying unique pieces from the talented vendors on etsy.com.  Jewelry making requires a lot of patience, a quality that I've already exhausted at work.  It also requires some planning - you need to pick out the stones and other pieces to put together.  One thing that I thought to be super useful was a color wheel, which allows the artistically challenged like me to pick complementary colors (i.e. it tells you what colors don't go together).  

If I were to try jewelry making again... 

1. Get the right tools:  You'll need something to cut the wire with and something to hold it still while you're tying the little loops.  Something like this would be a good start:  http://amzn.com/B000SNBCB0  
2. Also helpful: bead design board and color wheel (pictured). 
3. Pick out some BIG, BRIGHT stones/beads.  The stones/beads are what really make the pieces.  Also, I learned that making a necklace is about 100x easier than making a pair of earrings.  Some of the coolest necklaces out there are supposedly really easy to make.  I stumbled across some bird nest necklace tutorials that look pretty straightforward.   Oh and obviously, don't forget the wire, string, bead stoppers and earring/necklace hooks.  Like a good recipe, a good tutorial should tell you all the ingredients you need. 

Design Board

Color Wheel

The verdict:  I guess I'm not going to be wearing my own handmade jewelry anytime soon.  FAIL.  Moving on to the next possible hobby... Here's the little dinky earrings I made.  I hope you have better luck than I did!  (Clearly, the bar has not been set high)