Now that Halloween is behind us, it’s time to eat up all that leftover candy! Erm, no… how about instead we seriously think about Christmas gifts?
For those of you crafters who like to make your own gifts, here’s a great quick project.
Stretch bracelets are fun to make, because you don’t have to deal with clasps and such. They’re also easy to wear, for the same reason. 🙂
I got these sea glass beads at a bead show I attended recently. These blue ones are pretty, but you should have seen the reds, yellows and oranges. They looked positively edible. (I must have candy on the brain, lol.)
Anyhow, enjoy the project. Be sure to watch the video and/or read the directions, as I give a few hints that will make the process easier and the bracelet better.
Happy creating!
Materials:
- six 20mm sea glass beads
- 12 bead caps
- six 9mm accent beads
- 10 inches beading elastic
- super glue
Instructions:
Tip: Don’t cut the elastic from the spool before stringing your beads. This gives you a built-in bead stop.
Pre-stretch approximately 10 inches of elastic before starting to string your beads.
String the following pattern six times, having bead caps facing sea glass beads:
bead cap > sea glass bead > bead cap > accent bead
To tie off elastic, wrap right end over left twice and pull snug; then wrap left over right twice and pull tight.
Pull knot slightly away from bead it is closest to and add a drop of super glue into hole of bead. Gently pull elastic until knot is inside bead with glue. Allow to dry thoroughly before trimming elastic ends.
I watched the video earlier today and had no idea you had to pre-stretch the elastic. I have several stretch bracelets I made years ago and fortunately they’ve held their shape. I don’t think coloured elastic was even available back then. I like the black with the sea glass and lava beads.
Have a great day!
Maybe it depends on the brand of elastic, Shirlee. It always seems to work out best for me to pre-stretch it.
That is sweet! Looks oceanic, with lava and sea. Didn’t you make some sea glass earrings as well? I’ll have to look back through the posts.
Perhaps you’re thinking of this one? They’re frosted, not sea glass, but it’s the same look.
Yep, that’s it. Gosh, where do you get all these beautiful beads? 😉
Joann’s, A. C. Moore, Michaels and Bead Shows!