Individual Choice Jewellery. This is not an advertisement.

I have always enjoyed the beauty of jewellery, but sadly don’t often wear it. Until, recently I started to look for an alternative hobby to writing, to keep me busy on a miserable afternoon. As all the ladies will agree, there are only so many times in the day that we can perform our housewifely duties. Be it, cleaning up, usually after dirty men (sorry guys but it is true); cooking meals, ironing, washing, and in my case the gardening too. So I decided to look into something really new to keep the old grey matter from getting to decrepit. Yes, I am making my own jewellery that I now wear, and it is a beautiful way of giving presents to the family and friends. What is more appealing, is that you only have yourself to please, and once you get going the world is your oyster, and you spend as little or as much as you wish.

After a little research into the location of jewellery craft shops in my area, I paid my first visit. I didn’t really expect much, but how wrong could I have been. I thought the usual plastic bits, with wooden beads and cheap pearls, but oh how wrong I was. The shop was a magpie’s paradise. I spent over two hours in that shop looking with amazement at the choice of beads on offer. I took a thirty minuet introduction coarse and came home having spent £74.00.

I already had a spare table, so I sat down and following the first step instruction, I set up my designing board. Then I played with all my shiny new beads and semi-precious gems and started to design. Yes, I did say design.

The first thing that I made was a bracelet on elastic to give to Rebecca, my daughter in law, for after she gave birth to Callum, instead of, or in my case as well as, the “It’s a boy” balloon and flowers. She was delighted. Then I made more of the same and tried to string a couple of necklaces using wire. On and on I went until my collection of jewellery covered the bed in the spare bedroom. Then I panicked, my new hobby was taking over the house.

I decided at that stage to try my luck and approached the local chemist. I was elated when I returned home with a cheque for over £200 in my pocket. In the following weeks people called at the house and stopped me in the street to see if I could make something just for them in mind. I received many orders for Christmas and even an order for tiaras for bridesmaids.

I am not writing a step by step illustration here, because it really is very simple, and individual. So what I want to do is share some photos with you to see how easy it is to make something special. It just takes time, patience and love.