How it All began

Here are some rather blurry pictures of items I created last year for my best friend, sadly the images don't really do them justice but I shall endeavour to improve upon my photographic skills as I continue to create pretty pieces of jewellery from beads and thread.
If you would like to make something similar yourself then click on the images as I have linked to the tutorials I used whilst learning to make the set pictured

Image of the watch, bracelet and earring set I created for Claire

The spiral rope stitch is what I used to create the bracelet and watch straps, it is a fantastic place for beginners to start, it takes a fair amount of patience but the end product is well worth the effort.

These earrings were created using a variation on Robyns double diamond stitch, the tutorial shows how to make a necklace but it's relatively easy to make anything you like from it just by substituting different sized beads. Please don't worry if you click on the link and it appears broken, as it's a geocities site sometimes you click when it's exceeded it's bandwidth - just wait a few seconds then try the link again, it's well worth the effort as she has the best free tutorials I've found online

Where it's at now

Since creating the above pieces I have made many a necklace and bracelet set using the above stitch, I've even shown my other half how to make one of the bracelets - the black and white one on the left is his first effort.

a collection of necklaces and bracelets

I have made various other pieces that incorporate both of the stitching techniques described above in one design

Necklace using diamond and spiral stitch

I have also ventured into some basic wire work, this is an area I would like to develop as it can make for some simple yet eye catching designs and it would also save on expenses as I could make my own intricate clasps - as you can see, my first forays into clasp making are not quite 'intricate' but it is very effective, I've worn this necklace many times - even fallen asleep in it, and I've yet to lose or need to mend any parts of it.

wirework bracelet close up of clasp

image of pendant