I make jewelry. I make A LOT of jewelry. I don’t sell it, ever. I just make it to wear and give as gifts.

By comparison to those of you that are silversmith-ing and lampwork-ing to actually fabricate these beautiful beads, perhaps I don’t “make” jewelry. I “assemble” jewelry. There we go, I assemble jewelry. I assemble jewelry!! 😀

My materials of choice are almost always glass beads, preferably lampwork glass, stone beads, and memory wire. I like working with memory wire because of the simplicity of wearing memory wire jewelry. No clasp is required on memory wire bracelets! How awesome is that?! Given that I keep my nails fairly long most of the time, I have zero interest in fumbling with a clasp on a bracelet. Memory wire is the perfect solution, and it is available pretty much everywhere: big box chain stores, local bead stores, online, etc.

So, like I said, I work primarily with stone and glass. There is something really fantastic about feeling the coolness of stone against my wrist or neck that makes it a really desirable material to work with, and I am absolutely fascinated by the attention to detail that is used to create little lampwork beads. Seriously, an artisan uses a torch and little, tiny rods of glass and makes each bead by hand. They are like little bitty unique works of art.

Where do I buy my beads? For my stone beads, I shop at a local, small business pretty regularly: Argenta Bead Company in North Little Rock, AR. For my artisan lampwork beads, I use ebay to buy directly from the artist, whenever possible.

With lampwork beads, you can find beads to suit any sort of theme. Some of the handmade beads are more massed produced and ship internationally, but some are truly spectacular little one of a kind works of art being created in people’s at-home-studio-spaces. Prices vary.

You’ll notice that I like use both really big and really tiny beads on every bracelet, and I try to use a contrast of matte and shiny beads, as well. Here are a few examples of some of the bracelets I’ve created :

Okay, that is all. I assemble jewelry. A link to this post will be maintained on my “Decor and Crafts” page. Check that page for more of what keeps me occupied, or check “my Kitchen” for links to my recipes.

“Later Gators!” and “Afterwhile Crocodiles!”

Your Friend,

~Amber Hamilton Henson

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MONDAY
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