Unique Beaded Jewelry Shows Off Your Personal Style

By Ned Dagostino

Costume jewelry is as old as the hills, veritably! Ancient mounds have yielded an enormous trove of beaded jewelry used by those ancient peoples.

Ancient cultures and civilizations used jewelry for religious and royal ceremonies. The public relied on less pretentious forms of jewelry, such as beaded jewelry for daily wear. The earliest examples of beads used as jewelry date back 70,000 years (source: National Geographic Society)!

In its most basic form costume jewelry consists of brightly colored stones, which may be opaque, translucent or transparent. This jewelry has an intrinsic power of attraction which cuts across race and time. History tells us that most explorers offered trinkets to the natives of the places they visited as signs of friendship, because they knew that the natives would certainly appreciate and accept the trinkets.

The craft of making beaded jewelry is easily picked up in a matter of hours. It is an excellent way of bringing out your latent creativity. You'll get the hang of the basic methodology in a couple of hours, and then it's just you and your ideas, and of course, the beads! This craft is truly freeform, and you can give free run to your imagination to create signature pieces that spell 'YOU'!

You can get all the basic material you need, which is very simply just thread and a variety of beads, at any of the crafts stores in your area. Browse around for books on the subject. You'll get plenty of great ideas for your next beaded jewelry project from these books. There are many online stores that cater to this craft; you can order your supplies from there.

Websites that specialize in beaded jewelry are a treasure house of resources for the beaded jewelry craftsperson. You will find that buying directly from the source falls cheaper.

If this craft, making beaded jewelry, is good for you then it is doubly good for children. Introduce your children to the wonderful world of jewelry making through bead craft. To make things easier for you, there are a number of kits specially designed for children.

Handmade costume jewelry is considered very fashionable. Besides giving a traditional, ethnic look to your outfit, it has the added advantage of being unique. All handmade crafts share this property of being unique unlike the mass-produced factory products. When you make your jewelry yourself you can make it distinctive and personalized. This adds value to the basic fact that it is jewelry. Many people go for handmade costume jewelry because it is so low-priced and affordable.

New fashioned beads are giving a new impetus to the craft of beaded jewelry making. The new beads are full of surprising variety and specialties. Many of the beads are exquisite in appearance.

Clothing is embellished with beadwork to personalize the clothes. So that is another application of beaded jewelry. Some fashion analysts have noticed a reverse trend too - as beadwork jewelry is increasing in popularity so also is the popularity of casual, trendy clothes to match the beaded jewelry.

The market segment that caters to the craftspeople involved in making handmade costume jewelry and beaded jewelry is large and flourishing. From your friendly neighborhood craft store to the webstore on the Internet, there are literally hundreds of sources from where you can get your supplies. All that remains is for you to make up your mind, and to take up this fantastic creative activity. - 29871

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