Mother's Day Beaded Bracelets

Stretch Bracelet

9 inches of elastic cord

9-12 large-holed beads (e.g., metal, wood, glass, clay, plastic, bone or stone)

10-13 spacers in a metal that

complements the beads

1 large charm

Bead cement

Toothpick

Begin slipping beads and spacers onto the elastic in an alternating pattern. After stringing all the beads and spacers, add a single, large charm. These instructions are for a standard-sized bracelet, but feel free to test it on your own wrist before finishing the bracelet. Make sure it’s tight enough, so that it won’t slip off. If necessary, trim the elastic slightly. When you’re satisfied with the size, knot the elastic. With a toothpick, dot the knot with bead cement. Once the cement is dry – approximately 15 minutes – push the knot into the nearest bead hole.

 

Memory Wire Bracelet

11-12 inches of memory wire

A handful of assorted large-holed beads

5-6 charms

5-6 jump loops

Round-nose pliers

Wire cutters

With the round-nose pliers, form a loop at one end of the wire to keep the beads you will string from falling off. Hang charms on jump loops. String beads and charms onto the wire in either an alternating or random fashion. Be sure the beads you’ve chosen have large enough holes; don’t force small-holed beads onto the wire. As you work, check to see that the beads lie next to each other well. Large beads on adjacent coils may crowd each other and prevent the coils from lying smoothly. When you’ve filled the wire with charms and beads, add a final charm and use the round-nose pliers to form a closing loop.