Once upon a time I thought that beading would be fun.
I’m crafty – over the course of many years I have done needlepoint, knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, painting – so, the thought popped into my head “wow, wouldn’t beading be fun!”.
Like any other hobby you decide to try, you need to buy supplies. There are many supplies needed to bead. Lots of supplies.
Of course there are the beads. And most of the beads are tiny – very, very tiny. (And way more expensive than you thought something that tiny could be). Then you will need crimp beads to fasten the beads onto the wire.
Then there is the wire to slip the beads onto, which of course comes in many various sizes, so you need more than one roll of wire. You will then end up buying even more wire than you need because you will not realize that the size of wire which you have just purchased will not fit through all of your beads until you get home and attempt to run it through your beads.
And in order to fasten the beads to the wire you need tools. So there is the crimper, and the wire cutter, and various pliers which are “special” because, unlike your husband’s pliers, these have to be small and delicate in order to pick up and deal with the tiny, tiny beads.
Then, you realize, you need something to place all of these tiny, tiny beads onto or into in order to sort them by color, size, type, etc. before you make your creation. (I purchased a bead tray which I never use - instead I put them onto a rubberized cloth which holds them better).
You will need something to hold the sorted beads in. You will then find a vast array of small containers marketed with “The Beader” in mind and you will purchase many of these in various sizes, shapes and forms (none of which will ever be exactly what you need). And then you will need something to put all of the small containers into (I purchased a small tool box).
So, finally, you are ready to begin beading. And, of course, one of the first things you will do is pour some beads out onto your cloth and spill half of them on the floor. You will then proceed to pick up most of them - the rest you will locate with your bare feet or when you step on one and slide across the room in your clogs.
If you have managed to actually separate your beads and decide what you want to make and start putting them on the wire, you will find that you pretty much cannot see the hole in the bead into which you are expected to slip the wire, so now you realize you need Granny glasses.
Then, if by some miracle you actually make something, you have to deal with another one of those ^@#& crimp beads and crimpers in order to finish off the end. And, of course, you will never be able to get the beads pulled tightly enough so that the wire doesn’t show, or, you will accidentally cut through the wire when you trim it and all of your hard work will fall to the floor in a bright, bouncy shower of beads.
And none of this includes wire wrapping – another fun event in the beading Olympics.
In what universe is this considered fun???
I’m crafty – over the course of many years I have done needlepoint, knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, painting – so, the thought popped into my head “wow, wouldn’t beading be fun!”.
Like any other hobby you decide to try, you need to buy supplies. There are many supplies needed to bead. Lots of supplies.
Of course there are the beads. And most of the beads are tiny – very, very tiny. (And way more expensive than you thought something that tiny could be). Then you will need crimp beads to fasten the beads onto the wire.
Then there is the wire to slip the beads onto, which of course comes in many various sizes, so you need more than one roll of wire. You will then end up buying even more wire than you need because you will not realize that the size of wire which you have just purchased will not fit through all of your beads until you get home and attempt to run it through your beads.
And in order to fasten the beads to the wire you need tools. So there is the crimper, and the wire cutter, and various pliers which are “special” because, unlike your husband’s pliers, these have to be small and delicate in order to pick up and deal with the tiny, tiny beads.
Then, you realize, you need something to place all of these tiny, tiny beads onto or into in order to sort them by color, size, type, etc. before you make your creation. (I purchased a bead tray which I never use - instead I put them onto a rubberized cloth which holds them better).
You will need something to hold the sorted beads in. You will then find a vast array of small containers marketed with “The Beader” in mind and you will purchase many of these in various sizes, shapes and forms (none of which will ever be exactly what you need). And then you will need something to put all of the small containers into (I purchased a small tool box).
So, finally, you are ready to begin beading. And, of course, one of the first things you will do is pour some beads out onto your cloth and spill half of them on the floor. You will then proceed to pick up most of them - the rest you will locate with your bare feet or when you step on one and slide across the room in your clogs.
If you have managed to actually separate your beads and decide what you want to make and start putting them on the wire, you will find that you pretty much cannot see the hole in the bead into which you are expected to slip the wire, so now you realize you need Granny glasses.
Then, if by some miracle you actually make something, you have to deal with another one of those ^@#& crimp beads and crimpers in order to finish off the end. And, of course, you will never be able to get the beads pulled tightly enough so that the wire doesn’t show, or, you will accidentally cut through the wire when you trim it and all of your hard work will fall to the floor in a bright, bouncy shower of beads.
And none of this includes wire wrapping – another fun event in the beading Olympics.
In what universe is this considered fun???
(Photo of some beading stuff laid out on my work surface - covered with an outdated calendar! Here's a little tip - big calendars make great surface covers - just tear off and toss when it gets messed up - I even use them as a palette for my acrylics - and you can pick them up different places, free toward the end of the year).
