Heart and Bead Bracelet

Today, I have a fun and simple new bracelet tutorial to share with you!  But first, I have to tell you the story behind it…bear with me!

I have been blessed with some truly amazing friends in my life.  They lift me up, they make me laugh, and they go above and beyond to help out when I need them.  Some of these friends, you’ve already met, like Erin {our fabulous Crafty Chaos contributor} and Jess {my NY traveling buddy}.

Today, I’m going to tell you about another one.  Her name is Kat, and we met last fall at a school event because her son attends the same school as Little Crafter.  Kat is one of the amazing mamas I hang out with every Thursday at Starbucks {and all week long on Facebook}, and she’s a pretty artsy lady herself.   You might remember me mentioning that special group before, in my Monogram Necklace post.

Anyway, this past trimester, I volunteered to teach and Arts and Crafts Interest Learning class on Friday afternoons at the school, and Kat volunteered to be my ever-helpful assistant.  She was responsible for a variety of things, like running to the store for felt when I realized I left mine at home, scrubbing paint off the tables and floor after our flowerpot painting project, and substituting for me the week I was in LA.  This week is our last session, so I wanted to make her a little “thank you” to let her know how much I’ve appreciated all her help.  So, here it is:

TIME REQUIRED: 15 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy
SPECIAL SKILLS: forming wire loops
SPECIAL TOOLS: needle nose pliers, wire cutters

Materials:
{some of mine were provided by Wholeport.com and BeadforLife; all opinions are my own}
– Antique Silver Double Sided Heart Beads
– Loose Rolled Beads from BeadforLife
– eye pins
– 2 jump rings
– toggle clasp
– needle nose pliers and wire cutters

Step 1: Place each rolled bead onto an eye pin and form a wire loop so that there is a loop on each end.

Step 2: Open each wire loop and connect it to the loop on a double sided heart bead so that it forms a pattern of bead, heart, bead, heart, and so on.  Continue until it’s long enough for the person’s wrist.

Step 3: Use jump rings to attach a toggle clasp.  I used a heart shaped one to continue the motif of the bracelet, and because I know Kat really loves hearts, but you can use any kind you like.

That’s it!  Your bracelet is finished and ready to wear or give as a gift!

I’m really hoping Kat likes it and that every time she wears it, it’s a reminder that I appreciate her, the help she gave me during Interest Learning, and our friendship!  I tried to make it extra special by incorporating the hearts to represent a little inside joke, and the unique and meaningful BeadforLife beads.

I honestly hope that you have special friends in your life as wonderful as the ones with whom I’m blessed.  I hope there are people you can lean on, vent to, and go to for encouragement and advice.  And I hope they make you laugh.  A lot.  I hope they’re silly and sometimes inappropriate as the best of friends often are.  Because trust me, if you’ve got friends like that, you’ve got it made.