I was on a beading bender last month and had beads all over the living room. My 4 year old son, Hudson loves to create. He was oooing and ahhhing over my beads and when he asked if he could touch them I replied "Hey! Do you want to string some beads?" He was so excited and got his 7 year old brother Ethan to join in the fun.
It was their first time beading so, I set them up with some large beads that would be easy to string. I gave them a long strand of
Econoflex Wire, perfect for craft projects. Long enough that the final design could be knotted and slipped over their heads. I also gave them some
bead stoppers (my favorite tool!). I didn't give any direction and other then to string the beads onto the wire. Hudson got to stringing in any which order and made this very spunky necklace.
Ethan strung a little but, without a clear direction he gave up quickly. When I asked him what he would like to make he said he wanted to make a necklace for his teacher. Awesome! It was the last week of school and I thought that would be a great gift to say thanks. His teacher wears a lot of black and black is his favorite color so, we picked out black and white beads. Laying the beads on a bead board we choose a focal bead and I showed him how he can make a pattern on either side. He was excited again. Since this was a gift I gave him
Soft Touch Wire, premium beading wire and he strung along. I finished the design with
crimps and a
toggle clasp. Didn't his necklace turn out great?!
He was so proud he made it that he wanted me to print the picture of him wearing it and place it in the envelope with his card. What a special touch!
Planning a beading project can be a great craft activity for kids. Stringing beads is not only fun, but it can be a way to help develop fine motor skills. Beading isn't just a craft activity for girls either, boys like my son Hudson enjoy wearing their own creations and boys like my son Ethan are happy to give their creations away as a gift for mom, grandma, a friend or their teacher!
Have you had a great experience beading with kids? Please share in the comments below!
Guest blogger Kristen Fagan is the Website Graphic Designer for Soft Flex Company. She also has her own blog and etsy shop. She'd love to hear from you! So, please feel free to leave comments or email her at Kristen@SoftFlexCompany.com.
My good friend Christine stopped by the other night with her family after they went out for a fancy celebration dinner. Christine was wearing a great little black dress and some of the coolest shoes ever. She spotted these earrings -- they just came back to me from Stringing magazine and were still sitting on my kitchen counter -- and put them on. The pale green Lucite beads really made her blue/green eyes pop and, her husband and I agreed, she looked hot! So, I'm pretty sure these earrings will get passed along to Christine. However, in case you want a pair of your own:
Silly me, I assumed that after the book was turned in and the Bead and Button Show was over, things would be nice and chill and I could relax and enjoy the summer. I was so, so wrong. With the exception of meeting my friend's brand new baby, the past week has, unfortunately, been just awful, with one bad thing after another.
The Summer 2011 issue of Stringing Magazine arrived just in time to go with me to the Bead and Button Show. It was perfect entertainment during the flight to Milwaukee. I was especially excited to see my design on page 20, since I completely forgot I had a project in this issue!
Are you going to the Bead & Button Show? If so, please join us at the Soft Flex booth for a fun, FREE Make-It-Take-It project! We'll be making colorful beaded key chains using Soft Flex Craft Wire and glass beads and buttons. Make-It-Take-It hours will be Thursday evening from 6-8 and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12-4, or until we run out of each day's allotment of kits. Sara and I hope to see you there!
