Nature has been, is, and will always be a part of us. It is everywhere. It is connected with everything that we do, especially when it comes to the arts. Well the art of beading is no exception because there are beads that can actually come from nature itself! This is one of the reasons that beaded jewelry making.
is such a popular pastime as it is so diverse in the types of materials that you can use and therefore the variety of designs you can create.
These kinds of beads are very alluring because they are nice alternatives from the industrially-made plastic or handmade glass beads. They also are a lot lighter so you can use a lot of them and not worry about your jewelry not being wearable. They are great accessories during the summer time or when visiting a tropical country.
Wooden beads are probably the first thing that comes to one’s mind when talking about beads from nature. There are so many types of wood to choose from. There’s bamboo, sandalwood, and rosewood to name a few. And since wood has a pattern of its own, the combinations are seemingly endless. Wood is also very alterable. You can color it and change its shape whichever way you want. You can even burn it too! Another great thing about wooden beads is that they are very easy to combine with other natural beads.
Another gift from nature that we can use for beading is freshwater pearls. These come in all sorts of colors, shapes, and sizes. They can be pretty expensive, especially if they are good quality pears but if you look hard enough you can find some that are less expensive.
Ah, shell beads. Who can resist them? They have the most beautiful colors and you can even pick them on your own. All you have to do is drill a whole into them. Be careful when doing this though as you can easily hurt yourself if you are not familiar with what you are doing.
What is more natural to us humans than bone? But take not that the ones used for beading are not from humans! They usually come from cows and camels. Bone is so versatile and so easy to change. Soaking it in coffee or tea will instantly give it a nice darker color. Soaking it in bleach, on the other hand, will leave you with a brighter looking bead.
The good thing about natural beads is that you can easily manipulate their colors. Dyes usually give the desired effect. Doing this is very easy and quite inexpensive. The textures also differ. But despite this it is very easy to combine one natural bead with another. Make sure to use hemp and it instantly fits with the overall theme of nature. Incorporating natural materials in our designs has become very enticing jewelry for men and women as we are all becoming more environmentally conscious.
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