Embracing Simplicity...

I was talking with a friend of mine, who was lamenting the fact that she has the most beautiful collection of lampwork beads, but does not have the time to do anything with them. I suggested that she do something simple with them and allow the lampwork beads to be the stars of the show. It may be very satisfying to spend hundreds of hours on a single project, but it is not the only option! To demonstrate this point, I've created five designs that are super simple and very quick to achieve. The fine folks at Auntie's Beads generously donated the lampwork beads featured in all of the projects in this post. Auntie's Beads has a wide selection of lampwork glass beads at very affordable prices. CLICK HERE to check them out.

These stylish earrings took mere minutes to make. The smoky grey glass rondelles accentuated with white swirls and dots dangle freely at the ends of these almond-shaped earwires (from Saki Silver). I like how the snowy arabesques enhance the feel of movement.

This necklace was even quicker to make and doesn't require any tools at all! Simply string large-holed lampwork beads, like these white glass rondelles with black lines and dots on a stainless steel ball chain necklace. Add as many or as few as you like.

If stringing beads on a ball chain is too easy for your tastes, why not embellish your bead with a decorative headpin? I dressed up this black glass oval pendant with gold foil by stringing it on a thicker gauge, extra long headpin. Once it was strung, I hammered out the end (not the ball end) of the headpin and created a fancy wire-wrap, hugging the contours of the bead. You can make the hammered part as long as you want, embracing the entire bead or partway as I've done in the example above. The embellished dangle was then strung simply on a ball chain and is perfect for switching out depending on the occasion or your mood.

The above bracelet, spotlighting three black and beige bumpy lampwork glass beads, is a little more time-consuming, but is still fairly simple. I am smitten with the earthy, organic look of this bracelet. I paired the lampwork beads with coconut shell spacer rondelles from Talisman Associates Inc. Everything is strung on Softflex Company flexible beading wire attached with crimp-tubes to a shibuichi toggle from my family.

Tip: Use your thumb and forefinger to capture several rondelles still on the strand at a time while stringing. This is much faster than stringing one individual bead at a time.

Another simple solution to creating fast and wallet-friendly jewelry to showcase your bead collection is heavy-gauge base-metal chain. The natural brass chain picks up the metallic glitter in this caramel-colored lampwork bead with silver foil and makes for a speedy bracelet project. Use jump rings to attach your toggle and bronze wire to wire-wrap the focal bead in place. The lampwork bead becomes a lovely link in this chain!

All of these designs collectively took less than 30 minutes to make. There's no excuse to hide your lampwork glass bead collection when creating polished, modern jewelry is just so easy!