I love jewelry. All kinds of jewelry, and, obviously, I never feel like I have enough of it. 😁 A pair of earrings, a necklace or a bracelet can completely change an outfit.
My problem is something else: I’m lazy. Or, to put it more nicely, I’m just not very motivated when it comes to shopping. 😅 I don’t like going shopping. I mean, I do like shopping, don’t get me wrong, but actually getting myself to the store is a whole different story.
I always manage to find something better to do than go shopping.
How I Got the Idea to Make My Own Jewelry
And then, one day, I had a brilliant idea.
Why not make my own jewelry, exactly the way I want it? How hard could it be?
So I did.
I ordered everything I needed online for making jewelry and got to work. I had, obviously, beautiful handmade jewelry in mind, made exactly to my taste.
Reality turned out to be slightly different. 😀
My first pair of earrings lasted from one evening to the next morning. 😂
When I woke up, I found the beads broken and the earrings had fallen apart.
Maybe I had tightened the wire too much. Or maybe it was a sign that jewelry making just wasn’t for me.
But, of course, I kept going.
I can be quite stubborn.
My First Handmade Earrings
After that first failure, I could have declared the project officially over and gone back to buying jewelry like a normal person.
I didn’t.
I tried again, experimented a little more and, at some point, I became confident enough to make an entire jewelry set as a gift for a friend.
And, to my surprise, it actually turned out really nice. I was pretty proud of myself. 😀
I think that’s one of the nicest things about making something by hand: it doesn’t have to be perfect the first time.
Sometimes your first attempt ends with beads scattered everywhere and you wondering, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
But when you finally manage to make something you’re genuinely happy with, it feels completely different.
A Handmade Jewelry Set as a Gift
The jewelry set I made was for a friend and, luckily, she seemed to really like it.
Or at least that’s what she led me to believe. 🙄
There is one important detail I should mention, though: the crocheted earrings that were part of the set weren’t made by me.
They were made by Ligia, a very talented and crafty friend of mine. I definitely couldn’t have made anything like that myself.
So all the credit goes to her. Obviously.
I really liked the idea of combining things we had made ourselves and turning a few simple materials into something that could actually be worn and, even better, given as a gift.
Why I Like Handmade Jewelry
I think the personal part is what makes handmade jewelry special.
When you make a piece of jewelry yourself, you’re not just choosing a few beads or colors. You choose the combination you like, the shape you want and, in a way, you create something that has a different story from a piece of jewelry bought in a store.
In my case, it all started because I couldn’t be bothered to go shopping.
But in the end, I discovered a new hobby and ended up with a handmade gift I could give to a friend.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the point where I make all my own jewelry. After what happened to that first pair of earrings, I’m not making any ambitious promises. 😂
But for now, my little experiment with handmade jewelry was definitely a success.
