Self-crafted Costume Jewelry States Your Style!
Monday, 29. June 2009
Of the many types of jewelry that are in existence beaded jewelry has been around the longest. Beaded jewelry is a form of handmade costume jewelry, and the terms are mostly used in a mutually exchangeable fashion. History shows that even Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, used this jewelry whenever it pleased her to. So don’t look down on the items of beaded jewelry you see in stores and marketplaces.
Ancient cultures and civilizations used jewelry for religious and royal ceremonies. The public relied on less pretentious forms of jewelry, such as beaded jewelry for daily wear. The earliest examples of beads used as jewelry date back 70,000 years (source: National Geographic Society)!
Costume jewelry is so-called because it really does not put much emphasis or importance on the intrinsic value of the materials used, focusing instead on the appearance, the look of the jewelry. It is a style or fashion accessory, not a symbol of wealth or status. Hence costume jewelry has come to mean cheap jewelry, and vice versa. Trinkets, baubles, and bric-a-brac are common synonyms for costume jewelry. It is interesting to note that Columbus offered trinkets to the natives of the lands he visited as peace offerings, which were readily accepted, showing the power of attraction inherent in jewelry.
The craft of making beaded jewelry is easily picked up in a matter of hours. It is an excellent way of bringing out your latent creativity. You’ll get the hang of the basic methodology in a couple of hours, and then it’s just you and your ideas, and of course, the beads! This craft is truly freeform, and you can give free run to your imagination to create signature pieces that spell ‘YOU’!
You can source the materials required for this craft from the virtual world that is the Internet. Or, you can visit the local brick-and-mortar and get your supplies there.
The Internet is crammed full of resources. There are umpteen user groups, bulletin boards, and chat rooms used by craftspeople. This social networking is very helpful for newbies.
Encouraging children to express their artistic qualities is an educational paradigm and what better way to do that than by introducing them to the art of bead craft. Get your children a bead craft kit and see them enjoy themselves in a creative way.
Handmade costume jewelry is all the rage nowadays, especially if it is self-made! This is one of the reasons why costume jewelry making is rising in popularity. Since you make everything and then wear it yourself, you get total satisfaction with the process of making the jewelry, and with using it.
New fashioned beads are giving a new impetus to the craft of beaded jewelry making. The new beads are full of surprising variety and specialties. Many of the beads are exquisite in appearance.
Clothing is embellished with beadwork to personalize the clothes. So that is another application of beaded jewelry. Some fashion analysts have noticed a reverse trend too – as beadwork jewelry is increasing in popularity so also is the popularity of casual, trendy clothes to match the beaded jewelry.
You can get everything you require at the many art and craft stores all over the place. If that does not suffice, you should try going online and getting what you want from the online stores.