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19 articles
The lanyard is quietly the most-worn necklace in America — so why do most of ours look like free convention swag? Here are three beaded lanyard designs, from beginner-friendly to pattern-proud, all built on breakaway hardware for safety.
You don't need a dedicated studio to make jewelry — you need a system. Here's the exact roll-up, stack-and-stow setup I use at my kitchen table, plus the teardown routine that keeps my roommate (and my sanity) intact.
I walked into my local dollar store with a five-dollar bill and one rule: everything had to come off the party favor shelf, the hair aisle, or the kitchen section. Here's what I made, what I'd skip next time, and the stringing tricks that made five bucks of plastic look like a boutique haul.
Every beader has that jar — the mismatched odds and ends that never seem to go together. Kiki turned hers into a finished necklace in a single afternoon using three simple design rules, and she's challenging you to do the same.
I found a $3 blazer at Goodwill, stitched a beaded lapel pin to the left collar, and now strangers at the coffee shop ask where I shop. Here's the full tutorial, plus the stitching tricks that keep your beadwork intact through the wash cycle.
Every trip I take ends with a finished bracelet, and this is the kit that makes it happen. Here's exactly what fits in a quart-size bag, which projects actually work in an airplane seat, and how to turn vacation finds into beads you'll wear forever.
I spent two years making bracelets that technically fit and never got worn. Turns out the problem wasn't my bead choices — it was my tape measure. Here's the sizing method I use now, plus the cheat sheet that lives taped inside my craft cabinet.
Stacking five bracelets you made yourself can swing from editorial to elementary-school craft fair fast. Kiki shares her anchor-and-wildcards method, plus three mix-and-match layering recipes you can string in a single afternoon.
Before a single Czech glass bead gets touched, I string every new design with the saddest, cheapest beads in my stash. Here's why the 'ugly mockup' has saved me hundreds of dollars — and which five designs lived or died by it.
Ever finish a necklace you love, put it on, and immediately feel like something's... off? Nine times out of ten, it's not your design — it's where the piece sits. Here's the length math I wish someone had handed me five years ago.
We design gorgeous pieces, then wear the same three necklaces on repeat. Here's the one-evening closet audit that fixed that for me — matching bead colors, metals, and necklace lengths to the necklines you actually own.
The best jewelry supplies I own didn't come from a craft store — they came from aisle nine at Home Depot and the fishing section at Walmart. Here's my honest list of non-craft supplies that make handmade pieces look like they came from a boutique, plus exactly how I use each one.
If your jewelry habit falls apart the second you hit the beach, this one's for you. These adjustable macramé bracelets use nothing but cord and knots — no crimps, no findings, and no reason to ever take them off.
Before you drop money on trend-colored beads, raid what you already own. Kiki shows how to match the Color of the Year with paint chips and build three wearable palettes from your existing stash.
Thinking about turning your bead hobby into a weekend booth? This is the practical, no-romance guide I wish I'd had — real pricing math, the inventory that pays for itself, and the three flops that taught me the most.
Armed with beading wire, jump rings, and a $5 budget, Kiki rebuilds three sad secondhand necklaces into modern statement pieces. Plus, the exact checklist she uses to spot jewelry with 'good bones' before spending a dime.
Before you drop forty dollars on a bead haul, check the notions aisle at your local Goodwill. Vintage buttons plus twenty minutes of basic wire-wrapping equals statement necklaces nobody else will ever own. Here's how, three ways.
Every bracelet I've ever loved started with a single bead I couldn't stop staring at. Here's the 5-bead formula I use to build an entire design around one hero piece — plus three color palettes you can steal.
Memory wire, seed beads, and about ten minutes — that's all it takes to make earrings that look boutique-bought. Here's my no-fuss tutorial, a realistic supply budget, and how to turn a hobby into a little weekend cash.