Organic Beads for Jewelry Making -
Wonderful Jewelry Making Supplies!
New to making bead jewelry? Here, learn about organic beads for jewelry making
through pictures and descriptions.
Today beads are made from numerous materials - manmade and natural.
Organic beads are from nature. They are made from plant and animal
life, some now extinct.
Enjoy these pictures and tidbits about organic beads for jewelry making!
Bone beads are usually made from cow bones, which are recycled once
the animal has been slaughtered. Great for a greener society!
Bone is a great material to use to make beads. It is very hard. This allows
the bone beads to be carved into many shapes and sizes.
Beads made from bone are commonly bleached, dyed or aged to obtain a variety
of colors.
Bleaching results in white and aging results in a range of brown colors.
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Sponge coral begins as sea life. The rocklike deposits are harvested
from dead reefs.
In its natural state (bottom right in photo above) sponge coral is
reddish orange in color and its natural veining is easily seen.
Sponge coral is very porous. Its spongy appearance is very apparent
before it is treated (top left and right in photo above), or stabilized,
with a polymer like substance.
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The above photo is of an ammonite fossil. Ammonites are now extinct marine life.
Today many fossils can be used as beads for jewelry. Some are
excellent for wire wrapping. Look for fossils at gem, mineral and
jewelry shows.
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Beads made of wood come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Some are let in the natural color of the wood they are made from and
others are painted.
Wood beads are made from a variety of woods, including ebony and
palm to name a couple.
An advantage to buying wood beads is that most are less expensive
than beads made of materials gemstones and glass.
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Yes, beads are made from the nuts of many trees. Don't worry! They
are not fresh off the tree or vine so to speak.
Beads made of nuts have been immunized for safety and dried to
provide long lasting beauty in beaded jewelry.
Some are plain and small, suitable as filler beads in jewelry designs.
Yet some nuts are large and gorgeous - like the tagua nut in the
bottom right corner of the photo above.
Use larger nuts as pendants or a focal bead.
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Of course coconut beads are actually made from the skin or husks of coconuts.
To the touch, beads made from coconut husks feel like wood.
With the natural tones of chocolate brown, coconut beads are great
for earthy jewelry designs.
Perhaps you will try them in a safari themed jewelry set. How cool
would that look be!
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Who does not love the shells of once living sea creatures?
Mother of pearl and abalone shells are but a couple of the many beads
made of the shell of mollusks (or other sea creatures).
Most are very colorful (or are dyed to be colorful). They are very hard
and are often carved with patterns to depict many things such as
flowers, animals or faces.
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Pearls...Need I say more?! They are loved the world over.
Most of the pearls bought to make jewelry are cultured, meaning that they
are farmed.
Their growth process is artificially started by placing a foreign object (a
very small bead or piece of an actual mollusk) into a live mollusk.
The mollusk then secretes necar, which grows around the object. Over
the course of a few, or several years, a pearl is formed.
Then, pearl farmers harvest the pearls and you and I get beautiful
pearls known as freshwater cultured pearls.
Some common pearl shapes are biwa, baroque, coin, button, potato,
round (or semi-round) or heishi to name a few.
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Bamboo coral is harvested from dead coral reefs.
In the marketplace, most bamboo coral is dyed red (a fabulous color!).
In nature bamboo coral is an ivory or tannish color.
Bamboo coral beads are cut into many shapes and even faceted for extra sparkle.
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I hope you have enjoyed viewing these pictures of organic beads for
jewelry making!
You will no doubt discover even more beads made of organic materials
as you explore the wonderful world of making beaded jewelry.
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