Some simple ocean themed stretch beaded bracelets

A few years ago I didn't buy a bracelet in Accessorize, and I've regretted it ever since! It was something like this one - Willow Stretch Bracelet - a selection of different simple beaded bracelets that are complementary and worn together. When I was shopping the craft stores in the US this summer I found myself in the bead aisle, and my thoughts turned towards making myself something similar.

I've not really done jewellery making before so I wasn't quite sure what to buy. But I was really pleased with the Stretch Magic cord that I ended up with. I bought the .7mm size which is small enough for the tiny beads. The beaded part of each of my bracelets measures 20cm, so allowing a few extra centimetres each side the 5m pack should be enough to make at least 15 bracelets. It is also available to purchase in the UK, and you can see it here (affiliate link) - Stretch Magic elastic cord. 

I bought three strings of smaller beads which I was able to mix and match with the beads I already had in my stash. The glass beads on the far right were chosen because they look just like sea glass. Then I bought one large string of coloured beads and one of shiny beads. It was a bit of a pain sorting out the colours, but it was worth it as it made making the bracelets much easier!

I wanted to make a bracelet with a sea/ocean theme so I went through my stash and gathered together all the beads I could find in different shades of blue, turquoise, white and silver. I had some small pearl beads, large shiny glass beads and lots of tiny beads. I made eight bracelets in total, some follow a strict pattern and some are more random. 

To make the bracelets I just threaded the beads onto the elastic, which was quite easy as it's so stiff. When I'd reached the right length, which for me was 20cm, I tied a simple knot and pulled the elastic as tight as I could. Then I sealed the knot with a blob of superglue before cutting the ends. The hole in the beads wasn't big enough to hide the knot inside, but because it is transparent you can hardly see it. The bracelets seem pretty secure to me, hopefully they won't all fall apart!

I had such fun making these and I'm so pleased with them! It was quite addictive in fact, and as I have plenty of beads left in my stash I'm very tempted to myself a couple more sets in different colours. I think next up might be an autumnal theme with reds, browns and golds. 

And this is another of my ten craft projects that I'm aiming to complete by Christmas - I'm really working through them!