I found a fabulous bead store and found some pretty pearls that inspired an idea for a necklace.

I watched an online tutorial video and this is my first attempt! A couple of my friends and I decided to try this project together.

To make the necklace, use 26 guage wire. I put 100 beads on the wire in random order. Then using a 4.5 crochet hook, I started with a slip knot about 2 inches along the wire. Then I did 4 crochet stitches. then slid a bead down beside the crochet hook and did a stitch around the bead as normal. There are a ton of how to crochet with wire and bead tutorials online.

TIP: it is worth ensuring that your wire comes away from its holder easily - I spent more time untangling the wire I bought that did NOT come wrapped in a spool - so either buy on a spool or re-wrap onto a spool before starting your project :)

It was not easy at first, but my friend was really good at it (her necklace is pictured). She used 50 beads per strand! then I put the three strands together and braided them (below). trying to keep the beads in  symmetry as I wrapped the 3 strings together. You can go back and fill in the spaces after - there are tutorials on embellishing necklaces.

I found a slot to attach the wire to while I was braiding so I could use both hands. After the strands are together, I spent some time arranging the beads to make them more uniform (1st pic below is

There is a little bit of black, grey and pearl... with the silver wire showing, it looks sparkly! I love that! Finished with some cones, jump rings and twisting the wire around to secure a clasp!

The most time is spent beading the wire, approx. 3 hours in total and I spent $20 but most importantly, my friends and I had a fun time, learned something new together and are planning another BYOB - bring your own beads party!

The above is a matching bracelet that I made using the same process.

But I took the one above apart by taking out the crochet stitches one by one and re-used the beads and made them into a stretch bracelet using elastic jewelry cord and it took less than an hour to make 2 bracelets with 3 rows of beads each!