Crafty mum - seed bead jewellery

I first got inspired to try making seed-bead jewellery after a trip to Tanzania back in 2006.  The Masai women that we saw created and sold some incredible decorative jewellery.  As usual I wondered if I would be able to make something, and on the plane ride home started thinking about how it could work.

Photo from www.maasai-asssociation.org 

Seed beads are very inexpensive, and the materials and tools you need to make the jewellery is minimal.  Choose the colours you want, and get started.  I used my own designs and experimented with different techniques, which haven't all been successful, but I've just had a glance on Google and found loads of awesome designs and tutorials on the web if you prefer to have a go at something that's been tried and tested.

Over the last decade I've occasionally dipped into my seed-bead box to have a go at something new, or to make a personal gift for somebody, but I've got so many crafts on the go that I've not really dedicated much time to learning the art properly.

The example above is a poor one.  I made a bracelet and a necklace for my daughter and my two nieces for Christmas, and also painted a little jewel box to present them in.  Unfortunately, one of my nieces, aged 6, broke hers just minutes after she opened it.  I'd fastened it on for her, demonstrating the barrel clasp, but she immediately tugged it to take it off, assuming it was elastic, and it snapped.  I took it back from her, promising to fix it and send it back,  I finally got around to it two weeks ago, reworking it with double thread to make it a bit more robust.  It proves impossible to get four threads through some of the beads though, so the result is a little scruffier than it was before.

Have you made any seed bead creations?  Fancy sharing a link or a picture?