As a jewelry making teacher, I often talk to ladies who want to learn how to make jewelry, but they aren't sure how to get started. I can understand this because it isn't always obvious from looking at jewelry pieces to know what would be easy to make, and what would be difficult to make.

Like most things, if you jump in to soon and work on something you're not ready for, you will probably end up being frustrated, start to think you can't do it, and quit. My suggestion is always to crawl before you walk before you run. That way you can quickly build confidence in your abilities and you will enjoy seeing yourself improve as you start to take on more challenging jewelry making projects.

From my experience with new students the best way to learn to crawl when it comes to jewelry making is to learn simple bead stringing techniques first. Doing so will get you comfortable with simple jewelry making techniques, materials, and tools before you move on to try something more difficult. And the nice thing is that you can still make a lot of very beautiful jewelry pieces even with simple bead weaving techniques.

For the most part, bead stringing simply involves running a thin wire or a nylon filament string (that's where the word "stringing" comes from) through the holes in an assortment of beads to create beautiful necklaces, bracelets, or anklets. With all the colors and types of beads available these days the number of different jewelry pieces you can make is virtually limitless.

To complete your jewelry stringing pieces you just need to learn a few simple finishing techiques like how to add a jump ring and a clasp so that you can wear the jewelry piece. You can master those finishing techniques in a short period of time. Once you've done that you will be equipped to create some very nice handcrafted jewelry pieces in no time at all.