Copper + Glass Artist Bracelet Tutorial

Hey friends!  I’ve got an easy bracelet tutorial to share with you today that lets you express yourself in all kinds of ways.  Alphabet beads are fun for kids, but today I’ll show you how they look all grown up, with glass, copper, and metal patina paints.  Unleash your inner artist or wear your own favorite message with this easy project!

These pewter beads with copper plating have a nice weight to them.  When you mix and match them with other square tabular beads from today’s post sponsor, Happy Mango Beads, you can put together a stylish stack of bracelets in no time!

Happy Mango Beads has a lot of alphabet beads and charms to choose from in both ceramic and metal assortments so no matter what your style is, you can wear the words and names that mean the most to you.  For today’s project I used the following beads from Happy Mango Beads:

• 10mm Copper Pewter Square Alphabet Beads
• 10mm Square Tabular Czech Glass Beads (I used clear & white with Picasso finish)

(And don’t forget, you can mix and match textures and hues by adding more bracelets!)

The additional supplies used are:

• .8mm Stretch Bead Cord
• Ranger Metal Patinas: Jade
• Ranger Metal Patinas: Ruby
• Ranger Metal Patinas: Onyx
• Paintbrush

Even beginning beaders will get the hang of stringing beads onto stretch cord, so there’s not much to today’s bracelet tutorial.  However, to add a bit more attitude to my artist bracelet, I used metal patinas (listed in the supplies above) to add a distressed, painted look to the letters.  Metal patinas are easy to use – just brush or drop them on – and once dry are permanent.  I painted just one side of the letters (so as the bracelet moves, more copper will show) and made sure to wipe any excess patina off the top of the letter.

The beads dry quickly, so you can string your design and tie off your stretch cord.  You should aim for 7-7.5 total inches of beads for the average woman’s wrist.  You want it to stretch to go on and come off, but to lie just slack when worn.

If you’re unsure of how to get a nice secure knot in stretch cord, Beadalon prints this handy reference right on the back of their cord to show you how!

Stack on as many bracelets as you like, spell as many words as you like, mix metals, play with patinas, and get creative.  The sky is the limit with this ultra-easy bracelet tutorial!