A little boost in the accessory department...

I adore jewelry, especially big, fun earrings. Except I'm the mom of a 10-month-old with some seriously grabby hands, so if I don't want my accessories ripped to pieces, I've been avoiding the earrings and necklaces in my jewelry box. What's a girl to do? I've turned my attention to bracelets, which tend to be less fragile and more easily removed from baby's reach. Also, very entertaining to the 4-year-old when we need to sit still for a while.

I lean more toward chunky pieces instead of delicate (because they're bolder, and again because of the indestructable factor). And I've been wanting a nice brown one, but couldn't find what I was looking for. So here's my solution...

I got a couple of packets of beads at the craft store (half off, yeah baby!), and I really like to use that stretchy, clear stuff that looks like fishing line. Total cost: $4. Nice...

And I had this little baby done in the time it took us to watch the last half of "Kung Fu Panda," which we do almost every day because it's the little man's favorite.

I measured the string around my wrist and left a generous amount. I knotted one end, then I started stringing beads. I used the three colors in order, but I think it would have looked awesome to put them on randomly, too. Once it reached the size I wanted, I tied the two ends of the string together (just basic knot, three times). I repeated that seven times so I had seven individual bracelets. Then I just repeated the process -- beaded a string, etc., and wrapped it around all seven bracelets twice. Then I knotted it off and it holds it all together.

This is a chance to really play with some color; I think this would look even better to do one color for the tie-together piece so it had more contrast with my varigated bracelets. It would also be cool to do some bracelets varigated and some solid colors. Well, if I get sick of it the way I did it, I can just snip the strings are re-use the beads.

Some fun summer bling. Woot woot!