.png)
Hey friends! I always wanted to learn how to #1 carve stones and #2 create my own scarabs—remember those bracelets from the 1920's through the 1960's? I love them.
When I was a little girl I remember my mom letting me look at the pieces she had in her jewelry box (high school: class ring, nursing school: class ring, nursing school: pins, clip-on and screw-on earrings with baroque pearls, the odd brooch shaped like a big gold leaf with pearls, a couple ladies watches...and the colorful scarab link bracelet. I think it was my favorite thing in her jewelry box—at least it was the one thing that truly intrigued me! The different colored semi-precious stones carved to look like little beetles, each with an odd character carved into the reverse side—so cool!
Years ago I wrote a blog post (in 2012) with a little tutorial on how to make a pendant necklace with a scarab bead, and later in 2016 I wrote another little tutorial for how to make a bracelet with a scarab bead, but since then, scarab beads have been hard to find.
You can get them on Etsy but they are mostly cabs and not beads. Plus, when I'm looking for something in particular, I tend to have a concrete vision in my mind of exactly how I want it to look—the size, the color, and so on. Oftentimes it's difficult to find exactly what you're envisioning!
Here are two types that I came across on Amazon (affiliate links):
Enter my big container of cabs. One day the idea just struck me: why not try to make my own scarabs?
Yes! That is the answer! Of course I will! And how much fun it will be!
I found that the scarabs were incredibly easy to create—with a little bit of a learning curve, of course, but I #1 had fun and #2 now had scarabs! Check out the video on my YouTube channel to see exactly how I did it. Maybe you will want to try your hand at making scarabs too! And enjoy the rest of your weekend! Hurry up spring!
Laura
PS - My brand new (and 3rd) jewelry making book will be released in April - stay tuned!
Laura
