In these tough economic times a lot of bead jewelry artists are struggling to make a profit on the jewelry that they make and sell.  Even if you’re buying your beads as cheaply as you can, there are still things you can do to maximize your profit.  And even though bead jewelry sales usually increase during an economic recession (and regular jewelry sales plummet) it is still important to make sure that you’re keeping your jewelry supply and bead costs low so that you have more money in your pocket at the end of each month!

When the economy hits the skids and traditional jobs begin disappear a lot of people begin getting creative with ways of making bead jewelry without paying out the high prices for lots of jewelry beads up front.  One great way to get cheap beads and keep your beading supply costs very low is to actually make your own beads!

Make Your Own Paper Beads: The ultimate way to make cheap beads is to make your own out of paper!  You can use any sort of paper, though colored paper, patterned paper or any sort of paper that has an interesting pattern are often best if you’re going to use these super-cheap beads for jewelry.  There are several different ways to make paper beads, from strips of paper into long colorful beads to making newspaper beads in boiling water.  Many people make paper beads out of old candy wrappers and junk mail, which is the ultimate way to have a never ending supply of practically free beads at your disposal!

Make Your Own Polymer Clay Beads: Polymer clay beads are popular and relatively inexpensive to make, though it’s one of those skills that may take a lifetime to master!  There are lots of great books and resources on making polymer clay jewelry beads, but Carol Blackburn’s Making Polymer Clay Beads and Grant Diffendaffer’s Polymer Clay Beads are both books that get rave reviews! Making your own clay beads is obviously not quite as cheap as paper beads but you have a lot more flexibility and design options open to you.  Like paper, there are lots of different ways to make cheap clay beads for jewelry that are durable, colorful and downright fun!

Make Beads Out of Recycled Items: Let’s get back to the really free and cheap beads you can make!  A lot of people have learned how to make cheap jewelry beads by using non-traditional materials and even “junk” in their jewelry with some startling great effects.  I’ve seen people make coffee bean bead jewelry, bicycle jewelry, jewelry from pencils, beads made out of washers and lots of beads and bead jewelry made out of all sorts of recycled materials.

If you have a little creativity you can find lots different things to make your own inexpensive beads from.  And by making jewelry out those items you are not only creating a beautiful and wearable piece of art, but you are also increasing the profit you make from the bead jewelry you sell!