Fun Handmade Jewelry Crafts for Kids

Looking for a way to keep your kids busy on a rainy day? Jewelry crafts can be a fun way for kids to spend the day indoors and you don't need much to start.

Handmade jewelry makes for great gifts, too, so it's the perfect craft activity to choose if you have birthday parties coming up. These days, it is even acceptable to give jewelry to boys! Just make sure it has a masculine flair.

You don't need many supplies to start making your own handmade jewelry. Kids are great at incorporating everyday items like bottle tops and tinfoil into crafty projects. However you can give them a hand by providing a few basic materials to work with. A toolbox with small compartments is perfect for storing jewelry supplies for easy access.

Here is a list of what should be in your jewelry craft box:

- Beading wire and fishing line for stringing

- Bead needles, these are extra fine for passing through seed beads

- Assorted clasps and closures, you can save these from other pieces of broken jewelry.

- Beads, these can be pony beads, seed beads, metal beads, etc. Keep them contained in tiny Ziploc bags or baby food jars.

- Wire clippers and scissors

- Assorted dangly things, like charms from old charm bracelets and pendants

You can include anything else you encounter and think would be useful. This is your basic craft kit; other items can be brought into the mix at any point. For example, your son might decide to make his sister a funky choker using a combination of wire, beads and shapes he cut out of a milk jug.

There are several ways to go about making handmade jewelry. There is the simple beaded jewelry that features just a string of beads with a pendant and a clasp. If you have a bead loom, you can weave more complicated designs with seed beads, but this is really for older kids since it requires a lot of patience and planning. Your kids might also enjoy mixing and matching different types of beads with their own pendent designs, like pop can tabs covered in tinfoil, plastic cutouts, etc.

Using a bakable modeling clay to make your own beads which can later be baked and painted before using in very unique jewelry is another way to go. Most kids enjoy creating their own beads, since they can choose their shapes. Just be sure to make extras since clay sometimes breaks during the heating process.

Yet another method is wire sculpture. The child uses pliers to bend the wire into the shape he wants and can add beads or other items. You could also try making woven friendship bracelets which use embroidery thread and are quite simple to make once you get the hang of it.

As you can see, there are many different forms of handmade jewelry and kids love to try them all out! It is easy to fill up an entire afternoon designing bracelets, rings and necklaces, so this is the perfect rainy day activity for children.