Teaching Hemp 101

I went back to my home town this weekend and decided to do something new with my by hand project. I still continued to explore the more traditional hemp jewelry work. I made a bracelet and some beads, but this time I had some help. I decided to include a couple of people in my project for the week. I wanted to teach my little brother how to make hemp jewelry because he liked the bracelet I made him last week so much. My boyfriend was also at our house and he decided to join in on the crafting. We started out by picking our supplies. I let my little brother pick what hemp he wanted to use. He chose the navy blue hemp twine again. We also choose to make our beads out of the oven clay. Then, we measured out our twine lengths and started playing around with the clay to find what type of bead we wanted to use. The beads had to be crafted before the bracelet was completed because they had to bake for ten minutes to harden. I made a blue rectangular bead with a white marble swirl pattern. My boyfriend made two square beads with a similar pattern using the blue, green, and purple clay. Once we put the clay beads in the oven we began crafting the bracelet. I attempted to teach the knot pattern used to make hemp jewelry to my little brother, but this first lesson was most definitely unsuccessful. He is only 11, so the knot pattern is very confusing for him. He attempted to do a couple of knots but never could get it right. He had me finish the bracelet for him, but hopefully we can try again another time. Even though my brother didn’t learn how to make hemp jewelry he enjoyed watching me make it for him and enjoyed spending time with me. I also enjoyed spending time with my little brother and boyfriend. Crafting can bring social networks closer together. You are all doing something together and you all feel accomplished together when the project is finished.