Introduction: 
I know that you have seen them.  Shimmering faintly in the light contained  in their bags at your local craft store.  Transparent or opaque, frosted or metallic, Pony Beads come in all styles of finishes and are readily available.  Sometimes they masquerade under different titles, being called a humble size 6/0 seed bead or a size E-Bead.  Pony Beads can be used in many projects, they are great to use as fringe accents on amulet bags or earrings or macrame’d together with hemp for a complex bracelet.  My favorite way to use them, however is in a simple crimp necklace that most beginners can master with patience and the right tools. 

There are many choices when it comes the beading wire in a crimped necklace.  The one that has been on the market the longest is known as Tiger Tail.  Tiger Tail is three strands of stainless steel that have been braided together to form a tougher wire.  It is harder to use than its newer cousins, such as Acculon, Beadalon or C-Thru, being a bit thicker and stiffer, but Tiger Tail can usually be found across the country more readily.  Another type of Beading wire is known as Soft Flex.  Instead of the former three strands that Tiger Tail boasts, it has 7 strands inside its casing, making it flexible enough to be knotted or crimped.  It also comes in many colors so that you can find a shade that will blend in with your beads.  I personally prefer to use C-flex beading wire which is also a 7 strand beading wire.  It tends to be less expensive, but only comes in a clear color.  It crimps well and is great in basic crimp necklaces.  Whatever beading wire you choose, make sure that it states that it can be crimped before trying it out for this project. 

A crimp bead is a tiny circle of metal, like a miniature ring that is generally around 2mm in diameter.  They come in many styles and metals.  Gold, silver, gold-fill and base metal.  I find that the gold and silver tend to get a stronger crimp than the base metal, but if you are making a necklace with a base metal clasp, by all means use a base metal crimp that matches your clasp.  If you have trouble threading your crimps onto wire, there are crimps with larger holes that might be easier for you to use.  Most bead catalogs carry these larger holed crimps along with the regular sized ones. 

One day I was sitting at my booth when I fell to talking with a gentleman who was wearing the most astounding number of gemstone bracelets and necklaces.  I asked him about how he made them and he suddenly began to complain about crimping.  He said, “I spend all this time picking out the perfect beads for my bracelets and the moment I put on a crimp and smash it...I ruin it!”  He sounded very frustrated.  I’m sure that most of you have seen what he was speaking about, the flat, irregular shaped crimps at the end of necklaces and bracelets that look very unsightly.   I believe that this man had not discovered that there is a crimping tool that you can use to make your crimp beads come out rounded and smooth, yet that will clamp onto your wire with the same force as if you smashed it.  It is called a “Crimper” or “Crimping Tool”.  Most bead stores should carry them and they run around $15.00.  If  you plan to do a lot of crimping projects, I highly recommend that you purchase one.  A “Crimper” looks like a pair of pliers, but inside it are two holes, one that bends the crimp bead into a “crescent moon” shape and the other presses the “crescent moon” ends together so that it reforms into a tight little tube. 

Pony Bead Necklace Instructions 

Materials: 

2 oz Pony Beads 
(A mixture of colors, at least two and up to nine) 
2 sterling silver crimps 
1 sterling lobster clasp 
1 sterling jumpring 
22 inches of  C-Flex Beading Wire 
A pair of Pliers 
A “Crimper” Tool 
A pair of wire cutters 

Thread your first crimp onto one side of your 22 inches of beading wire.  Then thread you clasp on after it.  Take the end of the wire and pass it back through the crimp, forming a loop that traps your clasp.  Push the loop so that there is only a 3/4 inch tail of beading wire and that the loop the clasp is on is small enough so that the clasp moves freely, but is not much larger than the crimp.  Use your “Crimper” tool and fold the crimp until it grips the two strands of wire. 

Thread one Pony Bead onto your beading wire.  Pull the 3/4 inch tail through the bead so that it and the longer strand of beading wire are together inside the bead.  If it is hard to grip the beading wire, use your pliers to pull it through.  Take your wire cutters and cut off the tail so that it will not go any farther than the first bead, being tucked inside it.  The second bead in the necklace should fit snugly against the first bead. 

String your chosen beads onto the beading wire until you have 19 1/2 inches.   If you use two colors, alternate one then the other or just pick a random mix.  Whatever strikes your fancy.  Be creative! 

Thread on the second sterling crimp onto the beading wire.  Then put the jumpring on and then double back the beading wire into the crimp, forming a loop with your jumpring trapped in it.  Similar to what you did with the clasp.  Pull the last bead a little free and thread the tail of the wire into it.  Hold onto the end of the wire tail with your pliers, it will give you a better grip.  Slowly, work the last bead and the crimp as close to the rest of the beads as possible while making the end loop as small as you can while still allowing the jumpring to move freely.  Use your “Crimper” to fold the crimp and make it tight on the wire.  Then use your wire cutters to trim the wire between the two last beads and then tuck the rest inside the necklace as best you can.  I find that if you pull up on the wire before you cut it, the wire will disappear into the beadwork when you release the tension. 

One of the neatest projects to do on brown paper bags is a "Mexican Bark Painting"!  Beautiful paper is made from the bark of trees in Mexico and is kinda similar to brown paper bags.  How are the two papers different?  Well, bark paper is usually very heavy and comes in a few different shades from light to dark.  The picture on the right shows a small piece of bark paper that I have.  So how are the two papers similar or the same?  You figure that one out... 

The first thing you should do is find a grocery bag and cut out a large piece.  If you want your paper to look even MORE like bark, rip it out instead of using a scissors.  Next, crumble up your paper bag like you were going to make a ball.  If you are patient, wet your paper a little bit first, then crumple it up.  Getting your paper wet will make it less likely to rip.  Then, carefully smooth it out and you're all done!  You can start right away or wait a little while if you wet your paper first. 

Now...the tough part...what to draw!?!  If you need an idea, try doing a 'traditional' image similar to one you might see in Mexico.  Popular scenes are what people do in everyday life like shopping in a market, playing with your friends or something you like to do with your family or a vacation you all took!  Another idea would be to follow my example and create a totally imaginary animal or bird!  A border with a bright pattern makes your picture complete!  No matter what you draw, use lots of bright colors so they contrast, or stand out, from the brown paper!