Sharon's Wee Folk, Aunt Molly's Bead Street

SHARON BEECHER'S
FAIRIES & WEE FOLK
CHARMS

After I posted the Three-Bead Angel Charms project, Sharon Beecher wrote about her Fairies and Wee Folk jewelry, and she gave me permission to share them with you here.

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"I have been making angels or fairies from larger than seed beads for years. I make arms and frequently add hats or crowns using the same techniques you describe. I use leaf bails wrapped around the basic head pin below the arms (also wrapped). They end up around an inch long. I use littler beads and "wings" to make an earring size. I have even made a male version with trousers."

"A leaf bail is a folded over piece of metal designed to glue (front and back) onto a rock, slice, undrilled bead or whatever to make it into a pendant. The two identical leaf ends are joined by a length of metal. The mid-section is what I bend around my supporting wire to make the wings. [They come in] gold and silver tone and several sizes."

"I make trousers from longer beads, depending on the size of the whole piece, by putting two beads on a wire, headpin or eye pin. I turn the wire between the two beads to a right angle or even overlap on itself into a circle and finish the foot ends with more beads for my design or just eye circles. Then the right angle or circle between the leg beads is attached to the eye at the base of the upper body. These guys have more movement to them then the fairies in their ruffly bead dresses (or inverted hearts for skirts)."

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