Custom Beaded Lanyard ID Badge Holders with Polymer Clay Focal Beads
Simply Wear Your Handmade Jewelry Creations To Make More Sales:
Last month I talked about the recession and about things we can do as artists to sell handcrafted jewelry designs even during slow economic times. One thing I had suggested was to wear your handmade jewelry at all times in order to attract custom orders.
Here's that article if you are interested in reading it: 6 Tips For Home Based Jewelry Business Owners To Beat The Bad Economy
One thing I mentioned in the article was that because I wear a beaded lanyard to hold my YMCA members card, I have received numerous custom orders for beaded ID badge holders. You can see a picture of one of them here: Pirate Crossbones Jewelry
One of the lanyards for my most recent custom order is pictured in the photo above. This Beaded ID necklace was made of mostly glass beads with a large green leaf pod shape as the main polymer clay focal bead. I had made this podbead a while ago and was just waiting for the right opportunity to use it.
Because of its bright colors and large size (2 inches long) it suited this playful lanyard quite nicely.
I will show the other lanyards I created for this order in future posts, so you can get some design ideas for making badge holders of your own.
My customer was very pleased with her order and now wants me to make up several pairs of earrings as Christmas gifts for her girlfriends. It really does pay of to wear your stuff!
I am currently putting together a list of possible video courses to film and was wondering if I should put the topic of "making beaded lanyards" on the list. What do you think… would you like to learn some ID badge patterns to wear to work, give as gifts and/or sell to your customers? Let me know below!
Filed Under: 11: Bead Projects, 16: Sell Your Stuff by Comment. 
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Comments on Custom Beaded Lanyard ID Badge Holders with Polymer Clay Focal Beads
9:56 pm
Would love to see this on video.
2:21 pm
Thank you Shelly! Keep your eyes out for an announcement!
Anyone else interested in a course on beaded lanyards?
3:43 am
yes please! what a cool idea – instead of standard necklaces bracelets etc my mom would love one!
7:48 am
A video on lanyard design is a great idea.
6:16 pm
Hello Cindy! I would love to see this on video and to get step by step pictures of making them. Yeah ~ Thanks!
1:04 pm
@Rachel: Thanks! They do make excellent gifts for anyone who needs to wear their ID! Like teachers, nurses, doctors, corporate employees, etc.
@Illaya: Thank you, I'll get to work!
@Stacy: Thanks for you interest!
@Eri: Thank you for the Pingback! I appreciate it!
4:33 pm
I guess the full lanyard video isn't on November's list yet? I can't find it. I discovered polymer clay a year ago, as a way to make candle holders for the beeswax candles I'm making. Now I can get out either candle making or polymer clay stuff, putting the other things on shelves. I have a 12 ft. x 14 ft. office, separate from the house, on top of a mountain at 9,000 ft. – now a little craft house.
I just tried making refrigerator magnets with lots of my small flower and leaf canes, and they came out great. My best friend's daughter just graduated from high school, and is making beaded jewelry from plastic beads. I'm hoping I can convince her to get in to polymer clay – maybe she could even make money that way! (She has no car and everything is so far away here in the mountains that she doesn't have a job yet.)
So this morning I went to your web site after seeing your email, and saw the idea of a badge lanyard out of beads. I have to wear a badge at work (computer programming, for nearly 33 years) to get in the doors – how cool to have a lanyard out of beads I made! So now I'm going to start making beads. Thanks for introducing me to a whole new artistic medium!!! I'm off to read up everything I can find on your web site, and I have lots of flower and leaf canes still ready to go. By the end of the day I'll have beads I made all by myself! I made braided lanyards as a kid, at a summer program at the elementary school, so the idea brought back great memories. This will be fun!
Thanks for your wonderful web site!
Betsy
4:40 pm
Betsy… thanks so much for sharing your wonderful stories of candles, canes and even childhood memories of braided lanyards. You lifted my spirits and my motivation to get some lanyard tutorial videos put together as soon as possible. Thanks for being such a valued member of this beads and beading community.
1:02 pm
Thanks! I made my first beads yesterday. You are such an inspiration! I made some with translucent clay and lavender buds embedded, and others with the flower and leaf canes I already had. I'm really looking forward to the new application for my canes.
Betsy
6:30 pm
They sound beautiful Betsy, good for you!
6:29 am
Hi,
I've never made jewelry, but I would love to learn. I just started a job working at a hospital and am required to wear a lanyard.
Please advise me on how I can participate in your online classes.
thanks much!
Pat Bitzer
8:10 am
Hi Pat,
The link by my name goes to the polymer clay basics course which is the best place to get started on the right foot.
I also publish weekly video tutorials that get posted at the Polymer Clay Members Library.
Good luck with you new job at the hospital :)