Yay for Sharon!

Congratulations to Sharon Linder!  She won the copy of Weave Wrap Coil that we were giving away!  You might wonder why it took so long to post this...it's because the first two people I tried to contact did not respond, so lucky Sharon!!

Don't forget about SoftFlex!

SoftFlex Double Drop Earrings

When you think about wire and all the things you can do with it, don't forget about SoftFlex beading wire.  With its amazing drape and plentiful color palette, SoftFlex has become more of a design element than simple a material to hang beads on!  Sara Oehler just posted a list of favorite projects you can find on their blog, including the great earrings up above by Shelley Richey.  Click on the link above to visit her post!




Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Wiring up some button earrings

So so so easy!  And such a nice way to use a pair of special buttons.  Mine are vintage but yours can be anything, as long as they are shank style!

1. Cut a short length of wire and turn a simple loop on one end.  Thread it through the shank and turn a loop on the other end.   Trim and file as needed.  

2. Attach an ear wire at the top and a beaded dangle at the bottom.  I'm not thrilled with the earring fitting, but I can't wear coated wire through my ears, so I'm stuck until I find something different!   Repeat to make a pair.  

Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Bead & jewelry blogging round-up!

A Bead A Day 
What does blogging mean to you? Lisa's sharing her thoughts on the beauty of blogging, check it out!

About.com Jewelry Making
A new "frame" necklace tutorial up that incorporate some amazing mirror crystal beads.

Art Bead Scene-Color Cord Mixes and a Free Bracelet Project 
Are you looking for a place to start on a jewelry design to enter into our Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenges? Lorelei has been creating color cord combinations inspired by the art piece chosen by the Art Bead Scene team. 

Resin Crafts Blog! 
Making textured, coloured and rubberstamped pendants is a breeze with Jewelry Clay! 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
It it National Children's Book week! Jean has a giveaway on her blog for a children's book written by a famous author, Elizabeth King Gerlach, which Jean herself illustrated! Come over and sign up! It is adorable! 

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton 
Using the Now That's a Jig!, Andrew made some fun earrings for a local musician! 



Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Tree of Life pendants and gem trees

Just check google images for  "tree of life" pendants and you will find hundreds of stunning examples!  There are tutorials available for sale, and several really nice free ones too, like this one from Dana's Jewelry Designs.  Thank you, Dana!  If you want to go beyond pendants, Dana has a book on making Gem Tree Sculptures too.




Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Book review: Build Your Own Wire Pendants

Every year I swear I'm going to work at getting better with wire.  And every year I learn a bit more, but still end up intimidated by my pliers!  Now there is a totally unique book with a brand new take on using wire with beads and cabochons, and I love it.  While I also love traditional wire wrapping, I'm not particularly good at it.  Kimberly Berlin's free form style in Build Your Own Wire Pendants makes me think that just maybe I could actually do this.  This just might be the year!

Kimberly starts with all the basic techniques that you'll use, which is especially helpful to have all in one place when you begin to design your own pendants.  Working through Kimberly's projects will have you making a basic frame, creating embellishments, and learning to mix the techniques to suit your own materials and style.

Framed projects are the majority of the book, with 14 projects plus multiple variations.  Kimberly then moves on to working with drilled pendants and creating wire bezels.  I think of these 6 additional projects as a bonus that will unlock even more possibilities for the frames you've already mastered, but that can also stand on their own. 





Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Wire advice from around the town!

Frame-style wire and bead necklace

Since I read a lot of blogs, I end up with files of saved links to share with you.  Recently, I culled my list for projects and advice that focused on wire, and found these winners!

Fancy wire rivets

Fairy Wings from wire and resin

Cold Connections, including wire

Best wire jewelry-making tips

Frame-style wire and bead necklace



Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading

Insulator pendant necklace - a wire fitting

We used to have a lot of old knob and tube wiring in our house before the electrical system was updated, so on a recent trip to the attic, I discovered a paper bag (which had rotted through) just full of the old insulators!  Very very cool, huh?  I happily dove into figuring out different ways to add color to them, which I'll share in June during Mixed Media month, but I digress.

The most important step, really, was to figure out how to hang them.  They have holes clear through the length, but they're a bit ungainly, especially the longer ones.  I wanted to create a wire fitting that would allow me to hang them as pendants.  Here's what I came up with!

1. Cut two pieces of wire and turn a loop at one end of each, with a short tail left over as shown.  I made my wires each 4 inches long so that I would be sure to have plenty of length.  After you've made them once, you'll know how much you actually need, so use cheap wire to practice if you want to end up using expensive metal for your final piece.

2. Wrap each wire half way around the insulator, working from opposite directions.

3. Use the free end of one wire to wrap around the short tail below the opposite loop.  Clip the wire off and file as needed.

4. Slip the fitting onto the insulator and wrap below the opposite loop as shown.

5.  I attached chain to both loops, but you could attach to only one loop and leave the other one free for adding more beads or dangles.

6. I used a sari silk strip to finish it off.  This photo doesn't show off the colors of the insulator very well, but it's got some crazy beautiful iridescence that I'll teach you in June!

Copyright 2013 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

Technorati Tags: bead embroidery,handmade beaded jewelry,wearable art,beads,jewelry,necklace,mixed media,beading