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Showing posts from January, 2016

heART beats from other blogs!

Japanese Quilts The Crafty Princess does a short video review of a beautiful book about Japanese quilts. Royal Flowers Cindy stitched up a model of the free Royal Flowers chart which just happens to be a favorite color combo. Snap Out of It, Jean! There's Beading to Be Done! Jean reviews a book on a very pretty style of peyote stitch, and it's fast too! Check out Fast Peyote Stitch Jewelry, Easy to Follow Patterns, 25+ Projects by Josie Fabre ! It's lovely! Tissue Paper Decorated Candle A tissue paper decorated candle is a quick and easy craft that still looks impressive. How to get perfect results every time using wax paper & a heat gun. Recycled Guitar String Pendant DIY The Tappingflamingo shows how she makes guitar string jewelry. This is an easy, fun tutorial that can be made quickly and inexpensively. Amigurumi Tip 6 Learn some helpful tips about making faces for your crocheted stuff toys.

Book review on MMA: The Little Guide to Mastering Your Sewing Machine

Yesterday on Mixed Media Artist , I posted a review of this cute little book...spiral bound at the top, fold-out easel at the bottom.  Time to stop letting your sewing machine intimidate you...?

Art quilt tutorials

KÄ«lauea I post all of my quilts on Mixed Media Artist , but there are also people here at Beading Arts who love to quilt.  Besides tutorials for my previously made quilts, you will also find loads of tutorials there on fabric painting , doing image transfers , and other topics that could cross-pollinate with your jewelry making and beading. Since you'll be seeing more fabric and fiber arts here than in some previous years, I thought I'd better add an archived list of tutorials that you can find easily.  This post will be linked in the Tutorials  tab at the top of this blog so that you can find it easily. Some of these quilt tutorials include beading, but some do not.  You are always welcome to add beads if you want! Small tree quilt Faux patchwork crazy quilt block 30-Second Hot Flashes Spring Returns to the Land A beginner's crazy quilt block Geometric beaded quilt Infinite Love beaded quilt Beaded turtles  ( update ) Rising Mist quilt Glacier

How to Make a Swarovski Bow Necklace

Here’s a guest post from The Bead Shop , the perfect place for anyone looking to stock up on jewellery making equipment. Today we’re going to show you how to make this cute bow necklace - perfect for spring! To make the necklace pictured above you’ll need the following: Craft wire Swarovski Crystal Bicone Beads Swarovski Crystal Faceted Round Beads Swarovski Pearls A Heart Trigger Clasp 5mm jump rings However, if you’d rather use different beads entirely, that’s okay too! This really is one of those uber-versatile designs that can perfectly incorporate a variety of beads. Let’s look at how we made the necklace pictured… Step 1 First of all, you want to start threading beads onto your craft wire. For this necklace we threaded beads on in this order: 4mm Bicone 6mm Pearl 6mm Bicone 6mm Pearl 6mm Bicone 6mm Pearl 5mm closed ring Step 2 Next, thread on four more 6mm Pearls and three more 6mm Bicones (alternately) followed by another 4mm Bicone to

heART beats from other blogs!

Art Bead Scene Take a peek at what the Art Bead Scene team has to offer in Pantone's Colors of the Year, Rose Quartz and Serenity! 4 Wine Bottle Crafts for the Thrifty Oenophile Instead of throwing out your empty wine bottles, turn them into trendy decor accessories. Save those attractive corks and labels as well. What crafter doesn’t love free supplies? Diffuser Necklace DIY Terry Jeanette of Tappingflamingo shows you how to make your very own essential oil diffuser necklace.

Book review: Jewel Loom Inspirations

Jewel Loom Inspirations: Quick and Fun Beading and Jewelry Projects by Julianna C. Avelar Fons & Porter/F+W; $19.99 Have you thought of adding loom work to your beading repertoire this year?  Perhaps you feared that it would be too expensive to get a loom, or that it was too big a commitment and would take up too much space.  No more excuses!  Julianna Avelar is the creator of the Jewel Loom , which I've found listed online for about $11 to $12.  It's portable, flexible, and easy to set up and use, and now Julianna has written a book called Jewel Loom Inspirations , published by Fons + Porter, to help you through the learning curve. Julianna starts with the basics: what sizes and shapes of beads work best in loom work, the best stringing materials, adhesives, findings, and other tools.  You will probably not have to add many materials or tools, other than the loom itself, if you've been beading for awhile. The next section shows you how to set up the lo

Spring Returns to the Land: a landscape quilt block - part two

Last week, I shared part one of my tutorial on making a painted landscape crazy quilt block. 10. My landscape is all finished now, with each seam and patch decorated.  What follows are some close-ups of various areas: 11. Snow-topped mountains and flowers. 12. Mid-land and butterfly. 13. Foreground water. 14. The last element I added. 15. I chose not to add a frame of any type to this block, so here's my finishing method.  Cut a backing fabric (mine is plain muslin) and a piece of batting.  The batting should be just slightly smaller than the top.  Miter and fold the backing up around the batting.  Miter and fold the edges of the top along the pre-planned lines. 16. Iron the edges, line them up, and pin them together. 17. Pick embroidery floss and size 8/0 seed beads to edge the piece.  I added a bead to every other blanket stitch around the edges. Spring Returns to the Land 10x8" Cyndi Lavin, 2016  Copyright 20

heART beats from other blogs!

Keepsake Shell Necklace This free necklace tutorial shows how to turn shell beads picked up during a cruise into a necklace. Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Like peyote bead stitch? Jean revisits a wonderful beadweaving book by Melinda Barta with a review you can't miss! Silhouette Pop-Up Drawer Card Box Tips for assembling Silhouette pop-up drawer box cards. Lori Whitlock designed a series of these cute pop-ups. Here's how to make them nice and sturdy. Art Bead Scene Winter Bird Studio + Round Rabbit + Mia Only Beads are the perfect combination for Erin's Perfect Pairings selection! Yummy Breakfast Oatmeal Recipe Here is one of Terry's first videos she put together about a year ago. Terry shows how to make a delicious oatmeal dish that would be great for those cold mornings. Knitting Needle Set Review In this video, the Crafty Princess looks at various wooden knitting needle sets from Knit Picks. How to Tie a Knot for Hand Se

This is your chance to take a free online crazy quilt class! But HURRY!

Registration for the basic crazy quilt course with the wonderful Kathy Shaw is open now. It's an online course and it's free. Stop procrastinating...registration is only open until the 15th!

Book reviews: New quilting and sewing books from Martingale

If you are interested in adding more quilting to your beading, or more beading to your quilting, but aren't sure where to start, Martingale publications are a good bet.  Each one has all the basic information you need to complete the projects that are included.  For example, all of them will teach you how to piece, quilt, and finish blocks, but each also includes its own specialty. Animal Parade 2 by Cheri Leffler features adorable applique quilts for babies.  Ten complete projects include instruction on two applique methods and several embroidery stitches. Primitive Style Folk Art Quilts and Other Finery by Jenifer Gaston goes beyond quilts to hooked rugs and other home decor. Windy City Bags by Sara Lawson has twelve handbag and tote designs with easy-to-follow instructions Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Spring Returns to the Land: a landscape quilt block - part one

Spring Returns to the Land 10x8" Cyndi Lavin, 2016 I spent the last few months working more on small quilt blocks than on jewelry, so the first couple of tutorials for 2016 will be focused on those.  Sometimes I turn to art quilts, collage, or other mixed media when I don't know where to go next with jewelry making, but other times I do them just because I love them.  I used to share most of them on Mixed Media Artist , and you can find lots of tutorials over there, but not all of them will have beads! 1. Sketch the landscape as you please.  I decided to turn mine into straight lines before transferring, to keep more of a crazy quilt look about it. 2. Transfer your design to muslin using a lightbox and a waterproof black pen (I use Faber-Castell Pitt pens ).  Double the muslin before hooping.  I decided to add a motif that I had previously stitched separately on muslin.  Back it with interfacing if needed, and fuse it into place on the design. 3. A

heART beats from other blogs!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's Beading to Be Done! Jean reviews a beautiful follow up to an earlier book on bead embroidery: Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples Motifs. If you like to embroider, don't miss this! Repair It with Bondic Plastic Welding Pen Eileen repairs a small cast iron sculpture with Bondic. No waiting time required when you repair it with Bondic. Apply, cures in a few seconds, add finishing touches. Your repair is immediately ready for use. Yes, Another Jewelry Challenge Terry Jeanette of Tappingflamingo shows her entry in the Dry Gulch Beads and Jewelry Challenge, January 2016 Art Bead Scene Check out our beautiful new challenge for January - the first of 2016! Taylor Knit Shawl Here is a little knitting progress as the Crafty Princess continues to learn how to knit. Illustrate Your One Little Word Do you have a word for 2016? Why not use it in a piece of art? You can do this with any word you like and whatever supplies you have. Apply Those C

Vintage bird pins - for sale

This is part of my collection of vintage jewelry, amassed over a very very (very) long time.  I love birds :-)  But my closet, cupboards, and drawers can no longer contain all of these.  As a part of my New Year's resolutions, I want to offer them to you.  If you'd like to make an offer, you can write it in the comments along with your email address...moderation is on, so your comment will not become public. Peacock with zirconia gems, sterling silver 2" across $38 or best offer Enameled hummingbird pin + pendant Each 1 1/2" tall $25 or best offer Dove with rhinestones, marked "Ora" 1 1/2" across $7 or best offer Owl with multicolored rhinestones, marked "Giovanni" 1 1/4" tall $25 or best offer Owl with green rhinestone eyes, marked "Monet" 1 1/2" tall $18 or best offer Peacock with aurora borealis rhinestones and glass pearls 2" across $25 or best offer