heART beats from other blogs!

Bright and pretty Get Happy earrings video tutorial  (shown above)

Tropical Escape necklace video tutorial

Beautiful pink tassel earrings tutorial

Make your own tortoise shell earrings

Allegory Gallery shares their latest heart-themed pendants (shown above)

The Little Bead Shop That Could

Quilting on the Fly (shown above)

Thread and bead earrings tutorial

Painted leather earrings tutorial


This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads

Russian spiral rope necklace - a quick beading project

I have an extremely busy summer ahead of me, including lots of things that have nothing to do with beading, jewelry, and art!  So I decided a few weeks ago that my summer project was going to consist of a series of beaded ropes that I could work on a little bit at a time without having to figure out what I meant to do next each time I pick them up!

I started with a Russian spiral variation that was taught in the June issue of Beadwork by Carol Ohl.  You can find instructions for plain Russian spiral at this link, but I like Carol's version better since you can get almost a plaid effect with it.

I used size 11/0 seed beads and size 15/0 seed beads for the rope.  When I got is as long as I wanted, I narrowed both ends slightly with size 15s and slipped the rope onto a cord.  As you can see, I used 18 gauge copper wire to wrap the ends of the cord around the closed rings for an S clasp.

Easy-peasy, a little at a time, finished!



This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique

Copyright 2018 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.

heART beats from other blogs!

Heart Aglow aromatherapy necklace video tutorial (shown above)

Super-simple, but super-pretty wire earrings video tutorial

Adorable Boho-bliss necklaces video tutorial

American Rebel necklace video tutorial

Washi tape earrings tutorial

Rose Bush earrings video tutorial (shown below)

This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique and Jesse James Beads

Beadwoven flower pendants from dagger beads

I don't often make pieces using other people's instructions, but I had to make an exception for this pretty little pendant that Nora Toth designed for the June 2018 issue of Bead&Button!  Above on the right is the one that I made following her instructions, but then I decided to change it up slightly.  I didn't really like how the back row of daggers was covered, even though it does make the flower wonderfully full.  So I made a second one, shown on the left, using shorter beads for the top row.  Since the leaves that I used were thicker than the daggers, I used only one bead in each top spot rather than the two that the original directions call for. 

Either way, the pendant is very pretty.  A few weeks later, though, I ended up reworking the blue one, as shown below.  I would recommend pips, leaves, or chilis for your top row of petals if you want to make it like I did.   

This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique

heART beats from other blogs!

Flower Power necklace video tutorial (shown above)

Pansy Pageant Wrap Bracelet video tutorial

Unicorn Playdate - new bead collection (sample shown above)

Wire Wrapped Luna Earrings video tutorial

Macrame necklaces tutorial (in French, but great pictures)

Orange Crush beadwoven earrings video tutorial

Wire-wrapped chevron bracelet video tutorial (shown below)

Beautiful red and black leather (tape!) earrings tutorial


This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique and Jesse James Beads

Recent publications: January - June 2018

Jewelry Making: 15 Fast and Easy Amazing Beadwork Projects for Beginners by Lisa Franklyn

The Art & Tradition of Beadwork by Museum Of International Folk Art

Exquisite Stitching with Multi-Hole Beads by Renee Kovnesky

Wire Jewelry for Beginners: Best Guide on Creating Extraordinary Jewelry With Your Own Hands by Erica Miller

Jewelry School: Bead Stringing by Caroline Schulz

The Art of Leather Braiding: Beginner's Guide to Making Jewelry, Pendants, Bracelets, Belts, Straps, and Key Fobs by Roy Luo and Kelly Tong

350+ Beading Tips, Techniques, and Trade Secrets: Updated Edition - More Tips! More Skills! by Jean Power

Wire Jewelry Making: Simple Jewelry Making for Beginners by Maya Kenna

Designing and Making Rings and Bangles by Miranda Falkner and Evangelos Pourgouris

Inspired Bead Embroidery: New jewelry designs by Sherry Serafini by Sherry Serafini (my review)

Jewelry Making: Learn To Create Fabulous Wire and Beaded Jewelry Yourself by Erica Miller and Maya Kenna

The Seed Bead Book: Over 35 step-by-step projects made with modern beads by Kate Haxell

Big Book of Weekend Beading: Step-by-Step Instructions for 30+ Quick Beading Projects by Jean Power and Natalie Cotgrove



This post contains affiliate links: Amazon 

Lilac button bead embroidered pendant - a tutorial

This sweet little bead embroidered pendant is a great match for the pink lavender color that is everywhere this Summer!  So of course I had to dig it out, both from my jewelry stash and also from my jewelry tutorial stash :-)  I might change out the ribbon to get a bit closer to the color below, but then again, a little less matchy-matchy is better contrast!  The tutorial is at the link.

Copyright 2018 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.