Beading Arts

Here are the super-easy steps to creating this pendant: 1. Stamp black polymer clay with a texture plate. Cut slits at both the top and bottom for jump rings and gently mold the clay closed around them. Bake according to the directions for your brand of clay. 2. Mix liquid sculpey with gold mica powder. Wipe it all over your clay and let it settle in stamped parts. Rebake. 3. Sand the surface with fine sandpaper to remove mica from the raised surface of the texture. Now the piece will look like a mosaic with black grout! Add another thin layer of plain liquid sculpey to the surface if desired and bake one more time. 4. Create dangles to attach to the bottom jump ring. I kept the middle bead “floating” by using a small crimp on the headpin. Use Diamond Glaze or E6000 to glue brass stampings or other charms to the pendant surface. Add a large jump ring or bail to the top. Copyright 2008 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal...

Dichroic three hinge silver encased pendant with sterling silver curved tubes, Czech glass beads and sterling silver lobster claw clasp Artist: Karen Leslie Website: The Jewelry Collection by Karen Leslie Chunky Amethyst nugget beads with fancy Bali saucer beads and spacers with a fancy toggle clasp Karen, how do you describe your work? My designs consist of one of a kind and limited edition pieces. I pride myself on the ability to find individual, distinctive and truly unique components to incorporate into my designs to make a special creation. My designs are contemporary and timeless and can go with any outfit. Lapis rectangle center stone with Lapis round beads and Bali spacers, sterling silver lobster claw clasp What is your creative process like? As far as my creative process, I choose my pieces because I like the different shapes of the stones, color, and texture. I don’t always have a specific design in mind when purchasing my components. It could be months later...

1. Pick the items that you will use for your pin and decide on a layout. Do any preparation work necessary (eg, I had to saw the back off of the Mahjong tile because it was too thick to embed well). 2. Condition and roll out a lump of black polymer clay on parchment paper to approximately 1/4 inch thick. Use a rolling pin or a clay-dedicated pasta machine. 3. Lay the pieces onto the sheet of clay and sink them down into it. Remove the pieces before baking. 4. Cut the polymer clay edges with the exacto knife, leaving a narrow border around the objects you’ll embed. Smooth the edges with your fingers. Cut a slit in the top and bottom edges with the exacto knife and insert a jump ring half way into each slit. Smooth the clay closed around them. Texture the top surface with a rubber stamp if desired. 5. Bake as directed on top of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Exact times and temperatures vary depending upon the brand of clay used. 6. After the pendant has cooled, use a small p...

A Charming Exchange by Kelly Snelling & Ruth Rae Having taken part in several really wonderful collaborative projects, I was immediately drawn to this book. All of the wonderful wearables shown in it are the results of round-robins, collaborations, and swaps. It’s amazing how much time and energy it takes to organize just one of these projects, and here is a book that is full to bursting with…well, they claim there are 25, but I swear there are more! I found several pieces that inspired me to get going immediately and to make something. That doesn’t happen to me with every book I read. Often, I’ll run across a technique that I want to try, or a style that appeals to me, but rarely do I end up toting out my bins and diving right in. Here’s one thing I made, a bracelet: The projects aren’t overly detailed with exact counts and sizes. For some that may be frustrating, but it’s just the nature of working with found objects and mixed media. Know that going in: you’ll find lots to inspir...