Beading Arts

Company: Nancy Dunitz Website: Dunitz & Company I design a wonderful seed bead jewelry line which is made for me in Guatemala. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. The designs are beaded by a talented group of Mayan women in the highlands of Guatemala. My business, Dunitz & Company is also a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation. Each season we introduce a new collection of designs in twelve different color combinations. We wholesale to stores and exhibit our line at several major trade shows around the country. These pictures are from our current season's collection including a new line of beaded yarmulkes. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

  The Weekend Crafter: Beading: 20 Great Weekend Projects by Rankin Street Press Stitch Workshop: Peyote Stitch: Basic Techniques, Advanced Results by Editors of Bead&Button magazine Polymer Clay Beads: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration by Grant Diffendaffer Endless Sparkle: 10 Crystal Components - Unlimited Jewelry Designs by Aimee Carpenter Easy & Elegant Beaded Copper Jewelry: How to Create Beautiful Fashion Accessories from a Few Basic Steps by Lora S. Irish Creative Lampwork: Techniques and Projects for the Art of Melting Glass by Joan Gordon Wire Jewellery (Jewellery Handbooks) by Hans Stofer Resin Jewellery (Jewellery Handbooks) by Kathie Murphy Kumihimo Wire Jewelry: Essential Techniques and 20 Jewelry Projects for the Japanese Art of Braiding by Giovanna Imperia Jewellery from Recycled Materials (Jewellery Handbooks) by Jaimie MacDonald Enamelling (Jewellery Handbooks) by Ruth Ball 75 Chinese, Celtic, and Ornamental Knots: A Directory

Wow!  This necklace uses materials that I've acquired in so many different ways that it's a total supply-collaboration! First off, several weeks ago I made a series of little tube beads and capped them with some of the beautiful 6mm turquoise rondelles that I received from Auntie's Beads .  These start with a simple two-bead ladder stitch and then are formed with brick stitch around a crochet hook.  Using copper wire, I filled each bead with large seed beads to stabilize it and created a wrapped loop at each end around the rondelles.  You can get specific step-by-step instructions for making these beads in Nancy Zeller's book, Bead Tube Jewelry .     Once these beads were all stitched and finished, the rest of the construction began in earnest. Materials and Tools Stitched tube beads or other long beads of your choice Copper wire Small turquoise chips (from Auntie's Beads ) Small copper spacers Copper chain (from Michael's) Head pins Wavy co

Here's my next installment in the Bead Journal Project for this year.  We went to Guatemala to visit our son's family in the orphanage they help to run.  Bright colors abound in the clothing and other textiles in Lake Atitlan region, and so I drew from the inspiration of that trip to make this button. Link to tutorial January Button February Button Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

    Dark Lady There are quite a few seed bead tutorials in the archives that I'd like to share with you...both off-loom bead weaving and bead embroidery.  Some of these are quick and dirty techniques, and some follow a larger project from beginning to end.  Enjoy! Bead embroidery techniques Free e-book on bead embroidery stitches Treasure Chest: a basic bead embroidered project Peyote stitch a beaded bead The spiral stitch A freeform beaded pendant from a geode Two drop peyote beaded beads Right angle weave bezel and bail Cigar box handbag A simple square stitch bail Twisted peyote spiral necklace Simple cuff bracelet A wrapped paua necklace Freeform seed bead necklace Spiral square stitch Autumn Arbor Beaded cabochon pendants A freeform beaded bauble Beaded flowers Floral bead embroidered necklace Interesting spiral Deco scarab necklace Lady of Shalott Midnight at the Oasis Floral seed bead chain Embroidered cuff bracelets

Artist: Karen Whiteduck Website: Ducklet's Hut I'm Karen Whiteduck, an Algonquin artisan, from Kitigan-Zibi, Maniwaki, Quebec. I have been making native crafts since 2003. I have a website Ducklet's Hut Native Crafts that showcases my work in the photo gallery. I sell my crafts on Ebay, and at local gift shops. When I first started I made only leather dreamcatchers, and gradually learned how to make beaded ones. There's alot to learn when it comes to making crafts, I'm always learning new skills to enhance my craftwork. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

My friend Tammy Powley has written an article on jewelry jobs for About.com's Job Searching site . She covers quite a few different career paths that you can consider besides the obvious "jewelry designer"... not that there's anything wrong with that! One of the career paths she discusses is becoming a jewelry rep.  That's an interesting topic all on it's own, because I always hear people asking about how to find a good rep.  Here's another article you should probably take a look at, whether you want to hire a rep or become one: Hiring a jewelry sales rep .   And think about this: if everyone is looking for a good rep, maybe that's a niche you could fill. And what about teaching?  There are so many opportunities to teach, from your local bead store to club meetings to national gatherings.  Make sure you read through this article on Experience vs pay scale before you sign any contracts! Image: Tammy Powley Technorati Tags: handmade beaded

  Kim St Jean wants to make sure that you master the basics of metal work.  To that end, she does a masterful job in the new Kalmbach Press book, Mixed Metal Mania , showing you in great detail just how to accomplish dozens of basic metal techniques.  From various cold connections to using flames, foldforming, finishing and everything in between, Kim's book is a resource that anyone working in metal will want to have. Even if you are a complete beginner, Kim makes metal work seem really doable.  She has structured the projects in the book to build one after another upon the basics that she teaches.  As a popular workshop teacher, Kim knows how to explain and organize.  Does metal work seem overwhelming to you?  It won't seem quite so daunting once you've taken a stroll through Mixed Metal Mania ! What about if you are an experienced metal worker?  Kim's personal tips, sprinkled liberally throughout the book, are probably worth the price right there.  But add

  I received a copy of the new Kalmbach Press title, Bead Tube Jewelry by Nancy Zellers, and after leafing through it for an evening, I knew that I had to stitch something up to show you just how wonderfully simple her concept is.  Nancy shows you how to use either brick or peyote stitch to make these luscious little tube beads that you can then combine in all different ways to make fun and fabulous jewelry. Not content with the obvious and the easy, Nancy teaches odd-count peyote as well as even-count so that you won't be limited in your designs.  And she shows you SEVEN different ways to make the turns in odd-count, rather than assuming that you'll automatically like the style that is her favorite!  My goodness...this information, plus the tips on reading charts are worth the price alone. You might suspect that a book full of projects that uses one repetitive form over and over would be a bit boring, but I think you'd be wrong!  Nancy helps you to fully master the