Beading Arts

Two of my pieces went to their forever home today :-) Hershey's Bliss chocolate cuff Resin "opal" pendant

Beading: Techniques and Projects to Build a Lifelong Passion For Beginners Up by Jean Power Leather & Bead Jewelry to Make: 30 Cool Projects for Bracelets, Pendants, and More by Cat Horn Brooches: 20 Creative Projects  by Corinne Alagille Kumihimo Jewelry Simplified: Learn to Braid with a Kumihimo Disk by Rebecca Ann Combs DIY Jewelry Projects: Discover over 25 Simple and Effective DIY Projects to Help You Save Time and Money by Karin McDougall

This is a "no-patchwork whole cloth" crazy quilt block.  I had a small but great textured piece of silk that was left over from a flurry of painting.  I drew up a crazy quilt block, re-sized and transferred it to a piece of muslin, and then pinned my silk piece in place on top.  Using a basting stitch, I went over all the lines in red thread. My plan was to remove the basting stitches as soon as I had marked the seam treatments using templates, but the machine stitches made permanent marks in the silk.  Plan B (which I came up with on the spot) was to re-stitch each of the seam lines in white perle cotton thread, using a back stitch. If I make another of these, I will skip the machine basting step and just stitch the "seam" lines on to begin with! 1. Draw block.  If needed, scan and size with photoshop and print out. 3. Trace.  Copy over tracing on the back with black pen. 4. Use lightbox to trace wrong side of pattern onto the back of the mus...

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Creature Feetures: 30 Crochet Patterns for Baby Booties by Kristi Simspson--how adorable and fun! Queen of the Needle Connie's added a new free chart that will be great for a scissor fob or needle case. Watercolor Easter Cards to DIY Charming watercolor Easter cards require few supplies: watercolors, water, watercolor paper, black waterproof pen. Try these six simple designs of bunnies & flowers. Yarn Love Madelinetosh yarn, is it worth all the hype? Clasps Part 2 Terry put together an easy tutorial on how to make a fancy shepherd's hook clasp. Go on an Inspiration Walk It's spring break in Arkansas, so Sarah is getting inspired outside the craft room with a visit to the local botanical garden.

Oh my!  These are almost too cute to wear.  Have you ever played around with origami?  Maybe as a child?  If you did, and you liked it, did you ever think about wearing your creations?   Julian Laboy Rodriguez did, and he shows you how in his new Interweave book, Origami Jewelry Motifs . Even if you haven't done any origami before, don't let that stop you.  All the basic folds and instructions are covered up front, and there is a nice selection of motifs included which range from easy to intermediate.  The really unique part of the book is how Julian teaches you to turn your little cuties into jewelry pieces, using easy to obtain findings, some glue, and a good spray finish! GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!  Would you like to try out some origami this spring?  Here's what you need to do... please read this carefully . Leave me a comment here and include your email address. If I don't see your email address, I won't be able to contact you....

When I was taking the online crazy quilt courses last year with Kathy Shaw , she had us stitching up some practice motifs that could include beads or not, as we chose.  A few of my motifs were stitched directly onto quilt tops that I was working on, like my fantasy bird: Others ended up just stitched on plain doubled muslin in a large hoop.  I spaced them all out from each other so that I could cut them out in the future and add them to whatever project needed them.  In fact, you've already seen one of them in my landscape quilt : We did a few monogram letters, like the one at the top of the post and these: And we also did a few insects and other critters: I stitched the butterfly directly following the horrific attacks in Paris.  Stitching can be very therapeutic as well as allowing you to add your voice to the world. Copyright 2016 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be pri...

Flashback to the Past One of Connie's favorite stitchers shares a project she created from a free pattern that is a blast from the past. And still available too. Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews a fascinating book which delightfully combines two crafts into one beautiful craft to greet spring: Origami Jewelry! This T-Shirt Bag is No Slouch How to sew a reversible t-shirt bag. This t-shirt bag is sturdier than the average t-shirt tote bag because it's double-thick and has a reinforced bottom. Teddy Bear Love This video reviews both a cute crochet teddy bear pattern and the Craftsy class that comes with this pattern. Tape Resist Painting Tape resist painting is a classic project done with kids, but it's fun for adults to try, too. Sarah made hers with painter's tape and watercolors. How to NOT Gain Weight On A Cruise Today's video is a tip...Did you know the average person gains 5 to 10 pounds on a 7 day cruise? No...

This is a free, self-paced course offered by the fabulous Kathy Shaw .  If you've ever wanted to try crazy quilting or to get better at it, here's your chance!  Hit the link on Kathy's name.  Registration is only open until midnight of March 18, so don't procrastinate!

Finally, another great book has joined the very small ranks of instruction available in English on making jewelry using soutache braid!  First there was  Soutache , published in 2013, and now we have Sensational Soutache Jewelry Making by the fabulous Csilla Papp .  When I first stated thinking about soutache designs, everything I drooled over in google images was by Csilla, and she quickly became my soutache idol!  Just look at this (not found in the book): Csilla's use of color and her delightful freeform style was what first attracted me, and now I am so thrilled that Interweave has talked her into writing this book!  There is a good section in the beginning on the basic techniques, which are not hard, but do take practice.  Csilla mentions wishing you had 4 hands...  But anyway, the bulk of the book consists of 15 drop-dead gorgeous projects, with lots of encouragement to vary the colors and focals to suit yourself. Anyone, like me, who...

The bead community is truly one of the best groups of people in the world!   Els Boesveld , who is selling her beautiful creations through her Etsy shop, Obsessive Beadwork , recently shared with me a stitch guide that she created to go along with my e-book, Bored By Back Stitch , and she wants the rest of you to have a copy of it as well!  How generous is that? The stitch guide is two pages long and is in pdf format.  Rather than blow out my email program trying to send it to all of you, I've uploaded it to Google Drive.  All you need to do is follow this link, and you should be able to save the file to your own computer: Stitch Guide .  Visit Els's shop too, and you can also hook up with her on her Obsessive Beadwork facebook page ! Els Boesveld's beautiful beadwork

Last Monday, I talked about the beautiful jeweled egg-shaped beads (shown below) featured in the April 2016 issue of  Bead&Button magazine .  With those instructions as my starting point, I worked out my own beaded bead...except it looks more like a flying saucer and less like an egg! Fatima Mensen-Potter's beaded beads The wooden bead that I started with was quite different from the barrel beads that Fatima used, so I knew that my bead count and even the sizes of many beads would be different.  Fatima starts off in the center with a band of RAW, and then proceeds to add peyote and netting stitches on either side to form the rest of the bead.  I also started with RAW and added the cute diagonal stitches as embellishment that you see in her beads.  But from then on, I stuck with peyote stitch, varying the size and number of beads to suit the shape of my wooden core. If you decide to try doing this, I've got a few tips for you: To get st...

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews the very thorough and extremely helpful book, Crafter's Market 2016:How to Sell Your Crafts and Make a Living, edited by Kerry Bogert. It might change your life in a positive way! Stacked Squares Chanda stitched this model of the Stacked Squares pattern from the Connie Gee's Designs Etsy shop - and she even dares to show off the back of the project. (It's very neat.) Spring Cards: One Layout — 3 Variations Copy a layout you like. Then make some variations. Eileen used a birthday card layout for a 25th anniversary card and a St. Patrick's Day card. Think spring! Some Bunny Time The Crafty Princess reviews an amigurumi crochet bunny pattern. Make a Washi Tape Rainbow To celebrate National Craft Month and St. Patrick's Day, Sarah experimented with making rainbows out of colored tape. Clasps, Part 1 An easy tutorial on how to make a shepherd's hook clasp for your jewelry. Here is ...

Yay!!  Finally, Rebecca Ann Combs has written a follow-up book to her 2014 Kumihimo Basics and Beyond !  In her first book, Rebecca thoroughly taught the tips and tricks to mastering Japanese braiding using the most basic style of round braid.  Her new book, Kumihimo Jewelry Simplified , picks up with five additional braids, and all the information you will need to turn your braids into terrific jewelry. You probably already know that these braids are quite beautiful on their own, but Rebecca also covers how to add beads to them, both during the braiding and afterwards.  It's really quite remarkable what different looks you can achieve by varying the braid type and the fibers used. The braiding in this book is done entirely on soft foam disks, so there is really minimal expense to getting started.  A couple of disks, some weights, the fibers you want to use, and some findings that you probably already have in stock if you make jewelry.  The brai...

I am really excited about the beaded spark plugs that I've been working on lately, and when I received the most recent issue of Bead&Button magazine , the beaded bead that was featured got me revved up all over again!  Fatima Mensen-Potter designed these beauties, which are stitched around a wooden barrel bead.  Aren't they gorgeous?  Perfect for Spring. I'm totally stoked to try some of these Easter egg colors and combine them with my spark plugs, and maybe also make a few beaded beads myself.  I don't have any wooden barrels the right size to follow Fatima's directions, but I always like to do a little improvising anyway.  Here's what I've got: They'll work!  I'll probably paint them with gesso first to block out the bright colors, but on the other hand, maybe I'll leave the pink one alone and do a beaded bead in pastel pinks...? Anyway, I've posted several  beaded bead tutorials here at Beading Arts in the past, so I t...

Diamond Fifteen Connie's added the next section of her free SAL. There are only 10 more sections to go, but there's still time to get in on this project! Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Rebecca Ann Combs super new book, Kumihimo Jewelry Simplified: Learn to Braid with a Kumihimo Disk--so pretty and fun! Art Therapy with The Artful Crafter Art therapy ideas to help you weather the flu: craft videos & online classes, sketching, mixed media art that's not too taxing and lots of rest. Crocheted Edging on a Tea Towel Make your kitchen a little cuter by adding simple, colorful crochet borders to tea towels. Sisters Craft and Podcast Do some virtual crafting as you watch this fun podcast from the Crafty Princess and Tappingflamingo. Paper Bead Review Terry Jeanette, Tappingflamingo, experiments with her paper beads. How do they hold up if they get wet?

Your sewing skills don't have to be totally couture in order for you to be able to make handbags that look that way!   Bags for Fashionistas is a great introduction to designing and making dozens of  bags that you can personalize to your own liking.   Nani Coldine has written this book for Schiffer Publishing , and I think you'll find it very inspiring if you tend to jones on purses! You'll find just about every different shape and size of practical bags in this book, but they are nice looking and fashionable as well.  The sewing instructions are pretty simple for most, and there are nice grid patterns that you can enlarge for yourself.  There are basic instructions in the beginning of the book so that you can refer to them whenever needed.  Then each individual bag has specific directions for the details.  Hobo, clutch, pochette, makeup bag, tote, laptop bag, and basket are a few of the styles you'll learn about.  Each section of the book ...