Beading Arts

You will find part one of this tutorial, where we make the bead embroidered components , at the link. Today, we're going to look at putting them together into a necklace with some basic wirework. I like to make my necklaces adjustable so that I can wear them with as many different necklines as possible. These instructions will make a necklace that adjusts from 18 to 22 inches. Add or subtract chain to make yours the length you desire. 8.  Cut 15" of 22 gauge wire into 6 pieces, each 2 1/2". Turn a simple loop at the bottom of each piece, add a daisy spacer and approximately 12 small beads, top with a 2mm sterling silver round, and turn another simple loop at the top. Place a 6mm Swarovski bicone on each of 6 headpins. Top each with a 2mm sterling silver round, and make a wrapped loop around the bottom loop of each piece you just created. 9.  Cut the 6" length of chain into 6 equal pieces. Cut 21" of 22 gauge sterling silver

Congratulations to Veralynne Malone , who won a copy of 18 Beaded Jewelry Projects !

Bead Pendants & Necklaces: 20 Beautiful Jewelry Designs by Susan Beal Etsy: Complete Beginners Guide To Starting Your Etsy Business Empire - Sell Anything! by Veronica Mckinnon Brick Stitch Seed Bead Earrings: 21 patterns. Coloring book by Galiya Bead-Making Lab: 52 explorations for crafting beads from polymer clay, plastic, paper, stone, wood, fiber, and wire by Heather Powers Discover Torch Enameling: Get Started with 25 Sure-Fire Jewelry Projects by Steven James

These beautiful blue fused glass beads just seemed to speak for themselves when I first saw them. The dichroic sparkle and color shift is mesmerizing, and I really didn’t want to design anything that would detract from them. I finally settled on placing each bead into a simple seed bead bezel and accenting them with alternating dangles of crystals.  My friend Jeanne Kent made the beads, and I just love her style! If this is the first time you've tried bead embroidery, I suggest that you download a free copy of the first chapter of my e-book, Every Bead Has a Story .  There are step-by-step photos, quite close up, of how to do the back stitch and edging brick stitch that are used here. Part one covers how to stitch up the bead embroidery pieces.  Next week in part two, I'll share how to do the wirework that puts them all together! Materials & Tools 14 2x2" pieces of beading foundation E6000 Fabric glue 7 flat-backed fused glass beads or cabochons

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews Wee Garter Stitch, Must Have Knits for Modern Babies & Toddlers by Vickie Howell--it is sweet and cool, all at once! Diamond 20 So exciting - only five more to go! Stay tuned for info about the next free SAL. Newsletter The Crafty Princess Diaries newsletter is back. Bargain Bead Box May 2016 Creations and What to do with Cruise Freebies Jewelry creations made with May 2016 Bargain Bead Box from the Bead Box Bargains. I also share an idea to use some of those freebies you get while cruising. Card Map: Things That Fly or Float Download your choice of vertical or horizontal version of Eileen's card map: things that float or fly. Think butterflies, bees, falling leaves or snowflakes. Then follow directions to make cards for many occasions.

And yet another great book full of new projects that I'm giving away this Spring!  You can check out my review here, and then leave your comment to win this book! GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!  Would you like a great book full of new projects 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 will not contact you. No contact, no win, and I simply have to go on to the next person. You are welcome to spell it out if you'd prefer, for example, beadingarts at gmail dot com. If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a second comment and be entered twice!  Deadline: May 25, 2016

If you missed it, I shared my beaded spark plugs last week.  But that's not the only thing I've been doing with them. Ta dah!  A wonderful friend gave me a bunch of spark plugs used in Harley Davidson bikes, and the girlie beaded designs just seemed so...wrong...  But wrapping them in copper, colored copper, and galvanized steel just seemed so right! Do you want to learn how to make any of these?  Leave me a comment or email me directly, beadingarts at gmail dot com. Wired spark plugs for sale Copyright 2016 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.

Buddy Guy Saying How many times has something turned out even better than you expected? Stitch this free chart to celebrate an unexpected windfall. Recreate Balance and Art in 2016 Eileen's focus word for the year is 'Recreate' - to allow time for fun and feed her muse. What are your favorite forms of recreation? Are you doing them enough or are you punishing yourself like Eileen was? Yarn Score! See what the Crafty Princess picked up during her latest yarn shop visit! Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews New Connections in Chain Mail Jewelry with Rubber and Glass Rings by Kat Wisniewski ! Superb book!

Congratulations to Shelley E, who won a copy of Easy Jewelry Making !!

These are not beginner's quilting books, but rather concentrate on designing beyond the simple pattern.  Many different techniques are covered...all of them are a feast for the eyes!  I will be adding to this list as I review more art quilting books, newer ones at the top. Cutting-Edge Art Quilts by Mary W Kerr Inspired to Design by Elizabeth Barton Design, Create, and Quilt by Rose Hughes Journey to Inspired Art Quilting by Jean Wells Exploring Dimensional Quilt Art  by C June Barnes Creative Quilting with Beads by Valerie Van Arsdale Shrader Masters: Art Quilts, vol 2 Fabric Art Workshop by Susan Stein Embellished Mini-Quilts by Jamie Fingal The Art of Fabric Collage by Rosemary Eichorn The Quilting Arts Book edited by Patricia Bolton

RAW + Peyote beaded spark plug Where to even begin?  Ok, we'll have to start with my recent obsession with the shape of spark plugs and my love of old grungy things.   Once these grungy things are cleaned up (with the help of a stiff brass brush and some Dawn dish detergent), they are all set to become eye-catching jewelry.  Here are beaded examples of the results from my 6 months (and counting) obsession.  If you are familiar with the stitches, you can probably easily figure out how to stitch these yourself.  If you want tutorials, let me know which ones interest you the most.  Leave a comment, or email me directly at beadingarts at gmail dot com. Next week I'll show you examples of the wired spark plugs I'm doing now.  Harley Davidson spark plugs, baby! Albion stitch Cellini spiral stitch Peyote stitched cube Peyote stitch Wired spark plugs for sale Copyright 2016 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistr

Decoupage Originals of Old Photos If you don’t want to save them for posterity, here's how to decoupage the originals of vintage photos. Doll & Craft Giveaway Doll crafters, collectors, and non-doll crafters, the month of May means a giveaway! Only 6 More Blocks to Go Diamond 19 is posted and now we only have six more blocks to go in the SAL. Don't worry though, there will be another SAL to follow! Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean reviews 60 Quick Cotton Knits The Ultimate Collection in Ulta Pima From Cascade Yarns ! See her blog for these airy, beautiful spring and summer cotton accessories in a myriad of colors which you can knit in a flash!

This piece from many moons ago found a new place to live, and hopefully will be loved and worn often. Did you know jewelry gets lonely if it isn't shown enough affection?  :-) Waves : glass and stone SOLD An undulating spiral of seed beads is woven to be reminiscent of the ocean waves.  Waves is lightweight and beautifully adjustable from 20 to 24 inches because of the chain closure.

Ready for another great beginner's book?  I posted my review for this one last Spring, and somehow forgot to get around to the giveaway...shame on me!  Better late than never though... Here's a book that I think people of all skill levels will enjoy, because there are so many different projects by so many different designers, using all kinds of techniques.  It's published by Kalmbach , so you just know the instructions will be super-clear to follow! GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!  Would you like a great book full of new projects 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 will not contact you. No contact, no win, and I simply have to go on to the next person. You are welcome to spell it out if you'd prefer, for example, beadingarts at gmail dot com. If you tweet or post on Facebook or other social spots about the contest, you can leave a se

Last week, I showed you how to stitch up a Dutch spiral tube .  If you stitch a short length with a slight increase in accent bead size in the middle, and a decrease on each end, you get something that looks like the beaded beads shown above...perfect for earrings! Here's how I rigged them up: Materials & Tools 2 beaded beads (Dutch spiral or other) 2 ear wires 2 head pins 2 lengths of wire , 3 - 4" each 4 small crystals or rounds (3 or 4mm) 2 large crystals or rounds (5 or 6mm) Tools: Chain nose pliers Round nose pliers Wire cutters Small file 1. Place large crystals on head pins and turn a wrapped loop . 2. Turn a wrapped loop at one end of each length of wire. 3. Thread the wire through a beaded bead, sandwiched between two of the smaller crystals. 4. Attach dangling crystal with a turned loop.  Open the earring wire's loop and attach to the top of the earring. Here is another pair, the ones I showed you last week.  T