Beading Arts

For my next beadwoven rope project, I chose to use chenille stitch .  I haven't really used it a lot, but I knew that it worked up fairly quickly into a rope that held its shape with no need of a core, and yet was soft enough to curve nicely. It turns out that it's just about the perfect stitch for a pretty rope!  I'll be doing this again for sure. There are several places you can get instructions for chenille stitch if you are not already familiar with it.  The way you'll use your needle is similar to peyote stitch, but there are two different rows that will alternate with slightly different thread paths. I made a rope slightly larger than the one in the sample at the link above.  Here's how I did it: 1. I start with a core of 8 size 11/0 seed beads (color A - shiny black) and make a loop.  Tie it, leaving a tail of at least 8 inches. 2. Add 4 size 11/0 seed beads (color B - matte teal), one between each pair of As.  Step up through first B added.

Unicorn at Dusk earrings video tutorial by Nealay Patel (shown above) Open Waters kumihimo bracelet video tutorial Grass Valley macrame wrap bracelet video tutorial (shown above) BeadLove - Allegory Gallery Wild Jungle Design Challenge  Stitching Details Matter Autism Awareness Bracelets Beautiful Cherry Red necklace video tutorial (shown below) Book club with a twist! New Additions to Allegory Gallery This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique and Jesse James Beads

Here we are only HALF WAY through Summer, and already the Fall ads and clothes and colors and everything else are out in the stores and in front of my face constantly and I think I'm going to scream because life is going too fast... Stop! Ok, Fall is actually my favorite season, even if I can't remember whether to call it Fall or Autumn.  Which do you prefer?  I picked Autumn for my Pinterest board on Autumn Style - 2018 , but I picked Fall for my crafty board called Fabulous Fall .  Because I like to have it both ways! Don't forget to go follow my boards!  There's lots more over there :-)

I decided my next rope necklace would use herringbone stitch and a smaller size of seed beads .  Size 15/0s were a bit too small, though, so I settled for size 11/0s.  Next, I needed to decide how much of a twist!  The "secret" to creating a twist in herringbone is to stitch back up through more beads than you stitch down each time you take a stitch.  For example: you are adding two beads with each stitch.  You stitch down through one bead in that column, and back up three beads in the next column to begin your next stitch.  After a few rounds, you'll see the twist begin. I found a lovely pattern, very simple to do, in the book The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving by Carol Wilcox Wells.  She suggests alternating round seed beads with cylindrical ones.  You can see what happens!  Isn't that pretty how the cylinders recede?  I used round Czech size 11/0 seed beads and size 11/0 Delicas . Start with a ladder stitch and put together as many pairs of Delicas as

Rainbow and Unicorn necklace with video tutorial (shown above) To Etsy or Not to Etsy   (shown above) Customizing Dolls  (shown above)  BeadLove: Another Patina Day and Mod Podge  (shown above) Vintage style cloisonne bead collections (shown above) This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique and Jesse James Beads

Did you read Sarah Thompson's first wire book, Fine Art Wire Weaving ?  If so, then you'll be completely thrilled to see that she has a second, more advanced book out: Woven in Wire .  May I just say...Oh. My. Gosh!  Sarah is a master, and she is a true artist.  These are challenging projects that are not designed for beginners, but even if you are a beginner, you're going to at least want to see this book for examples of what to strive for!  I was totally blown away by the beauty, complexity, and power of Sarah's art work. Ok, so let's just get this out there again so no one will be misled: to master projects like these will take a LOT of practice.  This is not a book of easy afternoon or weekend projects.  The two main focus points of Woven In Wire  is dimension and symmetry: adding depth through sculpting and careful precision in design.  But more about that later. Sarah starts off with a discussion of tools, and though you won't need an entire room-

Last week I showed you my first beaded rope of the summer , a pretty variant on Russian spiral.  This week, I've got a plain peyote rope that I embellished for some extra fun.  It was super-simple, and you could make it in any color and size of seed beads that you want!  Just use all the same size, and as many colors as please you. I chose size 11/0 seed beads , and worked with purple iris as the base rope and matte copper as the embellishment beads.  I chose to slide it onto a black cord necklace with a clasp already attached.  So easy!  1. String on 12 seed beads and make a ring.  Leave a 4 to 6" tail to weave in later.  You will be adding 6 beads in each round of peyote stitch: pick up a bead, skip a bead in previous row, stitch through the next bead in previous row.  Repeat around and "step up" through the first bead added in each row to start the next row.  2. When the rope is as long as you want it, weave your thread end back into the work on both

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

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

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

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