Beading Arts

This pendant necklace was fashioned from a bola tie slide and some left-over beads from various vintage necklaces. Start by removing the slide finding from the back of the focal piece and sanding down the rough spots if necessary. Next, if there isn’t a hole through which you can fit a jump ring, drill one at the top of your piece. Mine didn’t have a hole, of course, but that was just a good excuse to use our drill press. Be really careful when you’re drilling unknown materials…you never know when something might shatter, so always wear eye protection. Gather up some beads that go nicely with your focal piece. I used some beads from 4 or 5 different necklaces here. The one style that I had enough of, I used to create the necklace strand. They are resin beads that look like polished wood. The rest are a mixture of resin and glass. I love how lightweight the resin beads are…you can get a lot of bulk and movement without a lot of added weight. I started with a split ring in the middle...

Making a wrapped loop well is one of the foundational skills needed for adding wire work to your jewelry. It’s simple and easy, but it takes some practice to get everything lined up just right. After years of making wrapped loops, I know just how much wire I need in each gauge in order to turn one without any waste. That’s important when you’re using pricey materials like gold and silver wire. So get some inexpensive craft wire in some different gauges, and go to town practicing. Measure off a 5 inch piece, and then subtract what’s left to find out how much you really need! I used some nice large, bright, tacky pink wire so you could see the details clearly. You will need chain nose pliers (or flat nose), round nose pliers, and wire cutters, plus your piece of wire. Make a 90 degree bend in the wire using the chain nose pliers. Position the round nose pliers on the working arm of the wire, up against the bend as shown. Begin to guide the wire about half way around the pliers. I use my ...

This is another bracelet made with a wrapped blank as the base. I’ve already shared instructions for making a similar bracelet . This one features a vintage measuring tape! So, think outside the ribbon box for a moment with me…what else could we use to wrap a bracelet? FREE e-BOOK CHAPTER

The Harvest Piece for Bead Dreams Artist: Jama Watts Business name: These Precious Things Location: Lebanon, KY Websites & Blogs: Jama Watts These Precious Things These Precious Things etsy shop Jama Watts blog How do you describe your work, Jama? My work is very much a reflection of what I’m into at the moment that I make the piece. I’m very ADD when it comes to my craft, learning new techniques constantly and playing with the results. I guess you could call it contemporary tradition! I do everything from pieces that look vintage to incorporating computer parts into my pieces. As for my business name, I’m a HUGE Tori Amos fan and she has a song called “Precious Things.” It just seemed to fit! What is your creative process like? My creative process is all over the place! Sometimes I’ll order beads based on projects I want to do which may or may not start with a sketch. More often than not, I’ll order beads that I find interesting and will end up with a hodge pod...

I neglected to take process photos of this piece as I worked on it, so I can’t really give you an exact bead count and a step-by-step. However, I can still give you plenty of pointers! 1. Chose a mixture of metals and bead colors that all look good together. I used copper, bronze, antiqued brass, which all look really good with the blue to purple tones of the beads. There are also some bronzed glass beads to emphasize the metallic tones. 2. Create three strands, each different, and anchor them to toggle loops. I used large hammered loops and a filigreed piece as intermediaries between the strands and the toggle loops. 3. Attach a substantial chain to one loop, and attach a toggle clasp to the other end of the chain. The toggles will be design elements, not hidden in the back. Don’t use a thin chain or it will dig unpleasantly into your neck in the back. 4. Create many many many wrapped loops around small clusters of beads and charms. Scatter these along the three strands and ...

  The Beader’s Color Palette by Margie Deeb Two hundred and twenty gorgeous palettes, with lovely photos and jewelry to illustrate them! I want to travel to all the places that Margie uses for her inspiration…the Middle East, Tuscany, Latin American…and the list goes on. Not only countries are used for inspiration though. The planet itself, historical time periods, the elements of life: all of these and many more are jumping off points for this marvelous color book. Does 220 palettes seem like a lot? Margie says that it was hard to stop with just 220! There are projects too, which will allow you to practice some of the color magic that you’ve seen!

All About Jewels Illustrated dictionary FDJ Tool Dictionary Rings & Things Frequently asked jewelry making questions Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Materials and Tools Silk ribbon, 36 inches or more Bracelet blank Ultrasuede or similar material Thin cotton batting Size 8/0 beads Beading thread Fabric glue Alligator clips Beading needle 1 Cut a piece of thin batting to fit the top of the bracelet blank. Glue it in place with a few drops. 2 Cut ultra-suede just a tiny bit bigger than the bracelet cuff, both top and bottom. Glue the two pieces in place and trim even if needed. 3 Wrap your ribbon around the blank, making sure each wrap overlaps the last slightly. If the ribbon is a little too short to do the entire bracelet, like mine was, leave a bit on each end unwrapped. 4 Turn the ribbon ends under and attach with a dot of glue. Hold in place with alligator clips until dry. 5 Bead along the edges of the cuff, and along the end of the ribbon if that applies. FREE e-BOOK CHAPTER This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique Copyright 2008 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistri...

Ceramic Bead Jewelry: 30 Fired & Inspired Projects by Jennifer Heynen What makes Jennifer’s beautiful (and colorful!!) book really unique is that she spends time covering both the making of ceramic beads AND the construction of finished jewelry that features them! I love this book. I don’t do any ceramic work at all - just a little bit with polymer clay - but Jennifer has got me convinced that I can. And that I want to! Her pieces are so vibrant and fun, and her writing style is so friendly and inviting that I’m really tempted to try. If you’ve ever had the urge to try your hand at ceramics, or if you’re a ceramicist who’d like to try your hand at jewelry making, this is the book for you!

Tubular peyote stitch is really easy to do. You can find basic directions at many of the links listed on my Online Basics post . Try Beadwork at About.com to start. The first place I ever personally saw the twisted peyote spiral was in Carol Wilcox Well’s The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving , in a bracelet designed by Suzanne Golden. Since then, I’ve seen many variations on this simple idea, including a recent article in Beadwork Magazine (Jun/Jul 2008). If you want a true step-by-step tutorial complete with illustrations, I would recommend one of these two sources. However, if you’ve already got familiarity with peyote stitch, and odd-count tubular peyote in particular, you won’t have any problem figuring this out on your own with my simple instructions below! Twisted tubular peyote stitch is also very similar to Cellini stitch, which is simply an even count variation.   Materials and Tools At least three sizes of seed beads in different colors Beading thread Beadi...

Polymer Clay Beads by Grant Diffendaffer This is the book that polymer clay artists have been waiting for! Not for the faint of heart, and definitely not for beginners, Grant takes you on a whirlwind tour of what’s next. The book is gorgeous, and all techniques are well-documented, but it still took me only moments before I realized that I was way out of my league! Which is fine…lots of gorgeous inspiration is not a bad thing, even if I can’t hope to make any of them (at least not yet!). Truly, this book picks up where the others leave off. Grant explains mica-shift and how to achieve it, lathe-turned beads, recursive molded beads, hollow-form beads, and mandrel-formed beads. Seeing what beautiful, beautiful objects he makes, I almost want to play with clay. Beginners, drool over this book. Intermediates and advanceds, buy it now!

Materials & Tools: Large donut of desired color (40 - 60 mm is a good size range) Brass mesh necklace, 18 inches ( Fire Mountain Gems and Beads ) 11/0 Delica seed beads Beading thread Beading needle Basic directions for square stitch can be found at many online sites. 1 Using a mixture of bead colors, square stitch a small band that is long enough to wrap through the donut hole and around the mesh wire necklace, with just enough slack to keep it from rubbing or binding. 2 Continue following the square stitch thread path to attach the ends to each other. 3 Enjoy different color combinations! Copyright 2008 Cyndi Lavin. 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.

My inspiration picture My friend Dee recently asked me about cigar box purses, so I thought I’d dig this one out! Starry Night started out as an old cardboard cigar box. I considered several different techniques for creating beaded pictures on it before I settled on my old favorite method, but with a new twist: the beads are embroidered directly on the box, using wire and a couching technique. Materials and tools: Black gesso Black acrylic paint Foam paint brushes Awl or nail 24 gauge silver-colored wire Wire cutters Chain nosed pliers Lightweight paper (like tracing paper) and pen (optional) Beads in appropriate colors and sizes for your design 18 gauge silver wire Interfacing or quilt batting to line the box Fabric for the lining Glue 1 Coat the entire box, inside and out with black gesso. Let it dry. Apply two thin coats of black acrylic paint. Let it dry overnight. 2 If you want to have a pattern for your work, cut a piece of very lightweight paper to the size of each side you pl...

Wire Wrapping by Linda Chandler and Christine Ritchey Pages and pages of wirey goodness! This book will lead you step by step through the skills you need to tackle advanced beginner and intermediate wire projects. It’s wonderfully organized so that each new skill builds upon the previous ones, making this book similar to actually taking a course in wirework. Small confession…I am by no means a skilled wireworker myself, but these beautiful bracelets, rings, and pendants make me want to break out my pliers and start my own collection of bangles :-) The fabulous writing team of Linda Chandler and Christine Ritchey have two other wire books already, a few years older, but still very worthwhile and still in print. Getting Started Making Wire Jewelry and More is their beginner book. Beautifully photographed step by steps take you through all the basics. If you haven’t done much with wire, this is a great first book. The most advanced of all their books is Woven Wire Jewelry . This book is ...

Elaine Luther An extraordinary list of everything you need to know PMC and Art Clay Silver An online manual for success with the new precious metal clays. Making metal beads Register with the ArtJewelry site and receive a free download of Nanz Aalund’s tutorial. Getting started with BronzClay A wonderful video by Tonya Davidson. CoolTools videos A series of videos on many aspects of metal clay work. Metal clay lenses at Squidoo The very best informational and instructional lenses you’ll find anywhere. The Art of Metal Clay by Sherri Haab Artist and instructor Sherri Haab demonstrates metal clay’s remarkable versatility, showing how it can be textured, molded, carved, and sculpted to create gorgeous beads. Metal Clay Magic by Nana Mizushima Packed with color photos showing each step of working with metal clay. Covers more than just beads, but has lots of techniques that can be used in making beads. Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , neckla...

So last week we made the beads, this week we’ll make the bezel and bail…they’re really easy too! I promise. I used single-needle RAW (right angle weave) for the base rows, and then eased my way into peyote stitch to cinch the bezel around the stone. Here’s how: 1. Stitch a flat strip of RAW, just a scant 1/8 to 1/4 inch shorter than the stone’s perimeter, using 11/0 seed beads. This little bit of stretch will keep the stone snug. 2. Turn your strip and add 3 or 4 more rows of RAW, enough to cover the edge of your stone and extend past just a bit. Stitch the ends together to make a loop. 3. Switch to peyote stitch. Still using 11/0 seed beads, add one row of peyote stitch on one of the bezel edges. Slip it on the stone and pull the thread snug. Remove from the stone again. 4. Add one row of peyote stitch using 15/0 seed beads. Slip it on the stone and pull the thread snug. Work the thread to the other bezel edge and repeat the two peyote rows on the other side. 5. Work the thread to the...

  1000 Jewelry Inspirations by Sandra Salamony [Wicked big disclaimer: I've got 7 pieces in this book, so of course I think it's really good!] OK, that being said, it is really good! Page after glorious page of beautiful designs. Some so simple that you say, “Yes, of course! That’s all it needs.” Others are complex enough to make your jaw drop. I will be leafing back through this book over and over and over… One of my pieces even (sort of) made it onto the cover! There it is - a teeny piece of it anyway - in the lower righthand corner. Here’s what it looks like on the inside: So you know, this is purely an inspiration book. Although there are a few pages in the back of instructions on some basic techniques, it cannot be called a project book at all. There are no explanations or even materials lists for any of the pieces shown. But as an inspiration book, I think it hits its mark…I know I’m inspired by looking through it!

Clayfulmingles The Spirited Bead Beautiful polymer beads by Karen Lewis, aka Klew Clayfulmingles Mia Rox’s polymer cane beads Beyond Beads Gallery Porcelain beauties by Jean Christen CF Originals Spectacular critters and more by Christi Friesen Columbine Beads Raku beads and pendants by Linda A Hendrix Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

These beads are extremely simple to make, so they’re a great place to start in learning to weave beaded beads. Start with a 24 inch single strand of Nymo 0 on your needle, and two different colors of seed beads, preferably Delicas or some other cylinder-style of seed beads. I used a dark galvanized amethyst and bright gold to match a Tigerskin Jasper cabochon. In 2-drop peyote, you stitch the same as in regular peyote, except that you pass your thread through 2 beads each time. Check my post on the basics online for instructions if you need to. Here’s the pattern for these little beads: 1. String on 12 beads, alternating colors, two of each color at a time. Start with 2 gold and end with 2 purple. This will be the 1st and 2nd row after you complete the next step. Leave a 5-6 inch of thread. 2. Weave the following rows in single colors, following this pattern: 3rd row - gold 4th row - purple 5th row - gold 6th row - purple 7th row - purple 8th row - gold 9th row -...

Hands of the Hills Glorious Hilltribe silver and Khmer gold Nina Designs Bali, Indian, Thai, and Hilltribe silver Beads of Bali Wholesale Bali silver, direct from the producers Rishashay Huge selection of exquisite silverwork Anne Choi American artist with an international background, Anne creates silver beads like no others! Green Girl Studios Silver and pewter fairy-tale beads. Wonderful! Tarak High Karat Gold Wholesale only ~ beads, chains, and findings Vintaj Wholesale only ~ brass Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading