Beading Arts

People have been asking for it, and now they can have it... two complete new projects every month, all materials, patterns, and instructions (curated and vetted by the editors of Bead&Button and Facet !), by subscription!! And right now, you can enter to reserve a spot, with no obligation to subscribe.  Entering now will enter you to win over $300 worth of jewelry supplies!   Go to the link below and enter your email.  Again, you will be under no obligation to take a subscription, but you will be in line to be able to.                         Facet Jewelry Box

Urban Bronze...my new favorite mix at Jesse James Beads Upcycled playing card necklace Tips for using leather in your designs Have you seen Japanese Tensha beads? Call for entries: Quilt Visions 2018 - Connections Holiday wire earrings tutorial Resin leaf tutorial   Digital.com reviews the tools for small business owners This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads

Bluebird Singing in the Dead of Night Polymer clay, agate, jasper, unakite, ruby zoisite, glass  $160 There will be a tutorial for making a necklace similar to Bluebird Singing in the Dead of Night next week.  But if you'd like to own the original, here he is!  He was designed to take advantage of the gorgeous Shaded Spruce color that is so popular this Fall.

I've set up a new board on Pinterest on the topic of Jewelry Design .  It explores color theory, design elements and principles, and how they relate to creating unique jewelry.  If you want to design for yourself, this is a good place to start!

Leopard Skin Jasper Pendant Tutorial I was looking at how well this pendant from about a year ago fits the Fall 2017 color palette, and I'm especially sorry that the stone doesn't seem to be showing up anywhere in my searches.  So I went to find some new, currently available stones that might work for you if you want to try making one of these!  Use my original tutorial, linked above, to help you figure out what seed beads to use.  It's fun to work with multicolored focals, and not at all intimidating if you keep it simple! Tempered glass oval cabochon Orange marble patterned jasper   Desert jasper Tempered glass rose cabochon   Lucite cameo This post contains affiliate links: Beadaholique

One of the new mixes at JJB Improving your jewelry business website photos Jewelry Gift Ideas - My Pinterest board with pretty gifts for someone you love or for yourself! 14 Brand new bead mixes at Jesse James Beads Fall jewelry tutorials with Nealay Patel A crazy quilt stitch-along project Geometric waterfall necklace tutorials with Rena Klingenberg Pumpkin cake with cinnamon streusel Beaded silk pompom earrings (the tutorial is in French, but you may still be able to follow it!) This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads

Bali Hai Bloodstone, fancy jasper, & Bali sterling silver $75 Bali Hai is a continuous strand of polished bloodstone nuggets, interspersed with small bloodstone spacers and larger rounds of fancy jasper.  The large Bali sterling silver beads are stunning with the deep greens and bronzes of the stones.  The handmade beaded necklace is 32 beautiful inches long. Fall/Winter 2017 If you'd like to learn how to make a claspless necklace like this one, there is a free tutorial at the link!

Time to Run Mixed media steampunk-style jewelry just never seems to go out of style, at least not with those who love mixed metals, industrial chic, retro styles, and fantasy!  Here's a piece that I made years ago that I still enjoy wearing.  Super easy!  The tutorial is at the link above. If you are a lover of all things steampunk too, you are welcome to follow my new Pinterest board called Steampunk accessories . 

  This is a piece that I made back in 2005 (!) with beads that my sister-in-law brought back from Kenya for me.  Isn't it funny how traditional colors have a way of reappearing in different fashion cycles?  Look at how many of the notes it hits from the current Fall 2017 Pantone palette:   There is a tutorial that I wrote (at the following link) for a very similar piece, which also gives you some background information on Ethiopian crosses . I've got a new board on Pinterest called Trade bead beauties if you're interested in trade, antique, vintage, and ethnic beads and would like to follow it.  Also, as a reminder, there is a board called Pantone colors, beads, and jewelry , which has tons of inspiration for the current season!

  Make a fall necklace along with Nealay Patel (shown above) Aladdin's Lamp earrings - a tutorial Halloween treats to make and bake Insider tips on how to win a Halstead Grant Jacques Torres on how small batch chocolate is made   This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads

  So...I got sidetracked by other projects and failed to finish this one up in a timely fashion.  Sometimes that's just the way things go!  But here, after weeks of other projects, is part two of my Clock Motif tutorial .  Part one is at the link. Step-by-step instructions for putting together a bead embroidered piece, including back stitch, edging brick stitch, and stack stitch can be found in the free first chapter of Every Bead Has a Story .  Chapter two has instructions for stitching a peyote stitch bezel, and Chapter three teaches the square stitch bail.  Bored By Back Stitch is another e-book that teaches different motifs to stitch around a focal in your bead embroidery. Additional Materials (also see part one ) Jesse James accent beads for the fringe - Tribal Stripes Inspiration bead mix Seed Beads from Beadaholique Size 6/0 seed beads: Frosted emerald green Size 8/0: Color-lined pink Size 11/0: Turquoise matte Hot pink matte ...

Phoebe Cyndi Lavin, 2010 I just came across this piece that I made 7 years ago.  I rarely have opportunity these days to wear it, but I'm thinking that this winter I might have to try to find one!  The original information on it is at the link, and there are step-by-step instructions in Chapter 4 of my e-book Every Bead Has a Story .  

  I love the Fall 2017 Pantone palette!  One of the things I like best about it is the versatility of the colors mixed together in designs.  When you're making or choosing jewelry to wear with the Fall colors, it doesn't have to match exactly...in fact it's probably better if it doesn't.  But the jewelry does need to look harmonious, and that's how I ended up falling in love with Red Jasper!   I found a tutorial that I shared last year (shown at the top), which uses a combo of red jasper and seed beads that look great with all the colors I see in the stores right now.  Anyway, I thought that some of you might want to give this a whirl, because it's a quick project, and it teaches a very important bead embroidery skill...what to do with squared corners on your cabochons. Not all the materials that I used are available exactly anymore, but I've provided links to some that are similar.  If you don't want to tackle a square cabochon, you could al...

Make a fun fall cuff bracelet with Nealay Patel The best and easiest way to make paper beads Pumpkin spice pull-apart loaf Halloween jewelry ideas to make How to use Metallique Wax for easy patina effects Silver and copper gingko leaf pendant with chemical patina This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads

  Antique optical lens, crystals, garnet, pearls, rhodonite, and Bali silver $70 I made this piece in 2006, when I first began to need a pair of drug store readers, but couldn't bring myself (yet) to admit it!  Now I use them all the time and no longer need this pretty piece, so it is the next item up looking for a new home. This is what I wrote at the time: I do not need glasses...yet!  But there are times when the print is just too small.  This handy magnifier is actually a powerful antique optical test lens, dangling from a gorgeous strand of purple, pink, garnet, and black.  The lens is French, from a test set made in the late 1800s.  Isn't that the coolest thing?  The lens "strength" is etched on the glass.  The necklace is a 24 inch long continuous strand to slip over your head.  Keep this one handy!  It is a one-of-a-kind original.

Link to free necklace tutorial I wore a necklace a couple of days ago that I had forgotten I even had!  It looked amazing with the Fall colors that I was wearing, and it occurred to me that with the mix of metals and the neutral palette, it would be great with all the Fall 2017 Pantone colors.  And another thing...the multiple strand effect at the bottom is exactly what you're seeing right now in a lot of fashionable necklaces.  You might even want to make it just a bit longer by adding several more links of chain at the top, but that is up to you! The only problem I ran into in updating this necklace tutorial is that the original beads are no longer available, but I found lots of really nice replacements.  Two collections that really caught my eye were the 40 piece white (including ivory and tan) and the 40 piece gray collections from Jesse James Beads : Grays Whites Go take a look at the tutorial , and pick the colors for yourself!  The i...

Golden Harvest $80 There's lots of swing and movement in Golden Harvest ! Brass chain, beads, and findings set off the golds, ambers, and greens of this Fall-inspired piece. The original necklace, shown here, uses my own handmade lampwork glass beads, but I you can use horn beads instead.  I particularly like how Golden Harvest blends with the Pantone Fall 2017 colors Autumn Maple and Golden Lime.   Materials Beads Lampwork beads...substitute horn beads Rootbeer seed beads, size 6/0 Horn rings, 25mm Green MOP leaves Yellow MOP leaves Brass rounds, 3mm Brass rondelles, 7mm Metal components Gold-colored head pins Gold jump rings, 7mm Gold jump rings, 4mm Medium weight bead wire, bronze Crimp tubes, size #2 Small brass chain Medium brass chain Toggle + clasp Tools Wire cutters Chain nose pliers Round nose pliers 1. Start from the center middle.  Using a short length of beading wire, make a loop with seed beads and brass...

Learn a new earring technique with Nealay Patel! Do you need even MORE tutorial suggestions? The 10 best free vintage fall images for your art Fiberart International 2019 call for entries Critical decisions you need to make when starting a blog   Using a shape to design a collection   Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie!!!  This post contains affiliate links: Jesse James Beads  

Flapper - 39" Vintage glass beads, raw brass $70 Get ready to dance! I was delighted to come across this necklace that I made 6 years ago, because look at how perfect it is with the Pantone Fall 2017 palette!  I'm putting it up for sale, because although I love it, I just don't wear it, and it needs a new home. If you'd prefer to make one, the link to the tutorial is below.   Original tutorial

Dyed African, Chinese, Mountain or Malaysian "Jade" are pretty...but they're NOT real Jade Jade, Jadite, and various "Jades" I have always wondered about jade.  Everyone when I was growing up just used the term "jade" to refer to anything that happened to be that color.  Even then, I think that I knew there were stones that were commonly called "jade" but were really imitation.  However...I had no idea that jade and jadeite were two very different beasts, nor did I know that it's actually jadeite that is the more expensive of the two. Wikipedia to the rescue:   Jadeite and nephrite are totally different minerals. They have different densities, different hardness, different crystal structure, and different chemical compositions. Classic jade, the jade that comes from China, is nephrite, and jadeite, the rarer type of jade, comes from Burma. The finest-quality jadeite—almost transparent with a vibrant emerald-green color—i...