Bead Arts

These are so cute! You don’t have to stop beading with just the handle…it would be wonderful to bead up some of the fabric before you glued it to the box too. Or think about having beads dangling from around the top. All kinds of possibilities here. Thanks toDena Fishbein, show host at DIY Network for such a fun and fast project! You could make one of these for every woman on your holiday list…

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Easy, fast, and each one will be unique…just what we want for a holiday gift! The instructions are at the Threads website.

handmade-jewelry, wearable-art, jewelry, mixed-media, buttons

Pardon me, but I can’t help myself…this necklace is just cute as a button! Sorry…

The easy peasy directions are provided by Maitreya and Becket at CraftLog.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Technique Tuesday!

The loop
The loop can be made from quite a number of different jewelry parts. I’ve used earrings, pendants with holes in the middle, toggle rings, charms with holes, and a plain loop of seed beads. The most important thing is to make or choose a loop that is large enough to accommodate whatever dangling bits and decorative beads you wish to use. The strands must be able to fit through the loop at the same time, at least up to a point.

Comfort
Consider what beads will rest against the back of your neck. Try to make that section, maybe 5 to 6 inches, from smaller rounder beads for comfort’s sake!

Dangles
Again, there are many choices for what to add to the ends of your lariat. Just make sure that they are going to fit through the loop. For a little extra movement, I like to have these dangling bits attached via head pins or bails of some type so that they swing freely.

Miscellaneous tips
Use the finest diameter beading wire that will still be strong enough for your beads, and chose a brand with the softest drape possible. Stiffer wire may be less expensive, but your piece will not hang nicely. Cut the piece too long. Longer is better with lariats!

 

Link to another summer necklace:
Fishing for Trout

 

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Beautiful example of Kanzashi by
Vivien Hoffpauir

These hair ornaments are fascinating! Visit Viven’s site to see all the different styles that she’s made. If you’d like to try giving it a go, there is a wonderful Kanzashi tutorial written by Kurokami-Kanzashi on deviantArt.

beads, beading, hair-ornament, kanzashi, tutorials

I’ve added two more sites to the color scheme generator list: Pic2Color is really unique, creating a color palette from any image that you feed into it.  Eni Oken’s color scheme software is a free download from her site. Thanks, Eni!

color, creativity, online-tools

Carolina González is the owner and designer of NeoVamp Jewelry. Besides making wicked cool wearables, Carolina is full of great ideas for display. Check out this traveling display case that she’s made:

Jewelry Display Case instructions

jewelry-business-tips, tutorial

Technique Tuesday!

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.

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.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Technique Tuesday!

The leaves that I showed you yesterday are really easy to make, but take quite a bit of time. Plan to do them when you’ve got other projects going on so that you don’t have to sit around waiting for the silver to dry.

1. Pick small leaves with deep veins. You will be applying the paste to the bottom of the leaves.
2. Dilute a small amount of Art Clay paste and brush it carefully onto the leaves. Allow to dry. Apply a few more coats of the diluted paste, drying between each layer.
3. Switch to non-diluted paste, and apply around 10 layers altogether.
4. Let the leaves dry overnight.
5. Fire them according to the directions in a kiln. (Note: the low-fire clay can be done in a hot pot instead. Also, some folks prefer to use a torch, but I like the even results of the kiln)

metal-clay, jewelry, art-clay, silver

Not everyone would want to make their own wooden jewelry or beads, but for those who decide to give it a try, I would definitely recommend Lee Valley Tools for your woodworking needs! I’ve already recommended the DIY Network for some interesting tutorials on making wooden jewelry. You can also find some like-minded people over at Craftster.Org too, who like to mix wood into their jewelry projects.

Any other suggestions for good places to gather info or share pieces?

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Technique Tuesday!
One of the things I love most about making these pins is that you can cut out a bunch of base pieces all at one time, and then you can spend a little time here and a little there putting the pins together using whatever little scraps come to hand. Or are lying around on top of your work table!

There are lots of materials that you can use for a base, but one of the easiest to work with is good old Foam-Cor. It’s easy to cut, you can stick wires into it to embed things if needed, and it can be toughened up when you’re done by a coating of two-part resin. Like I said, I usually cut out a bunch of pieces in one session, and then work on them little by little.

This particular pin is called The Key to My Heart, and it features an antique skeleton key, some origami paper, a couple strands of fiber, and a couple of beads. Here’s how I made it…change the directions to suit your own projects!

1. Peel the upper layer of paper off the top of your Foam-Cor base. Paint the piece front and back, and adhere a piece of decorative paper to the front. Use a gold-leaf pen to do the edges.
2. Use E6000 or resin to glue heavy items like the key onto the pin front. Diamond Glaze is a good choice too for lighter objects. All will leave a glossy area if they leak out from below your items, so clean it up while it’s still wet.
3. Attach fibers and beads to the bottom of the piece. Since the key had a natural opening, I tied a lark’s-head knot around it.
4. Flip the pin over and use E6000 or resin to attach a pin back.
5. When all glue is completely dry, give the pin a coat of two-part resin to toughen up the Foam-Cor. For this pin, I only did the back since I wanted a matte finish on the front. For others, I do both sides, letting one dry completely before attempting to turn it and do the other.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

I rarely add to my list, because I wanted to keep this list for just the best of the best. However, Bead & Button has forced me to add them. When they redesigned their website recently, they made a lot of areas more accessible and better organized. On their techniques page, you’ll find links to pdf downloads on most of the major stitches and important beginning techniques. Here’s the direct link to the new page, and here’s the link to my full list of online bests!

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Technique Tuesday!

Making a necklace like Moonstone Rainbow is very similar to the instructions previously given for making Blue Bells. I strung moonstone chips onto 28 gauge wire and crocheted a chain that ended up being folded into thirds. Most of the technique is outlined in the tutorial for Blue Bells, and I suggest reading it now if you haven’t already!

Moonstone Rainbow

1. Using 20 gauge wire, twist around the ends of the crocheted sections to keep them together, and take the wire through a large bead on each side. Create a wrapped loop.
2. Crimp a piece of beading wire like SoftFlex to each wrapped loop. Add beads for a strand that’s as long as you desire on each side.
3. Crimp one beading wire strand to a hook, and the other to the end of a length of chain. Make a dangle on a headpin, and attach it with a wrapped loop around the free end of the chain. Easy peasy, huh?

Copyright 2007 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.

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Don’t forget about the Design Gallery at Beadalon when you need a shot of inspiration! There are so many lovely things to look at, like these Sparkle Flower Earrings, a new design by Meredith Roddy:

Sparkle Flower instructions

Each project has a list of supplies needed, plus links directly to the items available from Beadalon, and easy to follow instructions.

handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media

Technique Tuesday!

Segments from your favorite beading and jewelry shows right on your computer screen! Next time you miss a show, check it out here: you will have to register to watch, but I don’t think that’s really asking too much! How To TV Online

beads, beading, tv online, jewelry-making, tutorials