The Beading Gem

Kalmbach Publishing has an awesome series of beginner jewelry making "textbooks".  By that I mean a book that can get you started on jewelry making without knowing anything about it and without the internet! It can also act as your personal instructor when there is none available.

Wearing an abacus bracelet is an exceedingly clever idea because a knitter or crochet enthusiast can easily keep count of stitches. Sure you can buy those little plastic row counters but they are small and will only fit knitting needles not crochet hooks. Functional pieces of jewelry like counting bracelets are much prettier alternatives.

LoveMaegan was inspired by many of the trendy embellished collar tip designs out there and eventually come up with her own spin and tutorial.  She embroidered glass pearls, vintage rhinestone earrings, buttons and beads from her broken necklace for her drop dead gorgeous collar tips.

My feature on Hunger Games Inspired Jewelry was a popular one. No wonder as the movie has proven to be a popular one ever since it opened.


Do you know a fan of the Hunger Games movie?  Or are you one yourself?  Either way, here is a really easy Hunger Games necklace tutorial by The Wandering Reader.

Leather is sometimes used in jewelry making.  One amazing artisan is Ghanian born but UK based Amma Gyan. Her studding molded leather collection features lovely organic shapes which really highlights the natural qualities of the material.

I know there are tons of beadaholics out there and this was confirmed by last week's giveaway for a huge pile of Preciosa-Ornela beads.  There were well over 300 entries after allowing for the extra ones including several from "Anonymous"!  I am sure they were all different people, but please make sure you enter a first name at least.  Adding your email also helps me notify you if you happen to be a lucky winner!

Today artisans can choose to market their products on a growing number of online sites.  These offer different options. Some provide free stores but charge per listing and take a cut on sales. Others charge a small monthly fee but not listing fees or commissions.  So artisans will have to find what is a good fit for them.

Guest Tutorial Post by Judy Larson
Judy is a retired teacher and reader of this blog. She also happens to be a highly creative individual accomplished in many crafts.  Her mantra is "I will never live long enough to learn everything I want to learn, do everything I want to do, or see everything I want to see." 

Judy does not sell her jewelry so she does not have a website. Most of the jewelry she makes is given away. This generous teacher also gives free community education wire wrapping and jewelry making classes.

Judy contacted me a while ago to offer her wonderful pdf tutorials for anyone interested in learning about jewelry making. She has already generously shared her Glass Pebble Cabochon Pendant Tutorial before.  This cross tutorial is the second in what will be a series over time. They were originally written for her students.

If you live in her area and are interested in attending her free classes at Lake of the Woods High School in Baudette, Minnesota, please contact the head of Community Education : cece_c@lakeofthewoodsschool.org to find out more.  The next series of 22 classes will be held the first 2 weekends in May. Then Judy  is going to take 6-8 months to concentrate on metal clay!

Bead work designs often use lovely buttons as clasps. But I recently came across a clever idea for wire workers. Lori over at the Pretty Things blog shared her method of making a wired button clasp.

I, as well as some of you, have participated in blog partner challenges before where we get to come up with a unique design using specified materials or themes from beading suppliers.  It's a lot of fun.


But what if a car manufacturer asked you to design a necklace using just car parts?

String art pendants and earrings were popular a while ago (see links below).  If you like them, you have to check out this marvelous tutorial by Erin Norris who has an Etsy store called Stealth and Aces.


The large spirograph inspired pendant is different from the jewelry I wrote about before. It is created from circular plastic canvas and embroidery floss.

I've featured photo resin jewelry before. But as with anything, I never assume that I've seen it all before because inevitably, I come across something different.


I stumbled upon Little Windows, the brainchild of Fran Valera. She not only got into photo jewelry but went on to develop her own line of non-toxic resin which will work on delicate items such as photos. (You'll still need good ventilation).  I also liked her special mats used in the doming process.

Who says paracord jewelry is only for men?  Take a look at the awesome work of Jaclyn Mayer and you'll have to agree that paracord can be made to look not just feminine but utterly fashionable.
Californian born Jaclyn Mayer has studied design in prestigious schools including getting an MA from the London College of Fashion.

It turns out that not only are Tim and Lily the sort of artisans you want to learn from, they are also unofficial tourist promoters for Italy!  A number of entrants in last week's Beaded Lily Giveaway were envious of the their life in Italy. And two readers are probably going to call by the shop later this year as they vacation there. Cool!

Remember my post on Preciosa Onela's new twin bead line that now starting to show up on this side of the pond?  These double hole beads add so much more potential to beaded projects as shown in the drop dead gorgeous bead work tutorials I linked there.


Well, Preciosa-Ornela really want beaders to get excited about these Czech beads so they are offering a huge collection of beads (shown above)  including the twin beads for one lucky winner of this giveaway. Isn't it just a delightful blend of colors?

Maggie Meister is an internationally renowned bead designer and instructor who is the author of  Classical Elegance: 20 Beaded Jewelry Designs It is another master class book which Lark Crafts sent to me for review. It's hard to believe that this is Maggie's first ever book as she is incredibly talented!

We've all seen folding picture post cards. You know, those that open up like an accordion. Well, here is a really nifty tutorial which uses the idea but for a pocket watch shell or even locket.

There are a number of ways to make paper jewelry. Rolling and folding paper are a couple of the most common techniques. Some artisans also use paper pulp to build up forms. Decoupage is another alternative method as is quilling.

Some of you may have been dismayed with the huge amount of jewelry listings (more than 2.5 million on January 6) on Etsy I wrote about in A Day of Jewelry Selling on Etsy. But you needn't be. There is a way to get into a smaller niche with much less competition. Just tap into your other passions.

I've been on a long quest looking for wire work mandrels which usually involves hunting through the house (see links below).  But the triangle shape had always eluded me until I remembered a certain kind of chocolate.


Yes, this is a doubly pleasurable project because you can certainly justify eating the chocolate for a truly noble cause - making jewelry!  Well, at least that's what I tell myself!

 Are you "farched" out? Around here, February and March are the blah months.  So easy and quick yarn crochet jewelry are just the designs to chase the winter blues away.  You'll also use up those yarn and thread remnants too!

Mandy Besek on Etsy is a contemporary textile and fiber jewelry artisan.  Her work is incredibly bold and colorful.

Mandy has a strong sense of color, texture and pattern consistent with her textile design training.She says, "My designs focus on vibrant colors and patterns, energetic tribal tones with textural inspiration from the most intricate moss and corals found in nature." Her pieces are created using free style crochet or hand wrapped and coiled.

Some couples are really lucky as they not only share common interests but also pursue their passions together professionally.  The husband and wife team of Lily Mordà and Timothy James behind Beaded Lily have a truly remarkable story.

Many of you have already noticed that there is a huge number of jewelry makers on Etsy...and also on most other online selling sites.  But just how many and what they make was what drove me to come up with this infographics post based on a single day of  jewelry selling on the largest online craft market.

The basic single stone wire wrapped ring is relatively easy to make and does not require soldering.  You can either use a ring mandrel or dowels which give you the right dimension for the sizes you want.


One lovely variation is the herringbone wire wrap ring tutorial I came across is by Elle Gee Designs.  The wrapping style is much neater than the informal wrapping of many ring tutorials.

Who can resist the sparkle of crystals? Sue clearly loves crystals!   She created several pieces based on clear and grey crystals at a couple of workshops conducted by Debbie, my good friend. What Sue did was braid the light colored beading wire for a delightful variation on the illusion style of jewelry making.

You know how artists transport their materials and work in progress in a wooden case?  Well, I thought CTCreationz' video tutorial to make a jewelry display from an artist's case is a super one for us.

Amanda Thomas is the young designer behind the Luv Aj jewelry line which is now sold in boutiques across the US.  Celebrities like Kim Kardashian , Nicole Richie and Vanessa Hudgens count among her clients.

Edgy, urban chic designs are her signature style. One of her bestsellers is the polished pyrite handpiece.

I've covered wire ribbon or lace jewelry tutorials before. But the graduated version deserves a mention!


Kristin St Clair from the Martha Stewart site designed the Mesh Ombre Necklace. There are four strands of carefully graduated colored pearls or crystals within the tube of wire lace.There is also a video tutorial at the site which is the quickest way to see how it's done.

I am constantly in awe of other wire knit or crochet artisans who take wire work to new dimensions.  Israeli artisan, Yael Falk of Yoola on Etsy is the latest find.

She exploits her skill at making even crochet stitches to great effect as seen by her contemporary style collection. Simple motifs like flowers, pods twists and geometric shapes are evident in her designs.

Some of you had never heard of tagua beads before last week's giveway.  But now you know how eco friendly these are!  One commentator, Laura said they remind her of bakelite. But these are even better than the old plastic material, they are organic!

There are different ways to make a name or word necklace.  You could use metal letter beads or if you are good with wire, wire names.  But there is another way - make a morse code necklace.

I am thinking about getting a disc cutter.  However, I haven't yet taken the plunge as I am unsure if I want to make that many round discs enough to justify buying one. I did do some research though  so I will share what I found out in case you are also trying to decide.

Economy disc cutter

Disc cutters are available at different price points. Like with many things, you get what you pay for.

I'm already a fan of Irina Miech who is an accomplished wire artisan as well as a bead instructor, owner of 2 retail stores and book author.  Her previous Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders 2 book was a delight when I had the chance to review it before.

We shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. Those of us who can laugh at ourselves are more likely to enjoy better overall health according to a 2011 study!

Helping us get there is this hilarious video parody by Regretsy.  It was produced about a year ago and was kind of buried in Youtube because there are so many other parodies based on the same movie clip.  April's though nails it for crafters.  Tears rolled down my cheeks when I first saw it....and I did write about safety pin jewelry too!

St. Patrick's Day is not an official holiday but they might as well make it one. In recent years, it has become the single best day for pub owners across North America with some reporting 2-3 times the business generated on New Year's eve.