The Beading Gem

3-hole connectors are usually used to keep multi-strand designs tidy.  But you can use them in a totally different way. Making your own pendant from 3-hole connectors is relatively easy and results in a unique design.  I used the connectors I received from Prima Bead. 

It's Beader's Choice month! The  Prima blogging team 's assignment in October has been all about us.  Prima Bead asked each of us to complete a short survey describing our designing technique preference, favorite colors  and so forth.  So our packages are all different as the supplies were tailored to our liking.

Copper Spool Knitted Wire Necklace

When we think of beaded hair jewelry, we think of beads in barrettes, bands and elastics. Or maybe as stranded extensions.  But beads with hair as the stringing medium?  Now that would be difficult, or is it?

Wow! The response for last week's giveaway of a Modahaus TS320 tabletop studio was overwhelming! I am not surprised because jewelry photography is by far the toughest non-jewelry making skill to get grips with!  All of you know the value of great looking images.

 PJTools, the people behind the awesome Impressart metal stamps and jewelry supplies I wrote about before have come up with another cool product!  They have recently launched Bezel Effects.  This new line features high quality products including  special effect paints from French-based Pebeo Paints, Susan Lenart Kazmer's ICE Resin and Amate Studios of Mesa, Arizona's  super range of bezels.

The bead and cord wrapped bracelets are still hot!  They are fun to make and wear.  I've seen and shared the many variations I have come across.  Here are a couple of super tutorials based on tila beads.  These two hole beads are also rising in popularity.

I admit I have a soft spot for whimsy.  That's one of the best things about handmade jewelry. One can indulge and come up with unique and niche designs which make people smile.  These coffee cup polymer clay earrings are fun to make too!

We go through so much packaging these days, don't we?  So it's great when someone like Heidi Borchers comes up with a clever way to make fun recycled jewelry.

Books are incredibly valuable sources of inspiration. Beginners benefit from the new directions they can take. More experienced jewelry makers can lift themselves out of design ruts.

I think I am guilty of a number of containers of bead soup!  You know, odd bead collections which I have not bothered to return to their rightful containers. So one way to get rid of bead soup is to make bead soup jewelry.  Here are some easy wire bangle tutorials to try.

I spotted Alice Sprintzen's remarkable found object art jewelry on Jewelspan.  Artisans like her rise to the challenge of making not just recycled jewelry but true art pieces.   As Alice says, "Jewelry of this genre is an antidote to the wasteful, consumer oriented direction of modern life."

A Token of Tokens : Car tail light, token, garnet, antique glass, belt buckle, sterling silver, glass beads

I was very lucky to have stumbled on Lex McColl's very first Modahaus tabletop studio a few years ago.  It, together with the camera tips this professional shared, has greatly improved my jewelry photography. 

Modahaus TS320

The Cheapside Hoard,he greatest Elizabethan and early Stuart era jewelry collection was discovered a century ago. In 1912, workmen demolishing a building in Cheapside, a busy part of the City of London, came across a 17th century jewelr's buried stash when they were digging in the cellar.

Colombian emerald, diamond and enamel salamander brooch

Kumihimo is really popular but if you prefer something less busy, then consider a hand wrapped thread and cord necklace tutorial.  It's an ethnic look that's been popular for quite a while (see first link below).

Julian Fellowes' (Downton Abbey) recently released film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is the celebrated scriptwriter's attempt to make Shakespeare's play palatable for modern audiences. He said, "Every generation is interested in love. But there is something about young love that is heartbreaking, and I think every teenager in the world would agree. All of that is very powerful. The point about teenage love is it’s before cynicism comes in to reshape one’s attitudes. You love when you’re young in a way that you’ll probably never love again."

Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld as the star-crossed lovers

I absolutely love the Absolute Beginner Guide series to jewelry making.  These are the books which I can heartedly recommend for people who are just starting out.  The guides are always there for you to go over again and again should you need to. They cover all the basic information - the kind that will take you ages to get if you were learning on your own and have no real life instructor to hep you. 

Does  having to photograph jewelry give you grief?  You're not alone.  Photographing jewelry is something most of us never bargained for when we start selling jewelry, promoting tutorials and workshops online.... and blogging!  It needn't be so excruciatingly painful.

Some years ago I wrote a wire wrapped ring tutorial using a Swarovski montee calling it a fake prong ring! That is because the crystal looks rather like a set gemstone.  You can apply the same approach but with a real gemstone easily prong set using a Snap Set finding.

I consider bead embroidery something akin to painting with beads.  On person who does so and does it well is Russian beader, Elena Emelina on Facebook. She is clearly an artist as you can see from her creations shown here.

One of the reasons I just love doing giveaways such as last week's Goody Beads one is the chance to come up with showcase designs.  Each supplier or manufacturer is different.  Reader Shaiha put it quite succinctly, "I just love Goody Beads. They have findings that I can't seem to find anywhere else."

Making wire bezels for cabochons is a little more demanding than using pre-drilled beads because the wire work has to hold the pendant securely.  If you are a worrywart, check out the clever silver hug wire wrapped pendant tutorial by Domestic Diva Online.

I get the impression that leather is a perennial favorite so we could do with more inspirational tutorials, right?  Some designers are indeed very resourceful.  Ellen from Black and White and Loved All Over made this smashing leather tassel necklace. The tassels hang from a leather lace covered embroidery hoop!

Lots of beaders are on the hunt for alternative metals.  Stainless steel is a good one. But you don't have to buy the wire itself.  Consider the humble paper clip!

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving earlier than our American neighbors.  It's this weekend!  So I wish all my Canadian readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!  With Halloween round the corner, October sure is one orange month with pumpkins popping up everywhere.

Some people are really fond of large showy rings. Maybe to wear for your next dinner party?  One really fun cocktail ring Aleshia of Beadiful Nights' Spiral Galaxy one.  Check out her video tutorial!   Doesn't the top ring's colors make it patriotic?

This looks like an ordinary triple braided bead bracelet, right?  But how it was made is the cool part.  So hop on over to the Useful DIY post  and check it out.  Sometimes simple techniques are the most effective!

Kinetic jewelry is so much fun.  It's not just the interactive function. I suspect fidgety wearers will also appreciate twiddling the designs to while away nervous energy. So I am always on the lookout for more moving jewelry designs. The more innovative, the better.

It should come as no surprise what I say when I get a Goody Beads package in the mail!  Yup.  " Goody!"  Last time I featured their wonderful European leather bracelet findings. This time round,  I will be featuring their amazing collection of awarenesss charms  as October is the month for not just breast cancer awareness but many others such as autism, brain tumor, pregnancy and infant loss and so on. Some of you do raise money for worthy causes so this post will hopefully inspire!

Ear cuffs seem to be getting more popular these days judging from the increasing number of tutorials I come across. I wonder if it's because more people aren't getting their ears pierced? Whatever the reason, they are cool and can be combined with regular piercings. I picked these tutorials to get you started!

Knotted cord bracelets are always popular.  They are quick to make and will help diminish your button stash!  This first tutorial is from the Martha Stewart site which features two knots - a cross knot and a simple overhand one. They even include a printable card with a hand image!

Everything orange season is almost upon us!  It seems like Halloween gets much more fun with each passing year. So if you want to join in,  check out this crop of tutorials to get your creative juices going!

European leather bracelets are a hot trend.  The contemporary look coupled with unique clasps and cord ends add to their appeal as you can see from the designs I made here. But what if you couldn't get or didn't want to buy those large cord ends?  Make them yourself!

Sea horses are such amazing creatures.  They are marine fishes but don't look or move like a typical one. It's species is Hippocampus which comes from the Greek word hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning "sea monster".  The sea monster is also a misnomer because they are not monstrous but rather elegant and graceful inhabitants of the sea. 

 It's one thing to make crochet jewelry but another to specialize in just one form.  Bulgarian artisan, Vanya of Vanessa Handmade on Etsy loves to create cotton crochet tubes!  She then manipulates them into all sorts of fun sculptural designs.