The Beading Gem

Never heard of Romanian point lace?  Me, too. Romanian point lace is a traditional European craft which involves handbasting crochet cord into designs and filling the gaps with needle lace work.  It is also called macrame lace, Hungarian point, Romanian macrame or crochet or European macrame. It is typically used for home decor projects like table linens or borders for curtains, even clothing and so on. See this Pinterest board for some awesome examples.

Tagua beads are wonderful natural beads to use in jewelry designs.  I have so much fun coming up with new designs as shown in last week's tagua bead giveaway from Ecuadorian Hands. Some of the shapes are quite unique so don't be put off by them. Rise to the challenge.

All kinds of punches will help make earring cards a lot easier.  Very useful for the time pressed artisan!  Using business cards as earring cards is a brilliant idea because the card with earrings can just be taken off a display board and popped into a suitable bag for a customer. I usually use just a pin tack to puncture holes for the hooks or studs. Not always even and kind of slow!  This nifty little punch converts business cards into earring cards and will not only speed things up but the holes will be consistently placed.

I've featured a number of wire wrapped cabochon tutorials before (see links below).  They are most often, but not always, just variations of the traditional form in terms of what to do with the wire ends.  This tutorial by Andreja Stanko of Amorfia Unique Jewelry is noteworthy for the lovely swirls she added in front of the cabochon.  A great solution for cabochons which may not be as visually interesting as say banded agate.

Want a thick metallic necklace?  An easy way to create one is to wrap a chain around a thick cord necklace. Bev's tutorial over on Flamingo Toes has two great tips.  One is how she did the wrapping and the other is the use of a brooch for the focal.

The hemostat, a scissors like tool, was invented as a surgical clamp by the 19th century French surgeon, Jules-Émile Péan.  Although it is extensively used to close blood vessels etc prior to surgical ligation, the tool is also very useful outside the medical field.  In my previous scientific life, I used it in the lab to temporarily stop the flow of liquid in soft tubing.  It can also be used in jewelry making!

Geometric shapes like a dodecahedron (12 faces) as beaded beads are somewhat of a challenge to beaders.  But if you are up to it, here are two tutorials  to try. The first downloadable tutorial is a design by Cindy Holsclaw over on her Bead Origami site.  She called it the Candy Dodecahedron because you can use the right colored crystals to make it delicious!  Other bead selections are fine too.

Beginners might find beadweaving slow.  But if you are doing RAW (right angle weaves), the work can be speeded up by using two needles.  I really like this pretty and easy 2 needle RAW beaded pearl bracelet tutorial because it shows how quick the process can be. The pathways are clear.

Kanzashi flowers are traditional Japanese hair ornaments which have been in use for thousands of years.  They can be made from a variety of materials - metal, lacquered wood, silk, tortoiseshell and plastic.  One modern master is Japanese artist Sakae whose wire and resin Kanzashi flowers are amazing and exquisite.

Before you read any further, take a guess what this pendant is made from. You don't get any points for guessing a tagua bead! After all this is the latest Ecuadorian Hands' $60 tagua beads giveaway! But what is the metallic looking round thing in the middle?

Loom bracelets are a conundrum, at least for me.  The method is relatively fast considering seed beads are usually used but then the finishing part of all the thread ends kind of slows things down! But this brilliant loom bracelet tutorial uses Czech pellet beads which does speed things up - both the construction and finishing.  Near instant gratification!

Sometimes I think innovative jewelry tool makers are out to empty my wallet! And maybe yours too, eh?  I stumbled upon Magic Finding's clever crimp beads.  They have 7 channels available to make multi strand necklaces or bracelets.  The best way to understand how these findings work is to watch the video or hop over to Art Beads' tutorial.

Kumihimo fans rejoice!  Here is a wonderful interactive kumihimo color planner from Lytha Studios called the KumiPlanner. What is does is allow you to pick the colors you want, see what they look like as a finished braid and how the colors are arranged on the kumihimo disc. You don't have to experiment with actual cords!

Many of us like to make cord bracelets with buttons as the closure.  One option includes using shank buttons so the cord passes through the shank hole.  Or if the cord is thin enough, then it is passed through the holes of the button. But what if you want to use really thick rope and neither these two approaches work?

Mary Tucker is a whizz at making the most amazing wire woven jewelry designs.  She does have a couple of great tutorials which will help get you started in her spiral style pieces. My favorite is her wire woven spiral locket tutorial (UPDATE : link no longer available which is a simplified but still stunning version of her more elaborate pieces.  But you can see more pictures which shows the construction)

Some wire weaving jewelry artisans are amazing.  Take Mary Tucker of Wired Elements.  She is a virtuoso of unique basket style wire woven jewelry designs! What first caught my eye was her stunning wire woven lockets on her Facebook page.  What exquisite workmanship!

Last week’s giveaway showcasing Jet Beads clever service for getting great discount prices from Fire Mountain Gems brought a mix of comments.  Some people had never heard of Jet Beads before.  Others though were fans.  

Armbands (sometimes called arm rings) have been worn by men and women for thousands of years.  They are still popular today especially in the summer when sleeveless clothes are worn. They are a great fashion accessory that's a little different than wearing cuffs lower down on the wrist.

Sometimes making the same thing a few times in different sizes is useful as you can put all of them together.  The Hang Loose design by Linda Jones over on WireWorkers Guild is a good example. This easy curvy scroll wire pendant tutorial is also very forgiving ie you don't have to get the wire work absolutely perfectly.

Adrianne over on Happy Hour Projects has this helpful tutorial for making a recycled spoon pendant.  It's a good one if you've never done this before and need some tips!

Beadwork takes time. So when you feel like beading but do not have the time for large projects, make earrings instead!  I really like this collection of fun earrings to bead tutorials! The first one is by Un-Roen Manarata over on the Elfen blog (updated link). Don't you just love how the seed beads wind round the crystalsÉ

This wire star links tutorial is a great way to practice making consistent wire bends! It is by Watchmeflyy on Instructables. She made the links as small as possible.  However, if you don't mind them being a little bigger, use a small broad nose pliers to help you make even bends the width of the jaws.

Version 1

This bracelet by Inspiration and Realisation is a stunner - one that screams "designer made"!  It is created from a lot of cord and some strategically placed metal tubes.  Pearl dangles really complete the design beautifully.

Prudish?  Maybe you should just skip this post.  But if you have a sense of humor and enjoy seeing how both male and female designers come up with imaginative and playful pieces, then read on.  Fukusawa Takayuki  is a Tokyo based artist designer of ekoD Works. He came up with his Tanima Diver pendant necklaces which translates to Valley Diver...the valley as in cleavage!

Many jewelry suppliers offer volume discounts - the more you buy, the greater the price reduction. You don't have to have a jewelry business to want a good deal. With tight household budgets these days, getting a good discount really helps.

I love wearing scarves but for the life of me, I just can't remember more than a few ways to wear them.  My memory is so bad, I have to resort to my past posts on various creative and fun ways to wear what are scarf necklaces.  Not very practical when one is in a rush to go out. The cooler weather will soon be upon us so I  had to find an easy solution.

I've always admired macrame jewelry artisans who work on a larger scale (see inspirational designers below). These are so much more challenging than say friendship bracelets.  So this tutorial by Technoplastique over on Instructables is a good one to start on if you are venturing towards bigger projects.  Lots of hand-holding by the instructor including 2 pattern versions.

Did last week's feature on photographer, Dillon Marsh's For What Its Worth series make you consider recycling every scrap of copper (and other metals) when making jewelry?  Well the next one in his remarkable series, For What Its Worth II to visualize a mine's actual output is even more shocking.

Kimberley Mine (1871 - 1914) 14.5 million carats of diamonds extracted

Love the look of dichroic glass jewelry but cannot afford the kiln for fused glass work?  Well, there is a solution for that!  Faux fused glass pendants using shrink plastic and alcohol inks.  This amazing tutorial is by Tammy Tutterow.

Zigzag is a peculiar word that's been used in some European languages for a few hundred years.  But the characteristic pattern has probably been around as a decorative element for a lot longer.  It's delightful to see it in wire jewelry.  This lovely zigzag earrings tutorial is a gem by Albina Manning.

Julia Turova is an astounding Russian beadwork artist and master instructor who lives in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.  Her passion for her craft shows in all her designs.  She also holds a PhD in biology (ecology and entomology) which explains many of her nature inspired beadwork particularly the insects.  Her ability to create beautiful 3D designs is astonishing.

Summer is nearly over so it was fun to celebrate with a great Nunn Design 2014 Summer collection giveaway last week.  The gorgeous findings and the fact that we know who the great designer is helped make the giveaway very popular.

Versatility in designs is great as you can adapt the basic pattern and use them in different ways. This first ring design tutorial over on Try to Bead deserves its name - the Bling Ring! This one is not meant for fingers but is to be used as pendants or connected together to form a beaded chain.  Maybe even as dangles for statement earrings?