The Beading Gem

Nature Inspired Leather Bag Charms and Keychains by Hammerthreads

Canadian leather work artisans, Ashley and Josh, craft their beautiful work from their studio in a quiet Maritime town on the East Coast. What started as a hobby, Hammerthreads has now become a full fledged small business.

Hammerthreads makes many stunning leather products but my favourites from their extensive collection are the leather bag charms and keychains. Ashley confesses she is a "manic leather crafter with a serious attention to detail". She is a plant lover, especially leaves, so that is reflected in their designs.

Whimsical Beaded Jewelry Patterns by ChuArtCorner

I first featured Czech designer, Anna of ChuArtCorner's beadwork tutorials before. Who could resist her beaded cat head pendant patterns? Well, she has more!

One of her most popular designs is the beaded cow pendant one as shown above. She also has a mushroom and pomegranate designs which will suit those who like small 3D pendants. Her flat rectangle beaded designs are also delightful.

Hers is a relatively new collection. Anna is working on more designs so stay tuned!

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Gorgeous Beaded Fireworks Inspired Tutorials | Amazing Drone Shows

Today, we enjoy fireworks as a celebratory treat. Fireworks were invented during the Song dynasty in China (960-1279 CE). Fireworks were made possible because gunpowder (one of 4 great Chinese inventions - the others were compass, paper making and printing) was also invented there, originally for medicinal purposes.

Here are some gorgeous beaded fireworks inspired tutorials and patterns. They cleverly capture the colourful patterns of real fireworks. First up are the 3D fireworks peyote star designs shown above by French beader, DiMarcaOnline.

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How to Make Weeping Willow Wire Trees with Gemstones or Beads | Lovely Lemon Tree Song Cover

Why wire trees? They make for really unique gifts. For example as wedding gifts, a housewarming and you get to gemstones or beads for a spot of colour.

The two featured tutorials here were inspired by weeping willows. Remember to use gloves because working with large bundles of wire is rather hard on the hands!

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Beaded Bracelet Tutorials Using Precision Spacer Beads by ACLPatternsandMore

ACLPatternsandMore has a cool beaded zipper bracelet tutorial (shown above) which is a must see. The trick is the use of precision spacer beads in platinum colour to simulate the zipper teeth. These beads are uniformly flat with useful dual holes. You can get these beads from ACLPatternsandMore . They come in different colours!

They also have a couple of other cuff bracelet tutorials for that sleek look!

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5 Awesome Wire Wrapped Jewelry Tutorials Using Leftover Beads by Lan Ant Handmade

Got a lonely single or a couple of beads or crystals left over that you want to use it? Check out this wonderful collection of wire jewelry tutorials from the Vietnamese creator and instructor, @LanAnhHandmade. She shows you how to make eye-catching handmade jewelry with just a solitary focal for colour.

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Amazing 3 Size Seed Bead Sorter,Organizer and Portable Storage Containers by OnAStringAU

No matter how tidy we are as beaders, most of us have bead soup collections either in a large container or on our bead mats. Having to spend time separating them into their relative sizes (and colours) is such a chore which is why bead soup bowls exist!

I got really excited when my pal Rocpoet tipped me off on Paula of OnAStringAU's amazing 3 size combination bead sorter, organizer and portable storage containers. The set shown above is their 3D printed round one, complete with a lid and a pourer on the bottom section.

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Wire Wrapped Round Beads Tutorials by Abbyjewellery

Many beads are round. Indeed, they are most likely the most common shape. Smooth and easy wearing. However, they need to be well secured in wire work designs. Take British wire artist, Abby Hook of Abbyjewellery's work for splendid examples of well stabilized designs.

Many of her designs which use round beads rest on a wire foundation such as this lovely skeleton leaf pendant tutorial shown below :