The Beading Gem

No time for micro-macrame jewelry?  Paracord bracelets are the way to go.  They are not only fast to make but many are unisex.  These bi-colored tutorial designs are clever!  First up is the heart stitched paracord tutorial by the Paracord Guild.  I would not have thought to sew colored thread onto a regular cobra style paracord bracelet-  tutorial here.

I have been asked if there were any beaded tutorials for sea horses and turtles.  There is a beautiful sea horse bead embroidery tutorial by this Russian bead artist.  But good 3D animal tutorials are harder to find.

Do you like to crochet?  Here is a wonderful tutorial by the bead crochet instructor, Ann Benson, for a reversible bead crochet tutorial.  The best thing is you do not need any fancy stitches - just the 3 most basic ones - slip stitch, chain stitch and single crochet. The reversible part is handy as it doesn't matter which is the wrong side. Just which pattern you want to see that day if the inside is different from the outside.

Are you still struggling with getting decent photographs for your online store?  Spending w-a-a-a-a-y too much time with your camera?  Then come join me at 2 pm EST this Sunday, April 2, for the next jewelry photography webinar.  You can read more about it here.

Otis Jaxon is a line of contemporary jewelry based in London, UK which "started over 20 years ago when designer Narena Kohli set up in an indoor market on the iconic Kings Road in Chelsea – the rest, as they say, is history!" Today a small, multicultural metal smithing team create uniquely modern handmade pieces in silver and gold. Shown here are just a small sampling of their creative ideas for all kinds of earrings.

Kazuri, a Kenyan women's collective, are well known for their ceramic handmade beads and pendants.  Some 200, mostly single women, are able to make a living to support their families. Lady Susan Wood, the founder of Kazuri died in 2006 but her legacy lives on. Born of missionary parents, she always considered herself an African at heart. Together with her surgeon husband, they also founded charities to aid the people they grew to love.

How would you like to make your own beautiful copper bead caps?  I do not mean making the discs and punching holes in them. But rather, creating your own patterns on them.  This tutorial by Laura over at Chestnut Ridge Designs, shows you how easy it is to do so using a ferric chloride solution. She used PCB Etchant solution but you could also use other makes.

It is probably a little too daunting for beginner wire workers to attempt a full wire wrapped bracelet. So if you're in this group, consider baby steps.  Gloria of Domestic Diva Online has an easy wire wrapped bracelet tutorial using a bracelet frame.

Shrink plastic is a favorite with many Etsy sellers and crafters alike. This is not surprising as the medium allows you to create all kinds of artwork with no more than either a toaster oven or a heat gun** (not your hairdryer!) typically used for embossing powders. Not to mention have lots of fun in the process.

I've been trying to find and grow everlasting flowers (Helichrysum) in the garden for a while. Even if they are just annuals in my northern garden. When dried they can be used in real flower jewelry (see my tutorial) . But there is another alternative! Make everlasting flower polymer clay jewelry instead! The tutorial by someone called Funny Monkey on this Russian site is worth a look!

Loom bracelets are lovely. But I think they are even more so if you add them to metal channel cuffs! Just check out  Estelle of Petit Bout de Chou's tutorial for a really pretty design. This Hong Kong based designer also has an Etsy store where she sells these cuffs too.

Jessica Blazek is from Ohio ans is the designer behind Thimble Thistle. She is an artist who rose to the challenge of working in a new medium and in miniature scale! She said, "My inspiration comes from art history, nature and animals. Art has always been a passion of mine and I love the creative process and learning new things."

Vincent van Gogh : Starry Night

Those of you who sell jewelry at craft shows have said how much you needed the help on last week's Craft Show Business book giveaway. Caroline said, "I could really use this book. I just exhibited at a farmers' market and sold nothing! I clearly need to do better."  The author also said in her book that she sold hardly anything when she herself started in a farmer's market. It wasn't until she made changes that she began to improve sales.

We are all familiar with the Faberge eggs - the large Imperial Easter eggs which contained surprises especially commissioned as gifts for for the Russian Romanov royal family. But the legendary master jeweler also made a lot of smaller and less ornate ones including tiny gemstone Easter egg pendants.  I saw a marvelous collection when it exhibited in Montreal a few years ago -  check out the post as I shared  a couple of my pictures of these egg pendants. Also this post Rare Gemstones : Alexandrite and the Last of the Romanovs for some fascinating history on this tragic family.

Need something quick in the beading line?  This easy rainbow beaded necklace tutorial might just be the one for you. The tutorial is by a Turkish beader who calls her youtube channel, Takı Tasarımları (Jewelry Designs).

John Ahr shared this fun tutorial on how to make a stacked paper ring using any kind of paper . It is really easy to glue up a stack of paper with the adhesive in between the layers.  What a great way to use up magazine paper! Or small scraps of scrapbook paper.

Long time readers will remember I have a particular fondness for elephants.  African elephants are being hunted for their ivory in unprecedented numbers so much so they may be gone within our lifetimes.  This beautiful steampunk polymer clay elephant tutorial by Maria Gia certainly celebrates these majestic creatures.

Making your own stamp or mold means you can create original designs especially from natural material like shells.I really like this tutorial to make a stamp or mold with a handle! The tutorial is by Caroline Dewison (Blueberribeads) over on Art Elements.

Zig zag jump ring and beads bracelets are very popular. Simple design and quick to do. Some time ago, I wrote about one tutorial which uses seed beads.   Oksana of Oksana+Hobbies shared another approach with larger beads and a knotted bead and loop closure.  This blogger is bilingual so the instructions are both in English and Russian!  She also has an Etsy store.

The designers behind Cellar Door Shoppe is a mother and daughter duo who love and collect all sorts of vintage tin and china as well as Depression era glass.  What they do is convert their collection into unique jewelry.  They also share their Etsy store.   Tanya, the daughter specializes in vintage biscuit and candy tin jewelry.  Shelle is the mother who creates jewelry from broken china and vintage glass jewelry.

The Global Style Jewelry book which I reviewed last week is certainly great for sparking creativity when one is at a low point. As Doberdaughter wrote, "Looks like a very inspirational book....could use one right now.....am in a creative desert."  All the colors and some cool but easy techniques can indeed get the creative juices going.

Long time blog readers may remember Patricia Baranyai's guest post some time ago where she shared her 5 Craft Show Tips for Creating a Solid Show Schedule. This Toronto-based vintage jewelry designer is a 25+ year veteran of 300+ craft shows in both the US and Canada. She has much to share in the way of tips and selling strategies to increase the chances of craft show success.

Most people bead with tila beads flat. Here is a design tutorial by Whimbeads which does it differently. The tila beads have been arranged on their edges thus giving the design a more pronounced 3D look. The resulting motifs do look like wheels hence its name!

You can buy adjustable bangles.  But did you know you can make your own?  It is much cheaper that way.  This tutorial is by Jessica from Jewelrytutorialhq. I agree with her that memory wire is so much better than using regular wire.  Memory wire is called that because it holds its shape.  This bangle will not get distorted!

Many of you will agree that the Nunn Design's jewelry designs are simply scrumptious!  Becky and her team certainly play a lot with the components using resin and resin clay as well as metal based cold connection techniques.  As a result of that discovery process, they have come up with some innovative design tutorials.  You can see the full "cheat sheet" tutorials on the Nunn Design Tutorial Board over on Pinterest.   Here are my resin jewelry tutorial favorites from that collection :

Cutting Up Free Form Resin Pieces

This is a brilliant idea to use up the last bit of resin.  I would pour the resin onto waxed paper and let it harden a little but it will be somewhat limp and soft enough to cut. This is about 8 - 9  hours after pouring for the brand I use (Little Window's Brilliant Resin) - it might be different for other brands. Nunn Design has their own resin which cures with uv light.  Do not wait until resin fully cures otherwise you cannot cut it!

Larissa of The Heart Beading has a marvelous tutorial which combines bead and wire work.  What also caught my attention was her use of square stitch in a tubular form - not commonly done. Many beaders use tubular peyote or herringbone.  The square stitch though makes it easy to stack the colors for a distinctive look.

Like bling?  There is nothing like adding crystal cup chain to bezels to get that sparkle! I've covered the beadwork cup chain tutorials before (see links below). This easy tutorial by Holly of The Potomac Beading Company uses wire instead to connect the cup chain around a large top drilled bead.

South Carolina based Kara, whose Etsy store is Karisma by Kara, is both a metalsmith as well as a wire artist.  Her minimalist and modern style has broad appeal.  I particularly loved her whimsical wire creature jewelry.  It was hard to choose my favorites to feature here.

My apologies! The giveaway information was missing from the original post. It has now been updated so please go to the post to leave a comment if you wish!

It's not what you use but how you use it that counts.  That's a design philosophy well worth remembering.  Using simple techniques, a creative designer can come up with stunning designs with color and pizzazz. The trick is to find and put the right things together using inspirational sources. This book shows how you can do just that.

Quick, pin this collection so you will remember to make some gorgeous bead embellished Kazanshi snowflakes as Christmas ornaments!  Or use them for bridal headpieces or statement necklaces. First up is this beautiful design by MyInDulzens.

Yikes!  I realized I forgot to announce the winner of Marilee Rockley's Shuttle Tatting Craftsy Class Giveaway earlier this week! I blame it on my grey hairs of which I have a lot!  But as they say, better late than never.  Those of who entered were curious about learning how to tat or to tat better!  Lee said, "I've done a bit of shuttle tatting in the past but never managed past a few snowflakes. I would love to win this class and learn more."  

May the luck of the Irish be with you this coming St Patrick's Day!  Make yourself a quick four leaf clover wire work pendant for yourself or an Irish friend with this tutorial by Vietnamese wire work artist, Lan Anh Handmade. This is a great use of wire heart elements!

A number of you have mentioned at my webinars and elsewhere about plans to set up your own online stores this year.  Your store design has to be as appealing as possible, be easily navigable, displays the important information and so on. So choosing the right theme is very important. Here are 5 things to consider when choosing the right theme for your jewelry online store.

Shopify Free Theme - "Supply"

Impressart makes wonderful stamps. Their latest collection is the Mandala 4 which consists of 4 different types of dots and arrows. Want to win their spectacular $80 stamping kit?  Enter the giveaway worth $80 over at AllFreeJewelryMaking. It is a great way to start making stamped metal jewelry.

There are all sorts of cutters you can buy for polymer clay work.  Not just from art and jewelry stores but also cookie cutters.  It can get a tad expensive if you want different shapes. So check out this easy tutorial by Ludmila Bakulina where she turns ordinary round metal cutters into custom shapes!