The Beading Gem

It's not always possible to avoid using glue in jewelry making. Think about leather cord pieces which have to be glued into cord ends like this past tutorial of mine for a wire wrapped crystal necklace.

Stud earrings are also good examples. The posts have to be securely glued to withstand the repeated putting on and pulling off of the earring backs. What is challenging about stud posts is the relatively small area of the glue pads.

Fran Valera of Little Windows sent me their new clever double-sided silicone molds set to try.  These make not just resin bangles but larger geometric ornaments and trinket dishes.

There are 4 sizes and shapes which come individually or as a set. Note : LW offers a 15% discount for all readers - just use this code : BG1516.

I positioned my fingers as if I was going to put on a bangle and then measured the widest part of my hand around the knuckles. Turns out I am a small - the circle mold which fits up to 8" (20.5 cm). The oval medium fits up to 8.5"(22 cm), the square medium fits up to 9" (23 cm) and the rectangle fits up to 10" (25.5 cm).

Wonderland Ukraine is a unique craft supplier.  Anton Gladkov comes from a family of crafters so he just had to get creative himself.   I wrote about his gorgeous laser cut and engraved wood bead organizers before.

This time I received one of their many Easter beaded cross stitch wood kits to review. One lucky giveaway winner will also receive one kit from any of their huge collection of beaded cross stitch wood kits, not just the Easter ones.

I first introduced my original miniature shadowbox pendants and tutorial a couple of weeks ago. These miniature shadowboxes are my original idea - shadowboxes are usually much larger!  That first tutorial was for "dry" additions where the objects are glued.

This tutorial will deal with "wet" additions where you might want to encase mementos with epoxy resin.  I will also be testing out Starbond's Superfast Thin glue which is very liquid and imparts a glossy finish. It might be a reasonable substitute for those who don't want to use epoxy resin.

I first wrote about Israeli designer Yael Falk of Yoola more than 8 years ago.  Back then, she was making finished wire crochet knitted jewelry. But in the intervening years, Yael has gone from strength to strength, offering wonderful tools and tutorials for others.

I am a huge fan.  I have been using her tools and helpful hints on how to wire crochet knit for years.  It's wire crochet because crochet hooks are used but the result resembles knitting. Yael herself calls it wire crochet ISK (invisible spool knitting). See my past comparative post for ISK vs Viking Knit.

Rick McKinney of KorTools is a former potter.  These days though he is busy running and developing a wonderful range of tools for people who work with clay - polymer clay and precious metal clay.

The distinctive black acrylic roller stamps and textures are light and durable. He has many great designs.  Rick sent me some samples to review and this is what I received :

Anton Gladkov of WonderlandUkraine comes from a family who loves handicrafts. He too is creative. He explained,  "So I wanted to engage myself in something creative and interesting. Besides, I always believed, that creativity and handicraft must be as comfortable as possible and bring only positive emotions! That's why I started producing things aimed to make the work and life of craftspeople easier."

What Anton did is to design and make some gorgeous and unique laser cut wooden bead organizers. They come in different shapes with varying numbers of compartments.  He also designs and produces all kinds of embroidery kits and thread organizers - the wooden Christmas ornament section is a must see.

I wrote a review on beading software programs some years ago, both free and commercial. There is now a new commercial pattern making program, Bead-n-Stitch  - already in use in Eastern Europe - which has recently been released to the North American market not just for beaders but embroiderers, weavers and cross- stitchers.

You can upload a photo or illustration and have the program render to whatever size project you want, using bead types, sizes and colors of choice.  Users can also work from scratch on a blank canvas.  The program can also make combined patterns with both beads and cross stitching, if desired.

I have started testing out Starbond glues which I received for review.  Get a 15% discount with this code : BGSB15 This family of cyanoacrylate adhesives consists of specially formulated superglues to be less brittle. They are designed for crafts and lapidary work. You can also purchase the useful Starbond glue including the all-purpose Starbond Medium from Amazon. 

I previously tried the Starbond Medium glue to attach my bail in this resin jewelry tutorial.  It is an incredibly strong adhesive and bonds instantly.  So be careful and not get it on one's skin!

Remember my recent review of Pru McRae's Kumihimo Endings book?  I did say back then that she has another book.

This one, The Prumihimo Disk book really shows how good Pru is with kumihimo.  This innovative designer developed a different kind of disk which allows the user to easily place beads on the outside of the braid. 

David Weizman is the talented metal smith behind Ka Gold Jewelry. He calls himself a cosmic jewelry artist because he creates many designs inspired by sacred symbols from around the world.

Watch him use a real heart shaped fig leaf as the jumping off point for his Dharma pendant. As you can see the fig leaf from a Bodhi tree is quite large. This enables him to create his unique design using tracing paper.

Jewelry designers often wear their pieces. What better way than to show off your interest and designs?  But I recently got a chance to really go one step further....with gemstone inspired smartphone cases!  Eye catching indeed!

I received a couple for review from Velvet Caviar. Their feminine cases certainly address the wishes of those who are either not into bland designs or just want to have fun with their device protection.

My bead embroidery jewelry tutorial was inspired by three different sources.  The first came from Nunn Design.  As you know, they help make some pretty cool boho jewelry.  I really loved came  the beautifully embroidered jewelry I wrote about here.

Then Becky Nunn sent me some of the US made findings needed for review and to have fun with! The full range of retail embroidery jewelry findings can be purchased directly from Nunn Design.  All of these are metal as opposed to wood. This makes smaller daintier designs possible.