The Beading Gem

Lower your December stress levels by making your gifts early!  Here is an adorable macrame fish bracelet tutorial for the younger set and the young at heart!  The video tutorial is by Macrame School.

Rings are so easily lost for many reasons. Some people never get round to resizing them. Our fingers fluctuate in size during the same day and rings can slip away without our knowledge. One woman in Arizona lost her wedding ring last week when she accidentally gave it away with the Halloween candy!  Just the other day, I had not noticed one of my rings had come off but it was safely still in the gardening glove finger when I put the glove on again!   But people might not be so lucky if they dropped it at the beach /lake or anywhere in the great outdoors.

Do you have jewelry findings which have been languishing in your supplies for ages simply because you don't know what else to do with them?  The solution is to use in ways which they were not originally designed for.  One example is using several spacer beads together . Another is using bead caps as chandelier earring findings.

Do you make beaded ornaments as gifts?  Here is a beaded Christmas Ornament from Preciosa (no longer available)which is not only beautiful but quick and easy to make with seed beads and twin hole beads.  It is fast because all you have to do is bead 6 strands which are attached to two beaded rings at the top and bottom.

The popular HBO Game of Thrones series is not just about powerful story telling but the set, props and costume designs are all incredibly good.  The artistic work for the series has inspired many artisans. One of the finest of the fan art work - the Dragon's egg and the Direwolf emblem of the Starks  - is by Rextorn Metalwork

Crimping pliers are useful tools - indeed, I listed them as one of the 6 most useful tools for jewelry making for those just starting out.  Note it's not wrong to make flat crimps - I actually like the look of flat crimps next to wire guardians.  But rounding the crimps do look less conspicuous and neater if you are not using crimp covers.

Making your own clay beads is not new. Polymer clay artisans have been making them for years. But there are a couple of disadvantages with polymer clay beads - you have dry the beads in an oven and glue on the bead grommets afterwards. On the other hand, resin clay has a short working time of about a few hours once activated. But the adhesive property is sure handy for making resin clay beads.  Here is my tutorial where I have taken the idea up a notch by making faux metal resin clay beads!

Hama (or Perler) beads are great heat fusible plastic beads which are typically children's craft items.  But Anne Evers of the Plan B blog, shows us that these beads are not just for kids! Here are two ideas for awesome adult perler bead jewelry. Don't the beads in  her  peyote Hama bead bracelet tutorial look rather like enormous versions of Delica beads? It is not only a fun and inexpensive bracelet to make and wear but the large beads are also great for someone learning how to do peyote stitch.