Beading Instructions : Wire Jewelry

Make These Easy Mixed Metal Earrings

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:00:00 GMT

In yesterday's Beading Daily, we learned about some basic tools for metal jewelry making from metal jewelry artist and instructor Gwen Fuller Youngblood. Today, we'll see how to use those tools to make a pair of lovely mixed metal earrings!

Materials:

(2) pieces of sheet metal, your choice of metals (copper and brass recommended), 24-gauge
Ear wires

Tools:

Templates for shapes
Metal shears
Metal file
Bench block and pad
Chasing hammer
Hole punching pliers
Black marker
Alcohol swabs or rubbing alcohol (to remove any traces of marker)
Chain nose or flat nose pliers

		For this project, you'll want to use two different types of sheet metal. You can also use a set of pre-cut metal shapes as accents for these easy metal earrings.

		Using the black marker, trace your desired shapes onto the sheet metal. Cut out the shapes using the metal shears and file the edges until smooth. Use alcohol swabs or rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of black marker from your metal shapes.

		Place one of the shapes on your bench block and hammer it with the round side of your chasing hammer. Hammering will give the metal shapes a lovely texture! You can texture all of your metal pieces, or leave some of them plain for more contrast.

		Punch a hole near the top of each shape using the hole punching pliers.

		Using your chain nose pliers, open the loop at the bottom of an ear wire and hang the metal shapes so that the large shapes are in the back and the smaller shapes are on top. Close the loop, and repeat for the other earring.

Thanks to Gwen Fuller Youngblood for this great earring making project!

Gwen explored a variety of creative outlets, from cake decorating to quilting to lampworking, until she discovered jewelry making using wire, metal and fire. These three elements inspire her to be creative and fuel her passion for teaching. As an instructor, Gwen loves the interaction and camaraderie of the classroom. Her mission is to make metalworking techniques accessible to everyone, so that students learn more than they expected and have fun doing it.

Gwen also believes it is important for students to experiment with new techniques without a costly investment in new tools. For that reason, Gwen provides all necessary tools for each student to use in class, whether in her studio, Metal Art Lab, or on the road. As a teacher, Gwen loves to share her knowledge and creativity freely, with a dash of humor and lots of caring patience.

Please visit her website, www.metalartlab.com, for current class information.

Free Beading Project: Easy Wire Wrapped Cuff Bracelet

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I've really been getting into working with easy wire wrapping projects lately, and these two blank metal cuff bracelets from this month's A Grain of Sand Bead Hoard Curiosities Club just spoke to me as soon as I saw them. They wanted me to wrap them with wire and beads to make a couple of fun and easy beaded cuff bracelets!

You can find similar wire cuff bracelet components from Metalliferous or Designer's Findings.

Materials:

Brass or copper wire bracelet blank
Clasp (optional, depending on the type of wire bracelet blank you're using)
25-50 4mm beads (number of beads required may vary, depending on size of beads and size of cuff)
5 feet of 24 gauge copper wire

Tools:

Wire cutters/flush cutters
Flat nose or chain nose pliers

Step-by-step Instructions:

		If you are using a clasp, attach each piece of the clasp to either end of the cuff bracelet. Use the chain nose or flat nose pliers to gently close the loop around the clasp.

		Using the 24 gauge wire, make several wraps around one side of the cuff bracelet. String on one bead and push it down so that it sits on the outside of the cuff bracelet. Wrap the wire around the cuff bracelet, holding the bead in place with your fingers as you wrap. Pull snugly (but not so tight that the wire snaps) to secure the bead in place.

		Continue adding beads, one at a time, with wire wraps across the outside of the bracelet.

		When you get to the other end of the bracelet, make several wraps with the remaining copper wire. Trim the wire close to the bracelet. You can use the chain nose pliers to gently smash the end of the wire down so that it doesn't rub up against your wrist.

		Change up the look of your bracelets by using different beads! Some suggestions: Larger seed beads (like 6/0 seed beads) Different shapes of Czech fire polished beads Czech druk beads Small freshwater pearls Small gemstone beads

These beaded cuff bangles work up fast, and are so comfortable to wear, you'll find yourself making loads of them for last-minute gifts! Enjoy! (And make sure you check out the A Grain of Sand website to find out more about the Bead Hoard Curiosities Club!)

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Free Beading Project: Wire and Bead Chain Using Vintage Metal Beads

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:00:00 GMT

I loved these curved metal beads from the July 2012 shipment of A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club. They reminded me of stringing macaroni onto yarn with my mother and sister when I was kid! But their lovely gold finish and their unusual curved shape made me wonder what would happen if I used them to make a wire and bead chain necklace. The result was an unusual, vintage-style beaded necklace that I can wear with just about anything.

Materials:

9 20mm curved gold vintage tube beads (A)
18 3mm gold round beads (B)
10 5mm gold jump rings
8 feet gold craft wire, 20 gauge
Gold clasp of your choice

Tools:

Combination pliers OR chain nose and round nose pliers
Wire cutter

		Step 1: Working from your spool of wire, slide on 1 B, 1 A, and 1 B. Make a wrapped loop at the end of the wire, and push the beads against the loop. Tip: When threading the curved bead on your wire, you might find it easier to use your pliers to gently push the wire through the bead.

		Step 2: Cut your wire 1 1/2" from the other end of the beads.

		Step 3: Make a wrapped loop at the other end of the link. Repeat until you have completed 9 links.

		Step 4: Open a jump ring and string on two links. Close the jump ring. Use the jump rings to connect all 9 units. Attach one jump ring to each end of the necklace, and attach the clasp using those jump rings. Close securely.

Enjoy!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

For more great vintage beads, check out A Grain of Sand.

The Great Jewelry Making Makeover!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I really do have the best friends in the world. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a huge box, full of antique jewelry that had belonged to her late stepfather's first wife.

Before I go into detail about the jewelry, I want to tell you a little bit about her stepfather. Joe was what you might call "eccentric". Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was well-educated and traveled the world while in the Army during the 1930s and 1940s. By the time I met him, Joe was in his 60s, and his little quirks had become downright peculiar and hilarious. A hater of vegetables of any sort, he would suspiciously eye the spoons with which my friend and I cooked dinner to make sure that none of them had become "contaminated" by the eggplant or the peas. At restaurants, he made sure to wedge several bread plates between his dish and any dishes containing vegetables. On the days when the municipal garbage collectors came around, Joe could be found sitting in the garage, singing their praises as they emptied bins and cans into their trucks. One Christmas, he even went so far as to tell us to refrain from putting up a live Christmas tree, since he believed that its green branches would suck all the oxygen out of the house, thereby asphyxiating all of them as they slept. And I'm sure my friend and I will never forget the time that we left a box of vanilla-flavored dog treats on the dining room table, only to come back later and find that Joe had eaten this entire box of delicious "vanilla sugar cookies" without actually reading the label on the package.

But Joe was deeply in love with his first wife, Dorothy. He kept many of her things, and they were handed down to my friend when Joe passed away in 2011. So when my friend asked me if I would like part of the collection of antique jewelry, I was thrilled and honored to be the recipient of part of this collection!

As I tore through the many boxes she sent, it felt like I had struck gold at an estate sale. I picked up piece after piece of ethnic, silver, and antique jewelry, and couldn't take my eyes off the colors and shapes that danced in front of me.

My friend had suggested that I re-purpose much of this antique jewelry into other projects, but after looking at it, I knew that with my jewelry making skills, I could most likely repair almost all of it and restore some of it.

The easiest way to start was with a couple of pairs of earrings.These beaded earrings were hung from antique screw back earring findings, but I've always found those to be incredibly uncomfortable. It only took a few minutes to remove them and hang them on new pair of fish hook ear wires.

The first pair of beaded earrings was made with Mummy Beads, also known as Egyptian faience. Ceramic beads of this type have been found in some of the oldest ancient Egyptian tombs, and some faience beads are still made today with a combination of ceramic and glass bead making techniques. Despite the size of the earrings, and the number of beads that they were made with, the faience is actually as light as a feather, and the earrings are comfortable to wear all day.

I instantly recognized the second pair of earrings as vintage Mexican silver. These earrings, with their carved green gemstone cabochons, are now affectionately known as my "Little Green Man" earrings.

What's next for my jewelry making skills? There are several pieces of beaded jewelry in here that could use a little tender, loving care. There are more earrings that I want to try to recreate using crystal pearls and glass beads into necklace and bracelet components; strands of vintage Japanese glass pearls that need to be restrung; a necklace made of brightly colored shells that can be turned into a new beading project; and a bracelet made with large, chunky, faceted carnelian beads that needs some repairs.

Watch this blog for my weekly updates on what I'm doing next to take these vintage and antique pieces of jewelry and use my jewelry making skills to transform them!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Captured Crystal Cubes Earrings

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:00:00 GMT

For National Craft Month, I thought I would participate in the Fusion Beads 30 Day National Craft Month Challenge. The Day 1 challenge was, of course, to make a pair of earrings! And I just happened to have a pair of these lovely 14mm Swarovski crystal stones that were just begging to be made into a simple but sparkling pair of beaded earrings.

I used a modified herringbone stitch to make these simple bezels so that they'd show off the stones. The bezels themselves work up quickly and can easily be modified to fit triangle-shaped crystal stones as well!

Materials:

(2) 14mm Swarovski Gold-Foiled Stones, Square, Vitrail Medium
2 grams metallic bronze seed beads, 15^o
Beading thread in color to match seed beads
1 pair gold filled leverback earwires

Tools:

Size 12 beading needle
Thread cutter or scissors
Chain nose pliers

Instructions:



Step 1: On a comfortable length of thread (no longer than 5 feet), pick up 8 seed beads and tie them in a knot. Leave at least a 6 inch tail. Pass through the first bead again.	Step 2: Pick up 2 seed beads and pass through the next 2 seed beads in the ring. Pull snugly. Repeat until you have added four pairs of seed beads around the ring. Pass up through the first seed bead added at the beginning of this step. Tip: To keep track of your rounds, count out 8 beads and set them aside in a little pile. When you've added all eight beads, it's time to step up for the next round!	Step 3: Stitch one round in herringbone stitch, working down through the stacks and through the base ring. Stitch a second round in herringbone stitch, but stitch down through one bead instead of the entire stack. Pick up 3 seed beads and stitch up through the first bead in the next stack. Repeat around until you have four "bridges" of 3 seed beads between each herringbone stack.


Step 4: Stitch two more rounds in herringbone, stitching down through the stack and passing through the 3-bead bridges between each stack.	Step 5: Stitch another round in herringbone stitch, but add bridges of 6 beads between each stack in the same manner as you did in Step 3. Pull snugly as you add each bridge, and the bezel will start to cup.	Step 6: Stitch 4 more rows of herringbone stitch, working down through the stacks and passing through the 6-bead bridges as you go. Keep your tension tight as you work so that the bezel retains its shape.


Step 7: At this point, nestle your crystal in the bezel to see how far the "prongs" extend around the edges. You should position the prongs so they extend out over the long sides of the square crystal stone. Before continuing, make sure that the prongs come up and over the edge of the stone. You can add an extra row or two of herringbone stitch to extend them if needed.	Step 8: Exiting from the top bead of one of your herringbone stacks, pick up 8 seed beads. Stitch down through the nearest adjacent bead in the next herringbone stack. Come up through the next bead in the herringbone stack, pick up 8 seed beads and move across the next corner of the stone. Repeat until you have four sets of 8 beads, one across each corner of the crystal stone. Reinforce the thread path and tighten.	Step 9: Stitch through all but the last bead in one of the crossovers from the previous step. Pick up 1 seed bead. Skip the first seed bead in the next adjacent crossover and pass through the next six seed beads. Repeat until you have four cinch beads added, one to each corner of the bezel. Keep your tension tight to snug up the bezel.


Step 10: Repeat the thread path several times, keeping a tight tension to hold the crystal in the bezel. Weave in your thread, tie a knot and add a tiny drop of glue if desired. Trim the thread close to the beadwork.	Step 11: Using the tail thread, weave up into the nearest herringbone stack until you are exiting a bead on the edge of the bezel. Pick up 6 seed beads and pass through the adjacent seed bead. Repeat the thread path two or three times to secure the loop. Weave in your thread, tie a knot and add a tiny drop of glue if desired. Trim the thread close to the beadwork.	Step 12: Add your leverback ear wires or your favorite earring finding. Delicate gold ear threads will also work with these lovely bezels!

Resources:

Vintage Swarovski 14mm square stones: Nikia Angel
Metallic bronze seed beads: Whimbeads
Leverback earring findings: Artbeads

If you try these earrings or make any variations of them, please take a picture and post them in our Reader Photo Gallery!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

How Do I Master Beadweaving Stitches?

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 03:00:00 GMT

When my friend came over to bead the other day, she asked me a very good question: How do I get to be fluent in a lot of different beadweaving stitches?

She asked me a great question. It's nice to be comfortable enough with all of the major beadweaving stitches to be able to sit down and create a beading project or piece of beaded jewelry without really having to worry about the mechanics of the stitch.

So how do you become fluent in beadweaving stitches? Here are a few ideas to get you started:


A good beading reference book can go a long way in helping you master off-loom beadweaving stitches.

1. Find a good book. My first beading book was the classic Creative Bead Weaving by Carol Wilcox Wells. It was used as a textbook for the classes I took when I was learning peyote stitch, and I still have my much-used and much-loved copy handy every time I sit down to bead. Another great book that I keep handy is Carol Huber Cypher's Mastering Beadwork, with its encyclopedia of popular beadweaving stitches.


	Making little projects like earrings is a great way to master new beadweaving stitches and techniques.

2. Make little projects at first. One of the reasons why I love Mastering Beadwork so much is that most of the projects in it aren't very complicated and are perfect examples of how to master the mechanics of each beadweaving stitch. Don't feel like you have to do a large-scale beadweaving project to really master a stitch - little projects work just as well! Beaded earrings and simple bracelets are my favorite beading projects for learning a new beadweaving stitch. (Or even just refreshing my skills in that particular stitch!)

3. Bead every day. Even if you can only find ten minutes in your day to bead, sit down and do it. Picking up your beads every day will help keep newly learned beadweaving stitches fresh in your mind.

4. Bead with friends. One of the great things about beading with friends is the way you can learn new things! I was never interested in Viking knit until my beading friend told me about how much fun she was having with it. This same beading friend is now threatening to get me hooked on kumihimo, too. In return, I'm helping her brush up on her basic beadweaving skills.

Don't expect to master every single beadweaving stitch in just a few sessions. Like anything else worth knowing, beadweaving is an art and a skill that takes patience and practice. But that's okay, because we all love doing beadwork, right?

Do you have any tips for someone looking to master a new beadweaving stitch? Leave a comment and share your thoughts here on the blog!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Free Beading Project: Storyteller Beaded Necklace

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:00:00 GMT

As a writer and a bead artist, I'm always fascinated with the stories behind beaded jewelry designs. This beaded necklace also has a great story behind it!

The first one of these that I made was for a close friend of mine who lives in Burbank. She and I are both artists. Our birthdays are days apart. And we've been friends for almost 20 years now, through college and marriage and children and career changes and cross-country moves! The original was made with a pendant I found in Andrew Thornton's online shop that had a picture of Frida Kahlo sealed under glass. It was heavy on the symbolism - the number of beads in each unit of right-angle weave carried a special significance, as did the colors and the beads that I used for the fringe and the embellishment.

For a recent Beading Daily blog post, I wrote about telling stories with your beadwork, and since I've started making my own resin pendants using symbols that are significant to me, I thought I would share the technique for creating these Storyteller Beaded necklaces so that you can share your own stories through your beadwork!

For this necklace, you'll need the following beads and supplies:

1 hank (40 grams) size 10^o seed beads in main color (A)
5 grams size 10^o seed beads in contrasting color (B)
1 handmade resin pendant or other focal pendant
116 6-8mm round lampwork beads (C)
12 Tibetan coin replicas
2 silver pewter hamsa hand pendants
15 sterling silver open jump rings, 8mm
1 pewter silver button or clasp of your choice
Braided beading thread, 6 lb. test
Size 12 beading needle
Flat nose or chain nose pliers

Make the right-angle weave base. Using right-angle weave and A, stitch a base composed of 3-bead units that is 3 units across. For an 18" necklace, the first side of your base should be approximately 35 rows of 3 units per row.


The right-angle weave necklace base is made up of three units of 3 beads per side.


Stitch around to the side of the last unit added to begin the "v" shape of the right-angle weave necklace base.

To create the v-shape at the center of the necklace, work your way over to the side of one of the outer units just completed in the last row. Pick up 9 A and stitch a unit of right-angle weave. Continue to work 2 more units across the side edge of the base for a total of 3 units.

Continue to stitch in right-angle weave until you have a second side of equal length. To make sure that the sides contain the same number of rows, count the number of rows on the bottom (outside) edges of the necklace base. Each side should contain 35 rows, including the rows that lead to the center point of the base.

Embellish the base. Add a new thread, and stitch so that your thread exits one side of the bottom outside row of the base. Pick up 1 B, 1 C and 1 B. Stitch through the beads on the opposite side of


	Add embellishment to every other unit of right-angle weave in the necklace base.


	The center point of the necklace base after it has had bead embellishments added.

the unit going in the other direction. If your needle is exiting the top and going to the left of a unit, stitch through the bottom right. The C should lie diagonally across the unit of right-angle weave.

Add embellishments to every other unit of right-angle weave for each row.

Add the dangles. Attach each of the coins and pendants to jump rings. Start a new thread in the center of the necklace and exit through the middle of the center bottom unit. Pick up 8 A and the resin pendant and stitch into the next 3 A in the base.


Alternate between beaded fringes and dangles as you work your way up each side of the necklace base.

Stitch around the center bottom unit and back through the beads and pendant just added to reinforce. Add a bead fringe between units by exiting from the side of a right-angle weave unit and pick up 1 B, 1 C, 1 B and 1 A. Skip the A and pass back through the remaining beads and pass into the edge of the next right-angle weave unit.

Add a dangle between right-angle weave units by picking up 4 A and a dangle attached to a jump ring. Stitch into the outer edge of the next right-angle weave unit, alternating dangles and bead fringes until you end with a dangle.

Repeat for the other side of the necklace.


	Use either a vintage button or a clasp of your choice to finish the Storyteller Beaded necklace.

Add the clasp. Add a new thread and exit through the first bead of the center right-angle weave unit on one end of the necklace. Pick up 4 A, the button or clasp, and 4 A. Skip the middle bead in the right-angle weave unit and pass through the next bead.

Work your thread around that right-angle weave unit several times and through the button or clasp to reinforce. Weave your thread in, tie a knot, and trim the thread close to the beadwork.

Repeat on the other side of the necklace, adding the second half of the clasp or a seed bead loop. That fits around your button. (Remember to check the fit of your seed bead loop before knotting your thread to make sure it fits securely over your button!)

If you stitch up one of these Storyteller Beaded necklaces, make sure you take a photo and post it in the Reader Photo Gallery here on Beading Daily! We'd all love to see your creation!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Viking Knit: Or How I Learned to Love Wire Jewelry

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:01:00 GMT

Viking knit is one of those things that I always admired but never figured that I'd be able to do. My first attempts to learn Viking knit were pretty much disastrous - being a primarily self-taught beadweaver, I figured I'd be able to learn Viking knit from a book. Right? Wrong. I didn't have any of the proper tools, and I found myself so frustrated that I finally chucked all the wire into a drawer.

My first uneven attempt at Viking knit using my new kit!

A good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless but knows who she is, called me from Florida last summer and was raving about this new technique she learned - Viking knit. She promised to teach me when she came home, but of course, schedules and family and other things prevented us from getting together before she went back to Florida.

Cleaning out my bead stash during an office move, I came across these amazing vintage glass cabochons that I'd beaded several years ago. My first idea for the design had been to suspend them on a Viking knit chain, but when that idea didn't work out, I put them aside. Finding them in the bottom of the drawer I was cleaning made me think again about trying to learn Viking knit. A class seemed like a good idea, but since I live in a very rural part of upstate New York, that didn't seem practical.

A quick web search led me to a Viking knit kit that was linked to a video on YouTube. I watched the video, and then ordered the kit. The kit arrived, and I set aside some time on the weekend to once again try and learn Viking knit. To my amazement, it took me all of ten minutes to figure out how to do Viking knit! Sure, my first attempts weren't perfect, but after a couple of rows, I felt comfortable manipulating the wire and starting new wires when I ran out.

Pulling the Viking knit through that draw plate was magic!

Having the short attention span that I do, I only completed about two inches of Viking knit before I removed it from the dowel and ran it through the drawplate. That wonderful little drawplate smoothed out all of the rough patches and uneven stitches that had worried me as I was working. Running my fingers over the finished and smooth piece of Viking knit was truly a wonderful tactile experience.

So, being inspired by my new skill wire working, I decided to contact Step by Step Wire Jewelry editor Denise Peck for a little Q&A about Viking knit:

Denise Peck is the editor of Step by Step Wire Jewelry

Q: What is the best way to learn Viking knit?

A: You know, I learned the technique in a class, and I think it's one of those things you're best learning from seeing. I have heard from some readers that they had an impossible time learning it from a book. If you can't find a class on it, I've made a DVD on learning Viking knit. People tell me they have learned well from it! Always nice to hear!

Q: Do you have any helpful tips for working Viking knit?

A: I can't do Viking knit without a large embroidery needle nearby. I use it all the time to tug the knitting away from the dowel when it gets too tight to slip my wire through.

Q: Do you have any unusual project ideas for using Viking knit or ideas for using your short scraps of leftover Viking knit chain?

A: I often make a very long piece of knitting and cut it into shorter lengths for various purposes. I love that you can cut Viking knit with no fear of it unraveling. I have used short pieces for the center of a bracelet, with chain on either side. And I always find a beautiful big-hole bead to slip over the short piece of knitting, for interest!

So even if you don't think that wire jewelry making is exactly your cup of tea, take a look at all the fabulous stuff you can make with a Viking knit chain! Viking knit makes beautiful chains to add to your favorite beadwoven projects, and I can highly recommend it - it's almost as relaxing as making beaded ropes!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer