Daily Blogs

11 Reasons to Take a Jewelry Class

Erin Carey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:44:00 GMT

		Discover your talents in a Bead Fest Wire Workshop! I love learning things on my own, inventing and playing. Most of us are self-taught in one or another craft forms. But there are times when being a hermit has its drawbacks, or when homeschooling just isn’t economical, let alone safe. I can cut apart and re-stitch a botched piece of beadwork, but broken beads aren’t toxic. I don’t lose much money tossing a few mutant copper wire coils, but wasting small snips of silver wire adds up. To avoid calamity to purse or person, I look to the experts and take a workshop at Bead Fest. Why? Here are my top 11 reasons to take a class.

1: Conserve materials Seems obvious, but I probably wasted a mile of metal in my early forays with wire. If only I had taken a class and seen early on how to, for instance, use wire from the spool to be more economical.

2: Learn safely about safety
If you’re a beginner, absolutely take classes in anything with flame, heat, toxic fumes or corrosive substances. Lampworking is an obvious example, with open flame and potentially explosive consequences. But using a hammer, drill, or dremel poses hazards, too—especially if you’re sitting there thinking, what’s a dremel?

A Bead Fest student has fun in a safely supervised lampworked-glass class.

3: Know the must-have tools
I am oddly attracted to specialty pliers with alien noses and funky-colored handles. And while a tool for bending a “V” in metal is something useful for people who do that a lot, I was taught to achieve this effect with tools I already owned, for the few times I want to do that.

Step by Step Wire Jewelry Editor-in-Chief and Bead Fest teacher Denise Peck brings shopping karma to our Bead Fest director, Karen Keegan.

4: Discover which tools do what
In the same light, if I was making a lot of V shapes, that tool would make sense. And, without the insight of a teacher, I wouldn’t have even known that tool existed.

I’m sure a teacher could tell me what the heck these pliers are!

5: Observe efficiency
Watch a teacher at work. Pay attention to their economy of movement, how they place things at hand in their work space and their sequence of production. Good teachers are usually as productive as they are creative. They can show you ways to be faster as well as better at the technique.

Bead Fest teacher Janice Berkebile shows how to keep your work space organized.

6: Add tricks and tips to your repertoire
How often have you seen something demonstrated and said, “Gee, I never thought to do it like that.” Exactly.

Bead Fest teacher and vendor Lisa Niven Kelly shows a student her technique for stamping.

7: Learn about your medium
For instance, I didn’t know until I took a class that I could melt away an entire piece of silver wire trying to fuse it into a ring. The teacher showed me exactly how to position the torch.

Take a class for any kind of work with a torch so you don’t burn up your art. Believe me, I'm talking from experience.

8: Watch a technique in action
Some techniques are just plain difficult to explain in words or illustrations. I only learned Viking knit by watching it demonstrated by a skilled teacher.

Viking knit is easier to learn when you see it done in person. I didn't know which end was up, down, around, or through until I watched Denise Peck actually doing it.

9: Discover new resources
Teachers have their favorite sources and favorite brands for a reason. Expand your own sources for tools and materials from your mentors; consider their tried and true recommendations.

10: Be inspired
Most teachers would love to be spending more time in their studio, so we’re grateful for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise. Teaching is a special calling. Take advantage of being up close to the technique and material in your teacher’s work. Ask questions. Let that visual stimulation encourage you! Above all, show respect and don’t reproduce their designs for your own gain.

11. Make new friends and network
Enjoy the company of others of a like mind. Taking a class is fun. Meet people from many backgrounds with many diverse styles and skills. Share stories of juggling family, jobs, and jewelry. Hear why others are so passionate, and what other art forms lead them here. You’ll learn as much from your fellow students as from the teachers! Plus, you may find yourself with dinner companions!

FREE WIRE & BEADS PROJECT!

The fun starts here, with a free project by Janice Berkebile, one of our popular Bead Fest Wire teachers. These Coiled Gem Drop earrings are such a wonderful way to bring beads into your wirework, or, to use wire to show off your beads. Sign up for Bead Fest Wire classes today so you don't miss out!

Download Coiled Gem Drops Now!

Good teachers deserve good students. Do you have tips for first time students at Bead Fest? Do you have tips to help teachers be better teachers? Share them here!

Design Wire Jewelry with Attitude!

Leslie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:15:00 GMT

Keep it together with wire.

It’s my birthday this week and, according to a friend, I’ve officially arrived to the point in my life where people will start saying “Yes, Ma’am!” when I ask them to do something. Boy, if she’s right, I’m really looking forward to it: “Do your homework.” "Yes, Ma’am!" “I’d like a discount on that, please.” "Yes, Ma’am!" “Rub my feet.” "Yes, Ma’am!" Wow—this is going to be good.

To fully embrace this Yes Ma’am! period, I may need to make myself a bold piece of jewelry. You know, something to go with my new firm attitude and red hat. To design for my new attitude, I planned thoughtfully, with purpose, considering each element for its meaning as I lay them out:

I’ll start by featuring this Steampunk-style heart I just received from polymer clay artist Jeannie Dukic. Even though it’s still sweet (it IS a heart, mind you), all that hardware makes it pretty kick-butt, just like the new bold outlook I’ll supposedly wake up with soon.

Crystal pearls will go perfectly with the heart, and their ageless luster will remind me that getting older is just a state of mind.

I'll incorporate these found objects, not only to reflect the flavor of the focal pendant, but also as a nod to my past years.

I turned to Step by Step Wire Jewelry for a way to tie it all together. Subscribe to Step by Step Wire Jewelry and discover for yourself why I was inspired! As I leafed through my issues I decided to use colored copper wire for my birthday necklace. Colored copper wire turned out to have all kinds of good birthday reminders for women of a certain age:

		It’s available in several different widths and gauges, just like the wide selection of jeans sizes in my closet.
		It's very soft and bendable, but can be work-hardened with a plastic or rawhide mallet. I'm guessing all those upcoming "Yes, Ma'ams!" will be a little like getting work-hardened, at first.
		It can be coiled, knitted, woven, looped, wrapped and bent but still has a good memory; it can still be straighted out with a good pair of nylon-jaw pliers. For a woman, sometimes all you need to get straightened out is a bar of chocolate. Yes, Ma’am!
		Colored copper wire doesn’t tarnish or fade. Aw, now isn’t that the best birthday reminder of all?

Did you find inspiration in Step by Step Wire Jewelry to make a design with purpose, as I did this week? What else about making wire jewelry reminds you to keep a good attitude? Please share your thoughts here on Beading Daily.

4 Tips for Crystal Jewelry Projects

Erin Carey — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:18:00 GMT

Make your jewelry special with sparkle

‘Tis (almost) the season to be glam! Even I, ever the industrial chic, seed-beads-4-ever chick, totally love the look of crystal jewelry at this time of the year. There is a magnificent brilliance that only comes from crystals. Whether I spotlight one bedazzler as a focal or mass a galaxy for maximum voltage, crystals are a surefire way to light up the darkness of winter

What makes crystals shine?
Did you know that the cleaner the faceted edges, the brighter the crystal appears? When crystals are made, the more precisely the faceted edges meet, the more dazzling the crystal—this exact faceting is partly why some crystals may be more highly considered than others. Whether large as a crown jewel or tiny as a twinkling star, nothing says, “you are special” like wearing or giving a piece of crystal jewelry that you created yourself.

Tips for stitching with crystals
Here are a few things to keep in mind when stringing, wiring, or stitching crystal beads:

		1: Check the bead holes. The holes in crystal beads can have sharp edges. Be careful when thread paths pull against the edges of the holes, to avoid cutting your thread. I find thermally bonded .08 lb beading thread most durable and threadable through the eye of a size 12 beading needle. Crystal cubes’ corners are smooth enough for a nice ladder stitch, such as this Glitter Cubed bracelet by Bonnie Clewans. Their parallel facets make a fun side edge to embellish, too.

		2: Choose the right stringing wire. Vary beading-wire size according to the size of the bead hole and weight of your planned finished piece. For stringing, use a wire with the most strands bound into it for strength but is as flexible as you need. Use between 15 and 19mm, 19 to 49 strands. The striking 22 x 50mm polygon crystal in Nancy Cain’s Crystal Drop herringbone lariat is supported by .014 braided beading wire, strung through the beadwork rope.

		3: Choose the right wire gauge. Crystals are outstanding beads for wire jewelry. Test the gauge to fit the bead holes but use a wire that will support the weight and size of your crystals. In Linda “Sorcie” Smith’s Crystal Swirl Cluster Ring, 14-gauge, half-hard wire is the right choice for these bicones.

		4: Choose the best beading thread. Translucent crystal colors reveal thread or wire inside the bead. Be very neat with your stitching and knots. Keep multiple passes of thread pulled evenly, or loops of excess thread may show. Use the transparency to your design advantage with dramatically contrasting thread or bright wire finishes. In these easy-to-make Crystal Bracelet variations by Linda Gettings, a matching color thread blends in with the crystals strung between sections of square-stitched cubes.

Click today, create right away!
Have I sparked your desire for sparkle? Download these sure-to-please crystal projects and dozens more, right here in the online store!

I love using bicones in cubic RAW, and making rings with 2mm round crystals. How about you? Share your favorite crystal flavors and techniques with us here on Beading Daily.

String a Symbol of Your Creativity! Plus a Free Necklace Project

Erin Carey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT

Good-luck jewelry
On Friday the 13th, is it bad luck to talk about good luck? I’m kidding, I’m not superstitious. But when it comes to wearing lucky talismans, we all do it. I bet you’re wearing one right now. It may not be a literal good-luck charm, but every single piece of jewelry we create and wear has special power. Whether you simply string an intriguing found object or stitch beaded symbols of faith, at the very least your creations are imbued with the spirit of your craft, let alone any spirit of a Higher Power.

The power of gemstones
Gemstones are said to possess power to attract or repel positives and negatives in our lives. Wear rose quartz to attract love, amethyst for good health. Hematite wearers are supposed to like that stone because it eases stress. Wear green to attract money, red for passion and protection. Personally I find magic in ordinary stones with a natural hole and water-tumbled, smooth round stones. Must be the Druid in me!

Symbols, signs, and charms
We love things that we believe evoke power. Our cultures and stories are filled with magical objects and charms that ward off evil, attract luck, and bring us health and prosperity. Some things widely regarded as lucky include ladybugs, four-leaf clovers, and dragons. The number 7 is considered lucky. Think 7th heaven, 7 wonders, and how the 7th child of a 7th child is supposed to be blessed. My favorite explanation is mathematical: Pythagoreans say the number 7 is perfect, 3 plus 4, a square and a triangle.

7 lucky projects
That said, here are 7 lucky projects that will certainly attract admiration and beauty, if not a winning lottery ticket, into your life. And your luck starts here with a free project, the Copper Swirl necklace. Learn how to string a multistrand necklace crowned with a copper swirl, ceramic focal bead, a cosmic symbol indeed! Be sure to subscribe to Stringing Magazine for a complete year of projects. Just your luck, you can subscribe right now!


Lucky Ladybug by Merle Berelowitz Widely considered lucky because they eat crop-eating bugs, ladybugs such as the one on this multistrand bracelet are also pretty darn cute.	Harvest Goddess by Melanie Brooks From Stringing Magazine comes a necklace to honor your autumn garden. Create it and your garden will be sure to bloom for you again.	Shamrock Pin by Dustin Wedekind Brick-stitch a four-leaf clover, believed to represent faith, hope, love, and luck.


Simply Charming by Colleen McGraw A wire necklace for any talismans you choose, for health, wealth or happiness.	Chinese Dragon by Frances Fawcett Have fun with this playful wired companion. Dragons are symbols of success.	Ancient Coins by Denise Peck Attract wealth by wearing coins, such as the ancient-looking ones in these easy wire earrings.

		Your FREE cosmic necklace project! Copper Swirl by Susan Johnston String a spiral, one of humankind's oldest and most universal symbols of creativity in this lush multistrand necklace. You'll glow with personal power!

Look for dozens of designs for your favorite charms, talismans and gemstones in Stringing Magazine. Do you have a personal symbol that you wear to feel powerful? Share your story in our charmed Beading Daily circle here.

3 Tips for Strong Beadwork

Erin Carey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:52:00 GMT

How to stitch beadwork that lasts

It was a close friend’s birthday recently, so I made a card, printed out some photos, and included a CD. I put the items in a paper envelope, but realized the CD would break. So I added a piece of thick cardboard between the CD and photos and put everything in an even sturdier structure. But hmm . . . that fragile card looked a bit vulnerable, too . . . better cover that with some thin cardboard. . . . Believe me, by the time I got this thing in the mail, the postage must have tripled. The way it was wrapped, banded, taped, and sealed, the gift was prepared for a trip down Niagara Falls.


	The Bikers Bracelet by Kate McKinnon is well reinforced with a whip-stitched edge. This project uses seed beads and pearls in a simple and elegant variation of square stitch.

I easily spent a half-hour preparing that package, and it was just for its two-day trip on the mailman’s truck. But how many of us skimp on putting extra time into securing our beadwork for a lifetime of wear? I don’t mean just reinforcing loops and weak spots, but really strengthening the whole thing. This is especially important for those of us whose work will be handled a lot in addition to being worn. Here’s what I’m talking about:

Double up
If your beads have large enough holes and aren’t too fragile, it’s often best to use doubled thread when stitching your pieces. However, I have a hard time using doubled thread for new designs since I know I’ll be making mistakes and ripping out so often. In those cases, I use single thread and then re-stitch the entire (or most of) the thread path to reinforce the piece.

Whip it good
This whipstitching technique, which Kate McKinnon illustrates so beautifully in her Biker Bracelet in the recent publication Beadwork Presents: 41 Favorite Jewelry Designs, creates a binding along the edge of peyote- or brick-stitched beadwork. Here's how it's done:

1: Start a new thread that exits out through an edge bead of your piece. Pass the needle under the loop of exposed thread between the last bead exited and the adjacent one. (I like to pass from back to front so I can easily see where my needle is positioned.) Pull tight.

2: Repeat down the edge of the piece, stitching in the same direction, to form a tight binding.

3: If you’d like to create a bulky, almost cable-looking binding, repeat the whipstitch in the same spot more than once.

4: If desired, add a beaded embellishment along the binding’s edge.

Skinny dippin’
Not everyone’s a fan of this technique, but I fell in love with it as soon as bead artist extraordinaire Diane Fitzgerald clued me in. It involves dipping (or painting, as I do) a very thin coat of Future-brand clear acrylic floor wax on your finished pieces. I use a little plastic-bristled paintbrush to dab my beadwork after it’s completed, then drain it on paper towels. I check it every once in a while to make sure there’s no pooling. Not only does the acrylic firm up your beadwork, but the liquid gets inside the beads to coat the thread and strengthen it. I haven’t had any problems with yellowing or stickiness, but I highly recommend you test this technique before using it on your most special pieces; you’ll want to see if you like it. And please, please do a test on your beads before you start dipping. I haven’t had too many problems, but once the acrylic reacted to a special coating on a crystal and ruined a high-investment bracelet.

What super-strengthening techniques would you add to this short list? Please share your ideas here so we can all benefit.

Easy Ways to Texture Metal

Leslie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:19:00 GMT

Hammer Metal to Make Your Jewelry Unique
I believe we can make jewelry out of anything. Put things together in a well-crafted, interesting design, and voilà, wearable art. Might not be “art” jewelry at a certain level, but it’s still fun to make and to wear. In the September '09 issue of Jewelry Artist, Editor Merle White spoke to the intrinsic design potential in anything, and most of us probably agree. I do, for sure!

Create Art from the Ordinary
Let’s talk about that term “art” jewelry for a minute. We assign things different levels of artistic value according to technique, aesthetics, and especially materials. Take metalwork, for instance. Metal kicks up the look as well as the perceived value of a piece of jewelry. I love using metal in my work, but I don’t make my own components (yet). I use purchased metal beads or cool bits from the hardware store. I decided to coax out the inherent art in the mundane by altering hardware-store components to look more hand-crafted. How? I am mostly a beader, but I have a few metal-related tools because I do make many clasps. I have a hammer or two, so I looked at texture as my easiest path to transformation.

Find Materials and Tools You Like
I had fun searching the drawers and bins of my hardware store and ultimately used the following inexpensive, available things: hole-punched steel plaster washers, bronze washers called bushings, and flat steel washers. I also had some polishing brush wheels from a jewelry supply house, simple little soft-bristled things with holes, so I knew I'd use them in some sort of jewelry. A safety precaution: Hold anything you plan to hammer with another tool, such as a nylon-jaw or round-nose pliers.

Here are some of my explorations. See what you think.



I really liked these steel plaster washers. About 1" in diameter, they already had holes, perfect for embellishment or linking to other components. They are thin, lightweight, and malleable.	I easily flattened a plaster washer with a chasing hammer on a steel bench block. Hammering gave the washer a dappled texture and took off some of the shine, leaving a much softer surface patina.	This washer was hammered face down on cement. The texture was subtle, so I brushed it with black nail polish and then lightly wiped the polish off the surface. The remaining color nicely revealed the texture.



Here's a plain, ordinary steel alloy washer about 1" in diameter. I thought the wider exposed surface would provide a good pounding surface to inscribe some texture. Ha! Steel is way harder to alter than I expected.	Little did I know how hard I'd need to pound these washers just to make a dent. I used the flat part of the hammer to bezel the edges and the round end to dap the finish. The result reminds me of the edges on flint arrowheads.	I had to try to create a focal piece to see how much my hardware looked like art to wear. Using 24g annealed steel wire from the hardware store, I wired a jewelry supply polishing wheel to the hammered steel washer.



I love the color of these 1" bronze washers called bushings. Bronze is even harder to hammer than steel! I used a hefty, household hammer for this. The original washer is untouched. I chiseled lines in the bottom washer, then I banged the edges with the round part of the hammer.	Two of these three 3/4" bronze washers took a beating. The middle one is textured using the edge of the flat part of a big hammer. The bottom one was textured on my driveway. It was so cathartic to swing that big hammer I actually smashed one washer into smithereens!

Want to learn more about texturing metal or try unique techniques and materials?
Discover a new path to explore in Jewelry Artist!

And be sure to share your tips on adding texture to your metalwork right here on Beading Daily!

2 Free and Easy Wire Projects

Leslie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT

Hook and eye clasp is hardware chic!
Rubber tubing called “spline” is one of my favorite hardware store materials. Commonly used to press around a screen door panel, it’s cheap, easy to cut, comes in a few gauges and shades of gray or black, and (most important) is hollow–perfect for threading wire or beading cord through it. I use it often as a cord by threading it with flexible beading wire and crimping clasps at the ends.

But while playing around with 20-gauge craft wire I saw how easily it fit into the spline, and how the spline held different shapes with the heavier wire inside. This hook-and-eye clasp is one of my results. If you can make a wire wrapped loop with a pair of pliers, you’re good to go!

What You Need:

12” of 20-gauge copper craft wire
14” rubber tube (hollow spline)
2 pair round-nose pliers or round-and chain-nose
wire snips
craft knife to cut spline
ruler

Cut your materials
1: Use the wire snips to cut a 4” piece of the wire for the eye, leaving 8” for the hook.

2: Hold your tube alongside a ruler on a cutting board. Use your craft knife to cut the tube in two pieces, keeping the ends as straight across as possible: 1 piece 2” for the eye, 1 piece 4” for the hook.

Make the eye
3: Thread the 4” piece of wire through the 2” piece of tube so the wire protrudes evenly out both ends. Make a wire wrapped loop on both ends, keeping the wrapped loops snug against the rubber. Bend the wired tube into a simple U shape for the “eye."

Make the hook
4: Thread the 8" piece of wire through the 4" tube, and make wire wrapped loops at each end as in Step 3. Bend this piece into a U shape, (this one will be longer than the first one) then bend the middle over to make a hook shape.

You can now attach a piece of jewelry in any way you desire—jump rings, crimped wire, linked wrapped loops. Of course, you can make this hook-and-eye without the tube, using 20 or 18 gauge wire for sturdiness. For some great inspiration on ways to try this clasp technique on other designs, the 2009 issue of Easy Wire is a must-have for your library. Enjoy!

FREE Easy Wire project!
The style of my clasp may not be your cup of tea, but you'll find plenty of other styles among the 45 projects in the new issue of Easy Wire–like this gorgeous copper wire and lampwork bead Caramel Swirl Bracelet, for instance. Spiral copper wire in a unique pattern, and pair it with delectable lampwork beads.

Download this free Easy Wire project here!

Have you played with wire in rubber tubing? Tell us about it in our comment boxes below!

Make Jewelry More Colorful with Resin Beads

Erin Carey — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:23:00 GMT

Resin rules on Beads, Baubles and Jewels

Earlier this year I went to Cleveland to tape a few segments for Beads, Baubles, and Jewels. I brought three cute tops, moisturized my hands, cleaned and painted my fingernails, put anti-frizz gunk in my hair, and let the makeup artist do her thing so I could look like the perfect TV Barbie doll next to BBJ’s wonderful host, Katina Forte. Truth be told, I really panic when I’m on television. I’m used to blabbing my head off in front of a crowd of rowdy beaders when I teach classes, but it’s quite another thing to be a talking head in a quiet studio with a bunch of expressionless guys in headphones pointing cameras at you. But, by my third segment I was more relaxed, knew the names of the camera crew, and forgot about my hair. So, I feel the third segment was my best one. I talked about resin beads and how versatile they are. Judy Thomsky of Natural Touch Beads was nice enough to lend me a ton of her beautiful work so I looked like I knew what I was doing. Here's a sneak preview of my resin bead segment.

These resin beads are made in a cottage industry in Java, Indonesia. They're made in small batches by pouring liquid resin into molds, then they're hand cut and sanded. Don't these new opaque colors remind you of antique Bakelite? I can see a world of Art Deco designs just waiting in those cuffs.

Want to make these delicious-looking beads even more tasty? Rub a bit of hand lotion or olive oil over the surface and you'll achieve a beautiful luster.

Ever tried stamping resin? A stamp dabbed with permanent ink turns a plain bead into an exciting one very quickly. You can also wirework resin beads, work beadwork over them, or use interesting stringing materials like leather, yarn, and silk to string them.

Remember when we used to make beaded beads over wooden beads? Use a resin bead instead of wood, and the finished piece just glows.

You don't need to stop at round beads when beading over this pretty material. For my latest over-the-top jewelry creation, Festivus, (I swear, my next stop is Vegas) I used resin donuts as the base for the starbursts. I could have just skipped that part when I was designing, but the resin lends a pretty luminescence, not to mention body, to the necklace. And guess what? The instructions for this necklace will be in the December/January issue of Beadwork magazine! I want to see all of you wearing one at your holiday parties, okay?

Do you get ideas from all the materials you see on Beads, Baubles and Jewels, like resin beads? Share your comments here.

The BEST Stringing Ideas PLUS 2 Free Projects!

Erin Carey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:00 GMT

30 Necklace Tips and More in The Best of Stringing Magazine
Have you done something really interesting in your jewelry-making lately? Perhaps you found a unique way to attach a pendant or discovered a new trick for incorporating a clasp? I've been in a bit of a creative rut recently, to tell you the truth. You too?

Now we can be inspired by 183 great ideas in The Best of Stringing, a just-released special collector's edition filled with favorite Stringing designs. Not only are the magazine's many projects exciting, but so is the feature, Fun with Focals. Together co-author Michelle Mach and I highlight 30 stand-out necklaces–all hand-picked from past issues of Stringing magazine–that demonstrate cool ideas and innovations for designing with focal elements.

Under the Artful Influence
My work has already been influenced by some of these necklaces. For instance, in the photo below you can see how I interpreted Silvija and Taya Koschnick's necklace from The Best of Stringing, by reflecting their way of laying chain on top of beads in my Golden Blush necklace.

Fun with Focals
Artist Heather Powers was also influenced by our Fun with Focals article. Powers, who has designs featured in The Best of Stringing, is the creative mind (and hands) behind HumbleBeads.com, purveyor of polymer clay beads and finished jewelry, and the interactive blog, artbeadscene.com. In these photos you can see how Powers was inspired by Teri Bienvenue’s idea for a horizontal focal piece to create her own distinct design!

Free Projects!
I leave you with two brand new, never-before-seen stringing projects. Click each picture to download the instructions for that project. I hope they both inspire you to create your own fun focal pieces. Long live creativity! --Danielle

What have you designed that was inspired by one of our Fun with Focals projects? Share your ideas here!

Make Victorian Jewelry for Gothic Glamour!

Erin Carey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:00 GMT

Fashion with Passion
My daughter, her friends, and many of my grown women friends have all read the popular gothic romance Twilight. I’ve been resisting because delving into the lives of a bunch of lovesick hormone-laden teen vampires sounded pretty silly; I’ve got a couple of those at home, anyway. But I thought I’d give the book a spin to find out what the hubbub is all about. Within the first few chapters I saw why teen girls like it, but I’m not sure I can stomach so much pubescent drama. What did fascinate me is how this book seemed to singlehandedly revive gothic romance literature. The ravenous interest in it spread so quickly that vampires popped out everywhere in fiction, television, music, and of course, fashion.

Vampire Couture
Since what happens in New York, Paris, and Milan eventually affects us as jewelry-makers, I thought I’d do a little research on what's being called Vampire Couture. Just about every cutting-edge fashion house has toyed with Vampire Couture. It’s a mix of Victorian, Gothic, and '80s punk styles, with a little bit of gore and a whole lot of sexiness thrown in. Not sure I’m ready to sign up for that complete package in my pieces, but there are definitely attractive parts. Here’s a quick list of elements you might like to experiment with when designing your next piece or adjusting your colorways and materials when following a pattern in a magazine like Beadwork.

Colors
Since gothic romance novels are informed by the Victorian era, colors worn during that time are perfect for vampire couture. Black, of course, since Queen Victoria was so permanently in mourning, but deep shades of red and purple were also appropriate for women of the day. I also came across lots of white in my surfing, which is totally uncharacteristic of the genre. Must be something to do with how gory blood looks on white fabric? (I know—creepy.)

Charms and Metal
All styles of metal trinkets, especially those that have a romantic or supernatural bent, are used quite a bit in this type of jewelry. (Did you know Queen Victoria had quite a thing for charms and cameos, too?) Chain, buckles, snaps, and rivets also give the look a funky twist.

Crystals The glitter of crystals gives this look its flash. Use jet and the full range of dark reds, plus try out the moody dark indigo color, which I’m certain was created just for this trend. Also incorporate crystal pearl colors like Tahitian and burgundy for a rich look.

Stones Semiprecious stones popular during the Victorian era are natural for this style. Dark-toned stones like onyx, garnet, hypersthene, amethyst, and blue gold stone are good choices.

So, are you ready for vampire couture? Share your thirst for dark, deliciously romantic jewelry here on Beading Daily. Happy Halloween!

7 Tips for Designing Mixed-Media Jewelry

Erin Carey — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:01:00 GMT

Collect Ideas to Become Part of Your Art—
An Interview with Cynthia Thornton

Cynthia Thornton, well-known Green Girl Studios jewelry artist, knows that inspiration isn’t just a wispy cloud that magically alights on her head: She works at it. Many know Cynthia for her amulet-like pewter and shibuichi charms, beads, clasps, and pendants. Like any sought-after artist, she is frequently asked, “Where do your ideas come from?” This designer of mermaids, elfin figures, mysterious keys and locks, flowers, trees, and faeries says: “I don’t go into a trance. There’s no shamanism or voodoo. It’s very formulaic. I see a tree and I draw it.” Her exciting new book, Enchanted Adornments: Creating Mixed-Media Jewelry with Metal Clay, Wire, Resin & More (Interweave, 2009) is layered with what could best be called “practical magic” for everyone who wants to make mixed-media jewelry that tells a story.


Pages of fantasy drawings based on nature from Cynthia's sketchbooks.

The entrancing miniworlds that Cynthia creates with mixed-media techniques—a raven holding a mysterious key in its beak, a faun with a woman’s head, a tiny fox, and more—are mysterious. Where did that key come from? Why does the faun have the head of a woman? The practical skills Cynthia acquired working in a 3-D illustration lab, plus her formal training at the Columbus College of Art and Design, mixed with a lifelong love of legend/myth/fairytale/short stories, are key ingredients of this artist’s success. Here are just a few of her valuable tips for designing mixed-media jewelry:

1: Collect bits. “You just need the essence of something.” Photos, pressings of leaves and flowers, rubbings of architectural features, fragments of letters are examples. And be sure to follow Cynthia’s tip to carry empty ziplock bags wherever you go. “That way, you don’t have to worry about finding something like woodland rot loose in the bottom of your purse.”

2: Record ideas and images in a journal. Why? “Because you forget things, especially your good ideas.” Another tip is always to carry some scotch tape with you to affix bits and pieces to your journal—a scrap of an article, a ticket, the cover of a matchbook.

3: Use your dreams for inspiration. “I don’t remember a lot of my dreams. But I do record my life’s dreams, like ‘One day I want to be a writer.’” Keeping track of your wishes and reviewing them at different points in time can stimulate new ideas.

4: Pay attention to nature. It’s especially important to appreciate your natural surroundings. Cynthia says she’s home a lot and often notices things in her own backyard that give her ideas for designs, from a twig on the ground to a bird winging by.

5: Experiment freely. “You won’t learn if you’re afraid to fail. Take up felting. Take up knitting. Skills like these can be applied to whatever you’re making.” Cynthia also is quick to point out that whenever she tries something new, it takes repeated tries to develop something wonderful.

6: Mix elements creatively. “It’s good to limit yourself sometimes: Don’t mix everything.” Cynthia says many of her best results come from having to be resourceful and simply make something work.

7: Collect words and phrases. “I use a lot of quotes in my work. I love words. I have a dictionary in almost every room of my house.” Words have great visual qualities and add several dimensions to pieces—meaning, symbolism, humor, wisdom.

If Cynthia could be any mythical or fairytale creature, what would it be? “An angel type of creature—a winged thing. I’d fly off and find Shangri-La.” Her Woodland Wings Necklace featured in the book shows Cynthia’s fascination with flight. Buy Enchanted Adornments to boost your creativity!

View Cynthia's video "Deconstruction" for an intriguing look into her method for harnessing inspiration! Watch her video here!

How do you capture your ideas? Share your tips here!

Studio Storage Tips and a Free Circular Brick Stitch Project!

Leslie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:43:00 GMT

Organized Chaos: Mess for Success
I am totally self-indulgent when it comes to beading. I start this, that, and the other project as my stash inspires me, and though I finish tons of jewelry, many projects wait to reach fruition. Each time I need to bead, I’m as likely to start something new as to finish something in progress. My indecisive, creative frenzy tends to make my studio unruly, though fun for people to explore. Still, I want to keep track of everything, or I forget where things are. Plus, my play time is limited. To get right to it when I have that precious "window" I have my WIP (Work in Progress) organized and on display in many ways. I can choose whatever floats my boat when the time is right.

		I forgot I had this! I hang bags of materials and experiments I'm playing with on a bulletin board. Not only does this keep me visually inspired, it keeps my memory fresh–especially after a Bead Fest shopping spree when I come home with a plethora of strands, tubes and beads wrapped in tissue. New treasures go right into clear baggies and pinned on my board to prevent any lengthy spans of forgetfulness. Though it is a strange thrill to rediscover things I forgot I bought, I'd rather remember.

		Eeenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Which project should work on today? I stack mini foil baking pans, each with its own project. Needles, beads, findings– all the parts I'm playing with for each idea go in these trays. I can pick whatever I feel like working on and know all my materials are already together. So I don't forget where all my beads are as I separate them with various projects, I pour the selected colors into smaller bags with each WIP. The main tubes or bags remain in their color-coded bins so I know what I have.

		Circular brick to go. I always have project bags packed and ready to go. I spend lots of time waiting– in airports, as a passenger on long car drives. My little bags contain everything I need to finish simple projects that are well underway. My favorite to-go projects are component-oriented, so I can make one or a bunch, depending on how long I'm waiting. Circular brick stitch is one of favorite component-making stitch of mine, because I can play around with variations and at least get satisfaction by finishing a single component.

		Free brick stitch project! So hey, here's a free circular brick stitch project for you. Tina Koyama’s Crystal Radiance Brooch is an eye-catching, component-oriented design, and a technique which will inspire you to play with many variations. Gather and sort all your favorite combinations of crystals and beads in trays, project bags or on bulletin boards, and hang them up neatly, to keep your studio full of reminders to play.

Decorating my studio with my stash—finished and unfinished—keeps me fired up. For more décor inspiration you’ll want the new Fall 2009 Studios in your library. Leave it to Cloth Paper Scissors magazine to give us yet another special issue of artists' spaces to motivate and encourage our creativity. Keep Studios on display where you can look at it every day! There’s so much to enjoy, you may not finish it all the first time you sit down with it.

What's your favorite way to display work-in-progress? Share with us here!

How to Make a Wire Bead Chain!

Leslie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:51:00 GMT

Great Wire Jewelry Deserves Perfect Loops

I was doing some domestic spelunking and found a rosary I made before I knew much about wirework. It was a gift I'd made for my son when he was little. I'd invested in stone beads, made the cross in metal clay, and chained it all together with silver wire. My son loved it because it made him feel like a big boy to have such a special, non-plastic gift. I was very proud of it at the time. But now when I look at it, I’m more than a little embarrassed. The loops are all so uneven!

I know our learning curves all start somewhere, but that “somewhere” usually has better results if it begins with instructions in a class, book, or magazine. For instance, I could have learned how to make consistent loops in a magazine like Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry. Beading Daily is a good place to learn, too, of course. Here’s how to avoid my beaded chain-making mistakes and learn the proper way to do it.

1. Use a permanent marker to draw a line on one of the jaws of your round-nose pliers. This will help you make all bends in the same spot, creating equally-wide loops.

2. If necessary, use nylon-jaw pliers to straighten the last few inches of wire on the spool or roll. Don’t trim any wire off the spool yet. Flush cut the end of the wire, then slide on a bead. Grasp the wire end with the round-nose pliers at the spot you previously marked on the jaw.

3. Roll the pliers until the wire touches itself, forming a loop. The wire will be shaped like the letter P.

4. If your wire is 20-gauge or thinner, you can just press your thumbnail firmly into the base of the loop and pull the pliers back against your nail, so the wire looks like a balloon on a string. If your wire is thicker, you’ll probably want to grasp the wire at the loop base with chain-nose pliers instead.

5. Snug the bead against the loop and flush cut the wire 3/8" from the

top of the bead.

6. Grasp the wire end with round-nose pliers at the marked spot. Pull the wire against the top of the bead at a 45° angle.

7. Roll the pliers to form another simple loop. The loops should be even and scroll like the letter S. Set the link aside.

8. Make another link. Use flat- or chain-nose pliers to open one of the loops as you would a jump ring. Connect the loop to one of the loops of the previous link.

So, there it is–consistent and clean work, so you’ll still be proud of it years from now.

Got any other tips for making beaded chain? Have you made some great jewelry using this technique or fashioned your own prayer beads? Share your thoughts and comments below!

How to Choose the Right Wire Gauge

Leslie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:09:00 GMT

		A Quick Guide to Wire Gauge and Hardness Chances are, if you've been making jewelry for a while, you're feeling ready to expand your skills. For many beaders and stringers, that means moving into the realm of wire. But I know wire can feel a little daunting—I vividly recall my first class. You bend it which way? But remember when you first started with seed beads and you thought, no way am I going to work with those tiny things! Or when you started stringing and you thought, I really don’t understand how these crimps work. It’s just a matter of diving in and getting familiar with the materials and tools. The two things most critical to jewelry making with wire are the gauges and the hardness.

Wire gauge
Gauge refers to the thickness or diameter of the wire. The smaller the number the thicker the wire. For instance, to bend thick wire into a bangle, you might use 4 gauge, which is a little over ¼” thick. But if you want to knit with wire, you might use 28- or 30-gauge, which are almost like thread. Use a wire gauge tool by slipping the wire in a notch to determine the gauge.

Here are some common wire jewelry-making components and the best wire gauges to use:

12g-14g – heavier clasps
12g-18g – links, medium clasps
16g-20g – jump rings
18g-22g – ear wires, simple loops
20g-24g – coils, wrapped loops
24g-30g – knitting.

Wire hardness
The hardness of the wire refers to the malleability. Hardness also differs by material. Sterling is harder than copper. Brass and bronze tend to be stiffer than both copper and sterling. When you’re working with very fine gauges, hardness is a bit irrelevant, since fine gauge wires are so thin they’re ultimately pliable.

But if you work with thicker gauges, you want to choose the hardness most appropriate for the work you’re doing. For instance, if you want to make ear wires, you know they should have some stiffness and spring to them. But if you’re coiling wire, you want that wire to be soft enough to easily wrap around whatever you’re using as a mandrel.

Full hard: fully tempered, very hard and stiff. There is rarely a call for full hard in jewelry making

Half hard: softer than full hard, but still holds some shape. Good for ear wires or hooks.

Dead soft: very soft, no spring, very pliable. Best for bending, coiling, hammering, and manipulating the wire a lot.

Work hardening your wire
All metal becomes stiffer when you work with it–that’s called work hardening. Any sort of manipulation of the wire changes the molecular structure of it, causing it to become harder and more brittle. The only way you can return the wire to its softer state is to heat it, which you can do if you have a torch or a kiln. But you can always harden soft wire by hammering, either with a metal hammer to flatten and texture, or with a rawhide mallet, to maintain the roundness but temper, or harden, the metal.

You can use work hardening to your advantage when you’re making jewelry. When you start with soft wire and want to make a few jump rings by coiling the wire around a mandrel, the coiling will work harden the metal and make your jump rings stronger.

Buying Wire
When you buy craft wire, it’s primarily copper with a colored coating of some type. Consequently it’s quite soft and easy to work with. Craft wire does not come in different degrees of hardness. But when you buy silver or copper wire from jewelry suppliers, you should specify the hardness you want.

Start here!
In Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine, every project comes with a wire and materials list, so you’re never left guessing when you purchase your supplies.

And now, as Step by Step Wire Jewelry celebrates its 5-year anniversary, you can get the very Best of Step by Step Wire Jewelry in a special 148 page compilation of the editors’ and readers’ top 25 favorite projects, including Lisa Niven Kelly's "Entangled Wire Bezel" and Katrina Meyer's "Arrow" Bracelet. If you’ve always wanted to take the leap into wire jewelry making, this is the perfect issue for you!

Is there a wire gauge you find indispensible? Share your tips and comments below!

4 Ideas for Necklace Extensions

Erin Carey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:23:00 GMT

How do you deal with a necklace design that's perfect but too short?

Like most of you, when I design a new necklace I make it to my favorite length. I happen to prefer 16" necklaces because the focal bead sits just perfectly above my “Great Plains.” But if I’m making a necklace as a gift or to teach, I need to be sure that women of all different shapes and sizes can wear it. Not everyone’s got the Great Plains. Actually, most women I hang around with are more the, well…Grand Teton variety. So I usually make my necklace designs so they can easily be extended, either by the person that’s making it or by the person that’s receiving it.

Here are 4 ways to extend the length of a necklace:

Lisa Kan's
Autumn Bouquet

Jennifer Van Benschoten's
Back to Byzantium

1. Add more beadwork. If you’re stitching a beadwoven necklace, simply extend the strap or rope design to your desired length with the same or a different type of beaded strap. If the rope is too plain, incorporate other beads or embellishments to jazz it up a bit. Check out stitched necklaces like Lisa Kan’s Autumn Bouquet and Jennifer Van Benschoten’s Back to Byzantium to see the type of necklaces I’m talking about. See how they could easily be extended at the ends?

2. String extensions. You can easily transition from stitched beadwork to strung beads, like my example here. Just crimp a short length of flexible beading wire to one end of one strap, string enough beads to reach the back center of your neck, and crimp on half of the clasp. Do the same with the other side and you’re golden.

Jean Campbell's Fiori Necklace	Julia Zaccaria’s Delicious Donuts	Lindsay Burke's From the East

3. Attach extender chain. This is the simplest way to lengthen a necklace, as I’ve done with my Fiori Necklace. Just add a chain to one end of the strap and a lobster clasp to the other end. For some extra pizzazz, hang a little dangle at the end of the chain that incorporates a bead from the main necklace. You can also see this technique in Delicious Donuts by Julia Zaccaria and From the East by Lindsay Burke.

Anne Timmons'
Freshwater Pearl
Bridal Set

Katie Hacker's
Great Lengths Necklace
and Bracelet

4. Use a detachable extension. Use a bracelet with the same type of clasp and beads as your necklace to act as an extension. Just attach the bracelet clasp ends to their corresponding necklace clasp ends, and voilà! That’s at least 7" of extra length. Necklace/bracelet sets like Anne Timmons’ Freshwater Pearl Bridal Set and Katie Hacker’s Great Lengths Necklace and Bracelet work well for this concept.

Do you have other ideas for extending necklaces, or, for that matter, shortening them?
Please share them here and on the Beading Daily forums!