Daily Blogs : Bead Embroidery, Wire Wrapping, Bead Crafts

Steampunk Style Beading with Cynthia Newcomer Daniels

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:00:00 GMT

Some of you might remember Cynthia Newcomer Daniel from last summer when I showed off her amazing beaded necklace entry in the Battle of the Beadsmith. I admire the way Cynthia makes those little seed beads of hers do the most amazing things like mimicking needle-woven lace. Her self-supporting bangle bracelets made with off-loom bead-weaving stitches are architectural feats of skill and craft, and I'm thrilled that Cynthia brings us today's guest blog on Beading Daily all about steampunk jewelry!


	*Flights of Fancy by Cynthia Newcomer Daniel*

Steampunk is, first and foremost, a genre in science fiction literature. Set in an alternate universe that resembles 19^th century England or America, Steampunk is all about big, complicated machines and Victorian style, but with a decided twist. Think steam engines, trains, the Wild West, lace doilies and time travel. Imagine bustles, parlors, boots, big skirts, tight pants and transporter technology. A place and time where jewelry isn't just jewelry, but a portal; with a flick of a switch, or the glow of a crystal, gears will start to turn and the wearer will be whisked through time and space.

It's not just about adding some watch guts to a necklace, though that's a good place to start.


*Time and Tides by Cynthia Newcomer Daniel*

Before you start crafting a piece of Steampunk jewelry, you'll want to think about the world it comes from, and its purpose in that world. Will it protect the wearer, or is it a transportation device? Does it have settings? How is its purpose concealed from others? Does it belong to a gunfighter, a lady, a pirate, or a street urchin? Has it fallen into the hands of someone who is unaware of its true purpose?

Once you know all that, it's time to start collecting. Watch parts are a great place to start; they're small, easy to find, and fun to take apart. If you don't have an old one in your junk drawer, look in antique shops or on-line. Hardware stores are another good place to browse; look for small gears, nuts, hinges, or anything that can be bezeled around or strung.

Bead embroidery, soutache work, and beadweaving are naturals for Steampunk style jewelry; intricate beadwork evokes a Victorian sensibility, and lends itself to the engineering aspects of Steampunk.

Start creating! And please share your jewelry, and its story, when you are done.

One of the things I love about creating my own stories with steampunk jewelry are the fabulous focal pieces around which I work my favorite bead-weaving stitches. There's a little bit of mechanical skill involved, doing things like punching holes, wire wrapping, and layering different elements to create unique jewelry-making components.

Don't be put off by the industrial jewelry-making skills of steampunk jewelry! Take a look at our Mixed Media Steampunk-Style Jewelry DVD with Jean Campell. Jean walks you step-by-step through easy techniques like cold connections, resin, and wire wrapping to show you how you can make your own fabulous, romantic steampunk-style jewelry pieces. Get your copy of Mixed Media Steampunk-Style Jewelry and give your jewelry a story to tell!

Do you have jewelry that tells a special story? Leave a comment here on the Beading Daily blog and tell us about it, or better yet, post a picture of it over in the Reader Photo Gallery and share your jewelry story with all of us!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Cynthia Newcomer Daniel is a jewelry designer and creator who lives in central California. She loves to work with a wide variety of materials, and her work displays the perfect combination of elegant simplicity and over-the-top opulence. You can find her tutorials for sale at Jewelry Tales, or follow Cynthia's Jewelry Tales blog to read more about her amazing bead-weaving creations!

The Top 12 Beading Daily Blogs of 2012 - And a Giveaway!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Today is 12.12.12! We're almost halfway through December, and there are less than three weeks left in 2012. I always get a little nostalgic in December, and I usually take some time to meditate and reflect on all the wonderful things that have happened during the year.

This year is no different, but it's a little more special because of that date -- 12.12.12. So, to celebrate, I've put together the Top 12 Beading Daily blogs from 2012! Read on to see if any of your favorite blogs made it into the list:

		January: Find Your Steampunk Style with Jean Campbell Steampunk always seemed so intimidating to me, but this post from Jean Campbell took all the mystery out of making amazing, easy steampunk jewelry.

		February: Your First Seed Bead Stash Stocking your stash of seed beads can be a huge task if you're just getting started with bead-weaving! Here are some great tips for starting your seed bead stash.

		March: Readers Share a Bounty of Brick Stitch Projects I love brick stitch -- it will always be special to me, as it was the first beading stitch I ever taught myself. I asked for our readers to submit their best brick stitch projects, and the resulting eye candy is just amazing!

		April: Start With...A Simple Strip of Peyote Stitch Ever feel stuck in your beading? You can create some really spectacular beaded jewelry just by whipping up a simple strip of peyote stitch!

		May: Readers Share Beautiful Bead Embroidery Once again, I asked, and our readers delivered. This time, they shared some truly breathtaking bead embroidery pieces with us. Enjoy the beautiful beading!

		June: 5 Common Jewelry Findings That You Can Make Yourself Save time and money when you learn how easy it is to make these five common jewelry findings with your basic wire wrapping skills!

		July: Why Necklace Length Matters Understanding the different lengths of necklaces is important to be able to match them with your favorite necklines.

		August: Use Wire to Bezel a Cabochon This isn't so much a "how-to" blog as a "how-NOT-to-do" blog. Read about my adventures using Viking knit to make a bezel for one of my favorite gemstone cabochons!

		September: Getting Started With Flat Peyote Stitch Peyote stitch was one of the last bead-weaving stitches that I taught myself. However, had I known some of these tips or had some of these tools, it probably would have been a lot easier!

		October: Meet a Chain Maille Genius At Bead Fest Philadelphia in August, I met a lampwork glass artist who takes the ancient art and craft of chain maille to a whole new level! Read about her and see some of her absolutely marvelous creations.

		November: Four Beading How-Tos You Need to Know You might be surprised at some of these four beading how-tos that every beader needs to know!

		December: Make This Free Embossed Leather Earring Project December isn't even half over yet, but so far, this free embossed leather earring project is our most popular December blog!

Did any of your favorites appear in this list? If not, now's your chance to nominate them, and win a little something, too! Simply leave a comment on this blog before midnight, CST on December 16, 2012 with your favorite Beading Daily blog from 2012. You don't have to choose from just this list, either -- take a look through all the blogs that were written by our friends over at Inside Beadwork Magazine and Inside Jewelry Stringing Magazine, as well as the blogs we posted in Beading Instructions and Beading Supplies We Love, too. You can post a link in your comment so everyone else can see it, too!

On Monday, December 17, 2012, check your email, because we'll notify three winners: two lucky people will win a five-pack of assorted back issues of both Beadwork and Jewelry Stringing magazines. One lucky winner will get to choose a prize from four of our favorite digital beading products! (Please note: we can only ship magazines to U.S. addresses only due to customs regulations.)

One lucky winner will get to choose one prize from the following great digital beading products:

You can also find links to all twelve of our Top 12 Blogs of 2012 on Pinterest for your pinning pleasure!

Good luck, and Happy Holidays from all of us at Beading Daily!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

How to Bead For Halloween!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Halloween is arguably my favorite holiday for the fun factor: watching my son get dressed up in his costume, carving pumpkins, and, of course, my favorite fall foods like roasted pumpkin seeds and apple cider donuts. But even if you don't dress up for Halloween, if you know how to bead, you can make some pretty cool Halloween-inspired beaded jewelry! Here are a few suggestions for how to bead for Halloween, along with some of my favorite Halloween beading supplies!

		Tiny ceramic skull and teeth beads are great for getting into the Halloween spirit, and these little beauties can be found in The Crafty Bead Etsy shop, along with other ghoulish goodies like coffin beads, eyeball beads, ghost beads, and jack 'o' lantern beads!

		Just because it's Halloween, that doesn't mean that you have to use skull and ghost beads. These wonderful black Lucite flowers from The Hole Bead Shop are dramatic all year long -- and this particular Lucite flower bead comes apart into separate components that can be layered.

		More skulls! Cabochons are a favorite jewelry making supply of mine, and I'm having a blast working up two new Halloween necklaces with these. The cowboy skull cabochon is from Bead Stalkers, and the ceramic three skulls cabochon is by Lisa Peters Art.

		While I love the texture of the fish leather from Naturebeads, some of my friends have told me that it looks a little...well, creepy. Perfect for Halloween, right? The scaly texture of the fish leather, especially in green, looks like it could be alien skin!

		Always appealing to my inner science fiction geek, the wonderful work of MAKUstudio works just as well at Halloween as it does the rest of the year for making cutting-edge beaded jewelry. Use your imagination -- what kind of Halloween jewelry would you bead with this handmade ceramic cabochon?

Now, the "trick" to using all of these delightful Halloween treats is knowing how to bead, whether it's bead stringing, bead embroidery, off-loom bead-weaving, or maybe wire wrapping or even mixed media jewelry techniques like resin. And if you need some fresh ideas and fresh techniques for how to bead with some of these fun Halloween beading supplies, check out Beads, Baubles, and Jewels TV Series 1700 on DVD!

This newest season of Beads, Baubles, and Jewels includes dozens of new techniques for how to bead with your favorite beading supplies from the artists you love like Jean Campbell, Leslie Rogalski, Christi Friesen, and Katie Hacker. Pre-order your copy of Beads, Baubles, and Jewels TV Series 1700 and find out how to bead in new ways with these great beading and jewelry-making techniques!

Do you have a favorite beading supply for Halloween? Tell us what it is and where you got it, and leave a comment here on the Beading Daily blog!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Bracelet Making: Three Special Bracelets in My Jewelry Collection

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

I don't wear bracelets too often, even though I have bags of them in my collection of handmade beaded jewelry. Most of the time when I'm designing a new piece of beaded jewelry, I usually come up with necklace making designs, not bracelet making designs. But, once in a while, a great bracelet making idea pops into my head, and I have no choice but to listen to the beads and run with it! Even better is when I receive a beautiful bracelet as a gift or learn how to make someone else's beaded bracelet design.

I recently added three new beautiful bracelets to my collection. Each one has a great story behind it!

		This bracelet was originally supposed to be my challenge project for Beadwork magazine later this year, but at the last minute, I was inspired to create a different piece for that particular challenge. Still, my Lotus Cuff bracelet was a great bead embroidered bracelet making refresher for me. I tried something new for this bracelet and decided to leave most of the colored bead embroidery backing exposed to add an additional color to the palette of beads I chose. The design of the Lotus Cuff was inspired by the time I spent attending prayers and meditation with a group of traveling Tibetan Buddhist monks back in April. The cultural center that hosted the monks was adorned with beautiful Tibetan Thangka paintings, which are a combination of painting and embroidery using metallic silk threads. No matter what my mood, when I wear this bracelet, I remind myself to slow down, breathe, and enjoy the ride.

		I don't often get the chance to bead with a group of friends, and I don't often have the time to work up another artist's beaded bracelet making design, so making the beautiful It's Becoming bracelet by Nikia Angel at York Beads in New York City a couple of weeks ago is something that I will remember for a very long time! It was so much fun to meet new beaders, hang out with Nikia for a while, and just relax and learn a new bracelet making project.

		This last bracelet was gifted to me by the wonderful (and talented) Tanya Borden. Tanya and I were swap partners in Lori Anderson's Pantone Bead Swap a few weeks ago, and part of the Pantone color-inspired package of beads I sent to Tanya in Thailand was a small bag of some flower-shaped sequins I found in New York City. Tanya was so inspired by the sequins that she sat down and created this delicate and fashionable bracelet -- and then she sent it to me as a thank-you! I was so touched to receive this unexpected gift that I've worn Tanya's bracelet almost every day since receiving it, and it's another wonderful reminder of how beads can bring us all together!

I think what I love the most about bracelet making is that you can use pretty much any materials with any beading technique you like to create a piece of beautiful beaded jewelry that you can look at all day! How refreshing is it to look down at your wrist and see all that beaded goodness down there?

No matter what your favorite bracelet making technique is, you're sure to find some new inspiration in 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings 2012. There are dozens of step-by-step instructions for new beading projects using beading, stringing, and simple wire wrapping techniques, as well as great information from my favorite color expert, Margie Deeb, on how to pair metal findings with your favorite beads. Pre-order your copy of 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings 2012 and give your imagination a boost!

Have you recently discovered a new favorite jewelry-making component or bead for bracelet making? Maybe you've discovered a new kind of seed bead or a new metal finding that you just can't live without. Leave a comment and share your favorites here on the Beading Daily blog!

Bead Happy,

Jennifer

Make Easy Patterned Metal Earrings

Michelle Mach — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:12:00 GMT

My friend Jan recently dragged me to a knitting class. Of course, I knew that we'd need to buy yarn and needles (I do work for Interweave, after all!), but I was suprised to learn that we needed more than two needles, plus a stitch holder and darning needle. (And a crochet hook for those klutzy types who kept dropping their stitches . . . ahem.) It was a bit of a shock to get my credit card bill and realize just how expensive those mittens were, especially since I wasn't sure how much knitting I'd be doing in my future. ...(read more)