Daily Blogs : Chain Maille, Steampunk Jewelry

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

Project Accessory: Bead Fearlessly!

Jennifer VanBenschoten — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT


	Dangles from an old crystal chandelier make the perfect accent for a braided necklace and belt!


You might not believe this, but she's using match sticks to create a necklace!

Some of us around here at Interweave were so excited by the new Project Accessory on Lifetime that we decided to do a Bead Along Challenge here on Beading Daily, and a Make Along Challenge over on Jewelry Making Daily! Are you up for the challenge?

If you missed the first episode of Project Accessory, you can watch it for free on Lifetime's website. I won't tell you who the winner was, but I will tell you what the challenge is for this week!

This week, we're using found objects in our beadwork! Anything goes - rummage through your utility drawers, your garage workshops, your attics, your scary basements... Fill a box with "junk" and then go through it and find what inspires you. Tear, cut, drill, paint and then - of course - BEAD! Use anything you want to create a piece of beaded jewelry with the items you find. And don't be afraid to go over-the-top and make this really runway-worthy!

When you're done, post a photo of your found object beaded jewelry in the Reader Photo Gallery using the tag PABAL. (Note: you MUST use the tag PABAL in order for your piece to show up in the Project Accessory Bead Along Gallery!) You can also talk about Project Accessory and the challenge over in the Forums and get inspiration and advice from other beaders.


Get creative with this challenge: what can you find in your "junk" that would make awesome runway-worthy beaded jewelry?

I know that some beaders might be put off by the idea of using hand tools to alter their found objects. I, too, used to be tool-challenged, until I started learning how to make lampwork glass beads. There was something about using that torch while it was hooked up to tanks of potentially explosive gasses that removed all of my fears about hand tools. When I started fusing glass, my hands used the glass cutters and pliers as if I had been doing it my entire life. Maybe this challenge will be the perfect way for someone to overcome their fears of hand tools?

If you're not comfortable with power tools, start with a small Dremel tool to drill holes. Use your heavy-duty wire cutters to clip and trim metal and mesh and transform it into useful jewelry-making components. In this week's challenge, the designers used things like old metal rat traps (ew!), mattress springs and industrial wire to make jump rings and jewelry findings. The takeaway here is that ANYTHING can be turned into jewelry in the right hands.

After you've made your components, turn those jewelry-making components into a piece of beaded jewelry! (Does that make it a double challenge for some of us? I think it just might be!)

After you've made your jewelry components from your junk, bead it up! There are so many ways to incorporate found objects into your beadwork - you can stitch a peyote bezel around a round object, or hang a bunch of drilled charms from a right-angle weave necklace. It makes you realize just how versatile beadweaving is, both as an art form and as a craft.

Don't know where to start? Take a look at some of the steampunk projects in the Beading Daily and Jewelry Making Daily online shops! Interweave author and artist Susan Lenart Kazmer also has some wonderfully inspiring pieces on her website that are made with found objects. Take a look at the new Beading Daily Bead Along page to get some more great inspiration from blogs, beading and jewelry-making projects and our free projects, too!

Need some more inspiration? There's a special offer for Project Accessory fans this weekend!

Steampunk, “Mad Max,” industrial-chic – whatever you want to call it, using hardware and other unconventional items in your jewelry has always been hot. Maybe you don’t want to go as crazy as Brian Burkhardt did with the teddy bear and sofa belt (or maybe you do!), but you can learn how to express your vision in new ways and with fun materials with Jean Campbell’s Mixed-Media: Making Steampunk-Style Jewelry. It’s on sale for Project Accessory fans now through 10/30/11! Just enter coupon code PABD1 when you’re ready to check out. Start steaming up your jewelry now!

So let's turn our junk into jewelry, and bead fearlessly! Bead Happy!

Jennifer

How to Combine Beadwork and Metal

Jean Campbell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:00:00 GMT

		How to Combine Beadwork and Metal I gave a lecture on designing Steampunk jewelry at my local bead society a couple weeks ago. I showed lots of stunning pictures and pointed out the different types of materials to use when working in this style. The photos all contained wired, riveted, strung, and chemically-bonded work, but beadwork? A little stitching here and there, but really nothing very meaty. So I gave a challenge to the group: Who could do some good Steampunk-style jewelry using a needle, thread, and seed beads? Gloria Acker came up to me after the meeting and showed me a Steampunk pendant necklace she’d done with a clockwork-infused metal focal piece. She’d bezeled it with size 15° seed beads in a wonderfully whimsical way that evoked gears… I guess there is something to that adage, “Ask and it is given!”

Working metal into beadwork is actually a hot trend right now! Just look at the two projects (left image) found on the cover of the upcoming issue of Beadwork magazine. It features two “Modern Vintage” pieces, Barbara Falkowitz’s Hearts & Rosettes Necklace, which combines beadworked components with chain and metal links, and Amy Haftkowycz’s Floral Wreaths Bracelet, which combines beadwork with large metal rings. Plus, there are at least three other projects in this issue that combine beadwork with metal links, chain, or other findings as part of the overall design.

Want to dive into this trend, too? Here are a few suggestions for getting started:

Bling Bracelet

Sjournee necklace

Sequin Shimmer
by Cindi Slater

Weave strands of seed beads through chain to soften and fill the look. I did that here with my Sjournee Necklace (Beadwork, April/May 2009)

Use large jump rings to connect beadworked components.

Form a peyote- or brick-stitched tab at the end of a piece of beadwork, slide it through an appropriately-sized ring, and zip the end of the tab to the beadwork to form a loop. I use this technique in my Bling Bracelet, incorporating beadwork with chain.
Sew short pieces of chain to your beadwork, creating a different type of fringe.

Use metal beads to form fringe, as Cindi Slater does in her Sequin Shimmer, which will appear in the upcoming issue of Beadwork.

So be sure to subscribe to Beadwork to keep up with the latest and trendiest designs including working with metal. Have you already combined metal into your work? Share your ideas here on Beading Daily.