Daily Blogs : make earrings

The Best of Stringing celebrates top designs from Stringing magazine!

Erin Carey — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:30:00 GMT

Here’s a little snippet of beady publishing history that you might find interesting...
In 2002 Interweave’s founder, Linda Ligon, and I sat in a hotel lobby in New York to discuss starting a new magazine that solely concerned stringing beads. It was a completely revolutionary idea at the time and, quite frankly, I thought it was a bit nuts; beadweavers like me often viewed stringing as our community’s wallflower cousin. She said she wanted a magazine that stretched people’s creativity, helping them explore new materials to expand their vision of what stringing could be. Her general edict was, “Make it beautiful, make it colorful, and I don’t want to see page after page of ‘bumps on a string.’ What I want is page after page of gorgeous pieces that you might find at a museum shop or gallery. No ‘safe’ jewelry in this one.”

When I got back to the office in Colorado, I broke it to the Beadwork magazine team (then Jamie Hogsett and Dustin Wedekind) that we were starting up a new magazine. It would include 100 pieces, have jaw-dropping work, and there could be absolutely no 'bumps on a string.' I think Jamie and Dustin thought the idea was a little crazy, too; we were all pretty beadweaving-centric at that time. In our discussion that day I sketched out some little drawings to explain what I think Linda was talking about. Miraculously, I found those sketches in a file cabinet in the basement this morning; and can share those first bright glimmers of Stringing with you now. Sometimes it pays to be a packrat!

We set off as a team to break out of our little design boxes and to bust up our notions of what stringing beads on a cord could be. The exercise produced 100 really nice pieces for our first special issue, and I know it gave us all a rich appreciation for the technique. Now, after 5 years, dozens of issues, and hundreds of gorgeous pieces later, I see Linda's idea for Stringing magazine was right on. I guess that's why she's the boss.

Danielle Fox, Stringing magazine's current editor, recently sent me a copy of The Best of Stringing, a fantastic issue with 183 projects--21 of which are brand new. She attached this note that made me tear up a little. This magazine, as well as the technique in general, has certainly "grow'd up" in the last several years, certainly past my little sketches. It's been due, in large part, to how bravely our community of designers, teachers, vendors, and publishers have embraced and experimented with this technique. We've gone far beyond 'bumps on a string', that's for sure.

Danielle had her own warm and fuzzy moment seeing this magazine come together: "I've been on the Stringing staff since its second issue. I'll tell you, it's been so much fun to watch and help the magazine grow. I'm really excited about The Best of Stringing because it brings together all of our favorite projects in a single edition. The hardest part was narrowing down our selections. What I think we came up with is a great mix of evergreen projects, the kind that inspire you again and again."

So I guess the challenge going forward, for all of us who love to string beads, is to continue to play and experiment, pushing the technique to unexplored creative highs. How will you contribute? What new stringing techniques or materials have you been using to make your work new and unique? What trends do you see around the bend? Why not share your ideas and thoughts below or on the Beading Daily forums?

Free Metalwork Earring Instructions

Michelle M. — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:54:00 GMT

Last month I was lucky enough to take an intensive 2-day jewelry making workshop. Not only did I learn a lot in the workshop (notably, how much easier it is to use a jeweler's saw if you don't push down into the metal as hard as you possibly can), but I also learned a lot from my repeated trips to the hardware store and from peeking into the toolboxes of my classmates. Jewelry designers, particularly those who work with metal, have terrific tools....(read more)

Create These Easy Crystal and Seed Bead Earrings

Michelle M. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:39:00 GMT

I've been looking for an earring project for an April birthday gift and this week's free project from Step by Step Beads, Crystal Corona Earrings, is perfect. The materials (crystal bicones, seed beads, ear wires) are common ones you're likely to have in your stash already or could easily purchase at your local bead shop. It's also astonishingly quick--I finished the first earring in less than half an hour. The project illustrations are excellent--they are fairly large with arrows showing the thread path and numbered beads, so you know exactly what to do next even if half your attention is diverted by the subtitles on Heroes. ...(read more)

Create Oxidized Wire Post Earrings

Michelle M. — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:32:00 GMT

Some days (OK, most days) you amaze me! In the Reader Showcase area of the forums, I was blown away by Australian member Huan Pham who created the beautiful wireworked seahorse pictured here. Isn't it amazing? View the larger photo in the forums if you want to be impressed by his precise wirewrapping skills!...(read more)

Make Easy Patterned Metal Earrings

Michelle M. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:12:00 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)

Free Wire Spiral Earrings, Plus New Reader Gallery

Michelle M. — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:40:00 GMT

What makes a piece of jewelry a "winter" design? Is it jewelry type? I hardly ever create bracelets for winter because I know they'll just be buried under miles of sweaters and jackets. ...(read more)

Seed Bead and Wire Halloween Earrings

Michelle M. — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:36:00 GMT

Do you bead for the holidays? Which ones? Halloween? Easter? Christmas? How about National Chocolate Day (October 28), Poppy Day (November 11), or Read a New Book Month (December)?...(read more)

5-Minute Hammered Wire Earrings

Michelle M. — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:16:00 GMT

Each month, one of the magazine editors will share a free project with Beading Daily. Today's guest editor is Denise Peck, editor in chief of Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine and senior editor of Jewelry Artist. An editor by trade and a lifelong lover of jewelry, she was able to pursue both when she joined Lapidary Journal in 2004. Denise has a bench jeweler's certificate from Studio Jeweler's Ltd. Her first book with Interweave Press, Wire Style, is due out in August 2008. She's currently working on her second book..--Michelle Mach, Beading Daily editor.

5-Minute Jewelry

by Denise Peck, Step by Step Wire Jewelry

So you think you might want to broaden your jewelry-making skills or just switch gears for a bit and tackle a few wire techniques? I talk to lots of beaders at our shows who are intrigued at the thought of using more tools and venturing into the world of metal. The good news is that a lot of you already know some of the basics, like making a wire-wrapped loop on a head pin or finishing off an end cone with a piece of wire.

Here’s a little secret, though, for those of you who may not know this: you can make wire jewelry way faster than beaded jewelry!


	Bead crochet bracelet by Denise Peck

For so many of us who work with tiny little seed beads, we end up doing it for the love of it. Not because there’s a future in selling our handiwork. In fact, rarely does it seem as though we could make money on bead creations, as it takes so many hours of our time.
Not so with wire. You really can whip up a piece of jewelry in a matter of minutes. Additionally, wire is a very forgiving medium. If you make a wrong bend, you can usually just unbend it!


5 Minute Earrings by Denise Peck

It's so much fun to design a pair of earrings or a bracelet that you'll finish within the hour that I decided to challenge myself—how about jewelry in 5 minutes? No kidding. Just imagine how many pieces you could churn out for your next craft show. Now there's a way to support your bead habit!

Project: 5 Minute Earrings by Denise Peck
The free preview period for Beading Daily readers has ended.

Free eBook
Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily

Create 6 stunning wire jewelry projects (2 wire necklaces, a wire bracelet, 2 pairs of wire earrings, and a wire ring) with this free eBook that contains step by step wire jewelry instructions for each project. Jewelry designs range in difficulty from beginner to intermediate and use a variety of wire work techniques, including spirals, coiling, wirewrapping, hammering, and twisting wire. Download Making Wire Jewelry: 6 Free Wire Designs from Beading Daily

Free eBook
Making Jewelry with Beading Daily
How to Make Earrings: Five Free Jewelry Projects

This free earrings ebook, Making Jewelry with Beading Daily: How to Make Earrings: Five Free Jewelry Projects, includes five earring patterns that use a range of techniques (simple stringing, wirework, simple metalwork, seed bead netting and fringe) and a variety of materials (silver, copper, seed beads, crystals, pearls, gemstones). Both beginners and more experienced jewelry makers will find at least one beaded earring design that will inspire them to catch the handmade earring craze!

If you have a favorite quick design, I'd love to see them. (Send them to me at dpeck@interweave.com.) And if you have any questions or challenges while you're learning to work with wire, feel free to post your questions on the website.

Ideas for Floral Earrings

Editor — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:00:00 GMT

Free Project:Caribbean Breeze by Sandi Wiseheart

I know, I know. Most of you are probably glancing outside at all the snow and ice on the ground and wondering if I have my calendar wrong. Yes, it's still January and yes, I'm talking about floral earrings. Why?

Designer Sandi Wiseheart said it best last year when she designed the Caribbean Breeze earrings: "Thick white snowflakes are mercilessly whapping every inch of exposed skin. It's enough to make me wear every flower-themed, brightly colored bead I own, as if my jewelry were talismans to beat back winter and bring summer a bit sooner. Perhaps they are . . ."

Plus, from a purely practical standpoint, it makes more sense to design earrings for winter, rather than dainty necklaces and bracelets that are going to be hidden by layers of sweaters, scarves, coats, and gloves.

Free Project:
Royal Shell Earrings
by Karen Johnston

The easiest way to create floral earrings is either use components that actually have floral designs, like the floral shell pendants in Karen Johnston's Royal Shell Earrings or use flower-shaped beads like the crystals in Kelli Burns's Hydrangea Earrings. In addition to floral beads, look for floral findings like headpins with flowers on the ends.

Pink definitely seems to be the default floral earring color--just take a look at the earrings on this page! If you don't like pink, you can still find floral components in a range of other colors, including neutral shades of gray, brown and navy. Using florals in neutral shades is a way to up the sophistication level and create earrings that are at home in conservative settings.

Free Project:
Hydrangea Earrings
by Kelli Burns

If you want to skip florals altogether, you can still use flowers as an inspirational source. Go to a flower shop, browse gardening magazines or books, or, if you're lucky enough to live someplace where it is currently sunny and warm, visit a garden or beautiful backyard. Look at bouquets as well as individual flowers. I guarantee you'll discover some color palettes that you've never considered before!

Last year I was inspired by some wildflowers in my neighbor's yard and used the color palette to design these earrings for Stringing Spring 2007. The finished earrings don't look flowery, but they'll always remind me of spring!

Looking for Wedding Jewelry: I'd love to create a gallery of the best wedding jewelry designs by Beading Daily readers. Please send me links to your blogs or websites where you have photos posted. (If you don't have photos online, email me and I'll let you know how to send the photos.) Thanks!

Free eBook
Making Jewelry with Beading Daily: How to Make Earrings: Five Free Jewelry Projects

Michelle Mach is the editor of Beading Daily. She created another pair of floral earrings over the weekend using light blue ceramic squares with a floral pattern.

A Wedding Story

Editor — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 22:00:00 GMT

Many beaders I know got their start making wedding jewelry. When I heard how Rebecca Campbell created the Filigree Drops (from the book, Create Jewelry: Crystals) for her sister's wedding, I knew I wanted to share her story with you. I hope you enjoy Rebecca's story as much as I did! —Michelle Mach, Beading Daily editor

Bridesmaids Rebecca and Elizabeth
pose with the bride, their sister Rachael. My sister Rachael and I had been emailing jewelry ideas back and forth for months. When I saw the photo of the Filigree Drops, I thought it was very "Rachael" and she agreed! The color of the crystals was gorgeous with the turquoise sash of her wedding gown. I also made Rachael’s necklace and bracelet, my own jewelry, and earrings for my other sister, Elizabeth. But I didn't stop there!

The morning of the wedding, I ended up making several aunts and a friend a pair of earrings. I had gone out the week prior to the wedding to help my sister with the final wedding details. I took all of my beading materials with me, thinking I’d have plenty of time to make Rachael’s jewelry. Of course, with a wedding, there’s always way more to do than you think. When the morning of the wedding arrived, I still hadn’t strung a single bead! At some point, I just had to stop what I was doing and sit down and make the jewelry. I’ve always said I work well under pressure, so I had my game face on!
Rachael and her dad. Anyway, various family members were coming and going, helping with all the last minute preparations, and there I was in the middle of the kitchen feverishly making the bride’s jewelry. I do like pressure, but even I was stressing myself out. This jewelry was to be Rachael's "something new"—and it was her wedding day—so I wanted her to absolutely love it.

I sat there in deep concentration, asking opinions of aunts, uncles, and cousins as they meandered through the kitchen on some sort of wedding-related mission. I tried to ask Rachael which beads she wanted for the bracelet. "I trust you," was her only response. What a great compliment—but what a lot of pressure! In the end, she loved it and had so many compliments on it. And I had several requests for earrings as I sat in the kitchen. Aunts and friends would casually ask, "Hey, my dress is brown. Can you make me something to go with that?" I’d only brought beads in the palette of my sister’s wedding, so everyone ended up with a variation on the bridal jewelry, but it was fun, pressure and all!

Meet the Munroes,
Rachael and Ryan! Nearly everything in the wedding was handmade, not just the jewelry. My mom's sister made the ring bearer’s pillow from my mom’s old handkerchiefs and sewed teal satin ribbon and Swarovski crystals onto Rachael’s veil. Rachael and Aunt Rose created the Birds of Paradise centerpieces, which represented the first flower my dad ever gave my mom.

The wedding took place in my dad’s backyard in Pennsylvania. Rachael and Ryan got married in the gazebo my dad built after our mom passed away. It was a very personal, sentimental ceremony with only 50 people. The pastor who performed my mom’s funeral service performed the wedding ceremony. With my mom and dad's wedding song playing, Rachael came in through the back gate of our yard and walked into the gazebo with my dad. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

Free eBook
Making Jewelry with Beading Daily
How to Make Earrings: Five Free Jewelry Projects

Rebecca Campbell is the managing editor for Interweave Press books. Her original beading designs have appeared in Stringing.

Is It Spring Already?

Editor — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:00:00 GMT

These bright floral earrings will instantly make you feel warmer, no matter what the temperature is outside. Last spring when she created these earrings, Sandi Wiseheart wrote, “It's snow-and-tulips weather here in Colorado: one day it's 65 degrees and the sky is a radiant blue, and the next day thick white snowflakes are mercilessly whapping every inch of exposed skin. It's enough to make me wear every flower-themed, brightly-colored bead I own, as if my jewelry were talismans to beat back winter and bring summer a bit sooner. Perhaps they are . . .”

While Sandi was the sole designer behind the Caribbean Breeze Earrings, the naming of this project was definitely a group effort. A couple of us were in a cubicle tossing names back and forth. One of our VPs walked by, took one look at the earrings and said that they reminded her of the Caribbean. We pulled up some Caribbean travel sites on the computer and agreed. Can't you feel the warm ocean breeze already?

Free eBook
Making Jewelry with Beading Daily:
How to Make Earrings: Five Free Jewelry Projects