Daily Blogs - All Comments

re: Last-Minute Beading Gift-Making Ideas

JeanC — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:17:23 GMT

Yvonne from Down Under (and anyone else who's interested)-A "turducken" is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. It has three different stuffings between the meat layers, and when you serve it you cut it like a loaf of bread. My sister-in-law made it once--the recipe was 12 pages long! -Jean

re: Last-Minute Beading Gift-Making Ideas

JessicaC — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:36:22 GMT

My personal favorite holiday gifts are picture bracelets. They're a bit like a locket for your wrist! I found kits at a popular chain craft store, and then added swarovski crystals and other silver findings. As for the pictures, the recipient probably needs to be someone close to you so that you have pictures of all their loved ones or you could enlist the help of someone sneeky from their inner circle. Anyone at your local copy or office supply store could probably help you copy and resize the pictures. I'm using a family group picture from my wedding for my mom's bracelet, so I have everyone in one picture, and can just cut it apart. These work well for moms, moms-in-law (mine adores her bracelet), aunts, or grandmothers. These could also be cute for those who have furry, four-legged children.

re: Last-Minute Beading Gift-Making Ideas

YvonneD — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:10:05 GMT

Quote: "You know I’d never attempt to make a turducken." Just reading latest newsletter. Now as I am Australian, there are certain U.S. terms that appear unfamilar to me however I am assuming that a "turducken" is a miraculous bird that comes from a merging of a turkey, duck and chicken? Wonder if it tastes good? I have eaten "Mutton Bird" which taste like a combination of chicken and fish (being a bird whose primary diet is fish) - no mutton flavour though - and VERY greasy! Not my ideal menu choice. But in the interest of Food Science, am will ing to have a go at a turducken - if you can ship one to me before the 25th Dec. If it fails to arrive, then I guess it will be my planned menu of Roast Pork, Chicken Breasts with cranberry and macadamia filling, Baked Barramundi and Grilled Coconut & Ginger Prawns (Shrimps) on skewers. The very best to you and all for the festive season and heavenly days of Beading, beading....... craftykid

re: How to Wire Knit with a Knitting Spool

SusanS — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:19:25 GMT

Hi ! I wanted to offer another use for the knitting spool -- I made a necklace using the Clover model and used ribbon yarn and then embellished the cord with beads. Lots of beads!! I finished it with cones and a clasp. My 15 minutes of fame ;) came when it was featured on the cover of Step-by-Step Beads May/June 2007 issue. Have fun! Thanks!

re: Last-Minute Beading Gift-Making Ideas

JanG — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:51:40 GMT

Ornaments, anyone? Here's one I've made: take an inexpensive focal bead. With 20-gauge wire, make a wrapped loop and string the focal onto the wire. Add a short length of chain to a wire-wrapped loop at the bottom of the focal bead and a charm, big crystal, tassel, chunky spacer, or bell to the end of the chain. With a hanger, either purchased or hand wired, you're done. (I suggest wire-srap rather than plain dangles in case the recipient has kids or pets who investigate shiny, dangly things.) Another thought: use a chandelier with an odd number of loops. Dangle a teardrop crystal from the center loop. Then, make swags of chain or beaded wire from the other loops, connecting them from the center outward. Depending on the size and shape of the chandelier, these can be long and quite showy with little effort. Happy beading! Jean, thanks for the great ideas and for stimulating my flagging creativity!

re: Last-Minute Beading Gift-Making Ideas

adriana — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:01:36 GMT

Hi, I'm a beader from Israel, and we don't do christmas. However, everyone is sometimes in a great hurry for a special gift and it seems to me that you left out the bracelets: stick any number (1, 3, 5...), color, shape or type (simple seed beads or fancy swarowskys) on a headpin, stick the headpin, or 2, crosswise, between 2 lengths of chain and add the clasp. It will take minutes, not seconds but you still have a great gift in a hurry (especially if you work with gemstones and know a healing thing or two about them). Another quick solution I use with beading is fridge magnets. I agree it sounds weird, but think about all the pieces of free from peyotte, herringbone or spiral you never got the hang of. Close it up nicely, and a few special beads, or 6 bigger bids shaped like a flower, or even a metal bell (the kind that goes on cats collars) and glue a magnet on the other side. Again it may take minutes (depending on the type of glue your using), but again you have a nice, unique gift in a hurry - especially if you have granmothers or gran-aunts you haven't covered yet. A third idea is water-bottle charms, and to make it really quick, you have to use bits of free-form peyotte or metal charms. This trinkets are all the rage for teenagers, and if you use a silver charm, or a few swarowskys (especially the 3 4mm ones in a peculiar color that were left from that project you did at the begining of the year, that you don't like all that much), or a few gemstones (with the added hoky-poky about serenity, luck or love), it won't get you the Scrooge label, either. Happy Christmas, and Hanucka, and... any holiday!

re: Good News: 5 Reader Galleries That Want Your Work!

Nemeton — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:04:30 GMT

Great post, I've shared it with some friends who were wondering how to take that first step. I started out by writing to 'what our readers did' and sending in pictures for the (sadly missed!) Bead Boy challenges in Beadwork, and now I'm totally hooked on submitting projects and being published - it's a lot of work but such a buzz, I'd thoroughly recommend it!

re: Good News: 5 Reader Galleries That Want Your Work!

MsQ — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:41:12 GMT

Thanks, Michelle. This is so timely for me. I do beaded ornament covers, and I'd like to put some of my designs out there for comments, and after reading this I know how to get started. Now I just have to take some pictures... Susan

re: Good News: 5 Reader Galleries That Want Your Work!

angie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:47:43 GMT

Thank you Michelle for your newsletter. I have alot of stuff. I am still making more jewelry. I have to make sure I get some good photos. I will check your information ontaking good photos. Thanks again.

re: Good News: 5 Reader Galleries That Want Your Work!

Mimz — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:55:52 GMT

Thank you so much for this piece of 'news'! I recently had one of my necklaces featured in Bead Style magazine, unfortunately my website was not up in time and the address was not included in the article. I have been wondering what I did right the first time to get my necklace in, now I can try for other magazines and sites!

re: How to Wire Knit with a Knitting Spool

ValerieL — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:13:20 GMT

I've seen spoole with 4, 5, and 6 nails. What's the difference? Bigger tube with more nails? I'm anxious to try this style of wire knitting as I was not very successful with regular knitting needles and wire. No problem with wire crochet and just love it. Made some beautiful gold wire and Swarovski crytals crocheted bracelets that have drawn admiring comments from complete strangers, so would like to be able to do something with the knitting technique also.

re: Free Seed Bead and Crystal Peyote Bracelet Project

cindyLevanna — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:58:25 GMT

i love peyote stitch and this is beautiful

re: How to Wire Knit with a Knitting Spool

ToniT — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:10:30 GMT

I've been crochetiing with sterling and gold filled 28 guage wire for several years. My first attempt was with a bunch of leftover multi-colored pearls and crystals. I make three to five strands, twist them loosely together, then put cones on the ends. It's really quite easy. The best part is, no two pieces are exactly alike.

re: How to Wire Knit with a Knitting Spool

AGJ — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:11:10 GMT

I made a bracelet without the spool, following a Viking Knit video tutorial. Didn't have a wood draw plate, and scraped off some of the plating pulling it through a metal drill sizing gauge, lol. Now I have all the tools, purchased at a bead show, but haven't made anything with it yet. Now I need more wire!

re: How to Wire Knit with a Knitting Spool

SaraS — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:53:00 GMT

I took a class in wire knitting with spools from Sharon Hessoun from Ohio at a bead show in Sonoma, CA, a couple of years ago. She has written a book with designs for spools with different numbers of pegs. I love the tip about running the knitting through a draw plate... I had never thought of that and it would take care of the problem of the knitting being a little fragile. Viking knit took me forever, so this is awesome! Thanks!