Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads Design Challenge To celebrate the publication of the new book Designing Jewelry with Semiprecious Beads by Kim Gover, Beading Daily is hosting a design challenge! Rules • You must be a member of Beading Daily...

Last year I wrote about beading resolutions. One of my main goals was to try to use a bead loom. And I'm a little embarrassed to admit I didn't quite get around to it. (I did manage to do some loom weaving with yarn, go figure!) I'm not too upset--I learned a lot of new stuff that I didn't expect to learn like how to begin creating metal jewelry. ...

My well-loved soft tacklebox is perfect for carrying lots of beads to shows and classes. It's summer, and that means that lots of people are hitting the road for a vacation. I'll be packing up my beads and heading to a couple of beading classes...

Meet Designer and Dreamer Lisa Kan Have you ever dreamed about quitting your job and beading full time? Lampwork artist and bead designer Lisa Kan had the same dream. In 2001, she was a quality assurance engineer when she began lampworking. Now she sells...

Beading Daily is a social network, so, like many other online communities, I’ve determined we need to have a ridiculous quiz. Normally this might require all kinds of in-depth questions in order to come to its conclusion, but why not just jump ahead to the answers, so you can pick for yourself? Then you can make the accompanying seed bead projects from the store to show off your inner stitch! ...

Almost every state here in the U.S. has a state flower, state bird, or some other symbol that represents the natural beauty found in that particular part of the country. Did you know that most states also have official, designated state gemstones? I did...

I met a well-known bead designer last year who confessed that she sometimes enjoyed mixing high- and low-end components together--beads from her local craft store with some high-end silver or handcrafted art beads or findings. I admitted to her that I did this, too. Looking back, it's funny how we furtively looked around as we talked in hushed tones, as if we feared we would be found out by the bead police and dragged away....

About 20 years ago I realized I had an unusual fear of power tools. So I decided to stare that monster in the eye and learn how to make furniture. I took a bunch of classes where I conquered wood planers and table saws and all kinds of other beefy machines. I threw down that fear, put my foot on its chest, raised my arms then walked away with a few nice pieces of furniture....