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Why should you learn about beadmaking? Even if you only ever do bead-weaving (or think that you'll only ever do bead-weaving, and nothing else!) knowing a little bit about beadmaking can actually help when you're working on your own beaded jewelry designs, or making a beading project your own...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 17, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I love a good challenge, don't you? How about the challenge of using a cabochon, without a hole, in a piece of beaded jewelry? When I was learning how to bead, I was thrilled to find out that I didn't need to know metal smithing techniques to include my favorite gemstone cabochons in my beaded...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 10, 2013
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry, Cabochon, Cabachon
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What I'm about to tell you is something that I've never before declared publicly. You may be shocked. You may be appalled. You may even urge me to seek counseling. But it needs to be said, so here it goes: I designed this necklace using just vintage glass stones and vintage glass pearls. No crystals...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 26, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Gemstone Jewelry
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Oh, yes, even though I always seem to have a hard time coming up with designs for beaded earrings, I love to stitch up earring making projects from other talented beading designers! I really can't get enough of them -- earring making projects are great for last-minute gifts, or when I just need a...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 22, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Silly me. All through high school and college, I thought that jewelry making with materials like fiber, clay, fabric, and paper was just a fun way to make jewelry. Little did I know that it's actually mixed media jewelry, and when I need to stretch my creative muscles a little bit, it's the perfect...
Posted to
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 26, 2012
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Filed under: Chain Maille, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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On my recent trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia, I made a trip across the river to southern New Jersey, where I got to meet up with the fabulous Amy Blevins and see her gorgeous bead shop, Bead & Glass Boutique . When I travel, I like to seek out small, independent bead shops and do a little shopping...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 27, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Polymer Clay Beads, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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The versatility of right-angle weave never ceases to amaze me. I can think of at least a dozen ways to embellish a single strip of this fabulous bead-weaving stitch . You can shape it without making complicated increases and decreases and just changing up the size of your beads. It can be used to create...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 6, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Triangulations by Kathie Khaladkar Crystal beads are everywhere these days! When I was at the Tucson bead shows earlier this year, you couldn't turn around without seeing some glitz and glam, and walls and walls of sparkling crystal beads. Truthfully, I was not a huge fan of crystal beads when I...
Posted to
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by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 3, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I think pretty much everyone who learns peyote stitch makes one of "those" bracelets. You know the ones I'm talking about: a wide (or narrow) strip of peyote stitch, usually even-count, with a button clasp on one end. It's probably the one most unattractive piece of peyote stitch jewelry...
Posted to
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by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 10, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Bracelet Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I've always joked with my friends that if this whole beading thing doesn't work out, I'm going to pursue my other passion and open a gourmet vegetarian restaurant. At home, if I'm not playing with my beads, I'm in the kitchen cooking up something yummy for my family. So naturally...
Posted to
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by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 29, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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So, I have to admit it: I can't get enough of Downton Abbey. I'd seen a couple of blurbs about it, so when it popped up on my Netflix recommendations, I thought, why not? I was hooked after watching the first episode. Set at the turn of the last century in an English country manor, I found myself...
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When I first started learning how to bead and was learning basic jewelry-making, I loved earring making. I didn't realize it at the time, but making earrings a great way to learn new beadweaving stitches and jewelry-making techniques. Handmade earring projects are (usually) small and not terribly...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 3, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Brick Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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I admit it - in addition to being a math geek, I'm also a history geek, particularly when it comes to the history of self-adornment and fashion. For me, knowing the history of a particular custom or fashion makes creating my own beaded necklaces that much more meaningful. For some reason, I've...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 16, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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My Tallulah's Pearls necklace reflects the classic look of fine freshwater pearls. For hundreds of years, the only people who wore pearls were royalty and nobles, and later, the fabulously wealthy who could afford them. Today, the good news is that you don't have to spend a small fortune to get...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 13, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Pearl
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One of the challenges of working with handmade focal beads and cabochons is picking out which beads will go with it to create a harmonious color palette. There needs to be a balance between the main colors in the focal bead or cabochon and the accent colors in order for the piece to work. (And believe...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 30, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making