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Native American beadwork has a rich heritage of symbolism through the use of colors, gemstones, and animal totems to tell stories and convey meaning. If you're looking to infuse your beadwork with a few special and meaningful symbols, check out some of these suggestions for including symbolic beads...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 22, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
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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It's true -- pearls never go out of style. Whether you like to do bead stringing or bead stitching, freshwater pearls are an elegant and classic addition to any beaded jewelry design. Pearls come in so many different shapes these days that it's easy to find just the right style to compliment...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 13, 2013
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Pearl
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
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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Of all the jewelry-making supplies out there, my favorite (next to seed beads, of course) has to be wire. I wasn't always a fan of wire wrapping techniques, but once I saw just how versatile it is, I started reading up on my wire wrapping tutorials wherever I could. Wire and beads can be used to...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 12, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, Seed Bead Patterns, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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I recently rekindled my love of the glass druk when I started designing my Hoarder of Beauty necklace using a handful of Czech glass gumdrop beads. As I was designing the individual components that went into the finished design, someone suggested that I use bicones. I knew I didn't have enough bicones...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 1, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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A small, flat peyote strip doesn't have to be uninteresting -- there are so many different ways that a strip of peyote stitch can be used! Try this free beading project for an easy peyote stitch bail for use with a crystal pendant or a gemstone donut. String it on your favorite ribbon for a fast...
Posted to
Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 29, 2013
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Filed under: Bead-weaving, Crystals, Beading Tools, Peyote Stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Bead Crafts, Jewelry Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Necklace Making
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Although lately I've been incorporating more and more glass beads into my bead-weaving projects, when I first started learning how to bead, I used lots and lots of gemstone beads in my designs. There's something about the look of gemstones in bead-weaving designs that still appeals to me. Maybe...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 25, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Lapidary, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 22, 2013
Filed under:
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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Continuing with your beaded jewelry design project, now that you've made herringbone stitch bezels for the beads, we're going to make the base to which they'll all be attached using right-angle weave. The base I like to use when making these beaded necklaces is a "v" shape that...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 27, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Warning: Long Story Alert. Last winter, my husband and I took a parenting class with our son's preschool teacher. One evening during class, I started noticing the patterns on the beautiful purple shirt worn by the teacher, and of course, my beady brain got to thinking about how I could re-create...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 25, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, 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
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In case I haven't mentioned it lately, I'm addicted to cabochons. If you take a look through my bead stash, you'll find drawers and drawers full of them -- gemstone cabochons, handmade ceramic and porcelain cabochons, even vintage Lucite cabochons and cabochons made from things like resin...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 22, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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I can't imagine a better way to learn about making wire jewelry than with a few fast and fabulous earring making projects. The best part about making earrings with wire is that you don't need a lot of beads, and you don't need to be a wire expert to create fun, flirty little earrings! Earring...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 4, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Earring Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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A few years ago, I landed a teaching gig at a large gem and mineral show in western New York. As I walked the floor after my classes, I marveled at how many different gemstone beads were available. It seemed like there were gemstones for every color, every price range, and every shape that a beader could...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 1, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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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,...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 12, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Chain Maille, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, Steampunk Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Jewelry Stringing Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry