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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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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...
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Beading Instructions
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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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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...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 27, 2013
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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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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...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 4, 2013
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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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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
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 12, 2012
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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
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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
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 26, 2012
Filed under:
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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 27, 2012
Filed under:
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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When it's a pearl, amber, or coral! Beads, cabochons and jewelry-making components made of these materials are generally classified as gemstones, but there are some important differences between a true gemstone and a pearl, amber, or coral. Pearls, amber, and coral are all natural materials, but...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 18, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Bead Making, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Gemstone 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
Daily Blogs
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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While I was in Tucson, I had the pleasure of meeting Becky Nunn of Nunn Design and after I got home, she sent me a little sample of some of their newest products, including these awesome channel beads. The channel beads were meant to be used with resin and some of their beautiful collage sheets, but...
Posted to
Beading Supplies We Love
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 11, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Peyote Stitch, Crystals, Beading Tools, Bead-weaving, Gemstones, How to Bead, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads
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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
Daily Blogs
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 have trust issues with the cabochons I use in my bead embroidery. The first time I tried to use cabochons in my bead embroidery, I just glued them to the bead embroidery backing and started stitching around them. To my surprise and dismay, those cabochons started to peel right off the bead embroidery...
Posted to
Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 5, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Peyote Stitch, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Stringing, Beads, Beaded Jewelry, Mixed Media Jewelry
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Beautiful, artistic freeform peyote stitch! It seems that when it comes to freeform peyote stitch , there are two main schools of thought. The first is that this beadweaving technique is a fabulous, artistic and creative use of peyote stitch on a whole new artistic level. The other school of thought...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jan 8, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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These easy wire wrapped beads make great spacers with more antique trade beads or more organic gemstone beads. Being sort of a newcomer to wire work and wire jewelry-making, I have always admired those folks who can take a piece of wire and bend it (like magic!) to transform it into a bead or jewelry...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 27, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Bead Crafts, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Don't get me wrong - I love technology. I love being able to subscribe to my favorite beading magazine and have my issues delivered to my iPad, and I love being able to download movies, music and books without having to wait for the mailman to deliver them. But when it comes to certain things, I...
Posted to
Beading Supplies We Love
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 21, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Crystals, Beading Tools, Bead-weaving, Seed Bead Patterns, Gemstones, Stringing, How to Bead, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads