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I have to say, since I've been receiving my monthly shipments of vintage beads and jewelry making components from A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club , I really look forward to seeing what's in each month's box. I love the challenge of designing beaded jewelry with the vintage...
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Beading Supplies We Love
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 9, 2012
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Filed under: Wire Wrapping, Wire Jewelry, Crystals, Beading Tools, How to Bead, Glass Beads, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, mixed media jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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I've really been getting into working with easy wire wrapping projects lately, and these two blank metal cuff bracelets from this month's A Grain of Sand Bead Hoard Curiosities Club just spoke to me as soon as I saw them. They wanted me to wrap them with wire and beads to make a couple of fun...
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Beading Instructions
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 8, 2012
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Filed under: Wire Jewelry, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Gemstones, Bead Crafts, Wire Wrapping, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads
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When I'm working on a necklace making project for myself, I have to pay attention to the length of the finished necklace. I recently realized that I have quite a long neck for someone who is so short, so when I wear very long necklaces (like lariats or opera-length pearls), I sort of look like a...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 20, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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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...
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Daily Blogs
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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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This month's little box from A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club was full of fun -- and very useful! -- vintage beads. I've always loved metallic vintage beads, and this month's hoard was full of beautiful metal and metallic vintage beads, as well as some very cool metal jewelry...
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Beading Supplies We Love
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 14, 2012
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Filed under: Peyote Stitch, Beading Tools, Bead-weaving, Herringbone Stitch, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Necklace Making, Jewelry Making
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An important part of learning how to bead is learning which jewelry making findings will be most useful to you when it comes to making beaded jewelry that will last. I am always amazed at how the selection of jewelry findings at my local craft store has grown exponentially over the years, and I'm...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 13, 2012
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Filed under: Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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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...
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Daily Blogs
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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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Learning how to swim is like learning a new jewelry making skill. You dip your toes in the water, then your foot, then you wade in until you're knee-deep. By the time the water is up to your shoulders, you realize you might just be in over your head! And while my own wire jewelry making skills have...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 29, 2012
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Filed under: Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Making an open-backed bezel for a cabochon has certain advantages over making one using bead embroidery techniques. If you're using a transparent or translucent cabochon, stitching an open-backed bezel for it will allow light to pass through it and make it brighter. Or when using a transparent cabochon...
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Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 16, 2012
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Filed under: Brick Stitch, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Crystals, Beading Tools, Peyote Stitch, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Embroidery, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beaded Jewelry, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Bracelet Making
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Right-angle weave is one of those love-it-or-hate-it beading stitches, I think, based on what I've seen from fellow beaders, and even from my own experiences designing beadwork. But right-angle weave definitely has its advantages when it comes to creating durable and beautiful beaded jewelry, and...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 15, 2012
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Filed under: Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Bracelet Making, Necklace Making, 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...
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Daily Blogs
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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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Although I've tried my hand at bead making using polymer clay, I've never considered myself to be particularly good at it. Especially after seeing a friend of mine who created an entire Lord of the Rings chess set out of polymer clay -- I just don't need that kind of intimidation while I'm...
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If you loved the Mashed Up Hearts project over on our Beading Daily blog, here's a cool variation made to resemble ceramic Raku! Read on to find out how you can win a free kit including a package of Premo! Sculpey clay and the glitters used to create the original version of this free polymer clay...
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Jean Campbell is the founding editor of Beading Daily. From Jennifer: Steampunk is one jewelry-making trend that is not going away anytime soon! And for good reason, too - it's all too easy to get wrapped up in the romantic, funky findings and materials that are used to create steampunk jewelry....
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jan 29, 2012
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Filed under: Pearls, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, Steampunk Jewelry, How To Bead, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Some of the more unusual beads I found at City Beads in New York City . Looking more like a high-end fashion boutique than a well-stocked bead shop, City Beads was an unexpected but delightful stop on my recent New York City shopping trip. For those of us who love to use Swarovski components, some of...