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I found myself uncharacteristically bah-humbuggy when the holidays started revving up this year. I think it all started when I went to the hardware store in October. "Christmas music. Really? Here? Among the plungers and scroll saws? Grr. Aren't there more important things in the world to focus...
Posted to
Inside Beadwork Magazine
by
Jean Campbell
on
Dec 20, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Crystals, bead crafts, Bead-weaving, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Earring Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily, How to Bead
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I need another beading tool like I need a hole in the head, right? But a couple of weeks ago, I caved in and bought one of the new Big Kick machines from Vintaj, with the idea that I would make some lovely embossed brass pieces for earring making projects. Little did I know that playing with this machine...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 7, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Lately I've been playing around with combining wire and seed beads in my jewelry designs and found this quick, affordable, and nontoxic way to color sterling silver wire and findings. I used to mix up batches of liver of sulfur to oxidize, but that's literally a stinky process that takes longer...
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There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to in the New Year, but at the top of my list is the return of Downton Abbey (here in the U.S. it's on PBS). I'd almost be willing to bypass the rest of the holidays altogether for the first day of season 3 to be here (almost). I must admit I'm...
Posted to
Inside Beadwork Magazine
by
Kate Wilson
on
Nov 22, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Crystals, Bead-weaving, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Pearls, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Chain Maille, Earring Making, Beads, Beading Daily, How to Bead
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With so many recent styles pointing back toward yesteryears, it's no surprise that gold has hit it big as a primary metal in contemporary jewelry designs. I used to think of it as the metal of my mother's generation, but I've recently caught the fever and want everything I wear to be gold...
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Not too long ago, Tammy Jones wrote a great blog over on Jewelry Making Daily about five essential jewelry making techniques for jewelry artists . And it got me thinking -- while my primary interest for jewelry making still remains with my beloved seed beads, there are so many great new jewelry making...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 16, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Chain Maille, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Lapidary, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Who would ever have thought that I would become so enamored of working with wire? Certainly not me! Wire always seemed to be such an intimidating medium for jewelry-making, and wire jewelry was always something that I admired on other people, but never really felt comfortable making on my own. Well....
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 11, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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When I was a kid, I was interested in making jewelry out of anything and everything. Some of my first handmade jewelry projects were made from not beads, but pieces of thick watercolor paper that I had cut into shapes, painted and sealed, and then glued together! Back then, we just called them paper...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 8, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making, 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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 29, 2012
Filed under:
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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For National Craft Month, I thought I would participate in the Fusion Beads 30 Day National Craft Month Challenge. The Day 1 challenge was, of course, to make a pair of earrings! And I just happened to have a pair of these lovely 14mm Swarovski crystal stones that were just begging to be made into a...
Posted to
Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 2, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Wire Jewelry, Seed Bead Patterns, Herringbone Stitch, Bead-weaving, Crystals, Beading Tools, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beaded Jewelry, Mixed Media Jewelry, Earring Making
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Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of working with wire (except for the projects I made from Rachel Nelson Smith's fabulous book, Seed Bead Fusion .) But sometimes it pays to know your way around a set of wire-working tools, especially when you want to make a quick pair of earrings...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 9, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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If you've been making jewelry for a while, you're ready to expand your skills. For many beaders and stringers, that means moving into the realm of making wire jewelry . I know wire can feel a little daunting—I vividly recall my first class. You bend it which way? But remember when you first...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Denise Peck
on
May 1, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Chain Maille, Beaded Beads, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Bracelet Making, Earring Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Happy endings— Oh no! It’s (insert impending occasion) . . . and I still haven’t made a gift yet! That thought used to send panic through my veins, but not lately. I can whip up some earrings pretty instantly now, and I have a secret ingredient that makes even simple earrings look extra...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Leslie Rogalski
on
May 2, 2010
Filed under:
Filed under: Chain Maille, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Earring Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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It’s not only a new year, but a new decade ! Can you believe it? Just think about what you were doing ten years ago. I was the editor of Beadwork magazine with a toddler toddling about, a wild-man kindergartner, a husband getting his umpteenth degree, and a really bad hairdo. Now I look at my deep...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jean Campbell
on
Jan 6, 2010
Filed under:
Filed under: Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Earring Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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A Quick Guide to Wire Gauge and Hardness Chances are, if you've been making jewelry for a while, you're feeling ready to expand your skills. For many beaders and stringers, that means moving into the realm of wire. But I know wire can feel a little daunting—I vividly recall my first class...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Leslie Rogalski
on
Oct 19, 2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Chain Maille, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Earring Making, Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily