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I use many different types of journals as sketchbooks to keep track of my jewelry designs. Probably one of the most important supplies I keep around for my beaded jewelry-making projects is my sketchbook. Through the years, I've had several different types of sketchbook, all of which I quickly fill...
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The Citrine beads in Amber Leaves and Flowers by Susan Price Johnston will help encourage new creative thoughts. Gemstone beads have always appealed to me. It must be something about all those geology classes I took in college - at least they were good for something, right? Knowing what I do about the...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 13, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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These are some of my favorite beaded earrings from the earring making challenge I did in January of 2011. I can hardly believe that it's almost 2012! This year just flew by, which is, of course, what I say every year at this time. Over the years, I've noticed that making beaded earrings is not...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 11, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Bracelet Making, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I got to go bead shopping with the fabulous Lisa Peters Russ of Lisa Peters Art! How much fun is THAT? On the second day of my recent trip to New York City, my friends and I went into Manhattan to do some bead shopping between Fifth and Seventh Avenues. If you've ever been to Manhattan's fashion...
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Me, my two friends, and all those beads at Beads on Fifth in Manhattan! Some of you may remember that a couple of weekends ago, I decided to take a little break and do some bead shopping in New York City with my friends. Each bead shop that I went to had its own unique selection of beads, findings and...
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In case you haven't seen the latest innovative bead to come out of the Czech Republic, let me introduce you. Dear Reader, please meet the new Twin seed bead from Preciosa Ornela. These lovely little seed beads are slightly longer and wider than a regular seed bead, and for good reason: they have...
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From Jennifer: Studying geology in college is definitely an advantage when it comes time for me to choose and buy my gemstone cabochons for beading. I learned how to identify and classify dozens of different types of rocks, gemstones and minerals, all of which comes in handy when I'm browsing at...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 4, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Crystals, Bead Making, How To Bead, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Lapidary, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Beads, Jewelry Making, Cabachon
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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...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 27, 2011
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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...
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Beading Supplies We Love
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 21, 2011
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Filed under: Crystals, Beading Tools, Bead-weaving, Seed Bead Patterns, Gemstones, Stringing, How to Bead, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads
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If you've ever seen the awesome and inspiring bead embroidery of artists like Sherry Serafini, you might have been inspired to try your hand at this particular beading technique. Unlike other types of off-loom beadweaving, bead embroidery is the stitching of seed beads to a fabric or felt-like backing...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 10, 2011
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beadweaving, Beads, Jewelry Making
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Necklace making is something that has always come easy for me. Even now, I find that my sketchbooks are full of more necklace designs than anything else, and I'm always finding inspiration for new designs everywhere. My process for designing and making a beaded necklace depends on where I get my...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 8, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Bead Crochet, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry, Cabochon
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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...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 3, 2011
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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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My little Mirrix bead and tapestry loom is a far cry from the huge floor loom my mom had when I was a kid, but it makes weaving so much fun! My mom had a floor loom for weaving fibers when I was a kid, and the thing was a monster. I can remember on more than one occasion we had to untangle the unfortunate...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 27, 2011
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Filed under: Gemstones, Crystals, Bead Crochet, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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My finished piece of bead embroidery for Beading For a Cure. A couple of years ago, I sat in my favorite coffee shop one morning looking for something to blog about. Betcey Ventrella of Beyond Beadery suggested that I check out the amazing projects that were about to go up for auction to benefit Beading...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 19, 2011
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads
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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
Filed under:
Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily