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Hands down, my favorite type of seed bead is a shiny, metallic one. I just love the way they resemble hammered metal when they're stitched together, and they provide such a nice contrast to matte seed beads. Back in the day, I bought all kinds of these metallic seed beads, even though I'd been...
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While there is definitely something magical about the look of crystals, my personal style means that I prefer to have crystals play a supporting role, instead of the lead, in most of my beading projects. The good news is that even when crystals take a backseat to other kinds of beads, they can still...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 17, 2013
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Filed under: Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bracelet Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I blame it all on Beadwork magazine Designer of the Year Jill Wiseman. Jill is infamous for getting hundreds of beaders hooked on doing kumihimo with beads through her amazing and easy-to-follow classes at big bead shows like Bead Fest Philadelphia. Above: Jill Wiseman gets me hooked on kumihimo. Below...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 14, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Kumihimo, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Have you ever made a breathtakingly beautiful piece of beaded jewelry from a set of instructions and been inspired to create your own beaded jewelry designs? It might seem overwhelming at first, but chances are, if you have the skills necessary to make a piece of complex beaded jewelry from a seed bead...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 12, 2013
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Filed under: Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, 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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When it comes to substituting one type of bead for another, you'll quickly find out that not all seed beads have been created equal. This is especially true with the dozens of new shapes and types of seed beads available to beaders around the world, including Tilas, Czechmates, Twins, SuperDuos,...
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Once upon a time, in the middle of a long Adirondack winter, a lonely beader found that she needed a project to keep her occupied while she searched for a job. On a whim, she opened up her old copy of the "White Russian" beading book, and decided to challenge herself with a double-needle right...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 10, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Bracelet Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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Pinks and purples are among my favorite colors, so when I heard a podcast recently about "sheer rose" being the hot color of 2013, my ears pricked up. The podcast was from Planet Money , a radio program about what's going on in the global economy, so I wasn't expecting to be hearing...
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More and more beaders are keeping some kind of photographic journal to document their work on seed bead patterns and beading projects. Are you one of them? I know lots of professional designers who keep a photographic journal of their seed bead patterns as they design and create them, including photos...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 27, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Earring Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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It's that time of year again -- I can't believe that summer is back already! Pretty soon, I'll be packing my bags and hitting the road for places like Bead Fest Philadelphia, a couple of trips down to do some serious bead shopping in New York City, and ending my summer travels with a trip...
Posted to
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 20, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, 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...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 17, 2013
Filed under:
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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One of the many things that I love about my job is when I get to see new beading products before they're available to the general public. My friend Sunyoung Park of Ezel Findings made my day last week when she sent me their latest innovative beading and jewelry-making product, the Beading Pal. The...
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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
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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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Wearing my Battle of the Beadsmith piece at last year's Bead Fest Philadelphia with friends. In the last few years, I've seen more and more emerging bead artists who are pushing the envelope with their beautifully over-the-top beaded necklaces. That's part of the beauty of necklace making...
Posted to
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by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 8, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Whenever I teach a beadweaving class, my students always want to know: what was the first beadweaving stitch you learned? (Followed closely by: which beadweaving stitch is the easiest and best stitch to learn?) It only took me a few hours to make my very first peyote stitch amulet bag, but it took me...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 3, 2013
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Filed under: Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then is an empty desk a sign?" ~Albert Einstein When I've run out of storage bags for my UFOs, it's time to start finishing my beading projects. I think Einstein was on to something when he said that. When it comes to seed...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 1, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Earring Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily