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Andrew Thornton is a fine artist who resides in western Pennsylvania. As a well-known jewelry artist and now the owner of the fine art and craft gallery, Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pennsylvania , Andrew Thornton has a unique perspective to share with anyone who wants to get into the jewelry business...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 31, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Lapidary, Jewelry Business, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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There's always something to learn, isn't there? Even though you've been beading for decades, you can still learn a little something about your craft. And that little something might be about simply threading a needle. I've been giving tips about needle-threading to my students for a long...
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The key to making successful steampunk jewelry, it seems, is all in the material that you choose. You can really use any kind of jewelry-making technique to create gorgeous steampunk jewelry, if you know what kinds of beads and components work best to evoke that romantic-industrial feeling that so many...
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
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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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There are lots of reasons to learn a new craft or a new skill by watching a video. It's convenient, for one thing -- you can watch at home, anytime you want to, and you can stop and start the video wherever and whenever you feel like you need to see something demonstrated over again. Our new Craft...
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If I knew now what I didn't know then...that's how I feel about everything that I've learned about earring making since I started beading over thirteen years ago. While I spent my time doodling beaded necklace and bracelet designs in my notebooks throughout college, ideas for beaded earring...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 24, 2013
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Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Bracelet Making, Earring Making, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
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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Are you feeling a little beading challenged lately? I was certainly starting to feel sort of sluggish, like my ideas were all stuck in the same rut. Then my next challenge kit from Beadwork magazine landed on my doorstep, and I decided to look around for other challenges to stretch my creative muscles...
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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
Daily Blogs
by
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...
Posted to
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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I recently made a necklace for the Fall issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine using 24-gauge gunmetal wire. As I was sifting through my box of wires deciding which to use for this project, I realized it might be useful to discuss wires...especially the wires I couldn't bead without. If you're a...
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I got bit by the crafting bug early on. As a child, I watched my mother creating with crochet, knitting, and needlepoint, and some of those designs included beads. Some of those projects were among my first exposure to beading and bead crafts in general -- learning how to add beads to each new craft...
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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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It's true -- pearls never go out of style. Whether you like to do bead stringing or bead stitching, freshwater pearls are an elegant and classic addition to any beaded jewelry design. Pearls come in so many different shapes these days that it's easy to find just the right style to compliment...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 13, 2013
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Pearl
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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
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 10, 2013
Filed under:
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