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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...
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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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Kelli Burns' Tuscan Tiles bracelet is a beautiful, stylish way to use copper bugle beads. When I first started learning how to bead, I only thought of using bugle beads as fringe for the dozens of peyote stitch amulet bags that I made. Later, I started experimenting with using bugle beads for things...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 3, 2013
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bracelet Making, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Warning: Long Story Alert. Last winter, my husband and I took a parenting class with our son's preschool teacher. One evening during class, I started noticing the patterns on the beautiful purple shirt worn by the teacher, and of course, my beady brain got to thinking about how I could re-create...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 25, 2013
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, 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
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In case I haven't mentioned it lately, I'm addicted to cabochons. If you take a look through my bead stash, you'll find drawers and drawers full of them -- gemstone cabochons, handmade ceramic and porcelain cabochons, even vintage Lucite cabochons and cabochons made from things like resin...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 22, 2013
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Brick stitch , as I've said before, will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first bead-weaving stitch that I felt I had truly mastered, and for a very long time, I used it for all of my beaded amulet bags and most of my beaded jewelry designs. These days, I mostly use it for edgings...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 26, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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If I had to choose one thing that I love about creating my own beaded jewelry designs, it would be the unlimited possibilities that are presented to me every time I sit down with my sketchbook and my beads. Really, I can't think of another jewelry-making medium that allows for such expression of...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 21, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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Silly me. All through high school and college, I thought that jewelry making with materials like fiber, clay, fabric, and paper was just a fun way to make jewelry. Little did I know that it's actually mixed media jewelry, and when I need to stretch my creative muscles a little bit, it's the perfect...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Oct 26, 2012
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Filed under: Chain Maille, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Last weekend, I started a new necklace making project using a huge crystal stone and an antique Chinese carving I bought from the FamilyonBikes Etsy shop. Designing the focal point of the necklace was structurally challenging, but I had a clear vision in my mind of how I wanted it to look. Making the...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Sep 21, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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One of my long-standing obsessions is using found objects in my beaded necklace and beaded bracelet designs. When I inherited a portion of my mother's old jewelry after she passed away in 2008, I started thinking about ways I could use them in new mixed-media jewelry projects, both as a way to honor...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 1, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Steampunk Jewelry, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bracelet Making, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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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
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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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I don't often wear bracelets, but I love a good bracelet making project. One of my favorite techniques for bracelet making is bead embroidery using lots of different types of beads and cabochons in all sizes! I used to be of the opinion that bigger was better when it came to bead embroidered bracelet...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 11, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bracelet Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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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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There are a few reasons why you might want to make an open-backed bezel with peyote stitch for a cabochon. An open-backed peyote stitch bezel is great for a transparent cabochon when you don't want to glue it to a backing. Or if you have a cabochon with a thick edge that might not work well with...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Sep 20, 2011
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Brick Stitch, 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
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I had an idea once for a piece of beaded jewelry. It was based on a piece that I had seen in an online auction catalog from one of the big auction houses, and it was a gorgeous diamond and enamel necklace from the early part of the twentieth century. It didn't look too hard to re-create using Swarovski...
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Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 30, 2011
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Filed under: Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Crystals, Beading Tools, Peyote Stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Jewelry Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beaded Jewelry, Mixed Media Jewelry
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In the beginning, there were seed beads. And the seed beads were good. As a matter of fact, the seed beads were great. And they were numerous - so many colors and finishes and sizes of seed beads to choose from! A new beader (me) quickly fell to the spell of all these wonderful seed beads and bead weaving...
Posted to
Beading Supplies We Love
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 23, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Peyote Stitch, Crystals, Beading Tools, Bead-weaving, Bead Embroidery, Seed Bead Patterns, How to Bead, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, mixed media jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Bracelet Making, Beaded Jewelry