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On my recent trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia, I made a trip across the river to southern New Jersey, where I got to meet up with the fabulous Amy Blevins and see her gorgeous bead shop, Bead & Glass Boutique . When I travel, I like to seek out small, independent bead shops and do a little shopping...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 27, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Polymer Clay Beads, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making
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I've really been getting into working with easy wire wrapping projects lately, and these two blank metal cuff bracelets from this month's A Grain of Sand Bead Hoard Curiosities Club just spoke to me as soon as I saw them. They wanted me to wrap them with wire and beads to make a couple of fun...
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Beading Instructions
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 8, 2012
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Filed under: Wire Jewelry, Seed Bead Patterns, Beading Tools, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Gemstones, Bead Crafts, Wire Wrapping, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads
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When it comes to versatility in bead-weaving stitches , you can't beat herringbone stitch. I can't think of another beading stitch that offers so much variation! The thread path of herringbone stitch (also called Ndebele stitch because of its origins in the beadwork of the South African Ndebele...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 25, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Herringbone Stitch, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Bracelet Making, Necklace Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I've been doing a lot of wire jewelry making projects lately, thanks in no small part to my ever-improving wire jewelry making skills. I've discovered that just knowing how to make simple loops, wrapped loops, and jump rings can translate into a whole wire jewelry project! So after seeing some...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 23, 2012
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Filed under: Chain Maille, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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If you haven't seen it yet, there is some serious beady eye candy over at the Battle of the Beadsmith group on Facebook. Eighty beaders from around the world were selected to compete, and the finished beaded necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and accessories are just amazing! As I was looking at all...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 17, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Necklace Making, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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The versatility of right-angle weave never ceases to amaze me. I can think of at least a dozen ways to embellish a single strip of this fabulous bead-weaving stitch . You can shape it without making complicated increases and decreases and just changing up the size of your beads. It can be used to create...
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 6, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, 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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I love participating in bead swaps! I've already participated in three of Lori Anderson's fun Bead Soup Blog Parties, and I follow her and a couple of her beading groups out on Facebook. So when she asked for sign-ups for a Pantone Spring Color Bead Swap, I made sure to throw my hat into the...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 11, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Yes, I'm one of those people who sees a seed bead pattern in a magazine and just has to make it right away. No, there's no waiting around to place a bead order or head up to my local bead shop to see if they have the exact beads that are called for in the pattern. When I gotta bead, I gotta bead...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 29, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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Triangulations by Kathie Khaladkar Crystal beads are everywhere these days! When I was at the Tucson bead shows earlier this year, you couldn't turn around without seeing some glitz and glam, and walls and walls of sparkling crystal beads. Truthfully, I was not a huge fan of crystal beads when I...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 3, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Herringbone Stitch, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I've always joked with my friends that if this whole beading thing doesn't work out, I'm going to pursue my other passion and open a gourmet vegetarian restaurant. At home, if I'm not playing with my beads, I'm in the kitchen cooking up something yummy for my family. So naturally...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 29, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I have trust issues with the cabochons I use in my bead embroidery. The first time I tried to use cabochons in my bead embroidery, I just glued them to the bead embroidery backing and started stitching around them. To my surprise and dismay, those cabochons started to peel right off the bead embroidery...
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Beading Instructions
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 5, 2012
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Filed under: Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Peyote Stitch, Bead Making, How to Bead, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Stringing, Beads, Beaded Jewelry, Mixed Media Jewelry
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Hello, my name is Jennifer VanBenschoten, and I am a cabochon addict. I admitted that fact years ago, although I'm not sure how much it's helped me. My cabochon collection seems to be growing exponentially every year with no end in sight. As long as I keep coming across gorgeous hand-cut gemstone...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Mar 4, 2012
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Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Mixed Media Jewelry, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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So, I have to admit it: I can't get enough of Downton Abbey. I'd seen a couple of blurbs about it, so when it popped up on my Netflix recommendations, I thought, why not? I was hooked after watching the first episode. Set at the turn of the last century in an English country manor, I found myself...
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Growing up, two of my best friends were Chinese girls who had spent several years living in India before coming to the United States. Through them, I learned so much about Chinese culture (and cooking - yum!) that I fell in love with everything about China. I've read many books about Chinese history...
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Beautiful, artistic freeform peyote stitch! It seems that when it comes to freeform peyote stitch , there are two main schools of thought. The first is that this beadweaving technique is a fabulous, artistic and creative use of peyote stitch on a whole new artistic level. The other school of thought...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jan 8, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Peyote stitch, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making