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I've just unpacked my bags after spending several days at the Tucson Gem and Mineral shows, shopping, trend-trolling, visiting friends and associates, and soaking in a little sun. Whew! What a great trip. Since I hadn't been to the shows in a few years, this visit was especially fun. I got lost...
Posted to
Inside Beadwork Magazine
by
Jean Campbell
on
Feb 9, 2013
Filed under:
Filed under: Crystals, Stringing, Bead-weaving, Native American Beadwork, Bead Making, Wire Jewelry, Bead Crochet, Beads, Beading Daily, How to Bead
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Being a history geek, I love to know the whole story behind how things came to be, including many of my favorite bead-weaving stitches. Many of these stitches developed independently all over the world throughout the history of the human race, but chances are, if you do bead-weaving, you're using...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 23, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Bead Making, Brick Stitch, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beads, Beading Daily
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From beaded bags to full-size headdresses, the tribal-inspired trend dominated fashion blogs and retail catalogs last summer and has continued into fall. Just one fashionable beaded bracelet can be the perfect accent to that earth-toned outfit for an easy weekend look. Or, pair a colorful necklace with...
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There's no doubt that for many of us, beading is a spiritual practice. For the Native Americans of North America, beads and jewelry were a particularly important part of their spiritual beliefs, and with the introduction of seed beads and smaller beads used to add embellishment to ritual objects...
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I've been in love with my Mirrix beading loom ever since I took it out of the box back in 2009. It's a well-built, sturdy, and easy-to-use bead loom that can also be used for tapestry weaving. The other thing I love about Mirrix Looms is their website and blogs, which are full of great instructions...
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When I was learning how to bead, I made loads of mistakes. Nobody's perfect, right? And that goes double for me, especially when it comes to my beading. Now that I've been beading for many, many years, I'd like to say that I make fewer mistakes. I'd like to say that, but I can't....
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Apr 19, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Bead Crochet, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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Do you love to do beadweaving on a loom? Mirrix Looms are hands down my favorite beading loom to work on when I'm doing loomed beadwork, and now Mirrix Looms has started their Social Market for a Mirrix program again! In case you haven't heard about it before, here's how it works: Mirrix...
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Our friends Claudia and Elena over at Mirrix Looms have a wonderful challenge for anyone who loves to use their beading loom during National Craft Month! Between March 1 and March 31, make as many loom beaded bracelets as you can using your Mirrix beading loom. At the end of the month, take a picture...
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Some of the first beadwork I can remember seeing as a child was Native American beadwork in the collections of our local natural history museum. I was totally captivated by the bright colors of the beads and the intricate patterns that were formed on the buckskin dresses and moccasins in the display...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Feb 5, 2012
Filed under:
Filed under: Bead Embroidery, Peyote stitch, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Beading Daily
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Dec 4, 2011
Filed under:
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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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Nov 10, 2011
Filed under:
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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The Little Guy 12" beading and tapestry loom by Mirrix Looms is a great gift for yourself or for someone else! My first beading loom was one of those "Native American" beading looms that I got for five dollars from a big box craft store when I was in high school. It was how I learned to...
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My Victorian Infinity Necklace was inspired by an antique seed pearl necklace. I can remember how much I loved trying on my mother's and my grandmother's jewelry when I was a little girl. (I think most little girls love to do that, right?) But my fascination with vintage and antique jewelry continued...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 2, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Pearls, Crystals, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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When our basement flooded, my beads sought refuge on top of the radiator! My beads are in need of a really good re-organization, and I'm sure that you'll agree after you read this! For years, I've been accumulating beads and findings and fibers and components, and I've always organized...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jul 28, 2011
Filed under:
Filed under: Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Glass Beads, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Native American beadwork, Bead-weaving, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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I don't know about anyone else, but when I make a piece of beadwork I usually spend a lot of hours on it. There's the design process itself, which can take lots of time and require many sketches. I take the time to make sure that my thread tails are woven in and trimmed so that they don't...