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Lillypilly now offers a large selection of fine gauge copper sheets, perfect for mixed media jewelry making projects! The fine gauge copper sheets are available with both patina and embossed patterns on them. It's easy to stitch through the copper sheets using wire or traditional quilting threads...
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Beading Supplies We Love
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 31, 2012
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Filed under: Beading Tools, Bead Embroidery, Gemstones, Stringing, How to Bead, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Bead Crafts, mixed media jewelry, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Necklace Making, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Bracelet Making, Beaded Jewelry
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Have you ever learned a new beading technique that just sent you over the edge, creatively? Ever since I learned how to do kumihimo at Bead Fest Philadelphia this year, my brain has been on creative overload with all kinds of ideas for using this fast and fabulous Japanese braiding technique to make...
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Daily Blogs
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Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 29, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, Stringing, Wire Jewelry, How To Bead, Seed Bead Patterns, Bead-weaving, Kumihimo, Bead Crafts, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily
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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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Daily Blogs
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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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Anyone who knows me also knows that I'm addicted to cabochons. I don't know why I'm fascinated by them, but I am. The idea that you can take a jewelry making component without any holes, like a cabochon, and turn it into a piece of jewelry using bead-weaving and wire wrapping is still amazing...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Aug 20, 2012
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Filed under: Chain Maille, Gemstones, Bead Making, Glass Beads, Wire Jewelry, Wire Wrapping, How To Bead, Beading Tools, Mixed Media Jewelry, Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine, Bead Crafts, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Beaded Jewelry
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I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Colorado, today we are having our first taste of fall. It's 20 to 30 degrees cooler than it's been in months. The sky is overcast. And I'm starting to think about trading my summer skirts and sleeveless tops for cardigans and boots...
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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
by
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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Daily Blogs
by
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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Daily Blogs
by
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
by
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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Daily Blogs
by
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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When it's a pearl, amber, or coral! Beads, cabochons and jewelry-making components made of these materials are generally classified as gemstones, but there are some important differences between a true gemstone and a pearl, amber, or coral. Pearls, amber, and coral are all natural materials, but...
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Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 18, 2012
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Filed under: Gemstones, Pearls, Bead Making, How To Bead, Bead-weaving, Beading Tools, Beads, Jewelry Making, Beading Daily, Gemstone 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
by
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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I really do have the best friends in the world. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a huge box, full of antique jewelry that had belonged to her late stepfather's first wife. Before I go into detail about the jewelry, I want to tell you a little bit about her stepfather. Joe was what...
Posted to
Beading Instructions
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
Jun 5, 2012
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Filed under: Wire Jewelry, Crystals, Pearls, Beaded Beads, Bead Making, How to Bead, Gemstones, Glass Beads, Jewelry Making, Beaded Jewelry Design, Beads, Earring Making
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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...
Posted to
Daily Blogs
by
Jennifer VanBenschoten
on
May 29, 2012
Filed under:
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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Almost every state here in the U.S. has a state flower, state bird, or some other symbol that represents the natural beauty found in that particular part of the country. Did you know that most states also have official, designated state gemstones? I did a little research and came up with five of my favorite...