Peyote Stitch

Peyote stitch is an off-loom beadweaving technique that is worked with either an even or odd number of beads per row.  Both can be woven to create flat strips, as flat round shapes, spiral or in a tube design.


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  • On New Year's Day I spent hours purging - -closets, cabinets, shelves. I still need to do more, and my studio, especially, is in desperate need of sorting and organizing. The Winter 2012 issue of our sister publication, Studios magazine, caught my
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  • There are great free beading projects to be found online, if you know where to look. In addition to the hundreds of great free beading projects you can find here on Beading Daily , we have a new sister site, Stitch Craft Create , where you can find hundreds
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  • Today is the last day that you will be able to share your opinions with us by taking the Jewelry Stringing survey! Simply click on the image or link below, select an answer to each of our 15 questions, and click "Done". http://bit.ly/StringingSurvey
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  • This weekend, January 25-27, 2013, are the signups for Lori Anderson's 7th Bead Soup Blog Party ! If you're a bead blogger and have never participated in one of Lori's Bead Soup Blog Parties, this is the time to sign up: there will only be
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  • Some of you might remember Cynthia Newcomer Daniel from last summer when I showed off her amazing beaded necklace entry in the Battle of the Beadsmith. I admire the way Cynthia makes those little seed beads of hers do the most amazing things like mimicking
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  • Though not technically a "beading tool," my photocopier has quickly become my new best friend. Who would have ever thought that this dusty old thing would be able to save me hours of design time and up to weeks of beading? When working up the
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  • Every year, a few of us on the Jewelry Stringing and Beadwork staff get to go to the bead and gem shows in Tucson, Arizona. Our mission: 1.) To discover new beads and findings to share with our readers and 2.) To meet and talk face-to-face with some of
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  • This year, I'm working on some necklace making makeovers using a stash of vintage and antique jewelry that was given to me by a very dear friend from Los Angeles. Many of my original beaded jewelry designs are inspired by vintage and antique jewelry
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  • Are you ready to put your wire wrapping skills to the test? This fantastic Gypsy Wire Bangle by Janice Berkebile is just the thing for you! It takes a little bit of practice to get your wire coils perfectly even, but it's worth it if the result is
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  • This morning I've been watching coverage of the pageantry of the Presidential Inauguration. The commentators pointed out that Michelle Obama has been the most closely followed first lady since Jackie Kennedy. Speculation persists on what her gown
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  • We always have a lot of fun putting together each issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine--we want to make sure you are having just as much fun reading it! So we've written up a few questions that we hope you will take the time to answer. It's easy
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  • My least favorite part of bead crochet has always been stringing all those seed beads on the thread before I start to crochet. There's just no getting around it -- no matter what I try, it always feels like a chore to me. Thankfully, bead crochet
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  • My son has tried to get me hooked on the show Breaking Bad ever since it appeared on Netflix. I'm always happy to have a new show to bead by, and since I beaded through a couple seasons of Weeds , he probably thought I'd like it. But after I watched
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  • Maybe one of your New Year's resolutions was to start selling your handmade beaded jewelry, or to increase sales of your handmade jewelry online. Are you thinking about entering juried shows and competitions with your jewelry in 2013? Then you're
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  • The Bead Star contest is back and better than ever! Read more about the contest below, including how you could win an all-expense-paid trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia in August. Find more details at BeadStar.com , then enter to win . Complete rules can
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  • Just as I'm thinking about what I want to do with my beading projects and jewelry-making in 2013, what arrives in my mailbox? The January shipment of A Grain of Sand 's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club ! I can never tell what's going to be in each
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  • There's nothing like 650 grams of free Twin beads to get your creativity going, right? Well, last week, I was notified that I was one of four winners of the Preciosa Ornela Beads for Blog Post promotion, and they sent me a box containing 1,000 grams
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  • In yesterday's Beading Daily , we learned about some basic tools for metal jewelry making from metal jewelry artist and instructor Gwen Fuller Youngblood. Today, we'll see how to use those tools to make a pair of lovely mixed metal earrings! Materials
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  • Metal jewelry artist and instructor Gwen Fuller Youngblood Just like bead-weaving led me to learn how to make my own lampwork glass beads twelve years ago, my jewelry making adventures lately have made me interested in learning how to create my own metal
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  • Even if you've never stamped on metal before, you can make these shimmery earrings in just a few easy steps. Here's what you'll need: Circle pendants or blanks (I used 20.5mm antique silver-plated blanks from FusionBeads.com ) Star or snowflake
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  • Pantone (the voice of authority when it comes to all things color) has announced its 2013 Color of the Year : This rich tone conveys a sense of renewal, regrowth, and regeneration, and is intriguing in its complexity: It is simultaneously lively and sophisticated
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  • We beaders have very distinct patterns of behavior, wouldn't you agree? Sometimes, I catch myself doing something, and I think, gee, only a real beader would do something as crazy as this. Do any of these sound familiar to you? Five Warning Signs
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  • Sometimes I like to wear small simple jewelry that barely kisses my wrists, neck, and ears. But when I want to get glammed up, I turn to bold statement baubles and jewels. Jewelry is the best way to turn that drab dress into a head-turner; and when I
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  • One of the best classes I took last summer at Bead Fest Philadelphia was Easy Kumihimo with Beads, taught by Jill Wiseman. Easy, fun, and wildly addicting, I returned home with a whole bag of kumihimo supplies and project ideas, and I haven't stopped
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  • When I take a beading class, I pay attention to more than just the technique that the teacher is showing me. I always sneak a look to see what kinds of beading tools that teacher has. Because, after all, if you want to bead like a pro, there's more
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  • Well, here we are a full week into the new year. Have you found yourself sticking to any of your new year's resolutions? We recently asked our fans on Facebook to share what their crafty resolutions are for 2013 and here's what they had to say
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  • One of the jewelry trends that has been popping up on my radar lately is the use of raw gemstones in jewelry. Instead of the polished, symmetrical bead shapes that we are used to, jewelry designers are embracing the beauty of the natural world by incorporating
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  • If you're looking to branch out into mixed media jewelry in 2013, bead embroidery is one of the easiest ways to get there! Because bead embroidery is such a versatile and fluid beading technique, it's perfect for anyone who wants to experiment
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  • A few years back I treated myself to a "beadcation." If you haven't done this for yourself yet, I highly recommend it! For my beadcation, I choose a trip to breathtaking San Luis Obispo, California to attend classes at Beads on the Vine
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  • It all happens to us from time to time. Even the best beaders find themselves stuck in a "beading rut". No matter what you do, no matter what you try, you just feel like there's nothing new and exciting to be done with your seed beads, right
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  • The February/March 2013 issue of Beadwork magazine is full of beaded jewelry ideas (24 of them!) and revelations. Inside, you'll discover the awe-inspiring winning entries from our Beaded Bead Contest, plus we announce our new line up of Designers of the Year.
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  • It's a brand-new year, and that means it's time for a brand-new challenge in the February/March issue of Beadwork magazine! This time around, editor Melinda Barta took this fun kit of beads from The Creative Fringe and got her punk on with this
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  • Melissa Grakowsky Shippee is the author of I Can Herringbone Herringbone stitch is one of those bead-weaving stitches that can be made to look completely different in the hands of two different bead artists. It's probably one of the reasons I keep
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  • Who would have thought that you can do so many things with just a spool of wire and a couple of pairs of jewelry-making pliers? Wire jewelry is one of those jewelry-making techniques that you can use to create just about anything, from necklaces and pendants
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  • When you think about selling your handmade jewelry online, the first online marketplace that probably comes to mind is Etsy. But there are lots of great alternatives to Etsy for expanding your jewelry business into the realm of online sales. Goodsmiths
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  • My first attempts at beaded beads weren't exactly pretty. I took some beautifully finished wood beads and proceeded to cover them with some of the ugliest peyote stitch I had ever done! But after making a few of those monstrosities, I started to think
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  • Yep. I love vintage jewelry. As a kid, my parents would take me and my sister antique hunting on weekends. We'd drive all over western New Jersey in search of antique radios, clocks, watches, and even antique needlework like crochet and knitting.
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  • Learn to stitch a beaded snowflake
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  • Tila bracelet by Eva Willis inspired by the beading project by Susan Charrette-Hood, from the Dec. 2012/Jan. 2013 W.O.R.D. section of Beadwork magazine Would you like to see your beaded jewelry appear in the pages of Beadwork magazine? If you've been
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  • Mixed media jewelry making just got a lot more fun for me. Enter my newest jewelry making toy, er, tool: the Vintaj Big Kick embossing machine. A few months ago, my friend Amy Blevins at Bead & Glass Boutique in Pittman, New Jersey announced that
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  • Well, it's our last post before the holidays. The Jewelry Stringing team will be taking next week off in order to celebrate the season with our families and loved ones. For me, this means driving to my parents' home in Wisconsin with my husband
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  • Suzanne Branca is the owner of A Grain of Sand Of all the crystal beads out there in the wide, wide world, I think I love vintage crystal the best. Maybe it's the history behind it -- I'm such a history geek -- or maybe it's the sense that
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  • With this year coming to a close, it's been fun to look back at some of the free projects we've offered on the Beading Daily and Jewelry Stringing blogs. Here's a list of my top 5 favorites: 1. Editorial Director Danielle Fox's stylish
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  • You only have a few more days to submit your jewelry designs for consideration in 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings ! We already have some really inspiring designs coming in, but with 101 brand-new projects to select, we are eager to see any and
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  • Sometimes, when I can't sleep at night, I try to relax by dreaming up new beaded jewelry design ideas. (I'm not the only one who does that, right?) A couple of weeks ago, as I was trying to fall asleep, I thought about what I was going to do with
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  • Edgy Kumihimo Bracelet by Sue Charette-Hood ( Beadwork , October/November 2012) It's almost that time of year again: time to pull out the old tennis shoes and hit the gym, get rid of all the junk food from the past couple of weeks, and vow to cut
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  • Working on the cutting edge of beaded art, bead artist Darcy Horn is now trying to raise funds for her latest large-scale project, The Beaded Body. During a visit to Albuquerque in 1998, she started learning off-loom bead-weaving, and she says she hasn't
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  • Today is dozen-dozen-dozen day, and to celebrate Interweave is offering great savings on tons of products. I invite you to check out the Interweave Store to find beading books, ebooks, patterns, DVDs, and more at 30% to 70% off. Buy these bargains for
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  • I've really been getting into beading with my glass spike beads from York Beads lately. Now that they come in three sizes, there's a whole new range of options out there for anyone who wants to make their bead-weaving a little more fierce! A few
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  • Today is 12.12.12! We're almost halfway through December, and there are less than three weeks left in 2012. I always get a little nostalgic in December, and I usually take some time to meditate and reflect on all the wonderful things that have happened
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  • Some of you might have noticed that we have a new place to find free beading patterns here on Beading Daily! Our new Member Free Beading Project gallery is open, and anyone who offers free beading patterns of their own design on their blog or website
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  • There's a saying in Zen teachings: "In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. But in the expert's mind, there are few." One of the biggest challenges for me as a bead artist, I find, is that I sometimes feel like everything
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  • If you don't have time to give handmade gifts to everyone on your list this year, why not give something that will help those in need? Consider shopping at one of these sites instead of the big box stores and you'll be making a difference in someone's
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  • When it comes to making a character really pop on the silver screen, having the right costume jewelry can be just as important as the clothes that the actor is wearing. There are far too many examples of stunning movie jewelry to discuss in one post,
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  • I need another beading tool like I need a hole in the head, right? But a couple of weeks ago, I caved in and bought one of the new Big Kick machines from Vintaj, with the idea that I would make some lovely embossed brass pieces for earring making projects
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  • Lately I've been playing around with combining wire and seed beads in my jewelry designs and found this quick, affordable, and nontoxic way to color sterling silver wire and findings. I used to mix up batches of liver of sulfur to oxidize, but that's
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  • We spend a lot of time decorating our house for the holidays: lights go up around the front door and all around the big back porch, and we collect evergreen boughs from the woods that are tied together with big, red ribbons. I tend to get a little carried
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  • With 28 necklaces, 22 bracelets, and 30 earrings, the Winter '13 issue is packed full of brand new jewelry designs. For the first time, we have the pleasure of announcing the winners of our annual Bead Star competition in Jewelry Stringing magazine. In this edition, you will get step-by-step instructions
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  • Like many of you, my daughter has a December birthday. I'd like to create a special piece of jewelry incorporating her birthstone so I've gathered a few tips from some very helpful web sites with information on birthstones and gemstones. This
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  • It's funny how learning one jewelry making skill can lead to so many others. When I first got serious about learning how to bead, I was mostly doing stringing and making earrings using head pins and eye pins. Then after my mother gave me a beautiful
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  • Ootheca cuff by Rachel Nelson-Smith It's December 1, and that means it's time to start thinking about all those glittery crystal bead jewelry pieces that we're going to wear for the holidays! True, I don't usually wear a lot of beaded
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  • The Winter '13 issue of Jewelry Stringing hits newsstands in a few days--just in time for the holidays! Giving DIY kits seems to be the trend of this holiday season, so I have decided to choose a design from our upcoming issue and compile my own jewelry
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  • Earlier this year, I started playing with two-part epoxy clay and made some fabulous rings and pendants set with tiny crystal stones. In June, I took at class at York Beads with my bead buddy Betcey Ventrella from Beyond Beadery and got some more inspiration
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  • Seasoned beaders consider their thread like Yo-Yo Ma might his bow, Serena Williams' her racket, or heck, a 14-year-old girl considers her texting keyboard. (You probably know that I'm referring to my own daughter, who is a texting pro...she clocked
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  • This week is an exciting one in the Jewelry Stringing office. We're putting the final touches on our iPad version of the Winter 2013 issue--the first to be available the iPad. It will be available in the Apple Newsstand December 7. We already have
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  • Lexi Erickson is a contributing author to Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. From Jennifer: I love buying gemstones, particularly gemstone cabochons. When I look at a beautiful gemstone cabochon, I feel as though the wonderful natural colors and patterns
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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
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  • Soon enough the holiday parties will be in full swing. For inspiration, I've paired a collection of party dresses with select projects from the winter issue of Jewelry Stringing , which is due to hit newsstands on December 11th. You still have time
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  • Have you checked out the Bargains and Blowouts Sale in the Beading Daily Shop ? If not, there's no better time than now! In fact, throughout the weekend you can save an additional 15% off already marked down flow prices when you use coupon code EXTRA15
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  • The holidays are a busy time for everyone, which is why we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that submissions deadlines for 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings and the Summer '13 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine are right around
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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
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  • There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to in the New Year, but at the top of my list is the return of Downton Abbey (here in the U.S. it's on PBS). I'd almost be willing to bypass the rest of the holidays altogether for the first day
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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
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  • If you love beading for the holidays, you'll love this month's finds in the Bead Hoard Curiosities Club from A Grain of Sand ! So many beautiful beads to play with, I hardly know where to start! Everything seemed to glimmer or sparkle or shine
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  • Lori Anderson, the creator of the original Bead Soup Blog Party, is hosting a blog hop in January 2013 called the Memories and Thanks Blog Hop. Meant to honor someone we cherish -- a mother, a sister, a brother, a friend -- this blog hop is all about
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  • I have been enamored with this lemon topaz ring with its ornate etched motif ever since my Summer catalog arrived from Sundance months ago. Over the weekend, I crafted a simple pendant using the embossed metal technique shown in one of my past blogs here
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  • I was expecting to see great things in the Beadwork magazine 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead contest, but, wow, the creativity of the entries really blew me away! I've always been fascinated with beaded beads, and I was really eager to see how folks
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  • Have you heard of wine of the month clubs? Frankly, I never saw the appeal; but in the last year a handful of companies have launched a new take on monthly subscription boxes that I can get on board with. Companies like For The Makers , Whimseybox , and
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  • Who among us can resist the lure of beautiful handmade pearl jewelry ? The legacy of pearls throughout history is as fascinating as it is mysterious: pearls were once a luxury enjoyed only by kings and queens, retrieved from the depths of the oceans and
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  • Back in March, I made my first-ever chain maille project from a free set of project instructions here on Beading Daily . I was a little nervous when I set out to try it, since wire work has never been my strength in jewelry-making, and I was more than
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  • Have you ever been in a class, reading a pattern, or beading with friends and stopped to wonder the difference between "pass through" and "pass BACK through"? Do you often hear references to "tension" and wonder if this refers
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  • I find myself often using slide knots--those knots you can form on leather that slide up and down on the leather, allowing you to shorten or lengthen your piece as desired. It's an easy knot to form and works especially well with simple necklaces
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  • Holidays are always made better with the addition of one of my favorite things -- beads! What better way to celebrate the winter holidays than sharing the love with a few beautiful and joyful bead crafts? Every year, holiday time gives me a reason to
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  • It's that time again! Time to look at what one of our wonderful editors over at Beadwork magazine has done with the Bead Challenge , come up with a name for that piece, and enter for a chance to win one of the bead kits used to make it! This time
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  • I've been saving back several hanks of coral-colored Czech seed beads in various sizes for a rainy day. Today it didn't rain, but it was a quiet day at the office and I decided to give the bead spinner a go and put together this chunky necklace
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  • Beautiful, easy Snow Tunes resin earrings by Danielle Fox. A few twists of wire and crystals are all you need to create these Sparkling Snowflakes earrings by Chloe Chatenever! It's that time of year again, where I start to think about making jewelry
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  • Inspired by the fringe trend that has found traction in the fashion world lately, I made this pair of super simple, super stylish fringe earrings. I was so pleased with how they turned out that I decided to share them with you! I chose gray beading thread
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  • Looking at a few of my favorite bead-weaving stitches , the first thing that I notice is that the beads are lined up in pretty much the same way: rows stacked on top of each other, nice and neat, with a few variations in the alignment of the seed beads
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  • As you've read in a previous post by Mallory Leonard, Sig Wynne Evans has developed a wonderful round robin of healing with her Traveling Bracelets Project. Mallory's blog inspired Sig to design another bracelet that would begin with an Interweaver
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  • A little bit ago, I posted a blog about how much fun the Jewelry Stringing staff had while working on a collection of holiday-jewelry projects. I'm proud to announce that the Create Christmas Jewelry: 12 Holiday Designs eBook is now available here
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  • Why do we love seed bead patterns so much? I recently posted something on the Beading Daily Facebook page about NaSeBeMo (National Seed Beading Month) , and I was thrilled to see that there are as many people out there who are obsessed with working with
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  • I've been so excited about the themes for the Summer 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing , one of which is "Modern Cowgirl," that when I came across a sheet of western-themed clip art in our stash, I just had to whip up a fun cowgirl necklace
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  • Little did I know when I first sat down to learn how to bead how many skills I would learn in the coming years! It makes you realize that there's a lot more to making beautiful beaded jewelry than just sitting down and stringing some beads on wire
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  • The lull between Halloween and Thanksgiving is a great time to think about handcrafted gifts that you might want to make in preparation for the holidays this year. Growing up, we would dip candles every year to give as seasonal gifts to our friends and
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  • No matter how much time and care you put into your bracelet making projects, choosing the right clasp can make all the difference in the world. Choosing a clasp that's easy to work, comfortable, and secure for your bracelet making projects might seem
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  • Some of you might remember that last year, my friend and bead artist Dulcey Heller had pondered what would happen if there were a National Seed Beading Month, similar to National Novel Writing Month. I loved the idea, so I declared November to be NaSeBeMo
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  • Although I've made strung jewelry for years, I'm pretty green when it comes to beadweaving. I've quickly fallen in love with the craft, but also hit some frustrating walls I've had to climb along the way. I have the luxury of endless learning
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  • What is it about peyote stitch that keeps us beaders coming back for more? I struggled with peyote stitch when I was learning how to bead -- there was just something about the thread path that I couldn't keep straight in my mind. But once I found
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  • The more I learn about making wire jewelry, the more it brings out my inner science geek. I mean, really, how many people get excited when they start hearing about the molecular structure and malleability of wire when they sit down to make a wire jewelry
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  • One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is being able to try out new tools and materials that I might not otherwise try. I had a blast a few weeks ago trying my hand at embossing metal blanks using the Vintaj die-cutting and embossing machine ( see
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  • We just finished putting the finishing touches on our Summer 2013 Jewelry Stringing submissions guidelines, and we can't wait to see this issue come together! Read through the guidelines and submissions instructions here . (Note: We have made some
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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
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  • Cozy up to the December 2012/January 2013 issue of Beadwork magazine and enjoy 16 amazing beaded jewelry designs. This issue highlights your favorite shaped beads—peanuts beads, spikes, Super Duos, and more. Plus, get a sneak preview of the 2013 Tucson bead shows.
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  • Bead Fest Texas kicks off tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! There's just something so comforting about being around "my people"-you know, people who fully understand and accept you for being obsessed with beads. People who can
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  • Five years ago, Beading Daily published a question-and-answer blog about how to get published in Jewelry Stringing magazine. I still get many of the same questions, so I decided it would be helpful to revisit the answers, which have changed slightly over
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  • Long gone are the days when I would bead sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor, scooping my seed beads out of plastic containers and trays. These days, I've got myself a pretty sweet place for beading, and I've armed myself with quite an arsenal
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  • Halloween is arguably my favorite holiday for the fun factor: watching my son get dressed up in his costume, carving pumpkins, and, of course, my favorite fall foods like roasted pumpkin seeds and apple cider donuts. But even if you don't dress up
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  • With the holiday season quickly approaching , some of you may be considering selling your handmade jewelry at a craft show for the first time. A friend recently invited me to join her in selling our handmade jewelry at a small, local craft show. It's
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  • The submissions for the Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing have been rolling in for weeks, and yesterday we finally had a chance to lay them all out and start making our selections. We always try to seize opportunities to give you all a peek of what
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  • I don't know about anyone else, but I'm totally head over heels for these new striped seed beads from York Beads . Perry Bookstein, the owner of York, has done a pretty good job keeping me supplied with them, and I'm finding all kinds of uses
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  • In yesterday's post , I spoke of Beads of Courage , a remarkable program in many hospitals that enables children battling serious illness to use beads to track and celebrate their medical journeys. When I was learning about Beads of Courage, I had
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  • Jean Baruch is a medical professional with a heart for children. During her early years as a nurse, Jean discovered some gaps in the specialized care aimed at children battling serious illness. She returned to school at the University of Arizona's
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  • One of the main goals of Jewelry Stringing magazine is to teach our readers how to make their own jewelry. We do this by providing thorough step-by-step instructions with every featured design in the magazine. We also have a Technique Focus column in
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  • I've always gravitated towards using metals in my bead-weaving and jewelry making projects. Metallic glass seed beads and metal seed beads are favorite beading supplies of mine, and now I've discovered how easy (and how much fun!) it is to use
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  • When I started doing bead embroidery, I was totally clueless. All I had to go on were the amazing pictures of bead embroidery jewelry by people like Sherry Serafini and Heidi Kummli. There really weren't any good, well-written instructions with tips
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  • Here in the Jewelry Stringing office, we've just begun poring over some of the submissions we've received for the spring 2013 issue. One of the themed sections for this issue is "Coachella Chic," named after the annual music festival
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  • As any of my friends will tell you, I am a book lover through and through (although they might say that the phrase "crazed book fanatic" is more apt...). I simply can't pass a bookstore without going in, and hardly ever leave without making
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  • Do you love working with right-angle weave ? This superhero of bead-weaving stitches can do just about anything with any kind of beads that you have handy. When I want to bead just for beading's sake, I'll grab two or three colors of seed beads
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  • A big thank-you to Iris Weiss of Polyform Products for sharing this free polymer clay bead making tutorial with us, and thank you to Suzanne Anderson of Yikes Studio for creating this tutorial! If you've made some of the big hole polymer clay beads
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  • Learn circular square stitch
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  • The Jewelry Stringing and Beadwork office is always abuzz with activity. It feels like we always have a million things going on at once. Right now, though, our biggest push is to finalize our newest eBook, Create Christmas Jewelry: 12 Holiday Designs
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  • Learning how to make a Skinner blend opens up a whole new realm of possibilities when it comes to bead making with polymer clay. A big thank-you to Iris Weiss of Polyform Products for sharing this free polymer clay bead making tutorial with us. How to
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  • I've found a new appreciation for polymer clay bead making these last few months, and I'm lucky that the lovely folks over at Polyform Products have agreed to supply me with a steady stream of free polymer clay bead making projects! This free
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  • There is something so appealing about a beaded bead: It can sparkle with simple elegance or it can demand attention the moment you enter a room. The beaded bead can change your entire look with one color or with a multihued pattern. It's one of the
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  • Necklace making is such a personal expression of your style, and it's one of the reasons why I love making my own beaded jewelry. I definitely have my own sense of style when it comes to fashion, and so do you! You may not realize it, but your choices
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  • I'll be the first to admit that posture isn't exactly my strong suit when sitting in front of my computer screen for 8 hours or working on a beading project in my spare bedroom at home. So I've asked the editors of some of your favorite bead
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  • Our last issue of 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings hit newsstands three months ago--and we are already gearing up for the next one! Once again, the issue will be built around 16 different color categories (below). We have 101 brand new projects
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  • Toni Rexroat is the editor of Crochet Me A note from Jennifer: Today's guest blogger is our own Toni Rexroat from Crochet Me . Toni loves how bead crochet edgings allow us to express ourselves, and they're certainly one one of my favorite projects
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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
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  • When I tell people that I'm Project Editor for Jewelry Stringing and Beadwork magazines, the question I get is "So, what do you do ?" So I thought I'd show you a little behind-the-scenes look into what it's like working for jewelry
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  • I get some great inspirations for my beading and wire jewelry making projects from the things my son does in preschool. Just the other day, we made weavings using popsicle sticks and yarn -- do you remember making those as a kid? You glue the popsicle
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  • While I'm relatively new to the art of chain maille, I've been making my own lampwork glass beads for the last nine years. So when I was at Bead Fest Philadelphia last month with Jewelry Making Daily 's Tammy Jones, I was a little confused
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  • October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and to help raise awareness, we're offering a free Facebook cover image that you can download and use for the entire month of October! We want to invite you to use this cover design for your own social
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  • With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to spook up a few appropriately-themed jewelry components, tutorials, and just-plain-fun eye candy! I love the clever use of chain in this spider web bracelet and necklace set. Find the
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  • This year, we've been treated to a whole series of great beaded bead projects in each issue of Beadwork magazine as part of their 15th Anniversary Celebration , so I thought it would be fun for the second week of our Reader Photo Gallery Giveaway
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  • As someone who has suffered from migraines and eye strain, I'm always looking for beading tools to make my beading time easier on my eyes. Someone once suggested to me that I try a pair of drugstore magnifiers or reading glasses, but because I'm
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  • Want to keep up with the latest blogs and videos from BeadingDaily.com while you are on the go? There's an app for that! I'm sure you all have been hearing about the iPhone 5 craze that is sweeping the globe. Perhaps some of you even camped out
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  • There's no doubt that if you're reading this, you're someone who knows that there's a special kind of magic in bead-weaving . I don't know how else to explain the feeling I get after sitting down with just a pile of beads, a needle
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  • Lately, I’ve been seeing some very inspiring beadwork made with spike beads—so inspiring, in fact, that I finally ordered some for myself. Beware: Designs incorporating these hot new beads are anything but subtle! Today, I share with you a
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  • Did you know you can find free beading projects at BeadingDaily.com? Many of the beading projects were originally featured in Jewelry Stringing magazine. I was looking through the free projects the other day and discovered that many were favorites from
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  • One of the best gifts I ever gave to myself was when I signed up for my first series of lessons to learn how to bead. It was supposed to be a little reward to myself for finishing up my Bachelor's degree after ten years of working my way through college
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  • Before I discovered beads, I would make jewelry out of anything I could get my hands on. When we were kids, my sister and I made earrings out of thick watercolor paper, strung bracelets with buttons and thread, and spent hours on tiny needlepoint pendants
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  • While perusing some of the forums on Beading Daily, I noticed that "the stash" seems to be a popular topic. A reader posed the questions, “Do you buy beads more often than you use them up?” and “When you create, do you use
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  • A few weeks ago, the editorial teams from Beadwork and Jewelry Stringing magazines got together to consolidate our office stash of beading materials. As you can imagine, we have A TON of fun materials to play with around here, but for a long time they
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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
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  • Sig's Indian Paisley Bracelet: Traveling Bracelet #1 There are many ways to respond to cancer diagnosis. Long-time beader Sig Wynne-Evans bravely accepted news of her uterine cancer earlier this year, underwent surgery in May, and missed three weeks
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  • I can hardly believe that it's already September! But here we are, autumn is coming here in the mountains, and I'm starting to stockpile beads and supplies for my beading and jewelry making projects to get me through the long, cold Adirondack
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  • When I first began my job as an editor for Beadwork and Jewelry Stringing magazines, I had no prior jewelry-making experience. I had no beads, no findings, no wire--nothing. My new coworkers helped me remedy that situation very quickly. The first thing
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  • Chevron stitch is one of those bead-weaving stitches that doesn't get enough attention, I think. It's an incredibly useful bead-weaving stitch that can be used to create simple beaded necklaces and bracelets as well as larger, more intricate,
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  • A couple of months ago, Jewelry Making Daily 's Tammy Jones wrote about a very cool stick pearl bracelet she made using wire and a metal cuff bracelet. When I saw her tutorial for her wire jewelry making project, I was inspired to finally use one
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  • Awhile back, I had the good fortune of learning how to emboss on metal from an expert in the field, Jess Italia Lincoln, who is the director of advertising and education at Vintaj Natural Brass Company. Jess held a workshop wherein we created a miniature
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  • One of the things I love about the Beading Daily online community is the Reader Photo Gallery . It's so inspiring for me to look in there every day and see all of the beautiful beaded jewelry made by the members of the Beading Daily community! You
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  • AP Photo by Richard Drew, via CBS News Elizabeth Taylor was famous for much more than her extravagant jewelry collection, but her dazzling diamonds and gemstones didn't exactly go unnoticed, either. The Hollywood star's collection of more than
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  • Handcrafted Jewelry is back...and this year it's bigger than ever!
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  • Okay, I have to 'fess up: I'm one of those people who rolls her eyes when she sees the Christmas and holiday displays being put up in the drugstore or the departments stores before Halloween. And I really despise the hustle and bustle and the
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  • I love my little "corner office" where I have my desk, my computer, and my beading area set up. What I don't love is that because we have a large dog who gets into things, I have to constantly remember to empty my garbage can of thread scraps
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  • First off, let me say how pleased I am to be writing to you from the ether again, this time on Beadwork 's very own page! Editor Melinda Barta has let me loose as my "Stitch Pro" alter-ego, my column in Beadwork magazine. It's here that
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  • Here in the Jewelry Stringing office, we've been planning our Spring 2013 issue for quite some time now. In fact, a few weeks ago we released our Contributor Guidelines with all the info you need to know in order to submit your own jewelry designs
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  • Learning how to do peyote stitch was something of a challenge for me. After successfully teaching myself to do other bead-weaving stitches like right-angle weave, brick stitch, herringbone stitch, and netting, I made one peyote stitch amulet bag, and
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  • Last month, I was lucky enough to be able to take a basic kumihimo with beads class at Bead Fest Philadelphia from the amazing Jill Wiseman. It was so much fun, and I picked it up so quickly, that the next day, I signed up for her advanced kumihimo class
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  • My experiences with a group of traveling Tibetan Buddhist monks inspired me to create this peyote stitch prayer box necklace. Some of you may remember a blog I wrote earlier this year about the time I got to spend praying and meditating with a group of
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  • Flat peyote stitch is a great bead-weaving stitch to know, but starting a new piece in flat peyote can be tricky, especially for a beginner. Those first three rows always seem to want to twist in on themselves, and if you're trying to work from a
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  • With so many different kinds of beads out there, it comes as no surprise that beads can be made out of just about anything. Really! I've seen some beads made out of pretty strange stuff -- think moose droppings, bullet casings, and chewed-on pencil
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  • Fall hasn't even officially begun, but here in the office we are busily plugging away on the winter issue of Jewelry Stringing . I'm excited that the winter issue will feature the winning projects from this year's Bead Star competition! If
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  • Every now and then I like to take some time to revisit the basics of beading. After years of making wrapped loops and head-pin dangles, it can be easy to stop paying attention to how I am actually executing the basic techniques and just let autopilot
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  • Whether you love to stitch 'em, string 'em, or just hold 'em in your hand and bask in their glow, glass beads are probably the reason why most of us love beading and beadwork. And with all kinds of glass beads out there for you to use in your
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  • I am absolutely crazy for geometric forms in jewelry, and according to the Pinterest boards, so is everybody else. Geometric jewelry is one hot trend that will carry into fall, and it's easy to incorporate into your collection. A perfectly patterned
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  • So before I go making all kinds of jokes about cutting you off, cutting it out, and cutting to the point, I just want to say this: the beading tools that you use for cutting your favorite beading thread can be serious business! Depending on what type
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  • I purchased this necklace several years ago at a department store. At the time, it was a double-strand necklace, but I really only wanted to wear it long. So I detached a few things here and there, joined it back together, and, voila! One long necklace
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  • This beautiful Painted agate cabochon from Gary Wilson came home with me from Bead Fest Philadelphia. For me, no trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia is complete unless I stop and make a purchase at Gary Wilson's booth. This year, the piece that caught
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  • Yesterday I stumbled upon this idea from Martha Stewart for cute and easy jewelry storage using mismatched teacups and saucers: I set out to create my own version of this adorable display (on a budget, of course), and was pleased to discover that my local
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  • These very cool 36 gauge copper sheets from Lilly Pilly Designs open up a whole new world of design possibilities! Chain stitch using wire makes a great decorative element when working with rustic style jewelry designs. I don't know about anyone else
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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
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  • For some time now I have been lusting after those suede boots with glittery backs. Have you seen them? Not wanting to pay $200 or more for a trendy item like this, I searched the Web for cheaper options and luckily found lots of fun blogs with DIY instructions
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  • Welcome to Inside Beadwork Magazine ! We couldn't be more excited to launch our new blog where, on a weekly basis, we'll bring you up-to-date community events, let you in behind the scenes, share the trends we spot, and simply chat about everything
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  • I was so in love with this neon green Regaliz Greek leather from Antelope Beads that I wanted to make a cheerful yet modern beaded cuff bracelet with it. I adapted a technique I learned from both Sig Wynne-Evans and Gail Crossman Moore to create the little
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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
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  • Beadwork’s Oct/Nov 2012 issue boasts 23 fabulous jewelry designs made in your favorite stitches—peyote, herringbone, right-angle weave, and others. Plus, learn more about today’s most popular techniques, such as kumihimo braiding and beading with Tilas.
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  • One of the things I love about hitting the bead shows like Bead Fest Philadelphia is all the great ideas I get for new beading and jewelry making projects! I knew there was something cool in the Antelope Beads booth at Bead Fest when I walked past it
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  • With so many recent styles pointing back toward yesteryears, it's no surprise that gold has hit it big as a primary metal in contemporary jewelry designs. I used to think of it as the metal of my mother's generation, but I've recently caught
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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
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  • I can still remember what inspired me to create my first original beaded jewelry design . I was flipping through a book about antique jewelry, and one of the photographs caught my attention. It was an antique seed pearl necklace made up of three components
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  • A few months ago we did a meet-the-editors series of posts, in which you got to know me ( 10 Things You Didn't Know About: Chloe Chatenever ), managing editor Debbie Blair ( 10 Things You Didn't Know About: Debbie Blair ), and our Editorial Director
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  • Tammy Jones is the Online Editor of Jewelry Making Daily From Jennifer: When it comes to wire jewelry making, I'm definitely not an expert. But Tammy Jones over at Jewelry Making Daily can make wire do things I never thought possible! Check out one
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  • If you think it takes a long time to walk through the show floor of a huge bead show like Bead Fest Philadelphia, try doing it where you know just about everyone behind the tables in the booths! Bead Fest Philadelphia was a great time for me to catch
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  • I'm always finding new and exciting things to do with bead embroidery, and during my trip to Bead Fest Philadelphia last week, I found two hot new items to make my bead embroidery go wild! Tilapia Leather from Nature Beads Yep, this is the stuff you
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  • I just received a reminder that the deadline for Soft Flex Company's latest contest is coming up and thought I'd pass on the news. It sounds like a fun contest. All you have to do to enter is create a project using Soft Flex beading or craft wire
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  • Are you someone who is struggling with learning how to do right-angle weave? If so, no worries -- you're not alone. The undulating thread path of right-angle weave can be a tough one to wrap your head around, but once you've mastered this popular
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  • Are you the kind of beader that likes to hit the road with your beads? No matter where I go, whether it's to visit my family in Texas or Nevada, my friends in California, or my favorite bead shops in New York City, I have to travel with my beads and
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  • Well, what can I say? Bead Fest Philadelphia was just completely amazing this year! My first day at the show wasn't actually a day. It was an evening class with none other than the rockin' Jill Wiseman, and the class was Quick and Easy Kumihimo
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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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  • 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
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  • In my last post I talked about the newly published issue themes and guidelines for the Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine (we are now accepting submissions!). We put a lot of work into crafting specific themes for this issue that reflect
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  • I can't think of another bead-weaving stitch that is as versatile as herringbone stitch . Maybe I'm biased - herringbone stitch is, after all, my go-to beading stitch when I want to make a beaded rope for a pendant, a beaded bezel for a cabochon
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  • Want to see some of the newest, coolest beads, findings, and tools? Check out the Fall 2012 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine, available at newsstands next week. This issue includes an expanded shopping-guide section with over 100 of our favorite beading
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  • There are certain tools that no beader should be without when you're learning how to bead . Things like a good set of jewelry making pliers, a good pair of wire cutters, a beading awl, a sturdy bead board or work surface, and a good tape measure or
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  • I had the special privilege of editing projects from Handcrafted Jewelry 2012 , which will hit newsstands September 25. Inspired by Chloe Chatenever's Forget Me Knot necklace and Bianca Howell's and Carla Rogers' Chunky Braided T-Shirt Bracelet
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  • One of the first crafts I learned from my mother was how to crochet, and even if I didn't quite get the hang of bead crochet right away, it is now one of my favorite beading techniques for making beaded ropes. But you can do so much more with bead
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  • We have finally published our updated Contributor Guidelines for the Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing magazine. A lot of thought and planning went into the themes for this issue and we can't wait to see the submissions that you all create! Read
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  • A hallmark of the steampunk jewelry style is the use of metals, whether it's a romantic filigree, textured metal stamping, metal findings, or metal chain. The use of metals in steampunk jewelry is a nod to the industrial age, when art, romance, and
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  • I have to say, since I've been receiving my monthly shipments of vintage beads and jewelry making components from A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club , I really look forward to seeing what's in each month's box. I love the challenge
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  • Lately I've noticed a growing number of jewelry designers are incorporating brightly colored crystals and other gemstones into their pieces. And this bling isn't just for playing dress-up: saturated pastels, electric neons, and lollipop-like hues
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  • Beaded wedding jewelry, and finely crafted beadwork itself, has come a long way in the last ten years. When my husband and I got married in 2003, I decided to do something a little more adventurous with my beaded wedding jewelry than just your standard
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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
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  • Coloring in this color wheel on my own was a great way to learn more about color theory for bead-weaving. Choosing colors can be the hardest part of any beading project. For a long time, I just chose colors on a whim. If they worked together, I always
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  • What length do you want to make your necklace? Whether you're making a beaded necklace for yourself, as a gift for a friend, or to sell, you'll want to be aware of some common necklace lengths. Necklaces sold in stores and online are sometimes
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  • After my last blog about ways to adjust your beaded necklaces to get the perfect fit, a couple of my co-workers here at Beading Daily asked me how I match up my necklaces with the different necklines of shirts. What a great idea for a blog!, I thought
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  • As we're coming down to the wire with getting Handcrafted Jewelry ready to send off to the printer, I see more and more techniques from this year's issue that I'd love to try! Epoxy clay has been toward the top of my list since we featured
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  • The Fall 2012 issue of Jewelry Stringing doesn't hit newsstands until August 21st, but you can get a sneak peak into this exciting issue right now on the Jewelry Stringing site! A few of my favorite things about this issue: - Our contributors have
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  • In addition to 28 beaded necklaces, 20 bracelets, and 26 pairs of earrings, the Fall 2012 issue of Jewelry Stringing features a special shopping guide, which includes 100+ of our favorite new beads, findings, and tools. The projects in this issue are broken up into five exciting, themed galleries: Earthly
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  • That's right! Beading Daily is five this month! Five years of beading blogs, beading projects, beading techniques, making new beading friends, and gorgeous beaded art. We've had the likes of Michelle Mach, Jean Campbell, Leslie Rogalski, and the
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  • Are you ready for a sweet glass bead treat? York Beads in New York City has a new shape of Czech pressed glass bead ready for us -- the gumdrop! I got a sneak peek of these little lovelies last week, and now York Beads is ready to show them to the world
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  • I've got Olympics on the brain. Right now, I'm watching "The Fab Five" win the women's all-around gymnastics competition. Michael Phelps just became the most decorated Olympian ever with 19 metals. This is good stuff. In honor of
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  • So, when it comes to beaded ropes, you think you've seen it all, right? Think again. I've just seen a preview of Lark's latest book in their Beadweaving Master Class series, Jill Wiseman's Beautiful Beaded Ropes. With this book, Jill has
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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
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  • Beadwork Presents: Favorite Bead Stitches 2012 is back by popular demand . . . now with 34 more favorite Beadwork projects and 6 all-new quick-and-easy designs! This special issue is packed with 144 pages of stunning projects and clear instructions, carefully selected and conveniently grouped into 5
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  • I've had an idea for a particular necklace since I came back from Bead Fest Santa Fe last March. I had picked up these ceramic buttons and pendant from Antelope Beads 's booth with the intention of creating a sentimental piece of jewelry for myself
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  • If you love seed bead patterns, 2011 was a very good year. Beadwork magazine's Designers of the Year included beading legends Carol Wilcox Wells, Sherry Serafini, Cynthia Rutledge, and Kelly Wiese. Beading pattern designers everywhere were pushing
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  • Original necklace from LOFT Blue and gray ribbons Coral and pale yellow ribbons Pearls Perfected by Linda Larsen Handcrafted Jewelry 2012 While I tend to go for classic styles that can be worn for years, I like to have at least one trendy jewelry piece
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  • Chain maille is such a fascinating technique for jewelry-making, but I have to admit, I approached it with more than a little trepidation. Once I got started, though, the rhythm of opening, linking, and closing all those jump rings created the same soothing
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  • Well, the first round of voting in The Battle of the Beadsmith competition ended last week, and the winners have been announced. Much to the surprise of many, my piece, Mother of Dragons, didn't make it into the second round. But, get this: it lost
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  • I know bead spinners are nothing new, yet today was my first time trying one. I've spent hours on various projects stringing one seed bead at a time. This is the tool, I've heard, that would have spared me those hours. Project Editor Kate Wilson
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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
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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
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  • This week, we've been doing a lot of planning for the Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing . And one of the hot trends we're seeing for spring happens to be floral prints. Here, I've put together a little collection of my favorite floral
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  • Confession: In high school I went through a brief punk phase. Wide-leg pants, black-and-red plaid, suspenders hanging down around my knees--the whole shebang. I have since given up the safety pins and thick black eyeliner, but I still haven't been
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  • When I'm working on a necklace making project for myself, I have to pay attention to the length of the finished necklace. I recently realized that I have quite a long neck for someone who is so short, so when I wear very long necklaces (like lariats
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  • The other day, I met with the other jewelry editors and designers here at Interweave in Loveland, Colorado. Believe it or not, we're already planning our Spring 2013 issue of Jewelry Stringing . In anticipation of that issue, we got together to discuss
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  • July's shipment from A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club held some fabulous finds! I couldn't take pictures of everything in the shipment (or we'd be here for a very long time), but I wanted to share a few of my favorites. (And
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  • I loved these curved metal beads from the July 2012 shipment of A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club. They reminded me of stringing macaroni onto yarn with my mother and sister when I was kid! But their lovely gold finish and their unusual
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  • Beaded broad collars started popping up everywhere about the time that I started learning how to do bead-weaving, but I waited a few years until I really felt comfortable with the stitches before I started experimenting with shaping my beadwork. I was
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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
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  • Don't you just love summer weddings? One of my office mates has been busily planning her nuptials, which will take place later this month. Getting a glimpse of just some of the things that will make her day special has inspired me to see which accessories
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  • Not too long ago, Tammy Jones wrote a great blog over on Jewelry Making Daily about five essential jewelry making techniques for jewelry artists . And it got me thinking -- while my primary interest for jewelry making still remains with my beloved seed
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  • You might remember about a month ago, I had set out to work on my entry for the sure-to-be-fabulous Battle of the Beadsmith, hosted on Facebook by Steven Weiss. The idea was this: Steven would pair up eighty of the world's best (and willing) beaders
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  • The third annual edition of 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings is finally here, and this year we have freshened it up with a brand-new look--cover to cover! With 144 pages of brand-new projects, step-by-step instructions, and pro tips, we think this issue is the best yet!
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  • One of the greatest skills that a jewelry designer can develop is restraint. With the overwhelming array of amazing beads, findings, and components that are readily available, I have found that the most difficult part of designing a new piece is choosing
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  • I'm not sure who it was that first thought it might be a good idea to string some beads on yarn before crocheting with it, but whoever it was probably knew that they had stumbled onto something good. Bead crochet ropes are perfect for showing off
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  • I'm a big fan of the dipped furniture/housewares trend. You know, when just the bottom of a chair or a bowl is dipped in paint. Here are some examples of what I mean: Table seen at homelife.com.au . Bowls from Wind & Willow Home. Chair from Folklore
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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
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  • What do Jean Campbell, Marcia DeCoster, Jean Power, Rachel Nelson-Smith, Sherry Serafini, Nancy Cain, Diane Fitzgerald, Leslie Frazier, Margie Deeb, Kelly Angeley, Laura McCabe, Lisa Kan, Leslie Rogalski, and Melanie Potter, all have in common? In addition
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  • Are you looking for a great bead embroidery project that doesn't take days to do? I've found one for you! During my last shopping spree in the Etsy shop of Lisa Peters Art , I snagged one of her new Mini Flower bead embroidery ring kits. I'd
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  • One thing I like to do every season is start planning my craft and jewelry projects for the upcoming season. I know it's only July, but I wanted to create some pieces I could wear this summer and then transition into fall. After reviewing some of
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  • If you're a regular subscriber to Beadwork magazine, you'll know that this year marks fifteen years of creative, beady goodness in the pages of my favorite beading magazine! And to celebrate, the editors at Beadwork magazine have come up with
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  • When I get ready to start on a new project, I like to lay out all of my supplies so that I can see what I have to work with, and assess potentially interesting material combinations as I brainstorm. The only problem with this method is that by the end
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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
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  • I don't wear bracelets too often, even though I have bags of them in my collection of handmade beaded jewelry. Most of the time when I'm designing a new piece of beaded jewelry, I usually come up with necklace making designs, not bracelet making
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  • After my recent sojourn to Manhattan and my bead-buying binge at York Beads, I came home with an entire hank of Czech farfalle beads. The Czech farfalle beads were the original "peanut" shaped beads made in the Czech Republic with a technique
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  • I really picked out quite a nice haul during last week's trip to York Beads in Manhattan, and I'm so excited to share this first part of my new glass bead stash with you! I've loved Czech glass beads since way before I started bead-weaving
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  • I've been dying to try my hand at metal embossing since coming across some You Tube videos by Sandy Griffiths. She makes it look so effortless, so I thought I'd give it a try on a small scale! Turns out it's super-fun and super-easy! You'll
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  • After all the fun I had searching for neon jewelry to feature in my last Summer Trend blog post , I couldn't wait to write another one! This time: geometric jewelry. It seems like bold shapes, bright colors, and clean lines are popping up everywhere
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  • Beaded necklaces are usually my first choice when designing beaded jewelry, but in the winter, I find myself hunting for some great beaded earrings to wear with my favorite cozy sweaters and turtleneck shirts. I find myself designing beaded earrings more
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  • I love celebrating the land of the free and the home of the brave! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays for the patriotic spirit, the food, and the fireworks. Bonus: wearing red, white and blue--a chic color combo if you ask me! So I rounded
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  • Steampunk jewelry is one trend that doesn't seem to be going away any time soon! This wonderfully creative jewelry making style combines the best of the romantic Victorian era and the development of mechanized industry with just a touch of science
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  • Twin seed beads: the original two-holed seed bead. New SuperDuo two-holed seed beads. After hoarding several colors of Twin seed beads over the last year, I nabbed my first sample of the new Czech SuperDuos during my visit to York Beads in Manhattan last
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  • It's been a while since we've had a Bead-A-Long here on Beading Daily , so I thought it would be fun to cook up a whole month's worth of beaded bracelets for your summer beading pleasure! Beaded bracelets are the perfect summertime beading
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  • When I'm out there selling my finished beaded jewelry, one of the points I like to talk about with my customers is how every piece I make is one-of-a-kind, usually right down to the findings that I use to assemble it. You might think that making your
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  • In a recent blog , Assistant Editor Chloe Chatenever shared a glimpse of how we shoot step-by-step photos for Handcrafted Jewelry at Interweave's in-house photo studio. Several days later, I attended a photo shoot with our associate art director and
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  • What would you wear with the jewelry pieces in the new book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry ? The book's authors, Erin Siegel and Lorelei Eurto, are giving away two of the necklaces in the book -- the Pompidou Necklace by Lorelei (featured on the cover
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  • Try as I might, I cannot figure out why I thought it was necessary to buy 600 feet of pink embroidery thread to make one necklace when I was in Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. (I am claiming temporary craft-store induced insanity. We've all been there
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  • More and more couples are choosing to add very personal touches to their weddings. Going beyond just picking that song for your first dance as husband and wife, it really is the little details that count when planning the perfect wedding. And that includes
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  • If there were a twelve-step program for bead embroidery and bead embroidery supplies, I should probably look into it. Until then, I'll keep on stitching away on my bead embroidered collars, pendants and cuff bracelets. And to add to my addiction to
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  • This month's Beadwork magazine challenge was done by Melinda Barta, and features a kit of metal bezels and chain. This is what Melinda had to say about her design: "This kit was a real treat because it got me back into designing with resin, a
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  • The only thing I like better than beading, is cooking. I could spend hours in my kitchen with my recipe books, my favorite set of knives, and my trusty cast iron skillet. And in a lot of ways, cooking is a lot like jewelry making: you need to master certain
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  • Want to win a FREE macrame bracelet kit from TierraCast ? All you have to do is come up with a great name for the macrame and animal EuroBead bracelet at right! Actually, there are A FEW more rules: Go to TierraCast's Facebook page , like it (if you
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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
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  • One of the things I love about where I live is that while I'm nestled safely in the heart of the Adirondack mountains, I'm close enough to New York City that I can travel down for an occasional bead binge along 6th and 7th Avenues. And that's
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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
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  • In last week's blog , I mentioned the fact that my mom was quite fond of the Summer Anklet I shared with you a few weeks ago and subsequently requested one for her birthday! After checking out several different chains online, and doing some major
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  • I'm Kate Wilson, Junior Project Editor for Jewelry Stringing and Beadwork magazines. I've been stringing beads for about 15 years, and now I'm jumping into beadweaving. However, I still love and will always continue working on stringing projects
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  • Ah, yes. I can remember the first time I learned how to do circular, flat peyote stitch . I was making little peyote stitch needle cases, and I needed to create a top and bottom for the case. I can remember blindly following the directions without really
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  • Circular, flat peyote stitch is a great beadweaving technique for someone who wants to not only expand their beadweaving skills, but also wants to learn more about shaped and geometric beadwork. When you learn circular, flat peyote stitch, you'll
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  • The Aug/Sept 2012 issue of Beadwork offers 18 exciting, all-new jewelry projects for novice and advanced beaders alike. Featured topics and techniques include: shaping tricks, St. Petersburg stitch, geometric beading, bezeling with Tila beads, and more.
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  • This month's little box from A Grain of Sand's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club was full of fun -- and very useful! -- vintage beads. I've always loved metallic vintage beads, and this month's hoard was full of beautiful metal and metallic
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  • An important part of learning how to bead is learning which jewelry making findings will be most useful to you when it comes to making beaded jewelry that will last. I am always amazed at how the selection of jewelry findings at my local craft store has
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  • I've had a pile of gorgeous Chinese crystal beads sitting on my desk for a long time. Ali Sly from Lima Beads sent them in last year to be featured in Beads 2011 , our annual buyer's guide issue. Ali sent in a ton of colors (thanks, Ali!), but
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  • A very long time ago, when I first started beading, beaded bottles were very popular beading projects. Even though I loved making peyote stitch needle cases, it took me ten long years to discover how much fun stitching beaded netting is around a tiny
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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
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  • Who would ever have thought that I would become so enamored of working with wire? Certainly not me! Wire always seemed to be such an intimidating medium for jewelry-making, and wire jewelry was always something that I admired on other people, but never
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  • After my mom saw the summer anklet I whipped up for my blog a couple of weeks ago, she requested one for her birthday. So I've been doing some digging around for unique chains, trying to get an idea of something that would be suitable for an anklet
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  • One of my best friends is a wonderful mixed-media artist from Burbank, California. Even though our techniques and tools for making art are about as different as you can get, we both enjoy one thing: using color to make beautiful art. I'm always finding
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  • We are hard at work on the upcoming issue of Handcrafted Jewelry and have been in and out of the photo studio all week. One of my favorite things about this special issue publication is that you get to see step-by-step photos for each project. As we were
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  • The other night, I had a dream that I was browsing through a table of Czech glass beads , and they were all on sale for half off their marked price. Imagine how disappointed I was when I woke up, only to discover that there were no new beads in my stash
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  • Imagine walking into your favorite bookstore and buying a new book. You bring it home, read it, and decide that it's a pretty good book. It just needs a few changes. You type the whole thing out on your computer and add a few things, and maybe you
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  • Once upon a time, before I became a beader, I fancied myself a bit of a poet. I found that writing haiku poems was a great way to get warmed up before a long writing session, and I still use them as writing prompts when I'm feeling stuck creatively
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  • Last summer, I started seeing mentions of this product called Crystal Clay floating around in my favorite beading magazine. After seeing some amazing examples of what people were doing with it at the Tucson gem and mineral shows, well, I broke down and
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  • Today's a big day for us. 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings goes to press, which means we hand it over to the printer. Phew! This has been a fun, but challenging issue to work on. Challenging because, well, we had to organize and edit over 100
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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
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  • What happens when you combine plain wood discs with the sun's rays? Well, probably not much until you paint on a little light-sensitive dye, and then watch the magic happen! These pendants are the result of a little experimentation I did over the
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  • Memories of my summer vacations as kid include big bowls of fresh raspberries from my grandmother's garden, going for a drive to get ice cream with my parents, lazy days spent playing outside with my friends, and of course, spending lots of time doing
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  • Summer is finally here! As hemlines rise, necklines fall, and sleeves get shorter, I find myself itching to make up some new jewelry to complement my summer wardrobe. Neon colors in boldly geometric block patterns are all the rage right now, and I can't
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  • I am quite happy to report that I had so much fun with my last polymer clay bead making project, it appears that I have overcome my fear of bead making using polymer clay! I've been playing with all kinds of tools and techniques for bead making using
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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
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  • 10 Things You Didn't Know About Danielle Fox The third installment of our series reveals some fun and interesting factoids about our fearless leader, Editorial Director Danielle Fox. 1. She had a paper route in junior high school. 2. She is a pescetarian
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  • The debate rages on among beaders as to which beading thread is the "best". Are you a fan of nylon beading threads, or have you cross over to the gel-spun fishing line-type threads? I've heard passionate discourse from both camps as to which
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  • You all got to learn about me in Danielle Fox's post from earlier this week --now it's Debbie Blair's turn in the hot seat! When it comes to Jewelry Stringing 's amazing managing editor, there's more than meets the eye... 1. She has
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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
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  • A couple of weeks ago, I woke up one morning and discovered that I had been invited to participate in the Battle of the Beadsmith on Facebook . Created and run by Steven Weiss of the Beadsmith Company , the Battle of the Beadsmith is basically an elimination
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  • This Wednesday, I had a lot on my beading table, but the two pieces that I wanted to share with you were a couple of beaded necklaces that I created using this month's vintage treasures from the Bead Hoard Curiosities Club through A Grain of Sand
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  • 10 Things You Didn't Know About Chloe Chatenever In an effort to introduce ourselves, I'm starting this "10 Things You Didn't Know About" series. The first victim, I mean interviewee, is Chloe Chatenever, Jewelry Stringing's
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  • I'm sure I've told the story before, about how the first time I attempted a piece of bead embroidery I wound up chucking it in a drawer for two years before I had the courage to pick it up and try it again. Well, it's been a very long time
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  • If you haven't yet taken a few minutes to check out all the gorgeous beaded jewelry entered in this year's Bead Star competition , now is the time to do it! (Voting ends on Monday, May 28th, 2012. For complete rules, click here .) Voting is easy
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  • Just in time for showing off your tan legs and super-cute sandals this summer, I've created a fun anklet that you can make in a matter of minutes. The finished size of the anklet shown is 9 1/4". What you'll need: 11 dusty rose size 6°
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  • I have a confession to make: even though I get paid to be creative, write about beads, and come up with new beaded jewelry designs, I'm pretty good at sabotaging my own creative work. There are days when I can find a whole list of excuses to send
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  • Voting for our annual Bead Star 2012 competition is well under way, and time is ticking down to the end of the voting period! Make sure your voice is heard by casting your votes before the end of the day on Monday, May 28th. Browse through the categories
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  • In this special mixed-media issue of Jewelry Stringing , you will find step-by-step instructions for four easy, crafty techniques that you can use to customize your jewelry designs. Follow our in-depth Technique Focus tutorial to learn more about how to use bead cones, and browse through our collection
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  • Peyote stitch was not the easiest beading stitch for me to learn. After somehow making my first peyote stitch amulet bag using flat, even-count peyote stitch, I suddenly found myself completely bewildered as to how I actually worked the stitch. I spent
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  • Do you have favorite beading materials? Those beads and findings you turn to again and again? In the Summer 2011 issue of Jewelry Stringing , I listed my must-have materials. Take a look! (Items are listed from top to bottom.) * Wood rounds. Wood beads
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  • Allison Korleski is Acquisition Editor for Interweave Press As a knitter of many years, I often look forward to carving space in my busy schedule for some time alone with my needles, yarn, and whatever serial program I am currently watching. (I have afghans
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  • I don't know about you, but I've been totally enthralled with the Beadwork magazine Designer of the Year projects from Jean Power. I've always been fascinated by shaped peyote stitch beadwork, and Jean has elevated the simple peyote stitch
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  • Voting has officially begun for Bead Star 2012! Between now and May 28th, we are inviting all BeadingDaily.com members to peruse the designs in our 7 Bead Star voting galleries and vote for their favorites. The winning designs will receive prizes from
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  • The necklace from Enlightened Polymer Clay that served as my inspiration. I've never felt that polymer clay has been a particularly strong set of jewelry making skills for me. After watching a peculiarly talented friend of mine create an entire Lord
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  • I just returned from a much-needed mini-vacation in coastal Oregon. It's so gorgeous and peaceful there--my mind and body always come back relaxed and refreshed. It just so happens I come back inspired, too. Inspired by jewelry. While driving through
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  • I just returned from a much-needed mini-vacation in coastal Oregon. It's so gorgeous and peaceful there--my mind and body always come back relaxed and refreshed. It just so happens I come back inspired, too. Inspired by jewelry. While driving through
    Read More >>
  • When I was a kid, I was interested in making jewelry out of anything and everything. Some of my first handmade jewelry projects were made from not beads, but pieces of thick watercolor paper that I had cut into shapes, painted and sealed, and then glued
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  • Tila beads, Magatamas, and dagger beads. Can you tell me what all three of these have in common? They are all glass beads that were included in this month's Beadwork magazine challenge kit from Artbeads! What would you name this ruffled herringbone
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  • Thankfully, this month's box o' beads from A Grain of Sand 's Bead Hoard Curiosities Club didn't send beads flying to every corner of the room when I opened it, but it did spark a whole new set of ideas for beaded jewelry projects! Just
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  • Are you new to jewelry making? Or perhaps a dabbler with the desire to take it to the next level? Well there are some fabulous resources available to help you learn some new skills. A great place to start would be signing up for a class at your local
    Read More >>
  • Could you survive on a desert island with just three wire wrapping tools? No, it's not that old television show where a group of mismatched tourists gets stranded on a desert island with enough clothing and accessories to last them for years of misadventures
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  • Mother's Day is almost here, and it's not too late to start making something beautiful and handcrafted to let your mom know that you appreciate everything she does for you. Whether your mom loves to make or receive handmade beaded jewelry, or
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  • Are you ready for mother's day? With just under two weeks left until the big day, you still have plenty of time to make up a special custom beaded necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings, just for mom! Heck, if she liked the glitter macaroni necklace
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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
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  • A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend morning and afternoon prayers with a group of traveling Buddhist monks from southern India, and learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, meditation practices, and traditional Tibetan medicine, art, and music. It was
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  • I can hardly believe it, but yesterday marked one year since I started at Beading Daily ! It's been such an amazing year, and I've thoroughly enjoyed all the writing and beading that has gone along with it. Time flies when you're having fun
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  • Yesterday I finally got my copy of Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry , the new Interweave book by Jewelry Stringing contributors Lorelei Eurto and Erin Siegel. It's gorgeous! I'm sure you've noticed the trend toward jewelry created using leather,
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  • No, really, it's not a joke. I didn't want to start this blog with something like, "A Buddhist monk walks into a bar, and..." But really, did you know that seed bead patterns are actually a lot like Buddhist sand mandalas? Last week
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  • Sometimes, choosing the colors for your beading projects can be the hardest part of the whole project. A friend once suggested that I look to my photographs to create color palettes, so I pulled the colors for a beaded necklace design from a picture that
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  • It may be hard for some to believe, but I've never tried my hand at any type of wire work. Being a life-long crafter, coupled with the fact that I work on a jewelry magazine, has afforded me the opportunity to experiment with lots of materials and
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  • Learning how to swim is like learning a new jewelry making skill. You dip your toes in the water, then your foot, then you wade in until you're knee-deep. By the time the water is up to your shoulders, you realize you might just be in over your head
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  • You still have a few hours to enter your jewelry designs in our Bead Star 2012 competition! Upload your designs to our category galleries by 5pm EST this evening in order to be in the running to be our next Bead Star! One thing we love about the annual
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  • "Where did you come up with the idea for that piece of beaded jewelry?" I hear that all the time when I'm showing someone a piece of my handmade beaded jewelry. And really, if you know where to look, you'll find beaded jewelry design
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  • Great news for those who don't get the program Beads, Baubles & Jewels on their local PBS station: the show is now available for viewing online! Join host Katie Hacker for a new episode every Friday at noon (EST). Here is a photo of Katie (right
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  • Spring in my part of upstate New York means warmer days, open windows, laundry drying in the sunshine, working in the gardens, and lots and lots of outdoor activities. It also brings graduations, weddings, proms, and other special events. And of course
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  • When I was a five-year-old in kindergarten, the teacher went around the room and asked what each of us wanted to be when we grew up. When she came to me, I stood up and proudly said, "I want to be a paleontologist!" What my teacher didn't
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  • I've probably told this story before, but I picked the colors for my Ode On a Grecian Urn beaded necklace project from a picture I snapped of the deer that came to visit us on Christmas Day back in 2008. It was so much fun selecting the colors based
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  • Just yesterday, Earth Day was celebrated in numerous ways across the globe. Events were held to increase awareness of environmental issues and appreciation of the earth's natural environment. In celebration of Earth Day, I’ve rounded up a collection
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  • Who would have thought that you need a first aid kit for beading? True story: the other day, I was browsing in my local big-box craft store for some supplies I needed to finish a project before a deadline. Thinking ahead to some future blogs for Beading
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  • When do you think the Bravo television network is going to create a reality show about jewelry making? After all, they have shows about pretty much everything else! (Potential show names: Project Bead Stash ... Inside the Beader's Studio...America's
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  • The June/July 2012 issue of Beadwork offers 19 innovative jewelry ideas from quick-and-easy to challenging. Get design tips and beading patterns from stitch pros, such as Diane Fitzgerald, Leslie Frazier, and Jean Power, plus learn 4 ways to bead bezels.
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  • Starting a blog about your beading is a great way to generate interest in your work and promote your online shop. But sometimes ideas for blog posts are hard to come by, even for those of us who blog professionally! (Or maybe I should say ESPECIALLY for
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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
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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
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  • Betcey Ventrella from Beyond Beadery and I at The Best Bead Show in Tucson, Arizona This crazy beautiful orange Swarovski crystal stone just captured my imagination! While I was in Tucson, I stopped in to see Betcey Ventrella over at Beyond Beadery and
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  • I've long been an admirer--not a maker--of beadwoven jewelry. Recently, however, I've been inspired to try my hand at a few stitches, specifically ladder stitch, brick stitch , and peyote stitch . I've found the rhythm of stitching beads to
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  • If there's one kind of natural bead that I can't get enough of, it's got to be pearls. I can't help it -- I'm seduced by their luster, their colors, and the softness that pearls give to my beading and jewelry making projects. When
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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
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  • When I was in Tucson back in February, some of my favorite purchases were the gorgeous cabochons that I saw popping up everywhere. Cabochons have always fascinated me as a beader, and I love figuring out new ways to incorporate them into my finished beaded
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  • The beginning of April brought me my first box of treasure from the Bead Hoard Curiosities Club through A Grain of Sand, and I could barely contain myself as I opened the box. I'm totally addicted to vintage beads and findings, so this was going to
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  • Recently I showed a number of creative ways to display your earring collection . For those of you who make earrings to sell, how do you present them? I adore this idea from Erin Prais-Hintz, featured on the Earrings Everyday blog. She starts with a business
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  • Right-angle weave is one of those love-it-or-hate-it beading stitches, I think, based on what I've seen from fellow beaders, and even from my own experiences designing beadwork. But right-angle weave definitely has its advantages when it comes to
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  • I have been wanting to learn how to do torch enameling for a long time, and luckily for me, working on a project for the upcoming issue of Handcrafted Jewelry was the perfect excuse to try it out! Note: Do not attempt enameling unless you have the proper
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  • Necklace by Giovanna Imperia. Image from Kumihimo Wire Jewelry . Photo by Jack Zilker. Kumihimo is one of those things that has been on my "got to learn it" list for a very long time now, and the more I learn about it, the more eager I am to
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  • While I was in Tucson, I had the pleasure of meeting Becky Nunn of Nunn Design and after I got home, she sent me a little sample of some of their newest products, including these awesome channel beads. The channel beads were meant to be used with resin
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  • A couple of weeks ago, I shared some amazing brick stitch beading projects submitted by our readers, and one that really caught my eye (and happens to also be a class at Bead Fest Spring this weekend!) was the Enchanted Evenings bracelet and necklace
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  • Do you know how to make wrapped-loop bails, tie lark's head knots, or use ribbon ends? If not, I invite you to view the free technique videos I filmed a bit ago. They're all housed on Beading Daily for easy access. We have 15 stringing-related
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  • I think pretty much everyone who learns peyote stitch makes one of "those" bracelets. You know the ones I'm talking about: a wide (or narrow) strip of peyote stitch, usually even-count, with a button clasp on one end. It's probably the
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  • I learned how to crochet when I was four or five years old. My mother and my grandmother had a seemingly endless supply of crochet hooks, yarn and ideas, and my sister and I grew up with a steady supply of warm, handmade crocheted sweaters, hats and vests
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  • Any mixed-media fans out there? I'm so thrilled to be working on my favorite Interweave publication of all, Handcrafted Jewelry magazine, which is entirely devoted to mixed-media jewelry. I couldn't contain my excitement last week when I received
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  • What is it about beaded beads that captures our imagination? The Zen Buddhist in me loves the idea that beaded beads are beads that are made out of...well, more beads! The simplest beaded beads can be made from a strip of peyote stitch or brick stitch
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  • Any Hunger Games fans out there? The throngs of tweens that are flocking to theaters right now aren't the only ones who are excited about this pop-culture phenomenon--jewelry makers all over are creating designs inspired by this story (and they are
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  • When my husband and I were planning our wedding, I remember not feeling nervous or jittery at all -- until some very helpful soul said to me, "You know, everyone is going to be watching YOU." I panicked for about thirty seconds before I realized
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  • Part of my bead stash is one, large drawer that is filled to the brim with strands and small bags of freshwater pearls. Yes, I'm a Pearl Junkie. Stick pearls, baroque pearls, coin pearls, button pearls, potato pearls -- you name it, I have a strand
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  • Do you have an inspiration board? Not Pinterest, but somewhere where you physically display items that inspire you? Here's a sneak peek at the bulletin board in my home office/studio where I've posted magazine and catalog pages, postcards, and
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  • My first misguided attempts at making a herringbone stitch amulet bag were just plain ugly. But ever since then, I've been enthralled by the lovely pattern and texture of herringbone stitch when it's used in beadwork. Herringbone stitch as defined
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  • I don't often work with metal beads and components, so this month's challenge kit from Beadwork magazine was a REAL challenge for me! Give us your best name for this beaded rope necklace! Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to win this month's
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  • While I was visiting the Best Bead Show in Tucson this year, I happened to see a small booth set up near the entrance to the show, full of some of the most mesmerizing lampwork glass beads that I have ever seen! The young woman behind the counter was
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  • It's been a long time coming, and everyone has been very, very patient, and I'm so excited that we now have three new Bead-Alongs ready for the month of April here on Beading Daily ! Bead-Alongs can be fun whether you're beading by yourself
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  • It should come as no surprise that I am running out of room to display my ever-growing earring collection. Working on a jewelry magazine has inspired me to make so many pairs that, once again, I am in need of some new storage. I sat down the other day
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  • My first foray into jewelry-making came when I was five years old. My sister and I would dig through my mother's stash of buttons, selecting the brightly colored plastic and sparkling cut glass buttons to use for necklace making . We strung our button
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  • You know you're a star...now it's time to make sure the rest of the beading world knows it, too! Beginning on April 1st, 2012, you will be able to enter your jewelry designs in our Bead Star 2012 competition. Read through the official rules for
    Read More >>
  • 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
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  • Okay, so I've actually known that I'm a bead hoarder for a really long time now, but my status as bead hoarder has been made official by Suzanne Branca, owner of A Grain of Sand , when she made me a member of her new Bead Hoard Curiosities Club
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  • Basketball fans, show your spirit! These fun new enameled beads from Detroit-based Collegiate Bead Company feature the school colors from colleges and universities across the country, including your favorite in the Final Four. I'll be honest: I personally
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  • Have you ever looked at a seed bead pattern in the pages of a magazine and wondered how you could make it your own? Of course, it's always fun shopping for new beads when you want to make a particular beading project, but that's not always possible
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  • Hard to believe, but while the rest of the world celebrated the first day of spring last week, here at Jewelry Stringing we were busy making selections for our fall issue. As you can see here, every surface was filled with beautiful jewelry. Tabletops
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  • It's almost spring, when a young beader's thoughts turn lightly to those of...new gemstone beads, of course! Spring is a time of renewal and fresh starts, so take a look through your bead stash and see if you have any of my top picks for the gemstones
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  • My first trip to Bead Fest Santa Fe was truly a whirlwind experience. Fellow editor Debbie Blair and I packed as much as we could into our brief time there (check out Debbie's visual re-cap of our trip in her recent blog post ). Between getting to
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  • When my sister and I were kids, we assisted my mom when it came time to type up the directions to her knit and crochet projects. We quickly grew accustomed to the abbreviations and terms used in her patterns. How grateful was I when I started working
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  • I've always been more of a "natural" girl when it comes to my metal beads, particularly the gorgeous African brass beads that I've discovered in my favorite bead shops the last few years. But the other day as I was shopping online at
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  • The wait is over! Season 5 of Mad Men premieres this Sunday. Are you a fan, too? Over the summer, my husband and I caught up on the series, so we're greatly anticipating the return of Don, Betty, Joan, Roger, and the rest of the crew. I admit: I'm
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  • I've got a soft spot for brick stitch. It was the first beading stitch that I taught myself that I actually understood, and for a while, I made all of my amulet bags with brick stitch instead of peyote! Even after I learned how to love peyote stitch
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  • My second trip to Bead Fest Santa Fe over the weekend was just as I had expected it to be. It's always nice to catch up with some of the vendors and bead artists that I deal with in my day-to-day job here at Jewelry Stringing . And who can resist
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  • These cabone rings can be found in any craft supply store with the yarn notions and make fabulous focal beads when covered with your favorite beading stitch! I'm a craft store junky. If I have to run into my local bead crafts store to pick up just
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  • Want to open up a whole new world of possibilities in your jewelry making projects? Learning how to use materials like ribbon, cord and leather in your jewelry projects isn't as hard as you might think it is, and it looks oh, so cool! But if you've
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  • No crimping pliers, no wire cutters...no problem ! I ran into a dilemma last week as I was preparing for a weekend trip: I wanted to bring a jewelry project with me to help pass the time during my flight, but knew I wouldn't be able to get any pliers
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  • Have you ever imagined what it would be like to earn money doing something you love, like making beaded jewelry? A home based jewelry business is a great way to bring in extra income, and you don't even need to own a gallery or a shop to sell your
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  • What could be better than beading? Beading with a buddy, of course! I don't have too many opportunities to bead with my friends, but since it's National Craft Month and we're all about Passing On Our Passion this month, I set up a "date"
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  • Yes, that's right: we've decided to add two more prize packages to our Pass On Your Passion Giveaway for National Craft Month! We'll select, at random, two more winners who leave a comment on the original Pass On Your Passion blog and tell
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  • THIS WEEK STARTS BEAD FEST SANTA FE 2012 . HERE WE COME! Actually, I personally will not be headed to Santa Fe this year. My coworkers Debbie Blair and Chloe Chatenever have been elected to represent the magazine, though I have fond memories of what is
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  • From Jennifer: A couple of summers ago, I realized that I needed to upgrade my wire jewelry making tools. I had just embarked on a series of projects using beadweaving and wire jewelry making, and as I worked, I realized that my wire cutters, in particular
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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
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  • My daughter is only 3, but how she loves wearing mommy's jewelry! We have a lot of fun crafting together and although she's a little too young to do much more than string a bunch of large-hole beads onto yarn, the day will come when she's
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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
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  • Once you have bezeled your cabochon using peyote stitch, you can continue to work bead embroidery around it. Or, if you want a quick and easy focal piece for a beaded necklace or bracelet that combines bead embroidery and beadweaving techniques, you can
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  • The latest handmade jewelry craze? Hardware jewelry! Nuts and washers abound in the latest posts on DIY craft blogs and online creative communities. Eager to get my hands on some hardware to play with, I headed to my local home improvement store last
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  • Every once in a while, I am assigned a topic to write about here on Beading Daily that pushes the limits of what I know about jewelry-making. This time, it happened to be chain maille. I've never done anything with chain maille, and I was a little
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  • I think I've mentioned what a big fan I am of the Sundance Catalog . It's a great source for design inspiration. For instance, lately I've noticed that the catalog has featured a lot of designs with leather cord or lace formed into a clasp
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  • As part of the Fusion Beads National Craft Month Challenge, yesterday's task was to create a color palette. (Or two or three, from what I saw over in the Forums!) I haven't always loved the challenges of working with color when making a new seed
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  • As crafters, why do we love to do what we do? I've met a lot of beaders during the last ten years, and I've even created some new beaders through my beading classes, and they all have one thing in common: they are utterly passionate about beads
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  • From Jennifer: When I was in high school, I loved to experiment with making jewelry out of anything I could get my hands on. Paper, clay, buttons, wire, you name it! Before I settled on beads, I thought that I'd be making art jewelry out of all kinds
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  • Among the treasures I brought back with me from the Tucson gem and mineral shows were these gorgeous vintage Lucite beads from The Beadin' Path . I love the colors and textures of the vintage Lucite beads, and the deep, rich red and gold swirls of
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  • Yes, you read that right! While I was in Tucson, I started hearing about these wonderful large holed pearls, but never had the chance to find some for myself. Once I got home, I was browsing online at A Grain of Sand and discovered that among their "New
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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
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  • Ok, so this may require that you dabble in a medium you have never thought about before, but if you're willing to try your hand at a little polymer clay to make your own large-hole beads, it looks like Sculpey--one of the authorities in polymer clay
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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
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  • "Work hard, play hard" is a phrase that all of us here at Jewelry Stringing try to live by. There is always plenty of work to go around, but we still make time to have a little fun. Even during crunch times, when our to-do lists get lengthy
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  • Find 20 inspiring jewelry designs in the April/May 2012 issue of Beadwork. Project techniques range from easy bead crochet and netting to intermediate peyote and right-angle weave. Plus, see Bead #2 in our 15 th Anniversary Beaded Bead contest series and learn 4 ways to create picots.
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  • For National Craft Month, I thought I would participate in the Fusion Beads 30 Day National Craft Month Challenge. The Day 1 challenge was, of course, to make a pair of earrings! And I just happened to have a pair of these lovely 14mm Swarovski crystal
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  • It never fails to amaze me when I take a look at all the fabulous jewelry making resources available here on Beading Daily and over on Jewelry Making Daily . If you've done some jewelry making, you'll know that there are loads of great free projects
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  • Today starts National Craft Month! I can't think of a better time to celebrate doing what we love best: beading and jewelry making! This morning, I opened my email to discover an invitation from Fusion Beads to participate in their 30 Day National
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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
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  • Did you watch the Academy Awards this year? Who did you think was best dressed? I vote for Michelle Williams, the My Week with Marilyn actress. I loved her statement-making tomato-red Louis Vuitton dress and the pretty diamond bow pin she wore at her
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  • Once upon a time, I worked in the field of non-profit community development, grant writing and geographic information systems. I enjoyed the work, but most days I would come home feeling very stressed out and, well, fried. To counteract the stress I felt
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  • Do you feel the need to branch out a bit in your beading? Well, all puns aside, my newest beading project obsession is beading around sticks! The beach on Lake Champlain, looking towards Vermont. Photo by Sharon Schenckel. I'm lucky enough that I
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  • If you're like me, you've seen them everywhere --on the arms of celebrities, gracing the pages of Etsy and clothing catalogs--and it looks as though wrap bracelets continue to be one of the hottest trends in jewelry. Last summer, I had the privilege
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  • On today's Beading Daily blog, I talked about how I set out to stitch up some Chevron chain but actually wound up doing a version of right-angle weave known as triangle weave. I thought I'd offer a quick Chevron chain tutorial here for you today
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  • Back in December, I decided to participate in former Beading Daily online editor Michelle Mach's winter snowflake challenge. Michelle offered kits for sale in her online shop that contained some beautiful handmade porcelain components as well as an
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  • "Only four thousand dollars for these crystals? What a deal!" Beads in the refrigerator - again! You might have seen some of these "Stuff People Say" short videos on YouTube and other places around the web, and now, Beadwork magazine
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  • More and more beaders are choosing to buy their materials online. And since the worldwide web has become a veritable buffet of delectable beads and findings that are sold online, who could blame them? While online shopping will never replace a trip to
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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
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  • So there we were, me and Jewelry Making Daily's Tammy Jones at The Best Bead Show in Tucson, Arizona. We happened to stop by and see talented bead artist and lampwork artist Lisa Kan . Tammy's eye went to a tray of beautiful little glass flower
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  • I think this winter is finally starting to get to me. We've had lousy conditions for doing any of the fun things that I love to do in the winter up here: it hasn't been cold enough for any serious ice fishing, and there's definitely not enough
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  • Although I've tried my hand at bead making using polymer clay, I've never considered myself to be particularly good at it. Especially after seeing a friend of mine who created an entire Lord of the Rings chess set out of polymer clay -- I just
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  • If you loved the Mashed Up Hearts project over on our Beading Daily blog, here's a cool variation made to resemble ceramic Raku! Read on to find out how you can win a free kit including a package of Premo! Sculpey clay and the glitters used to create
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  • Yesterday, I wrote about five tips for setting up your online jewelry business. Once you have your online shop set up and filled with inventory, it's time to manage that inventory effectively so that you get the most out of your online jewelry business
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  • Winters in my part of the world are long. And cold. When we can get outside and do fun things like ice fishing, skiing or snow shoeing, it's not so bad. But this winter, there's not enough snow to do much of anything, and I'm starting to long
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  • When designing a necklace around a particular focal bead or pendant, how do you decide what color of beads to use? First, you may want to decide what kind of a statement you are trying to make. Choosing one color scheme over another can dramatically alter
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  • Taking a look at the recent threads in the Beading Daily forums, I see the same question over and over: I just set up my online jewelry shop, but no one is ordering anything from me! What am I doing wrong? It's easy to look at successful sellers on
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  • Yesterday marked the end of another New York Fashion Week. For most people who follow the semi-annual event, Fashion Week is about catwalks, models, and the latest styles from the industry's leading designers. For me, it's about color. Twice a
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  • Bead crafts have been around for hundreds of years. The first bead crafts were probably related to adorning clothing with thousands of tiny beads, but artists soon discovered that they could use beads to craft other items such as baskets, jars, and ornaments
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  • Don't you love these beads?! In my last post , I shared some of my treasures from the Tucson bead shows. One of those treasures was this strand of floral polymer clay beads from Cherry Tree Beads. When I first saw them, I imagined a Wilma Flintstone
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  • When I started learning how to bead with seed beads a long, long time ago, I ordered most of my seed beads from a paper catalog. Yes! A paper catalog! I could look through the pages of this catalog and see all the colors of seed beads that were offered
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  • With Valentine's Day upon us, some of you may be thinking "bling." Well, you don't need Valentine's Day as an excuse to treat yourself or a loved one to a piece of jewelry that you can craft in a matter of minutes! Over the weekend
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  • I came home from the Tucson gem, mineral and bead shows with more than just a new stash of beads. I came home with loads of new ideas! One thing is for certain as I look at my new goodies - I need some new beading tools ! I can't wait to start working
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  • My second (and last!) day in Tucson, I had originally planned to hit The Best Bead Show, To Bead True Blue and maybe sneak over to one of the gem and mineral shows, since my son was asking for geodes and green-and-purple rocks.Little did I know what I
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  • A part of my job that I really love is that I get to be creative almost every day. I am lucky enough to work with people who know the value of getting your hands dirty every now and then, and we all dedicate ourselves to making time to share our hobbies
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  • Making earrings has never been something I feel I'm particularly good at, so back in 2011, I decided to begin each year with a beading challenge to myself: make a pair of beaded earrings every day for an entire month. It seemed a bit daunting at first
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  • Anyone who knows me knows that I've always had a thing for dragons. When the movie How to Train Your Dragon came out, it instantly made it onto my list of favorite movies. Without giving too much away, I loved the way it was all about challenging
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  • I was so excited to head to Tucson, Arizona this year for my first-ever experience at the gem, mineral and bead shows! Because it takes me nearly seventeen hours (that's right - seventeen hours!) to get to Tucson from my home in upstate New York,
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  • As many of you know, this was my first year attending the Tucson shows, and I was so excited! I had heard stories about the amazing bead, gem and mineral shows, and saved my pennies so that I could bring home a healthy supply of beads and treasures for
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  • Nothing gives your beaded necklaces and bracelets a bit of character like a handmade lampwork glass bead . These lovely little bits of glass art come straight from the human imagination, and I love the way they can infuse a beaded necklace design with
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  • The Tucson bead shows are always a blast. A nd this year was no exception. I attended the To Bead True Blue show, the Best Bead show, and the Whole Bead show--a mere sampling of the dozens of bead, gem, and fossil shows that occur every year at this time
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  • Celebrate the coming of spring with Jewelry Stringing Magazine's special color issue! Check out our collection of beaded necklaces, bracelets, and earrings in the seasons hottest hues, then read through our "Spring Into Color" feature for tips on how to incorporate the colors of Pantone's
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  • One of the fun things about working on Jewelry Stringing is seeing the variety of materials jewelry designers are using these days. Inspired to create a polymer-clay piece for our mixed-media themed summer issue, I decided to try out Ranger Ink's
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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
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  • Everyone has their own creative process. Whether you are making a necklace or writing a novel, you probably have your quirky habits that help to put you in the right mindset to create. Maybe taking a run around the block or fixing your favorite snack
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  • Each beading stitch has its own intricacies and tricks, and flat odd-count peyote stitch is no different. When mastering this popular beading stitch, you have to learn how to make that tricky little turn at the end of every other row. For some beaders
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  • Welcome to our new Jewelry Stringing blog. We're excited to start an ongoing conversation with our jewelry-making buddies: you! On our end, you'll be hearing from me, Danielle Fox, editorial director of the bead group at Interweave; Debbie Blair
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  • Welcome to the new Beading Challenge blog here on Beading Daily! This is where you'll be able to come up with a name for my Challenge pieces in Beadwork magazine - and win a free beading kit! Come up with a name for this beaded necklace, and you could
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  • Denise Peck is the editor of Step By Step Wire Jewelry magazine. A few summers ago while browsing at Bead Fest Philadelphia, I came across an artist who made gorgeous lampwork glass acorn pendants with copper electroformed caps. I bought one of her pendants
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  • Jean Campbell is the founding editor of Beading Daily. From Jennifer: Steampunk is one jewelry-making trend that is not going away anytime soon! And for good reason, too - it's all too easy to get wrapped up in the romantic, funky findings and materials
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  • "Know the rules well so you can break them effectively." - HRH the Dalai Lama I have to believe that when the Dalai Lama said this, he was talking about bead making and jewelry making, too. Isn't that what creativity is about? You can't
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  • This week, I'm stitching away on a bead embroidered collar that I want to wear during my trip to the Tucson shows next week! This week, I'm frantically stitching away on a bead embroidered collar in hopes that I will have it finished in time for
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  • It's important to find the right online marketplace for your jewelry business. If you're ready to expand your jewelry business and start selling your handmade beaded jewelry online, you're in luck: there are more options for selling your jewelry
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  • The first set of beaded rings came out exactly as I had envisioned them! The second set of beaded rings were destined for my UFO drawer. Oh, well! I have a friend who, as part of her New Year's resolutions, wants to become a beader who "does
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  • I've always had an affinity for natural rock crystals. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and took stock of my beading goals for 2012 with a few New Year's beading resolutions . But then once I started looking over my sketchbooks and designs, I
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  • This Wednesday, I am frantically trying to get caught up on my Earring-a-Day challenge. Yes, fellow beaders, I got behind over the weekend on my earring making challenge, but at least I have a good reason: we took some time to celebrate my son's fourth
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  • Wire spirals are easy to make and are one of the oldest symbols known to humans. I can still remember my first wire jewelry-making project. I had bought a kit that included a complete set of tools (which I still have and love dearly!), a book about making
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  • As a recovering lampwork glass addict (I still have the torch, the kiln and all the glass in my garage workshop!) I have a soft spot for fabulous handmade lampwork glass beads. At a bead show, my first instinct is to check out which glass bead artists
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  • What's not to love about beaded bracelets? I've had a longtime love affair with beaded bracelets. Never met a beaded bracelet I didn't like. They're fun to make, fun to wear, and everyone likes a bracelet or two (try pairing up a couple
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  • Beading the Creative Spirit: Finding Your Sacred Center Through the Art of Beadwork by Wendy Ellsworth I've always loved the beautiful beadwork of Wendy Ellsworth , but I didn't know that she had written a book until I stumbled across it while
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  • My latest bead embroidery project, a large bead embroidered collar with a handmade ceramic cabochon by Lisa Peters Art . What's on YOUR beading table this Wednesday? It's Wednesday! That means we're halfway through the work week, and it's
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  • The February/March issue of Beadwork is full of firsts! See the first projects from our new (and extraordinary) designers of the year: Diane Fitzgerald, Leslie Frazier, Jean Power, and sister duo Sue Jackson and Wendy Hubick. And check out the first beaded bead in our 15th Anniversary Beaded Bead Contest
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  • You'd never know it, but when I got serious about jewelry-making back in college, I started out by doing wire work! Yes, when I began my journey into jewelry-making, I went out and bought a book and tool set that was all about wire wrapping. I still
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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
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  • I really didn't intend on using all these crystal pearls in my bead embroidered collar. But they found their way in, just the same! I really wasn't planning on using pearls in my latest big piece of bead embroidery. This piece was the first large
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  • I use many different types of journals as sketchbooks to keep track of my jewelry designs. Probably one of the most important supplies I keep around for my beaded jewelry-making projects is my sketchbook. Through the years, I've had several different
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  • Why do I love tubular herringbone? Oh, let me count the ways! I first discovered this fantastic stitch when I was just a beginning beader and for some reason, I had a tough time figuring out how to work flat herringbone. One of my beading friends suggested
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  • When I first started beading, I found myself sitting in the same position for literally hours. I was so focused on my beadwork that unless I got up to change the video tape that I was watching, I wouldn't move for hours on end. From an ergonomic point
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  • Among some of the many New Year's Resolutions that are sure to be made this weekend, I'm sure that a fair number of beady folks out there are going to want to start their own beading blog. And why not? I love reading the adventures and misadventures
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  • A little bit of bead embroidery goes a long way on a pair of my favorite jeans! Beads make fabulous jewelry, as we all know, but there are so many other crafts that you can do with beads! Crafts with beads can be things for home décor or special
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  • I can hardly believe that we're in the last few days of 2011! While most folks are making New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking or exercise more, I'm thinking about how I can cram more beading into the coming year. I'll sit
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  • Aqua Allure by Glenda Payseno Heavenly Hexagons by Mikki Ferrugiaro Hopeless Romantic by Lanai Kinsky Blue Rondo earrings by Laura McCabe Mandala Magic earrings by Maggie Roschyk A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my annual beading challenge to myself
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  • From Jennifer: Even though this blog was originally written about metalsmithing and jewelry-making, I found it to be appropriate for those of us who work primarily with seed beads as well. We all want to create artistic and beautiful jewelry, and Lexi's
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  • This sparkling crystal bead chain works great by itself or with a special pendant. This project was inspired by an amazing ceramic and crystal pendant I bought from Lisa Peters Art on Etsy . I loved the colors as well as the way Lisa combined the ceramic
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  • Beaded chains are very symbolic to me. Tonight is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year here in the northern hemisphere. Years ago when I was a writer of poetry and short fiction, I would always celebrate the winter solstice by lighting a
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  • Used with permission from About.com Before you even think about jumping into the business of selling your finished beadwork, you'll want to make sure that you have the proper tools, and this includes a good digital camera. But choosing a digital camera
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  • First place winner, Beaded Jewelry Category, 2011 Fashion Colorworks Beading Contest First place winner, Finished Jewelry Category, 2011 Fashion Colorworks Beading Contest Are you ready to enter a beadwork competition? Bead artist Zoya Gutina has posted
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  • We all love seed beads, that's why we're here on Beading Daily. But there are so many other beads that you can add to your bead-weaving and jewelry-making projects to make them more interesting! With new beads coming out from companies such as
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  • Garden Goddess Necklace by SaraBeth Cullinan Lampwork glass beads are an art in themselves. Hot glass is carefully layered and shaped to result in a striking handmade glass bead for you to use in your jewelry-making projects. Lampwork beads can be created
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  • Some of the fabulous metal sequins, buttons and trims I bought in New York City! While M & J Trimming isn't technically a bead shop, for anyone who loves to create beaded jewelry and accessories of all kinds, this is the place to go! I'd heard
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  • Some of the more unusual beads I found at City Beads in New York City . Looking more like a high-end fashion boutique than a well-stocked bead shop, City Beads was an unexpected but delightful stop on my recent New York City shopping trip. For those of
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  • The Citrine beads in Amber Leaves and Flowers by Susan Price Johnston will help encourage new creative thoughts. Gemstone beads have always appealed to me. It must be something about all those geology classes I took in college - at least they were good
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  • Some of the amazing beads I recently purchased at York Beads in New York City. By far, York Beads is my all-time favorite bead shop in Manhattan. If you love Czech seed beads, Czech fire-polished beads, Czech pressed-glass beads, daggers, charlottes,
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  • What do you think of the new Chinese crystal beads? With the news about products coming out of China the last couple of years, I had serious doubts about the quality of the Chinese crystal beads that have been flooding the bead shops and shows. Sure,
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  • These are some of my favorite beaded earrings from the earring making challenge I did in January of 2011. I can hardly believe that it's almost 2012! This year just flew by, which is, of course, what I say every year at this time. Over the years,
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  • We all love free beading patterns, there's no doubt about that. Last week, I talked a little about where to find free beading patterns here on Beading Daily . This week, we'll start looking around at other great places on the Internet where you
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  • I got to go bead shopping with the fabulous Lisa Peters Russ of Lisa Peters Art! How much fun is THAT? On the second day of my recent trip to New York City, my friends and I went into Manhattan to do some bead shopping between Fifth and Seventh Avenues
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  • Learning how to bead can be a challenge if you are left-handed! Are you left-handed or right-handed? When I learned how to ice skate, it became apparent that I am a die-hard righty. To make a turn while skating, you have to make a move called a crossover
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  • Me, my two friends, and all those beads at Beads on Fifth in Manhattan! Some of you may remember that a couple of weekends ago, I decided to take a little break and do some bead shopping in New York City with my friends. Each bead shop that I went to
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  • Me and one of my best friends in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This past weekend, I decided I needed to get out of town for a while. That's just something that happens when you work from home - eventually, you need to get out of the house
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  • In case you haven't seen the latest innovative bead to come out of the Czech Republic, let me introduce you. Dear Reader, please meet the new Twin seed bead from Preciosa Ornela. These lovely little seed beads are slightly longer and wider than a
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  • The Ootheca cuff by Rachel Nelson-Smith is a perfect example of how crystals can provide sparkle without being front and center. I love bead-weaving with crystals, but I don't think I do it often enough. (Somehow, it just doesn't work for me to
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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
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  • Free beading patterns - we all love 'em. Free beading patterns means that you can save your money for more beads, or you can just use up the beads you already have! And one of the great things about Beading Daily is that there are free beading patterns
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  • Diane Fitzgerald is the author of several classic beading books, as well as the recipient of The Spun Gold Award for her lifetime commitment to fiber arts. From Jennifer: Anyone in the beading business knows that marketing your beadwork can be tough.
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  • I was very happy with the progress I made on this bead embroidered collar for the Etsy Beadweavers' Challenge. So, here it is, December first! I can hardly believe that we are down to the last month of 2011, and that November went by so quickly! Some
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  • How much would you charge for a beaded necklace like this? This morning, as some of you may know, I received a message on Etsy about a particular piece that I have listed for sale in my shop . It went something like this: "about your necklace are
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  • Oh, yes, I'm one of those people that decorate the house with beads every holiday season. My beads bring me so much joy throughout the year that it only seems natural to incorporate them into my holiday decorating and gift-giving, too! Seed bead patterns
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  • Creative Jewelry is back with its 10 th edition and 130 brand-new beading projects! Discover quick and easy jewelry designs you can make yourself in a snap. Enhance your jewelry-making skills with expert tips on creating stylish (yet stunning!) jewelry. Boost your jewelry collection now with step-by
    Read More >>
  • These easy wire wrapped beads make great spacers with more antique trade beads or more organic gemstone beads. Being sort of a newcomer to wire work and wire jewelry-making, I have always admired those folks who can take a piece of wire and bend it (like
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  • As we all know, taking great photos of your beadwork can be difficult even on a good day. If you sell your finished beadwork or beaded jewelry on Etsy or ArtFire, you know just how important good, detailed photographs are for making sales. When customers
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  • It's Thanksgiving weekend here in the U.S., and now that we've got the leftovers in the refrigerator and are settling in to decorating for the holidays, I thought I'd ask our panel of artists and experts why they are thankful for their beads
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  • A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who is new to beading told me that she had become bored and frustrated with her necklace making projects. She wanted a way to shape some of her favorite bead-weaving stitches for necklace making without having to learn
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  • Yes, it's that time of year again. When it comes to the holiday gift-giving season, there are two types of people. The first type, like my sister, has all the holiday shopping done before the end of August, and everything is neatly wrapped, tagged
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  • Seed beads are beautiful to look at, but they also give us joy in so many other ways! Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., and while we are seated around our table with my family, I will be thinking about the things that I am most thankful for
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  • Beads 2011 is the ultimate bead-buyer's guide! Discover 330+ must-have beads for 2011 all in one place. Plus, get over 15 fabulous step-by-step jewelry projects! Enhance your jewelry designs and your jewelry-making skills with tips on how to bead with stylish jewelry designs. Packed with 96 pages
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  • This summer, I started playing around with resin after seeing some absolutely beautiful resin pendants and earrings at my local farmer's markets and craft shows. It seemed easy enough: measure, mix, and pour. My first few resin pendants and earrings
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  • My Back to Byzantium necklace has been the target of several instances of copyright violation. Which of the following statements is true: A. If you pay someone for a class to learn a particular design, you then own the rights to that design and can use
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  • Don't get me wrong - I love technology. I love being able to subscribe to my favorite beading magazine and have my issues delivered to my iPad, and I love being able to download movies, music and books without having to wait for the mailman to deliver
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  • This spectacular peyote stitch Bloomin' Bead was designed by Carol Dean Sharpe of Sand Fibers . Beaded beads are fascinating for so many reasons. It's more of that Zen-like quality of beadweaving for me: imagine making a bead out of beads! Where
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  • I've been interested in things such as yoga and meditation ever since I took a stress management class in college. (I tend to be wound rather tightly at times!) For years, I used writing as my primary practice when I was looking to do something meditative
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  • From Jennifer: I can hardly believe that it's already time for me to start thinking about holiday jewelry-making! Even if you don't have a lot of time to make new beaded jewelry for the holidays, you can still make a statement by using certain
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  • I love making beaded bracelets , but bracelet making presents its own unique set of jewelry-making challenges! "Kissing your hand may make you feel very good, but a diamond and sapphire bracelet lasts forever." - Anita Loos I think Ms. Loos
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  • November marks six months since I've been here at Beading Daily , and I have to say that I'm thrilled to be able to sit down every day and write about my favorite thing in the entire world - beads! Having the chance to connect and correspond with
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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
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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
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  • Brass bead embroidery blanks can be used to create beaded necklaces, pendants, collars, bracelets and earrings. My first bead-embroidered cuff bracelet was stitched using a lightweight aluminum cuff bracelet form that I purchased as part of a kit from
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  • Yes, I have more than one project on my beading tray in this picture. It's cluttered. I don't even know why that spool of blue Nymo beading thread is there! I don't know if I qualify as a typical beader, but I always find that I have about
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  • This necklace, made with some of the first glass beads I ever made myself, will never, ever be for sale! A few months ago, I was invited to submit some of my beadwork to a publishing company for consideration in one of their beading books. As I went through
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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
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  • Before you start selling your beadwork, it helps to understand who your customer is. We've all seen them: you go to a craft fair, a farmer's market, or a fine-art show. There are loads of people selling their jewelry, and there's usually at
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  • This bright and cheerful wire-wrapping, wire-coiling teardrop earring project was designed by Lindsay Burke for Fusion Beads. With the upcoming holiday season, these would look great for all those office parties and family get-togethers on your busy calendar
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  • James, a professional shoe designer, offers assistance and advice to David. For just a few minutes while watching the second episode of Project Accessory the other night, I really, really wanted to be one of those contestants and get ten minutes at the
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  • When I first started learning how to bead and was learning basic jewelry-making, I loved earring making. I didn't realize it at the time, but making earrings a great way to learn new beadweaving stitches and jewelry-making techniques. Handmade earring
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  • Learn cubic right-angle weave wen you make Marcia DeCoster's Tesserae Necklace. Right-angle weave has always been a favorite beadweaving stitch of mine, ever since I made my first project with it back when I was taking beadweaving lessons at a local
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  • I love using ceramic bead dishes for certain beading tasks. Here is an assortment of my ceramic beading dishes with beads for various projects in them! When I first started beading, I used to pour my seed beads into large, bulky plastic storage boxes
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  • Dulcey Heller , a Beadwork magazine contributor and beader extraordinaire, mentioned that today begins National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's known to those who love to write. The concept is that you have the entire month of It would take
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  • The piece: a twisted herringbone rope accented with two lush tassels of fringe and a crystal flower centerpiece. Come up with the best name for this piece of beadwork, and you win the beading kit pictured below courtesy of Red Panda Beads! Sometimes I
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  • I don't usually go for Halloween jewelry, but these handmade ceramic components from Lisa Peters Art were just too good to pass up! It's no secret that I'm totally addicted to the beautiful handmade ceramic beads and components from Lisa Peters
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  • It took me a very long time to figure out how to take great photos of my beadwork and beaded jewelry, and I still find that sometimes I have days when my photos just don't come out right. My mother and her brother were both gifted photographers, so
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  • Dangles from an old crystal chandelier make the perfect accent for a braided necklace and belt! You might not believe this, but she's using match sticks to create a necklace! Some of us around here at Interweave were so excited by the new Project
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  • My little Mirrix bead and tapestry loom is a far cry from the huge floor loom my mom had when I was a kid, but it makes weaving so much fun! My mom had a floor loom for weaving fibers when I was a kid, and the thing was a monster. I can remember on more
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  • Beadwork magazine chooses some pretty amazing beadweaving artists to feature as their Designers of the Year. These artists teach internationally and are known for both their gorgeous beaded jewelry designs and their innovative uses of traditional off
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  • Naming my beadwork is probably the hardest part of the whole process for me. A good name can mean so much when you are trying to convey an idea or a concept through a piece of beadwork or beaded jewelry. To me, choosing a good name for a piece of beadwork
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  • Tammy Jones is the online editor of Jewelry Making Daily . From Jennifer: The closest I ever came to making silver jewelry was the time I decided to take a class in making sterling silver beads, but had to back out at the last minute because I couldn't
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  • When my friend came over to bead the other day, she asked me a very good question : How do I get to be fluent in a lot of different beadweaving stitches? She asked me a great question. It's nice to be comfortable enough with all of the major beadweaving
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  • This was the very first time I had to create a color wheel by myself! Margie gave me easy exercises to do that helped me become more comfortable using light, pastel colors. Then the fun came when I got to put together my own color palettes based on my
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  • Look at all the goodies in this beading challenge kit from The Hole Bead Shop ! I was lucky to snag one! I can still remember my first beading challenge. I was still a relatively new beader, and I had only recently mastered peyote stitch. The owners of
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  • What is steampunk? Steampunk is a style that can be characterized as romantic yet edgy; industrial but artistic. Steampunk is the combination of your favorite science fiction book and your favorite romance novel with equal parts metal and lace. Steampunk
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  • My finished piece of bead embroidery for Beading For a Cure. A couple of years ago, I sat in my favorite coffee shop one morning looking for something to blog about. Betcey Ventrella of Beyond Beadery suggested that I check out the amazing projects that
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  • Read more about Margie and her work on Margie Deeb.com From Jennifer: Sometimes, I just feel like tearing apart a piece of beadwork. Has that ever happened to you? There are just times when I finish a piece of beadwork and I don't like anything about
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  • Last time I was talking to you about peyote-stitch patterns, we were talking about the best way to learn how to read a peyote-stitch pattern. Reading a peyote-stitch pattern can be made so much easier if you have a firm understanding of the basic mechanics
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  • A couple of my favorite seed bead storage solutions for tubes of seed beads. Back when I was still a baby beader, I ordered my seed beads from a paper catalog. (Wow. Imagine that!) The seed beads arrived in a small box, neatly packaged in plastic tubes
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  • From Jennifer: I love making my own beads out of just about anything. Earlier this summer, I started making fabric flowers that I turned into focal beads, and of course, embellished to within an inch of their lives with other beads. Cate Prato, our wonderfully
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  • I admit it - in addition to being a math geek, I'm also a history geek, particularly when it comes to the history of self-adornment and fashion. For me, knowing the history of a particular custom or fashion makes creating my own beaded necklaces that
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  • Beautiful blooming spring to fabulous fall foilage. Lovely Leaves are always on our minds. Loopy Leaf Slide Cascading Leaves Leaf Link Bracelet and Earrings by Dottie Hoeschen by Cheron Gelber by Jane Dickerson Tatted Leaves Bracelet Tree Of Life Turquoise
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  • My Tallulah's Pearls necklace reflects the classic look of fine freshwater pearls. For hundreds of years, the only people who wore pearls were royalty and nobles, and later, the fabulously wealthy who could afford them. Today, the good news is that
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  • The packaging for one of the very first beading kits I ever bought, circa 2000. I can still remember the first beading kit I ever bought. It was for a pair of fringed brick-stitch earrings that looked like shooting stars. The beaded earrings were big
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  • We know you are gonna fall (and fall hard) for these awesomely autumn projects! Topaz Riches Ruby Starburst Choker Red Tube Necklace and Bracelet by Linda Gettings by Barbara Grainger by Nancie M. Wiseman Perfect Red Swinging Starlets Autumn Drops by
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  • Who's crazy about feathery friends? That would be us AND we bet you'll be jumping on the trendy bandwagon soon enough. Sakura Nesting Eye of the Peacock Lariat by Kelley Angeley by Michelle Mach by Kerrie Slade Three Little Birds Chirp-Chirp Who
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  • Pump, pump, pump it up! Pump up your peyote stitch! Nola Bracelet Peyote Sunburst Bracelet Squared by Nancy Zellers by Jennifer VanBenschoten by Diane Hertzler Patchwork Paradise Pearly Mosaic Peekaboo Bangle by Marilyn T. Aronson by Lisa Kan by Nancy
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  • From Jennifer: I'm always fascinated by the process behind making art. The need to make art is so mysterious and so human that I want to find out from other artists what's behind their call to create. Helen Driggs, the managing editor of Lapidary
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  • Well, wow! I can't believe that it's been nearly a month since we finished the first Beading Daily Bead Along! It took me way longer to finish my piece than I thought it would, but here it is, and I love it. Here it is! My Net Full of Gems! If
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  • Yep, we beaders are definitely a creative and thrifty bunch. When it comes to our beading supplies, there are lots of items that we "borrow" from other crafts that work just as well when it comes to our beloved beads! Recently, I discovered
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  • My Victorian Infinity Necklace was the first original beading project I ever had published in Beadwork magazine! Did you know that Beadwork magazine is celebrating fifteen years of fabulous beading and beaded jewelry designs? I can hardly believe it!
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  • As a writer and a bead artist, I'm always fascinated with the stories behind beaded jewelry designs. This beaded necklace also has a great story behind it! The first one of these that I made was for a close friend of mine who lives in Burbank. She
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  • As a writer, I love a good story, and my latest beading project has a great one behind it. There are many stories behind the Storyteller Beaded necklace I created with a resin pendant I made myself and my favorite beading stitches. When my sister and
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  • Leftover beads? What are those? Oh, that's right - those are the dozens of tiny plastic bags you have in your bead stash that contain just a few beads. For me, they are everywhere: at the bottom of every drawer, mixed in with my seed bead drawers
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  • We reached a milestone here on Beading Daily yesterday with the addition of our 10,000 th fan on Facebook ! It's hard for me to believe that there are actually 10,000 of you bead lovers out there who are watching our posts and reading our blogs every
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  • Start with an easy peyote stitch pattern, like Geometric Gemstones by Anna Neff. How to Read a Peyote Stitch Pattern: It's Easier Than You Think! Do you love those gorgeous peyote stitch patterns for flat peyote but find yourself confused when it
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  • Looking for a special gift for someone special? Look no further . In Stringing Winter 2011, you'll find an expanded shopping guide with 16 of our favorite jewelry-making staples this season. Whether you are attending elegant holiday parties or wanting to turn heads on New Year's Eve, you'll
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  • Handmade beads have a way of capturing your imagination like no other. There's just something about the way a handmade bead looks and the way it feels in your hand that connects with you on a very deep level. The very first beads were all handmade
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  • Celebrate the 15th Anniversary with the December/January issue of Beadwork magazine!
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  • Accessorize your favorite fall fashions with handmade jewelry! Discover unique techniques in 70 inspiring jewelry designs in the Fall 2011 issue of Stringing magazine. This collection of 27 necklaces, 26 earrings, and 17 bracelets is a feast for creative minds! Delve into beautiful burnt orange blossoms
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  • Create boat-loads of bracelets, an army of earrings, and mountains of marvelous necklaces with 101 stunning jewelry designs! 101 Bracelets, Necklaces, and Earrings is back with 101 more beading projects! Discover quick and easy jewelry designs you can make yourself with the 101 Bracelets, Necklaces,
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  • Go on, glam it up! Hit this fall season with super stylish (and stunning) jewelry designs! Little Black Dress Earrings Gold Glamour Netted Jewel Earrings by Marcia DeCoster by Kristy Abner by Amy Haftkowcz Baroque Earrings Glamour Girl Necklace Nice Rock
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  • Make Great Handmade Beaded Jewelry with Character! When you're working on a piece of great beaded jewelry, you want to give it character. After all, that's why people make, buy and wear handmade beaded jewelry, isn't it? They want something
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  • Get great ideas for hot jewelry designs in Stringing Summer 2011! Packed with 70 beaded bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, this issue is brimming with inspiration. NEW THIS ISSUE is our thematic organization of projects. You'll want to check out Toggled Treasures (projects that use a toggle clasp
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  • Let's face it: selling beadwork and beaded jewelry can be a tough business. Go to any craft show and look at just how many vendors are selling jewelry. You'll find that there are more and more jewelry vendors selling all kinds of handmade jewelry
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  • So, you've taken the plunge and learned how to do Viking knit! Wow! You've worked out the kinks (literally) with your wire and have completed a beautiful, supple piece of Viking knit chain that is...well...just sitting in your hands. Viking knit
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  • We're sure you'll be inspired by the 31 beaded necklaces featured in this project-rich magazine. All come with thorough step-by-step instructions so it's easy to recreate the best looks yourself. Short on time but high on creativity? Check out our feature about the best jewelry-making shortcuts
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  • A couple of years ago, I started seeing this wonderful variation on St. Petersburg chain popping up in magazines and in finished beadwork on Etsy. I was never particularly fond of St. Petersburg chain, but double St. Petersburg chain makes a beautiful
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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
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  • From Jennifer: Margie Deeb is an internationally known author and bead artist. She has written two books about color specifically geared for bead artists, and is a popular instructor at Bead Fest. If you've ever felt intimidated by using color theory
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  • When I was in high school, I got bit by the jewelry-making bug. I had been experimenting with making jewelry from beads, paper, fibers, buttons and anything else I could get my hands on. A friend of mine was doing a lot of wire-wrapping with polished
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  • Did you make it to the party? The Bead Soup Blog Party , that is! Lori Anderson of Pretty Things has been running this little event called the Bead Soup Blog Party for a couple of years now. The concept was simple: people sign up by giving their names
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  • I've always been one of those "do it yourself" kind of people, particularly when it comes to crafting. I think it must run in my family because my grandmother, who never used any kind of books or patterns for her crochet, made beautiful
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  • I come from a long line of crafters. When I was a kid, all of my sweaters, hats, scarves, and mittens were crocheted by my maternal grandmother, and all without a pattern! When my sister and I were kids, my mom, thinking she would keep us out of trouble
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  • One of the things that I've been writing about for a couple of years now are basic beading skills. These are the skills that you'll find yourself using again and again on your beading journey. I've always told my students that learning how
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  • A sample of colored Fireline from Sparkle Spot Bead Shop . This stuff rocks! I love everything about Fireline. Well, almost everything. Ever since I discovered how great Fireline is for making open-backed peyote-stitch bezels and making supple and strong
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  • With a preschooler, a full-time job, a husband, a dog and a gaggle of chickens, there's always something for me to do at my house. And sometimes, sadly, the beading is the LAST thing to get done at the end of the day. But beading is important to me
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  • Karla Rosenbusch is the associate editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine From Jennifer: I love making beaded jewelry with gemstone beads, mainly because of the huge variety of gemstone beads available! Today, Karla Rosenbusch of Lapidary Journal
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  • As my collection of beading tools grows and grows, I find that there are a couple of beading tools that I must have handy when I sit down to bead. My favorite scissors for cutting Fireline and Wildfire are a simple pair of Rapala fishing line scissors
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  • Beaded netting is such an easy beadweaving technique, and one that I think is very often overlooked or ignored by beadweavers in favor of beading stitches like peyote stitch or herringbone stitch. It's been a favorite of mine for creating supple but
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  • Gemstone cabochons are one of my favorite beading supplies, and I'm always on the lookout for beautiful hand-cut gemstone cabochons. My friend Carol Dean Sharpe of SandFibers introduced me to Sheila Hoag of Tradewinds Studios and her luscious gemstone
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  • Being a (mostly) self-taught beader, I discovered the advantages and drawbacks of learning my beading skills from books and videos. (That was back in the Stone Age when all we had was a VCR!) It was easy enough for me to follow the diagrams and directions
    Read More >>
  • With my son starting preschool in just a couple of weeks, I've suddenly gotten nostalgic for all things back-to-school. Going back to school every September was always exciting for me - I was anxious to learn new things and see my friends after a
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  • I discovered beading while my husband and I were living in a tiny apartment in Lake Placid, N.Y. I was still a college student, finishing up my degree in environmental science, and working as an intern in a small not-for-profit community development organization
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  • I promised this free beading project a couple of weeks ago, and it's finally ready! The Renaissance Diamond Chain Collar is here! I had the idea for this collar floating around in my head for quite a while, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going
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  • Tammy Jones is my bead buddy and the Online Editor for Jewelry Making Daily . I asked her to tell me about her favorite new beading or jewelry making product from the pages of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist magazine. Tammy found these gorgeous new Glinter
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  • Need a little spice in your life? Look no further. Mixed media (and Handcrafted Jewelry 2011) is all you’ve been waiting for and more. Discover 22 brand-new jewelry designs using simple techniques and fabulous materials!
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  • So by now, I hope that you have all figured out what colors and materials you are going to use for making Linda Richmond's Net Full of Gems necklace for our first Bead Along! I've decided to use some white Howlite chips and some gunmetal lined
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  • Whip up a whole new jewelry collection in minutes with 135 fast and easy designs in the new edition of the best-selling special issue Creative Jewelry 2010. Creative Jewelry 2010 is packed with 148 pages of amazing designs in wire-wrapping, stringing, and more from the trusted experts at Stringing and
    Read More >>
  • One of the challenges of working with handmade focal beads and cabochons is picking out which beads will go with it to create a harmonious color palette. There needs to be a balance between the main colors in the focal bead or cabochon and the accent
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  • I'm probably not the first person to mix chain and bead embroidery, but I certainly love it! I think the first time I saw chain and bead embroidery mixed together, it was in some of Diane Hyde's amazing Bead Punk pieces . I was totally inspired
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  • A note from Jennifer: Kerrie Slade is a frequent contributor to Beadwork magazine, and is a member of our panel of artists and experts for our Question of the Week feature here on Beading Daily. Kerrie lives in Mansfield, England and recently had the
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  • When I first started beading, all I made was amulet bags. This was back in 1999, and everywhere you looked beadweavers were creating beautiful, over-the-top beadwoven amulet bags. Sometimes I would make a pair of earrings to match a particular bag, but
    Read More >>
  • Those of you who remember me from my days as the Guide to Beadwork on About.com will be happy to know that there is a new Guide for the site, and she's already been busy blogging and designing free patterns! Chris Franchetti Michaels , the author
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  • Watch and learn exciting new jewelry-making techniques with Handcrafted Jewelry Studio eMag Living in a rural part of New York, I love how I can download a video or a digital magazine and start learning a new jewelry making technique almost instantly
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  • When I got married, I had to make sure that beads were a part of our special day! When my husband and I were planning our wedding back in 2003, I wanted beads to play a big part in our special day. I had planned on making the jewelry for my bridesmaids
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  • I love the days when I get the newest issue of Beadwork magazine. Those are the days when I treat myself to a cup of tea or hot chocolate, something yummy to eat, and I let myself take a couple of hours to kick back and read that magazine from cover to
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  • I had so much fun participating in the Mirrix Weave-A-Long a couple of weeks ago that I've decided to have a Bead Along here on Beading Daily! What is a Bead-A-Long? A group of beaders get together (online, of course) to make the same project and
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  • A note from Jennifer: There are two kinds of beading pattern designers in this world: those who can create gorgeous flat peyote patterns and those who can't. Carol Dean Sharpe, owner of Sand Fibers , is definitely one of those who can. Carole's
    Read More >>
  • From Jennifer: Do you know Danielle Fox and Debbie Blair? They are two of the fabulous editors here at Beadwork and Stringing magazines. Recently, they decided to throw a jewelry making party, and we thought we'd share their expert advice and show
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  • As much as we all love beads and are constantly inspired by them, sometimes it helps to take a little creative break and step away from the beads (and the computer!) for a while. I practice yoga every morning before breakfast, and my morning stretches
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  • Learn expert tips for working flat herringbone stitch Find out how to work circular and other variations of this versatile beadweaving stitch Follow large, easy to see diagrams as Melinda takes you through basic herringbone stitch Maybe I'm giving
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  • These gorgeous handmade porcelain slides by Marsha Hedrick were enough to make me want to get back into making bead crochet ropes! Making bead crochet ropes was one of those things that I struggled with mightily until I had one of those "a-ha!"
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  • Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite season. I love the warm days and the cool nights, the smell of freshly made apple cider and the amazing colors that we see on the mountains here in upstate New York. And, of course, I can remember when I first started
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  • I can't remember a time when I didn't enjoy using beads and making jewelry. I always say that it's my mother's fault - she was a fabulous knit, crochet and needlepoint designer, and whenever she ordered her supplies she would include a
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  • I can't remember where I first learned this diamond chain stitch, but I love it! It's so easy and so versatile that you can work it up with pretty much any beads you happen to have around. It's fast, too - it only took me about an hour to
    Read More >>
  • I scooped up these hanks of cut seed beads at a gem show in upstate New York I can still remember the very first time I went to Bead Fest Philadelphia . I had just opened a bead shop with two business partners. I was a month away from getting married
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  • My well-loved soft tacklebox is perfect for carrying lots of beads to shows and classes. It's summer, and that means that lots of people are hitting the road for a vacation. I'll be packing up my beads and heading to a couple of beading classes
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  • I'll be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about working with metal when it comes to jewelry making, but making metal jewelry has always intrigued me. I can remember when I was in college watching with envy as my friends who were art
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  • There's nothing more uplifting for me than to spend an afternoon or a day in a beading class, surrounded by like-minded people who are there to have fun, learn something new, and take home a fabulous piece of beaded jewelry. And if you're heading
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  • Last week, I shared some pictures and a little story about how my husband and I have begun our transformation of our basement back into a beading studio and office for me after our problems with flooding this spring. And I have to admit, now that we've
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  • I have just as many drawers full of stringing wire, beading pliers, findings, and beading thread as I do drawers full of beads! Some days, it seems like every beading project that I make requires its own set of beading tools and jewelry-making supplies
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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
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  • My "Hypnotize Me" bead embroidered pendant uses wire wrapped dangles as fringe. How easy is this? Take a couple of beads and string them on a head pin. Make a wrapped loop, and you've got one of the most versatile components for jewelry
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  • Now you can create all of the most popular projects from Step by Step Beads magazine in the new ultimate collector's edition Best of Step by Step Beads -available for the first time! Packed with tons of easy-to-follow illustrations and colorful photos, Best of Step by Step Beads shows new beaders
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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
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  • I've seen some pretty bad crimping jobs since I started making beaded jewelry. My own first crimps were pretty darn bad, too. I used the wrong kind of crimp, and I never used a crimping pliers. (I didn't even know what a pair of crimping pliers
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  • Tammy Jones is the Online Editor for Jewelry Making Daily A note from Jennifer: Resin is my latest jewelry making obsession. It started a few months earlier after I purchased a gorgeous pendant from Andrew Thornton and then saw what some of my fellow
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  • Once upon a time, I was totally baffled by color when it came to selecting beads for my beading projects. I would choose colors for a project based on what I liked from my bead stash - sometimes it would work, and sometimes it would be a total disaster
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  • I love making peyote-stitch beaded beads. Not only are they simple and fast, but it's also so easy to think up ways to embellish them! These freshwater pearl-embellished beaded beads were inspired by the Lisa Peters Art focal bead that I had in my
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  • Beaded earrings don't have to match a bracelet or a necklace. In fact, when I wear earrings I prefer them to be statements all by themselves. Beaded earrings are like little miniature works of beadwoven art. And once you get started, they really are
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  • Of all my beading mats and beading surfaces, my favorites have to be my Designer's Workpads and my Deluxe Bead Traveler from Designer's Findings and bead artist Diane Hyde . I was introduced to these wonderful work pads through a friend who used
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  • How easy is this? Make a small piece of peyote stitch beadwork. Make sure the ends mesh with each other and then zip it up. You have just created what might be the most versatile piece of beadwork known to humankind: the peyote stitch beaded bead. You
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  • Among some of my most important beading supplies are my many beading mats. Having a good work surface can make all the difference when you're working on a complex beading project, so I usually have three or four different types of beading mats in
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  • My first serious foray into the world of handmade jewelry came with a kit and book about making wire jewelry. (I hadn't yet discovered the joys of off-loom beadweaving.) I learned how to make jump rings, spirals and links and even managed to make
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  • When you design your own beadwork, finding inspiration for your beading projects is an important part of the whole process. Finding new sources of inspiration can help you grow and evolve as an artist. I've found that staying open to new sources of
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  • The finished Guinevere's knot necklace with focal bead by Lisa Peters Art. Does anyone else remember those hemp necklaces that were so popular with kids twenty years ago? Yes, I was one of those kids who wore knotted hemp necklaces and bracelets.
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  • Welcome to Free Project Friday! This week's free beading project is an easy banded flat herringbone bracelet, made with seed beads and tiny cube beads. These new cube beads are popping up everywhere, and I couldn't resist adding a selection of
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  • Guest blog by Kelli Burns of The Hole Bead Shoppe Lucite's color diversity, lightness, endless variety of shapes and inexpensive price makes it a must for today's thrifty designer - and it can be recycled! Every design that we've had in a
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  • Pretty much every single flat herringbone stitch project that I've seen has a ladder stitch start to it, so I was eager to learn this method for starting flat herringbone stitch. Instead of beginning with a ladder, your herringbone stitch will begin
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  • A few years ago, I saw some of my beady friends on Facebook creating the most marvelous beaded pendants and cuff bracelets with handmade ceramic cabochons. Up until then, I had only ever used gemstones for my bead embroidered pieces, and these handmade
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  • Wild optimism made me think that one strand of keishi pearls would be enough to complete an embellished spiral rope necklace. I fell in love with these silvery-green keishi pearls the moment I saw them on the Lima Beads website . I'm a sucker for
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  • Summers here in the Adirondack Mountains can be hot. Maybe it's just because we're all so used to spending four or five months dealing with sub-zero temperatures, but as soon as the mercury rises, all I can think about is sitting in the pool and
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  • It seems like every time I turn around, there's a new bead, beading supply or beading tool available at shows and online. I thought I'd ask our panel of experts and artists what their favorite new beading product was. Carol Dean Sharpe: I am completely
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  • Welcome to Free Project Fridays! I'll be posting a new free beading project every Friday here on Beading Daily , so stay tuned for some great new beading projects! The Jazzy Herringbone Bracelet made by adding little groups of embellishments to a
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  • I don't necessarily like clutter, even though clutter is sometimes a necessary part of my creative process. Keeping clutter under control can be a challenge for someone like me who lives in a small house. (It's hard enough keeping my son's
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  • One of two bracelets I made the summer that my mom passed away. Bracelets are a great way to make a very personal statement with your own handmade jewelry! Summer of 2008 was hard for my family. I was adjusting to being a new mom. I was venturing out
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  • Welcome back! In yesterday's post, we talked about metallic and galvanized seed beads. Today, we'll discuss the new hybrid seed beads from Toho, dyed seed beads, and ways to prolong the life of your metallic and coated seed beads. Permanent galvanized
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  • A sampling of the earrings I made during my self-imposed creative challenge: create a pair of earrings every day for an entire month! I don't often wear earrings. Part of that comes from a habit I got into after my son was born - it's just not
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  • 14k yellow gold metallic seed beads 24k white gold metallic seed beads Metallic bronze seed beads We are incredibly lucky to be beaders at this time in the history of the seed bead. We are constantly being offered new shapes, sizes, colors, and finishes
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  • Welcome to a new feature on Beading Daily : the Question of the Week! I've assembled a panel of some very talented and well-known bead artists, and every week they'll be answering a question about beads, beadwork or anything related to 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.
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  • Human beings have prized gemstones for hundreds of years. In addition to their natural beauty, gemstones have also been coveted for their perceived mystic powers. Gemstones are believed to help heal, bring good luck and fortune, and enhance the abilities
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  • If you're a regular subscriber to Beadwork magazine, then you're probably familiar with the Designers of the Year. Every year, Beadwork chooses four top beadwork designers and features brand new projects by each of them for an entire year. Some
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  • The recent price increase for sterling silver really hit me the last time I put together an order for sterling silver clasps and findings. It made me nervous to think that I was going to eventually have to pass on that price increase to my customers,
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  • One of the reasons why I love beads and beadweaving and bead stitching and bead stringing (I'll quit while I'm ahead) is the long history behind beads and beadweaving. Beads are endlessly fascinating, and the stories behind the beads themselves
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  • With all of the different bead weaving stitches, techniques and beads out there you might think that one would never get bored with bead weaving. But yes, even those of us who love and make our living with bead weaving get bored once in a while. You find
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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
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  • Nicole's BeadBacking in an assortment of colors If you love to do bead embroidery, I've just discovered a bead backing that beats out everything else I've ever used: Nicole's BeadBacking. This bead embroidery medium was developed by bead
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  • Perhaps it's my inner ADD child, or maybe it's just part of being a creative person, but I get sidetracked very easily. For example, I was tech editing Lynn Davy's project for the October/November 2011 issue of Beadwork magazine last week
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  • For me, herringbone stitch is one of those bead weaving stitches where I'm not afraid to experiment and discover all it has to offer. Maybe it's the history and culture behind herringbone stitch with its origins in South Africa that speaks to
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  • Ode On a Grecian Urn Necklace It's no secret that I love herringbone stitch in all of its variations. After learning how to do tubular herringbone stitch, I decided to try some experiments with flat herringbone stitch. I decided to start playing with
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  • Seed beads are beautiful. And not just because they're little and shiny - for me, the beauty of seed beads lies in the fact that you can do so much with them! Sure, you can string them all by themselves or stitch them together in a simple peyote stitch
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  • Even though I'm not primarily a wire work person, like most beadweavers, I need a good set of jewelry making pliers in my beading tool kit for those times when I need to attach jump rings and findings or make a set of wrapped loops. I bought my first
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  • Simple herringbone ropes can be braided together to make easy and striking jewelry Dramatic curves can be achieved in flat herringbone stitch by using different sizes of beads Beadweaving is like magic to me. You sit down with a pile of seed beads, some
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  • So, the first thing that you should know about me is that I'm a total cabochon freak. I love beading with cabochons. One of the things that I always find to be a fun challenge when I'm stitching up a beaded cabochon necklace is what kind of fringe
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  • Jean Campbell shares 4 design ideas for beaded necklace shapes
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  • Anyone who has ever enjoyed working with beads can’t deny the simple fact that beads have some sort of healing power. There’s just something undeniably life-affirming and uplifting about the joy that you get when you sit down with your beads
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  • Viking knit is one of those things that I always admired but never figured that I'd be able to do. My first attempts to learn Viking knit were pretty much disastrous - being a primarily self-taught beadweaver, I figured I'd be able to learn Viking
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  • When I inherited my mom's jewelry after she passed away, a necklace in her collection caught my eye. It was obviously very old (Mom loved vintage jewelry, just like me!) and made from some sort of plastic, either Lucite or Bakelite. A short length
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  • I loved the idea of using these sparkly fibers to make some easy Italian-style beaded jewelry! Every once in a while, I feel like I need to take a break from beadweaving . Don't g et me wrong, beadweaving will always be my first love when it comes
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  • Ever since Carole Cypher returned from her adventures in Japan last year, I've been hearing about these amazing new beading needles that she brought back with her. Tulip needles were reputed to be stronger, more flexible, and less likely to bend and
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  • Jean Campbell outlines the 6 wireworking tools you need to make beautiful wireworked jewelry.
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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
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  • I don't know what it is about necklaces, but I make more beaded necklaces than any other type of beaded jewelry. So that's why I'm excited to reintroduce this eBook: 7 Free Beaded Necklace Designs . There is a great variety of necklaces inside
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  • Jean Campbell gives 4 great examples on how to personalize your jewelry designs
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  • 80,404 votes are in for the world's favorite jewelry designs for 2011 Be there for the big unveiling of the winners in the 9 jewelry-making categories! Now you can own all of the prize-winning jewelry designs and fun step-by-step tutorials in the newest Bead Star special issue. Learn jewelry-making
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  • I'm the first to admit that when it comes to my beading projects, I suffer from a severe case of B.A.D.D. (Beader's Attention Deficit Disorder). I start a new project and then something pretty catches my eye - a little pack of Czech fire-polished
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  • If you're reading this blog, chances are you're already pretty computer-savvy. Maybe you use You Tube, Twitter, Facebook, and other electronic social media to keep up with beading and jewelry-making trends. You probably already know how easy it
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  • Now you can get 25 amazing mixed-media jewelry designs in the new special issue of Handcrafted Jewelry. Make your mark with unique techniques and brand-new one-of-a-kind jewelry projects in resin, polymer clay, enamel, fabric, and much more.
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  • Try your hand at working with mismatched earrings to learn the secrets of asymmetry
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  • I'm one of those people that have resisted buying any kind of e-reader because I like my books and magazines in print. I like the pages and the smell of the ink on a fresh magazine. The only thing I don't like about my back issues and books is
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  • Learning peyote stitch opened up a whole new dimension in beadwork for me. I felt like one of those cartoon characters who suddenly gets superhuman powers, then sits back and cackles and says, "Now I will RULE THE WORLD!" Maybe peyote stitch
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  • Jean Campbell has her sights on summer beading with her Top 6 from the Beading Daily store.
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  • Lately, instead of buying brand-new sterling silver clasps, findings, and beads, I've been turning to a few new sources. First, I've been practicing my wire working skills to make my own earring findings and clasps using my favorite sterling silver
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  • Even though I don't do it too often, I love knotting strands of pearls and gemstone beads. There's nothing quite as iconic as a single strand of knotted pearls: I'm thinking of June Cleaver or Jackie O. Pearls add instance elegance and class
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  • Learn how to add fiber to bead loom projects
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  • Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of working with wire (except for the projects I made from Rachel Nelson Smith's fabulous book, Seed Bead Fusion .) But sometimes it pays to know your way around a set of wire-working tools, especially
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  • Hello Beading Daily Community! Some of you might already know me —I'm Jennifer VanBenschoten, and I've been a contributor to Beadwork magazine for a few years now. I'm incredibly excited to introduce myself to you now as the new online
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  • Q&A with Denise Peck and Jane Dickerson, authors of the brand new book, Handcrafted Wire Findings
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  • If you've been making jewelry for a while, you're ready to expand your skills. For many beaders and stringers, that means moving into the realm of making wire jewelry . I know wire can feel a little daunting—I vividly recall my first class
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  • Whether you're looking for an elegant dangle necklace or glamorous stitched earrings, you'll be sure to find it in the October/November issue of Beadwork magazine.
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  • Danielle Fox, editor of Stringing and Handcrafted Jewelry is here today to share five resin jewelry-making tips and to talk about a recent project. . .our fabulous eMag: Handcrafted Jewelry Studio . This multimedia magazine features products, techniques
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  • Learn how to work two-drop peyote stitch in 4 easy steps
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  • Every year, Interweave’s annual Bead Star competition gives beaders a chance to shine, and it’s time to choose our 2011 stars! The submissions for our fourth issue of Bead Star have been pouring in for months, and we’ve been blown away
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  • Q&A with Tammy Jones I don't know about you, but I love knowing what makes people tick. What inspires a designer/writer/artist, and where did they come from? Knowing this background information gives me a deeper connection and understanding of
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  • Making mixed-media jewelry is a great pastime and can also help to keep you fashionably current. On top of that handcrafted jewelry makes a wonderful gift. Not only is it a gift from the heart, it also can be designed to be a totally personal piece, incorporating
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  • Learn how to make holes in metal the easy way with a screw punch
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  • Your Favorite Beading Daily Blogs Revisited It's always fun to look back on the past, and see what has been shaking here on Beading Daily ! As a fun start to the week, I've gathered the most commented on Beading Daily posts from 2010. It's
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  • There is only one thing better than cracking open a new beading book, watching a brand-new beading DVD, or downloading a beading resource that you can't wait to use: sharing the experience with friends. Explore our top picks from the Interweave store
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  • Packed full of stunning seed bead stitched projects the August/September 2011 issue of Beadwork covers so many topics including easy peyote-stitched tube jewelry, our first ever Albion stitch project, and the winners of the Beadwork VII Challenge: The Beaded Earth are revealed!
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  • Learn how to use acrylic floor finish to firm and protect beadwork designs
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  • Salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, flowers and chocolate (especially dark), all these goodies go hand in hand just like metal magic and Helen Driggs! She amazes me with all the different types of creations she comes up with using metals. And since
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  • TV . . . It's a glamorous life . . . so they say! Marlene Blessing (Editorial Director, Interweave Books) and I recently had a taste of that life, and we're here to tell you a little about behind the scenes of that so called glamorous life! While
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  • Many of you know that I'm a glutton when it comes to learning, especially anything that concerns beading. I love storing facts and figures about the history of beadwork, bead manufacturing, and the business of beading. But my very favorite way to
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  • One of the best ways to feed your need to bead is to try out new ways from established pros. Jean Campbell fits the bill on that! I love trying out her tips, and her six steps to perfect wrapped loops is no exception. I’ve always had those little
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  • Beaders are a generous group. They share beads, tips, even their chocolate on occasion. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Beading Daily is the community. There are fun beaders, serious beaders (who don't fool around) and everything in between.
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  • Looking for a treasury of beautiful seed bead jewelry projects to delight and entertain you? It's all here in the June/July issue of Super Beadwork. You'll love this 26-project collection of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings in your favorite beading stitches and techniques, including peyote
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  • Jean lists 3 easy ways to get started cleaning your bead studio
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  • I have to give a big shout out to Katie Dean and her FAB beaded cakes. She sent me the cutest cake customized for Bling (my puppy) trimmed in pink (her fave color)...To die for, seriously! I asked Katie to tell me a bit about herself and the lovely beady
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  • It's time for this beady gal to set sail! I am leaving Interweave as the Beading Daily editor. It's been more than delightful sharing our morning coffee each day, dishing all things beady, and I thank all my beady peeps for joining in. We've
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  • I love hooking up with other author/designers and chat about creativity. I really enjoyed my visit with Sharilyn about her new book/DVD set, Wire Art Jewelry Workshop . Here's more fun tidbits about wire jewelry from Sharilyn. " Everyone asks
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  • One of my new fave books is Sharilyn Miller's Wire Art Jewelry Workshop . I love all things dipped in the ocean and basking in the sun, especially when it comes to jewelry. Sharilyn teaches you how to make fun jewelry you can not only wear to the
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  • Having grown up in Minnetonka, Minnesota (yes, where Tonka trucks and Minnetonka Moccasins are born), now living in Colorado, I've been surrounded by Native American influences all my life. I remember stumbling upon old redware pottery shards and
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  • CONGRATS to the following stranded island beaders: Xoko, MIssRubyAnn, cbreul, AnnM@94, AddictedToBeads for winning our recent "Stranded on an Island" giveaway. Look what the lucky jewelry makers won: Entire package of Beadstoppers from www.Beadstopper
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  • What are you taking on your spring vacation? Try out these 3 all new projects from the Beading Daily store.
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  • When you think of metal jewelry-making mavens, Helen Driggs, Senior Editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist comes to mind. I took a moment to chat a bit about the magazine and I'd love to share with all you beady peeps! Helen had a lot to say when
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  • Here's more of my chat with Helen Driggs, Senior Editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist . Q: What's your fave project in the upcoming April issue? A: I have to pick the Sagenite Pendant by Roger Halas. I love purple, and those notched bezels
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  • I feel there's a very fine line between "normal" interest and obsession. In the beading world this line isn't thin, fine, or slightly fuzzy, it's darn near invisible! So, I'm sure many of you can relate to crossing over this
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  • 3 Easy Ways to Hang a Pendant
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  • I don't know about you, but I LOVE behind-the-scenes pictures and stories. They're like a secret peek into something more...the inner sanctum, where the magic happens! I love bloopers and outtakes from movies. It's great to see that everybody
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  • Mother Nature's recent activities certainly change our perspective on winning contests, doesn't it? May I suggest giving blessings to everybody affected worldwide with each little bead while beading this weekend. Join me in healing the planet
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  • Can you remember making your first jewelry piece? As kids, every finding and component was a wonder! The possibilities endless and creativity flowed no matter where and when, rich or poor, large or small. Ahhhhhh to be so inspired and un-encumbered. I'm
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  • You're stranded on a desert island (no Gilligan, no Skipper). A treasure chest washes up on shore. What beady delights are in there and "must haves" as you wait for your rescue? Randomly selected winners will receive beady goodies from Beading
    Read More >>
  • Attend a retreat or conference to give yourself a creative getaway
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  • Twitter, FB, hash tags, retweets, LinkedIn . . . "What language are you speaking, Kristal?" Why social media, of course. If you have no idea what those words mean, it's time to crank up the knob to channel TODAY gang! From the movie , Social
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  • Springtime is right around the corner (I promise!). We've all been buried a few times this winter in the cold white stuff, and the lush green grass and delightful floral breezes seem eons away, but now is the time to BELIEVE! I love making jewelry
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  • Finding Inspiration From Your Favorite Jewelry Designers
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  • I just unpacked the last box from Tucson last month (seriously). You know how it is when you go to a big show, buy so many treasures your credit card is still smoking weeks later and you can't wait to jump into everything and start sorting, and playing
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  • The 83rd Academy Awards are in two days. Sure, I love seeing who wins, who's with whom, even who smiles that fake smile like it doesn't matter when their name isn't called ...(come on, you KNOW you see them do it too). But to tell you the
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  • Match Pantone's Spring Colors to Your Bead Stash
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  • I'm pleased to introduce you to the new First Lady (and editor) of Beadwork magazine, Mindy Brooks. I asked her to give me the scoop on her background. Here's w hat she shared with me, "I've been a craft enthusiast from the time I learned
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  • I am one lucky ducky; I've never wanted to change my name. No, not even once. (Okay, maybe once, when I was seven and couldn't find a cute little wall plaque at the store with my name on it. They always spelled it wrong!) Thanks, Mom. That said
    Read More >>
  • Jean Campbell gives tips about designing jewelry on demand based on her experience as a Beadwork Designer of the Year.
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  • For the love
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily This weave is often found in Ndebele beadwork. The herringbone stitches or pattern creates a tough fabric. It's a tricky stitch, but once you get the knack, it can produce wonderful geometric shapes.Use
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Start planning your 2012 trip to Tucson! Here's a peek at mine last week. What’s wrong with this picture? Certainly not the usual Tucson gem and mineral shin-dig. Record-breaking temps this February
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  • How to Get the Perfect Crimp Every Time
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  • Do you ever see someone wearing beautiful jewelry, and you'd love to know where she got it but are too shy to ask? I'm not. One of the most delightful fringe benefits of working in the Interweave office with so many creative folks is #1 they usually
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  • Puppy Bowl Some of you will watch football, some will watch Puppy Bowl (my fave on Animal Planet ), some will bead. Some mutitaskers will do all of the above . . . a common theme here is competition (slightly less obvious with the Puppy Bowl strategy
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  • Learn Bead Crochet in 7 Easy Steps
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  • The 2009 digital edition of 41 Favorite Jewelry Designs is packed with 41 jewelry designs that are some of your favorites from Beadwork . Purchase and download the magazine in its entirely directly to your computer's hard drive, exactly the same content, now in an electronic format!
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Every artist/designer I know finds beauty in nature. There's the most obvious beauty: a pristine Caribbean seashore, fall in New England, your local craft store. You expect to find beauty there. But what
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  • I do believe my parents invented the first "Staycation" many years ago when I was in Jr. high School. Minnesota winters are hard and were especially brutal on my poor mom. In an attempt to cheer her up when the temps hadn't risen above zero
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  • Learn how to form a peyote-stitch ruffle in 5 easy steps
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  • Lime soda earring inspiration Do you wire wrap all your loops or not? That is seriously the most popular loopy question! I must confess, up until now I didn't think I needed to wire wrap my loops. Please don't judge . . I have had many excuses
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I have to admit, one of my favorite things about my job as Beading Daily editor is hearing your stories on Face Book and the Beading Daily Forums. I love reading how you started on this beady path. Your high
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I have never heard of a steampunk convention, but here it is...and they have vendor spaces: http://wildwildwestcon.com/ The best is yet to bead! Creatively,
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  • Learn right-angle weave with these visual tricks
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  • It's always fun to look back on the past year, and see what was shaking! Beading Daily is no exception! I've gathered Beading Daily posts with the most comments and most popular (views) from 2010. It's been interesting learning about all you
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  • As a gal on the go, I love portable beading projects. By portable I mean you can create components on the couch, at the kitchen table, in front of the TV, in bed, at your BFFs, on a plane, train, or automobile (as long as you're not driving). A dedicated
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I'm so excited to invite all you beady peeps to stop by and visit me in Tucson! Come say Hello and bead-chat, buy my book, (or bring your copy) of Fabulous Fabric Beads , and I'll sign it, take my class
    Read More >>
  • Explore Wire Trends with Wire Expert Denise Peck
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily You'll always find peyote stitch in bead weaving. I started out a mere 4 months ago with the simplest even-count flat peyote stitch and have been in love ever since! I've been threatening to learn a
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I've discovered one of the most important aspects of nearly anything and everything is "in the details." Jewelry making is certainly no exception! Sure, you want your pieces to be stunning in the
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  • Learn 4 different knots to use for strung bead designs
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily When it comes to the world of creativity, are you schizophrenic like me? I started down the artistic path eons ago in stained glass, then moved into pottery, fused-glass jewelry, silk painting, and fabric embellishment
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I have some very dear friends who have the best set of coffee mugs EVER! When drinking the last drop, the message on the bottom of the cup says "Relax, there's more." I have loved and lived by
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily It's been a fabulous year full of jewelry-making here on Beading Daily, and as I prepare for a fun New Years Eve with friends, I can't help but reflect on all that I've received from Beading Daily
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  • In celebration of Stringing magazine’s fifth anniversary, Interweave presents The Best of Stringing in a downloable format, a 148-page supersized issue packed with 183 stylish, easy-to-make designs for the beaded-jewelry enthusiast. Sure to become a collector’s issue, The Best of Stringing
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  • An overview of recent jewelry-making trends and a preview for what will be hot in 2011
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily OK gang, who received beads for gifts over the holidays? Even if you bought them for yourself, they are the greatest of gifts, right? Beads are always the perfect gift in so many ways. Your entire family and
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  • With tomorrow being the big Ho, Ho, Ho, I know many of you are wiped out from the malls and wrapping gifts for tomorrow’s big hoopla and social activities. I have a big holiday party and need some new jewelry (need or want? It’s a relative
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  • Change Your Look with Beads
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily One of my fave additions to my personal jewelry making has been metals and wire. I love adding textured metals to my fabric beads for loads of fun and unusual textures. So I'm always looking for a few new
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Dear Santa, I also want this! Pretty Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeze... ArtBeads is giving away a FREE iPad! http://www.artbeads.com/ipad-giveaway.html?cmp=smfb-ipad2-1217f Come bead with me! Creatively,
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I’ve been VERY good this year (well, that depends on who you ask, “good” is such a relative term). Please bring me blue beads, green beads, pink beads, black beads, heck make it an assortment
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily If you are in the Plantation FL area on December 17, stop by Amy's Beads at 220 S University Drive at 7 pm for the launch party of Susan J. Lewis' two new DVDs, Exploring Metal Clay Basics and Exploring
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Seed beads have changed many a life. Recently, mine! Ask my vacuum cleaner (you all know the dreaded sound of sucking up seed beads!). I'm still happy with my beloved peyote stitch and want to get up the
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  • Learn the basics to get started wireweaving
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Lexi Erickson is no stranger to soldering, melting metals, and burned bangs, but then everybody has to start somewhere! Lexi has been teaching high school and college metals for over twenty-three years and currently
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I've been lucky enough to make the annual trek to Tucson's winter gem and mineral mania for many years now-first as a vendor selling my fabric beads before I was "discovered" in my booth by
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  • Try This Easy Chain Mail Technique
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I'm really excited about our new eMag, Handcrafted Jewelry Studio . I am over the top excited! It's our first multimedia magazine that uses live links and video to illustrate all kinds of fun projects
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I like to pass along freebees and contests you beady peeps may enjoy. This is a new Facebook give-away from my pals Jess at Vintaj and Susan Lenart Kazmer at Objects & Elements. I'm a huge fan their
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily If you love beads (and who doesn't?), then today is your lucky day! We're happy to present six beautiful bead-weaving projects for you FREE , my beady peeps! The three herringbone-stitch projects have
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  • Learn to patina metal beads with spray paint
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily If there's one thing I'm sure of in the jewelry-making world, it's that a great teacher can get you hopelessly hooked on a particular technique, style, or topic-and poof!-you're done. Your goose
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily It's hard to believe that time of year has rolled around again! The snowflakes are falling, fire crackling, and nog pouring. I invite you to channel your inner Santa Claus; make a list and check it twice
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . Check it out on Beading Daily tomorrow! http://www.BeadingDaily.com Happy Thanksgiving to All My Beady Peeps! Come bead with me! Creatively,
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I sat down the other day to write a note to a dear friend. It read, "Hi, Henry! I've been running the hamster wheel a little faster than usual this month
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily For all of you keeping up with my recent beading chapter I endearingly call "GBBAWTTLSB" (Great Big Bead Adventures with Those Tiny Little Seed Beads), you know I'm hopelessly in love with the
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily OK gang: 36, yes, 36 days until the big Ho, Ho, Ho! (I heard you all gulp, now take a nice, deep breath). I've got some great last-minute projects to inspire/haunt you this holiday season (your choice depending
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  • An interview with Kate McKinnon
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily One of the best parts of working in a creative environment such as Interweave is playing with my co-workers. As well as beaders, there are knitters, sewers, stitchers, metal workers, and many other skilled colleagues
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily We're in the thick of holiday festivities, and I can't help sharing another fun party idea for all my jewelry-making Beading Daily peeps. I love throwing DIY (Do It Yourself) parties at work. During
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I recently packed up my 1998 Honda Civic and drove to Colorado to make a video on personalizing your jewelry. Seemed like that little old vehicle of mine was filled
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily As I spent the last weekend of October dressing my dogs for Halloween and making my holiday gift list, I had a major earth-shattering realization: there was no way I'd get all these handcrafted goodies done
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily One of my fave winter traditions is donning my snowman flannel sheets on the bed. Call me crazy, but I love winter and snowmen! Of course Mother Nature isn't cooperating with 70 degree weather today in lovely
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily The holidays are rapidly approaching as they do every year, same place, same time. Why am I always blindsided by this joyous gift-giving season? Am I alone here, or are you with me my beady peeps? In case you
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily My dad always called me a creature of habit. I never knew what he was talking about until I got older and noticed myself eat breakfast (bananas, walnuts, figs),
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  • Get out your tools and ready your creativity! Handcrafted Jewelry, a brand-new special issue from the editors of Beadwork magazine, is a beginner’s guide to mixed-media jewelry projects.
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily I don't know about you, but I'm an "over-the-top-funky-chunky" kind of jewelry designer. I love textures, 3-dimensional surprises, mixed media, big baubles, and bling. Having had years of experience
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Every childhood Halloween costume had to look good with snow boots. Growing up in Minnesota was a serious drama every year for many, but in particular, one young girl who ALWAYS wanted to be a ballerina (moi'
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I find I often struggle along with a way of doing things for years until someone or something points out how utterly laborious my way of doing things actually is
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  • It wasn't too long ago that I knew nothing about making jewelry with wire. I started as a beader, for a long time, then dove headfirst into metalsmithing. But wire . . . that was a step I'd missed along the way.
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  • You might be familiar with Jodi's many class offerings at BeadFest and as a contributing designer in Wire Style 50 Unique Jewelry Designs . I'm excited to share our "wire rap" with my Beading Daily peeps. I had some pretty important
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I remember working with wire for the first time. I was all thumbs. My coils were sloppy, my bends weren't sharp, and my loops were kinked. I truly thought I'd
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Charms, charms, and more charms! I took my first metal clay class quite a few years ago because I wanted to make simple charms for my charm bracelets. Ha! The world of metal clay is endless and can suck you
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily One of my many nicknames is "cupcake." I absolutely adore them in all their cuteness, and am thrilled with their recent increase in popularity. Starting around the turn of the twentieth century, cupcakes
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I don't know about you, but my weekly errands usually include a stop at my local bead shop. This week my daughter and her friend were in tow as I spun around
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Many of you Beading Daily peeps have been following my seed-bead escapades for the past couple of months. It's kind of like a reality show, watching someone discover a new addiction and follow their emotional
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily As a teacher in the creative field, one of my greatest delights is taking classes from other teachers. I'm just like you, I pore over the show catalogs, bending the corners of the pages to mark which classes
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  • Jean Campbell is the senior editor of Beadwork and a contributing editor to Beading Daily I filmed a couple of how-to DVDs a couple weeks ago. I'll admit, I'm not completely comfortable in front of the camera, so I watched a bunch of other videos
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily Finally! The weather has snapped from a season of sweltering 90s to fall 60s-70s with the cool evenings in the 50s. I'm sorry you sun bunnies but I must confess, I love winter. I love snow; I love sipping
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily What can I say about Susan Lenart Kazmer (SLK for those "in the know")? I've had the pleasure of taking her classes, teaching, brainstorming, sharing trade show stories, and sipping the grape together
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily My daughter is one of those young women who can pull off wearing just about anything. Her latest craze is cocktail rings; she wears a different set every day. Her rings du jour sprinkle over her
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . I like to play games with myself. I don't mean childhood games such as Monopoly, Candy Land, or heaven forbid, Twister. The kinds of games I play with myself as an adult are what I like to call "designer
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . My recent o bsession with seed beads has completely changed how I view my DIY (Do It Yourself) world, as well as added hundreds of new projects to my "must do" jewelry-making list. I love sharing
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily I’ve had a colorful past, but at middle age, my vices are few. I don’t smoke and have a drink only on occasion. I don’t eat gluten and avoid dairy. I’ll have some chocolate
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  • I don’t know about you, but deep down inside, I’m basically an immediate gratification type of gal. I want my chocolate, weight loss, and jewelry making FAST! Sure, we all love working on masterpieces, but sometimes you need to slip in some
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily A couple of years ago, I attended a bead show and ran across something that’s stuck with me ever since: the beautiful Vanessa Walilko wearing the chain mail jacket she had designed. She used
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . Calling all fashion police! It should be mandatory for all jewelry-makers to change their jewelry with the season (of course white jewelry is perfectly acceptable after Labor Day). Add a few more designs to
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . A familiar crisp, cool, clean fall breeze blows through my studio as I write. Are you beady peeps ready for fall as much as I am? This scorching summer turned me into a slightly crabby, unmotivated, less than
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily Confession: I collect beading technique swatches like Imelda Marcos collected shoes. My collection is a bit more dorky, a whole lot less expensive, and easier to house, but item for item it may be
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  • My first wireworking and metal class was years ago. I was so enthralled with the reaction of wire and heat that I never got beyond making ballend head pins with a torch. I just couldn't stop! It was like magic, so simple that even a beginner could
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . There is only one thing better than cracking open a new beading book, slipping a brand-new beading DVD into your computer or downloading a beading project that screams your name: sharing the experience with
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily I was just looking over the lineup for the next season of Beads, Baubles, and Jewels TV , which has a great set of DVDs that covers the gamut of beading and jewelry-making how-to: beadweaving, wireworking
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . I’m a jewelry designer and writer. In that order. Which means, even though I make a living writing professionally, I consider myself a designer, first and foremost. Like most of you, I adore pictures
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . These last days of summer may be in the 90s and 100s, but it’s time to chill out and start your holiday jewelry making. I actually play a few of my fave holiday tunes, make an ice cold drink, and spend
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily I don’t know about you, but I have many beautiful things in my stash that I’d like to hang as pendants. Cabochons. Found objects. Tiles. One catch: They don’t have holes to string
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . I am one lucky ducky; I've never wanted to change my name. No, not even once. (Okay, maybe once, when I was seven and couldn't find a cute little wall plaque at the store with my name on it. They always
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  • Kristal Wick is the editor of Beading Daily . I have had a beadalicious wild ride learning how to seed bead recently. Thanks to my Beading Daily peeps for your suggestions, ideas, and support as I’ve dived into the world of those tiny beauties.
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  • Jean Campbell is a contributing editor to Beading Daily One thing I love about what I do for a living is being in constant contact with creative, productive people. Marlene Blessing is just one of those people. I’ve known her for several years,
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  • My mommy won’t stop beading, but she said she’d give me three bones if I bark about my favorite sparkly projects for this blog. I’m not so good at this computer thing since I’m only one year old (Sunday was my barkday) plus typing
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  • I've never really believed in the "bad luck" superstitions. You break a mirror and get 7 years of bad luck (heck, I've had that happen without breaking a mirror!). It's bad luck when a black cat crosses your path. It's bad luck
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  • Here's a typical question that might pop up on a long car trip this summer: If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you be glad you packed? Sandwiches, of course. Some colas. A Hollywood tell-all magazine, maybe? That would be for a short
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  • Bead shopping at home OK, has anybody gone shopping...in her own studio? I did. Inspired by Denise Peck's new DVD, Making Bezels with Stones and Other Found Objects, I went shopping in my studio for interesting goodies and found objects to bezel.
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  • ­We all started at the same place . . . the beginning. Each one of us held beading wire in one hand and a pile of beads in the other, and we began to bead! It's amazing where the jewelry-making path takes us after this hope-filled start. Each
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  • Last week, as I took things off the walls of one place to move into the place where I live now, I realized how important it is to me to be surrounded by beautiful bits of inspiration. I like to live with things that not only give me visual joy, but also
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  • Beading Daily is three years old this week. In this short time, we have grown to more than 220,236 members from nearly every country in the world. That's certainly something to shout about! Here at Interweave, we blew some party horns, ate cupcakes
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  • As many of you Beading Daily readers know, I recently came clean on the fact that I'd never done seed beading. Shortly after my confession, I had a lovely seed-bead soiree with my peeps, so my secret is no longer a secret. In fact, it's turned
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  • As you read this, picture me packing up a U-Haul for my move across town. I've been in this house for nine years now, and sorting through all the stuff of my life has been daunting. For instance, why do I have two irons-did I think having two might
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  • I've tried it all at least once: blogging, Facebook, Etsy, YouTube, Twitter, website, group blog. Hmmmm, I think that's all. Oops, left out Flickr, which I haven't tried yet. So I guess I haven't really tried them all. By now, most folks
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  • Inspiration has millions of sources. Where to find inspiration? Nature seems to be the #1 answer, although I've found it in other quite odd sorts of places: a car wash, ice cream shop, the airport, even a mall (the tables in the food court had the
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  • There's this tale about a woman who would always cut the ends off her pot roast before putting it in the pan to let it bake. Her daughter asked her why she did that, and she realized she didn't know. So she called her sister, who also cut the
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  • Marlene Blessing is the editorial director Who knew that all those years of lovingly rolling yummy cookie dough into even little balls would prepare me for making polymer beads? That's exactly what I discovered this weekend when I finally stopped
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  • It all started with YOU, my dear Beading Daily friends! In my June 14 Beading Daily post, I decided to confess, to come clean, to air my dirty laundry, I admitted I am not a seed beader. Not only that, but I've never even tried it. Much too afraid
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  • I've attended a few bead shows lately where I noticed a trend: Middle-aged women with strands of sparkly stuff in their hair. At first I thought it was very silly—something that should be left for the Little Mermaid set or a drunken Mardi Gras
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  • Have you ever gotten a gift certificate that was worthy? I mean REALLY worthy, you know over $19.95? Remember the joy you felt skipping through the store picking out ANYTHING your little heart desired? No concern over how much your selections cost, whether
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  • I've had a longtime love affair with beaded bracelets. You name the bead, I love it. Never met a beaded bracelet I didn't like. They're fun to make, fun to wear, and everyone likes a bracelet or two (try pairing up a couple of different bracelets
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  • When people ask what I do for a living, I usually tell them I'm a beader. It always gets those silent little brain wheels turning..."Did she just say she was a beater?" My out-loud spelling, "b-e-a-D-e-r", plus a quick air-sewing
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  • I find metals exciting, intimidating, fun, alluring... most of the time. Dabbling in metals is one thing: jumping off the cliff and diving in, quite another. I asked our metal expert and managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Helen Driggs
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  • Who doesn't like charms? They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, themes, and mediums. You can buy them or better yet, make your own. But, be warned, making charms can become highly addictive. I started out doing a few for my pals and now I do them
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  • As a beadweaver, stitching an interesting chain is enough to keep me occupied as I while away the evening hours. I find that doing the same stitch over and over, without really having to pay attention to a pattern, is not only meditative, but serves as
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  • Bead Fest Philly is right around the corner and, boy, do we have exciting events planned! There's awesome shopping at the show (of course), but near and dear to my heart are the classes. Bead Fest Philly has some of the best teachers around and nothing
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  • One of my fave pleasures of being a designer is sharing my creations with jewelry makers like YOU! I really enjoy having so many venues for show-and-tell: books, classes, Beading Daily , and particularly TV shows. It's always fun and exciting (and
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  • I was lucky enough to spend some time with the folks at the Rocky Mountain Bead Society last week. During their Show and Tell (a wonderful tradition with most bead societies where members present their new creations), one of the ladies showed off a couple
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  • My, oh my, does this shindig look like a grand time! Playing with this winning bunch of wireworking masters couldn’t be more entertaining. Wonderful wire and metal techniques for all levels from beginner to intermediate will be explored October
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  • I spent every possible moment of my childhood in a library. I loved the smells, colorful pictures, hushed silence, and the sounds of flipping through the pages of well-worn and beloved books. I continued spending every waking moment in the library as
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  • I am a lover of factoids. Some people don’t appreciate this. They shake their heads and call me a Know-It-All. But I just can’t help it. I love knowing the details about life and sharing them profusely in an extremely nerdy way. I’ll
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  • One of my ongoing burning questions has NEVER been “to bead or not to bead” but rather “WHAT to bead or not to bead.” That is a serious question, is it not? A bead explosion in my closet Seed beading, wireworking, gemstone beading
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  • Wire isn’t mastered in one take Wirework is not wirework is not wirework. Those of you who have played with or mastered wireworking know what I mean. It’s enticing at first: those wire projects lure you in with their hip metal style. Then
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  • Mixed media is a buzz term these days, but really, we all do it throughout the day: If you’re a cook, you might put chocolate chips into your chili, letting the sweet, rich flavor meld with the salty spark of the chili-infused broth. If you garden
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  • Do you dream of rivets, eyelets and chisels (Oh MY!)? Never thought I would until I took Susan Lenart Kazmer’s class on metalwork cold connections, thus changing my dreamland forevermore. I slid into metal jewelry making in the usual way. First
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  • Burn, Baby, Burn In one of my many exciting past artistic lives, I was a raku artist. I created pottery and fired it in a huge raku kiln in my backyard. My fascination with fire, the elements and the drastically varying glaze “surprises” always
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  • 4 Ways to Say Stop From stopping wayward advances . . . When I was in college, I studied for a summer in England. Medieval Architecture. I learned a lot, of course, but the real reason I went across the drink was to see the world. I spent my summer session
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  • Summertime Memories Fireflies, freshly mowed grass, s’mores on the crackling campfire at dusk, hide-n-seek till dark, root beer floats, sand in my toes, collecting seashells on the shore, bright sundresses and groovy sandals—all fond memories
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  • Simple and sensational lariats– What’s not to love about lariat designs? They can be tied or looped to suit whatever length you need. Many designs are fast and easy to make: Dangle a pair of big baubles at the ends of a cool chain. Tie clusters
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  • You’ve probably noticed that big is back as far as necklaces go—just check out the latest issue of Stringing magazine to see some of the boldest designs ever. These big-bead necklaces give flash and interest to the more simple fashions on
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  • How to make your bigger beading better– With our first Bead Fest in Texas coming this October, my thoughts turned to making bigger pieces. After all, Texas is known for its grand scale in everything, so why not jewelry? I mentioned this topic to
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  • Award-Winning Woven Wire Jewelry The first time I remember really noticing jewelry woven with wire was when Marie Scarpa’s gold and stone brooch graced the cover of Lapidary Journal . That was September 2004 when her piece won first place in the
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  • Dear Beading Daily Readers, We are aware that there has been a lot of interest in the Bead Star Contest this morning as voting will go live later today. We are still judging the entries due to an email glitch that caused us to miss some entries on April
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  • I was a wrapped-loop purist until I met my buddy Jamie Hogsett. Pre-Jamie, I strove to make sure all of my wrapped loops were perfectly and neatly wrapped so that the wrap looked almost mechanical, like a coil slipped onto wire. But after hanging out
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  • Step by step and bead by bead– This may be the most challenging post I’ll ever write––to choose favorite projects from all my years as editor in chief of Step by Step Beads . After all, everything we (Managing Editor Jane Dickerson
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  • Be inspired by art fabric– My friend Jeanne Williamson is an uncommon fiber artist. Along with having her work winning Best of Show at the Quilt National 2005, Jeanne is as prolific as she is creative. In addition to her large mixed-media pieces
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  • A Little Chat with Katie Hacker One of the best things about being part of the beading community for so long is gaining friends such as Katie Hacker. A dynamo of a woman, Katie has touched the beading community with her classes, books, lots of advice
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  • Please welcome Eunny Jang, the editor of Interweave Knits . Yes, this is Beading Daily , but if there's one thing beaders and knitters and all of us have in common, it's a desire to find new ways to be creative. In that light, Eunny is here to
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  • 5 Reasons to Love Brick Stitch– I’ve said it many times before—I love playing with seed beads using brick stitch! I think brick stitch was the first seed bead pattern I mastered—before peyote, that’s right. It is just so
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  • I’ve been watching the tundra I live on come to life these past few weeks. The leaves are budding, the grass is verdant, and everything around me feels lush and wonderful. After so many months of brown . . . proceeded by so many months of white…all of this life-giving, abundant green is
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  • Oh no! It’s (insert impending occasion: Mother’s Day, graduation, my BF’s birthday) and I still haven’t made a gift yet! That thought used to send panic through my veins, but not any more. I can whip up some earrings pretty instantly now, but I have a secret ingredient which makes
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  • Florals are sprouting up on every runway this spring, according to all the fashionistas. From dainty, flowery prints to bold blossoms, flower power is back in style on dresses, tops, and accessories. So what do you make to be in vogue this Spring? Beading Daily members are clearly inspired by garden
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  • I was just doing a little spring cleaning and ran across my mom’s jewelry box. It’s filled with what you might expect in a box circa 1958: elegant enamel and crystal brooches, Bakelite bracelets, bold glass cabochon earrings, and a few single-strand pearl necklaces. The pearl necklaces made
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  • Make it for Mother Mother is a verb as well as a noun, just like the word bead. Anyone can mother another person (or pet), even guys. Mothering is layered with many activities: caregiver, friend, doctor, financial adviser, banker, chauffeur, maid, event
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  • Hard-wired history– We’re lucky to be jewelry artists today. Anything we want is so readily available. I wonder what artisans had to endure B.C. (before computers!) to get their materials, let alone get materials ready-to-use. Take wire, for
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  • Shopping for beads– There’s a big retail chain store headquartered near my home. A couple years ago I went into this store with a long list of things I needed for my office. I had no idea where to begin shopping, but apparently the store was
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  • Art from nature– Mother Nature is a master architect. From microscopic cells to monumental canyons, from stones to feathers, Her work is astonishing. Her children are architects, too; think of birds’ nests and honeycombs. Mother Nature is
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  • Making a getaway– Your sister doesn’t know what a jump ring is. Your mom thinks you’ll ruin your eyes sewing such tiny beads. And your neighbors whisper about you, wondering why your kitchen light burns into the wee hours. "What
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  • To-do for you– Like many of you out there, my to-do list is very long and complicated. So much so, actually, that I’ll admit I have a second to-do list that prioritizes the first to-do list. And like Pavlov’s dog, when I cross something
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  • Many of us on Beading Daily have a creative history that includes fabric and fiber arts. Here to tempt us to bring fabric and beadwork together is Pokey Bolton, Editorial Director for Quilting Arts, with some enticing examples of beaded art fabrics. Please
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  • Get started in a hot jewelry-making trend! So many of today’s stylish jewelry designs seem to include more metal, wire, and chain, so chances are you’ll be tempted to learn to use a torch. Do you have a bit of anxiety about using a flame?
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  • Don't sweat the small stuff- I know many people who can’t imagine working in the scale we do as jewelry makers. You know, the type of person who’s more comfortable with tongs than tweezers. They couldn’t imagine twisting a tiny wire
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  • So many beads, so little time! Peyote. Right-angle weave. Netting. Herringbone. Square stitch. These five stitches rank highest in every survey, project commentary, and request we hear on Beading Daily and in our magazines. And these are just the basics—each
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  • New materials, diverse style Inspiration comes from many places, and sometimes the same sources inspire you in a surprising new way. Recently, I was once again admiring the work in Ancient Modern , Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s polymer clay and wire book
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  • Is your stash keeping up with your creativity? Like many of you, my beading stash behaves like a kudzu vine. It grows anywhere I set it. Take my office, for instance: The closet is full, and its contents have begun creeping across the floor. The books
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  • What’s your favorite tool? I have to agree with the authors, editors, and Beading Daily readers who answered my “What’s your favorite tool?” poll—it’s hard to pick just one. Is it the pliers you use most, your most
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  • Are you ready for asymmetry? Is your life frenzied like mine? If so, are you making symmetrical jewelry? I do. It makes me feel balanced—or at least look balanced. But balance does not have to mean symmetry. Asymmetry is fun, even cathartic for
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  • I have to admit, I’m no fashion maven. Oh, I like to gussy up every once in a while, but I’m usually relegated to the T-shirt and jeans regimen like many of the other women my age. I do like to follow the trends, though, especially when I
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  • Beaders make the world a better place As individual artists, we raise money and awareness for charity and causes, and there are many organizations who dedicate themselves to improving life for people through the art and craft of beads and jewelry. Get
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  • Design tips you can count on I always knew I was going to art school. I did not need math to be an artist. Guess what? Mom and Dad were right. Artists need math. Not algebra, thank the gods, just a grasp of numbers and relationships. At the very least
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  • How to Combine Beadwork and Metal I gave a lecture on designing Steampunk jewelry at my local bead society a couple weeks ago. I showed lots of stunning pictures and pointed out the different types of materials to use when working in this style. The photos
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  • Beads, baubles and steampunk By now most of you have at least heard the term “steampunk.” Coined in the 1980’s, steampunk refers to a genre of fantasy and science fiction featuring steam-powered machinery and Victorian-style decorative
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  • Are you trying to learn or improve peyote? When I first tried to learn peyote it drove me nuts. Those first rows twisted around, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out the fix. And why did they call all the first beads strung the first TWO
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  • Make wirework jewelry with Kerry Bogert I had the pleasure last year to get to know Kerry Bogert, a wonderfully whimsical and lovely lady who not only makes colorful, happy lampworked beads, but skillfully and creatively incorporates them into wireworked
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  • Please welcome Merle White, the editor in chief of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist , who tells us about a gem of a different color. It may be just what you’re looking for in spring jewelry designs. ––LR, editor Beading Daily Isn't
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  • You know tools rule when . . . You feel the way our guest editor Helen Driggs does if her jewelry hammers are used for (gasp!) anything but jewelry. Has someone abused your tools for home repair? Listen up as our managing editor of Lapidary Journal Jewelry
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  • I’m sure this happens to you, too: Every once in a while I run across a clever idea that gets me so excited that I run back to my studio and try it out. Just that thing happened when I was down in Tucson in February this year. I’d stopped
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  • Turquoise dreams I love big saguaro cactus, the tall desert sentinels that look like they have arms at odd angles. They must be the most iconic cacti of all cacti. But I don’t want to use their image or shape, or coyotes or bucking broncos for that
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  • Make it personal Anyone remember a song called “What Are Words Worth?” by the Tom-Tom Club? They chanted about the power of words and their impact on others who hear or read them. Words and letterforms—even in foreign alphabets or as
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  • Inspired by Big, Bold Beads I was just paging through the wonderful new Spring issue of Stringing magazine and was floored when I came across Wendy Baker’s sumptuous necklaces and bracelets. They are made with new and vintage metal flowers, beads
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  • Working with cabochons I used to have something called a worry stone. It was a small polished stone with a smooth indentation, offering a tactile path to serenity, like a kid who rubs the satin on a comfort blankie. I have the same sense of “ahhhh”
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  • Mutual attraction: beads and wire My passion for all things beady has taken me to new levels of determination, levels of obsession . . . and I know you all know what I’m talking about. We practice and practice an element of our craft to get it right
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  • Trimming Threads In what seems like a lifetime ago already, I was the editor of Beadwork magazine. At Interweave in 1997, Linda Ligon played Spanky, I was Darla, and we said “Let’s have a magazine!” Much like the sewn-together blankets
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  • White House Jewelry Trendsetters Our First Ladies' personal styles have reflected both their times and their personalities. Julia Grant loved emeralds, sapphires, and rubies––a sign of her Victorian times, perhaps. Nellie Taft, First Lady
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  • What is the Tucson Bead Show? Tucson during the bead shows is impossible to describe. It is not “a bead show,” not even “bead shows.” It’s a universe of about 50 independently produced venues of beads, gems, jewelry, minerals
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  • Resin Bezeling Trick I do a lot of beadwork: tiny needles, thin thread, and infinitesimal beads. I do this at home, of course, but sometimes also in public. If you BIP (bead in public), too, you know the activity makes people very curious and usually
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  • Cold connections top the list for 2010 hot jewelry-making techniques Please welcome Helen Driggs, managing editor of Lapidary Journa