Spotlight Saturday: Paracord

Give yourself a break this Labor Day and complete an easy project. I love these Parachute Cord, or Paracord, bracelets. They come in really fun vibrant colors and they are really easy to work with. This is a very quick project, so you can get out and enjoy all those parades and backyard BBQ's!

Featured Video: How to Make a Basic Cobra Paracord Bracelet

In this video you will learn how to make a complete paracord bracelet. This is such a fun project. It's also a great way to learn how to do the macrame knotting technique. You will see the technique on a larger scale so that you can get the hang of it. Once you have mastered the macrame square knot, you can try out other projects, like the Infinity Macrame bracelet.

Featured Project: Basic 2 Color Paracord Bracelet - Pink and Black

What's great about this project is that you don't need a lot of extra items to complete it. All you need is the paracord, buckles, flush cutters and a lighter. Simple as that. You will also get a lot of paracord to work with so you can make several bracelets from just a few bundles of the paracord.

Featured Product: Paracord

Paracord comes in several different sizes. When buying your supplies, make sure you get the right size of paracord and the cordinating size buckle for what you want to make. With any left over paracord, you can make another project, the Celtic Button Knot Bracelet!

Quick Tip Tool!

Here is an added bonus. Check out the new EZzzy-Jig Parachure Bracelet Maker. This tool is designed to hold your bracelet in place as you make your cobra knots. One of the great features of this tool is that it also helps you measure the length of your bracelet.

Beading Table Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Karlin's Table 

This week I have been exploring 2-hole seed beads, specifically the Czech Glass SuperDuo 2-hole. These beads are really fun to work with! They add a really great textured look to your projects and since the beads are hour glass shaped, they fall into place easily and look very neat. I'm working on two bracelets, one using a shiny metallic and the other using a pretty turquoise. Check back for a full blog post on these versatile beads coming soon.

Kat's Table

I found these great Czech Crackle beads in pink and blue.  To bring the colors together I am going to add Czech seed beads in a lilac purple mix.  Right now I am working on making a two strand necklace.  I will get a lot of practice with my simple wire loops while completing this project.  Did you know that you can make a chain into a embellished chain using beads and simple wire loops?  Have left over beads or chain?  It's a great way to make them into a beautiful necklace!

Julie's Table

I love kumihimo braiding and I am always on the lookout for new ways to braid or new materials to braid with.  Earlier in the week I found that I could create a pretty braid with soutache cord. After that success, I thought I would try another material - chain! I am really happy with how this 8-warp round braid turned out, but I must admit that I am a little stumped on how to finish it. Any ideas?

Becky Nunn is visiting the Beadaholique studio next month!

We are so excited to share that Becky Nunn, the creative genius behind Nunn Design, will be stopping by for a visit to Beadaholique next month. She will be showing us all her wonderful new products and recording some exclusive videos just for Beadaholique!

Nunn Design offers a wide range of products ranging from bezels to collage art, charms, findings, prong settings, chains, bangle bracelets, and more. These richly detailed and beautifully made pieces lend themselves well to being used with resin, Crystal Clay, chatons, beads, and a whole host of other supplies.

On Monday, September 16th, Becky will be in-house showing us some creative uses for her products using a variety of techniques. What would you like to see her do? What have you always wanted to see done? What technique are you fascinated (or stumped) by? Check out all the wonderful products in the Nunn Design line and post a comment to this blog with your ideas and suggestions.

We can't wait to hear from you,
The Beadaholique Team

Spotlight Saturday: Modify your Resin

When it comes to using resin, you have more options than you realize. You can use beads inside of resin or put resin into a mold. But did you know that you can add pearlizing powder, dyes and even glitter? I know for some of you I just said the magic word: glitter! But it's true, and you can get some really great effects by adding different elements.

Featured Video: How to Use Pearlizing Powder in Resin

I love this video because it walks you all the way through your resin project. This is a wonderful technique to learn. We have so many bezel settings for you to fill with resin, and you will notice that in the video, there is a good amount of resin left over so you should be prepared with lots of bezels to fill. That way you can make several pieces all at once!

Featured Project: Pink Sugar Bracelet

I just love this bracelet because it really does remind me of sugary sweet candy. By watching the video above you will learn how to do this project. It's a great introduction to using different elements to modify your resin. For a nice perk, when you purchase this whole kit you will end up with extra resin and powder to use in future projects.

Featured Product: Resin Pearlizing Powder

While it may seem that you need a lot of items to complete your resin project, once you get the hang of it, you will want to do a lot of experimenting, so you will need all those supplies. You may even want to purchase more variations to use in resin. Try using the powder with different colors or even no dye at all for a simple pearl look. Think about using red or amber for any Fall projects you may want to complete. This jar of powder will last you through many resin projects, as will the dyes. So get all your resin supplies, watch our tutorial videos and get started!

Good luck and have fun!

Find Out Friday: Vintaj DecoEtch With New Artisan Pewter Blanks

For this Find Out Friday, we want to showcase the Vintaj DecoEtch Die for the Sizzix BIGkick Die Cut Machine. Using the new Vintaj Artisan Pewter blanks and patina, we have created a lovely set using the Birds of Paradise die.

Vintaj Birds of Paradise Necklace

1 Sizzix BIGkick Die Cut Machine

1 Vintaj pewter oval stamping blank
2 Vintaj pewter rectangle dog tag stamping blanks
1 Vintaj DecoEtch - Birds of Paradise
2 Silver plated earring hooks
1 Jump ring
1 Chain
3 SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Indian Pink flatback rhinestones
2 chain nose pliers
Vintaj Patina - Black Onyx
E-6000 glue
paint brush
Toothpick or wire glue applicator
Paper towels
Gloves

Before beginning your project, watch this video on how to use the Vintaj BIGkick Machine by Sizzix.

Let's get started!

Begin by gathering your supplies.

Place one cutting pad on the shim, then place your die cut with the blank face down where you would like the etching. Next, place the other cutting pad on top. Then place your etching on the tray of the machine.

Crank the handle clockwise to feed the tray through the machine.

This is what your etching will look like once it comes out of  the other side of your Sizzix BIGkick cut machine.

Take your etching out of the machine and flip it over. Put down a paper towel to protect your flat work surface.

To begin using your patina, dab a small portion onto a piece of scratch paper. Paint on your patina using your brush.

Cover the entire front side of the blank with patina, making sure it gets into the grooves.

Immediately take a paper towel and wipe the patina off of the surface.

This is what your etching will look like once you wipe off the patina.

Using your glue applicator, add a dab of E6000 to the flat back of your rhinestone. Now glue your rhinestone onto your blank.

Now your pendant is finished.

You can use the same technique to make a matching pair of earrings.

To finish this project open a jump ring and attach the pendant to the necklace chain; close the jump ring.

To make the earrings, choose a section of the die and repeat this process. You will attach your earring hooks the same way you would a jump ring. 

Choose from our wide selection of Vintaj DecoEtch Die plates. We hope you enjoyed learning about the Vintaj DecoEtch and the Sizzix machine.  The Artisan Pewter blanks give such a lovely finished product using this technique.   Have fun!

-Kat and Karlin

Artist Profile: Chiara Cattaruzza - International Winner of our Ocean Treasures Contest

Chiara Cattaruzza is our International winner of the "Ocean Treasures" contest. Her winning design, "Peaceful Waves", showcased a wonderful sense of the ocean color palatte and charming sense of whimsy and creativity.  She combined pearls, charms, seed beads and more to link together this beautiful, tranquil bracelet.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Chiara. I am 24 and I live in Milan, Italy. I’m a university student, but in my free time I've become an eager crafter. Sometimes it is not easy to do everything, but whenever I can, I get out my beads and start creating. When I have an idea for a new piece, it’s just like in the comics: a light bulb turns on, and it doesn’t matter if I’m in the subway, eating or in class. I take out the first piece of paper I can find and I start drawing. From then on, I’m in my “beading world”…and I probably miss my subway stop, but in those little moments I am the happiest person in the world!

Peaceful Waves

How did you get interested in beading/jewelry making?

Since I was little, I loved to look in my mom’s jewelry box and try her necklaces on. At 12, I received as a gift my first package of beads and as soon as I had it in my hands, I made my first bracelet. From then on, I fell in love with jewelry making and started to try improving little by little with the help of my collection of beading books, magazines and web tutorials.

What are your favorite materials to use in jewelry making?

I love to work with crystals, pearls, fire-polished glass beads, gemstones… Well, I guess I am addicted to any beautiful small treasure that helps me bring to life the designs I have in my head!

Who or what inspires your creative process?

I’m mostly inspired by nature: I love flowers, leaves, butterflies, ladybugs… Sometimes I use ideas found in magazines and books to create details of my jewelry. However, I never copy an entire project. The best part of making a piece for me is designing it, creating something special and unique. Shopping for beads is also an explosion of ideas: looking at those small treasures is a constant source of inspiration.

Is there somewhere people can see/purchase your work? 

At the moment, I don’t have an online shop yet, but you can see more of my creations and contact me through my facebook page at www.facebook.com/gocceargentate or my blog at www.gocceargentate.blogspot.com, where I share my ideas, projects and patterns, hopefully helping other crafters.

Thanks for sharing Chiara!  It was great to read a little bit about you and your work and we wish you the best of luck with your endeavors! 

Beading Contest: Ocean Treasures Winners!

Our Beadaholique beading contest, Ocean Treasures, has come to an end, and we have three winners to announce!

By the Sea

Marilyn Lee Reed was voted the #1 entry from the United States with her "By the Sea" bracelet.  This design features a beautiful color palette of shells, pearls and seed beads.

Peaceful Waves

Chiara Cattaruzza was voted the #1 international entry with her "Peaceful Waves".  This bracelet features beaded beads using seed beads and a beaded starfish among seahorse and shell charms.

Marilyn and Chiara have both won a $100 Beadaholique gift certificate.  Artist profiles on Marilyn and Chiara will be posted soon here on our blog, so be sure to check back and find out more about them.

I lay in the Tidal Pool

Our Editor's Pick, and the winner of a $50 Beadaholique gift certificate is Casey Sharpe and her "I lay in the Tidal Pool" bangle.  We felt that Casey was very inventive with the seed beads and yarn, by manipulating them to look like they had been plucked from the sea.

Congratulations to all of our winners!  Our next contest will be announced in the September issue of The Beading Wire, and we can't wait to see what you all create!  

Back to School fun with Mixed Media

Colorful Bottle Caps

Back to school is the perfect time to experiment with craft projects and mixed media. Send your kids off in style with bookmarks, backpack tags, magnets and so much more. Don't be scared if it's something you haven't worked with yet, you can always watch our videos on Mixed Media Techniques to learn something new. We love to help you by walking you through a new technique and answering any questions you may have. 

Bling It On Magnets

When getting your kids ready for school this fall, don't forget those little touches that go beyond notebooks and pens. The Bling It On Magnets are a great back to school gift for any girl that wants to see a little sparkle every time she opens her locker. They also work great for college dorms where you can place them on magnetic white boards to keep important notes organized.

Teacher's Pet

Help your kid jump to the head of the class with the Teacher's Pet Ring featuring Crystal Clay. Haven't worked with a 2-part epoxy clay yet? Don't worry, we have a video for that too.  We carry a wide variety of colors and did you know that you can create color variations with your clay?  See it in this video:  How to Create Color Variations with Crystal Clay.

Let's not forget about all those teachers going back to school too. Wow them on the first day with a charming bookmark or stunning eyeglass holder. For your English teacher, try making this whimsical Scrabble Tile Ring. Such an easy project, you'll want to make more then one!

As you can see from the examples above, mixed media offers so many options. One of my favorite things about this medium is that there is not just one way to use a product in your design. This is your time to think outside the box. Resin is a great product for this. Resin can be used in bezels or molds and it can be transformed by adding dye or pigment to change the color. If you haven't worked with resin, now is a great time to try it. We have a wonderful collection of collage papers and molds to choose from. When buying your resin, remember to buy your sealant and adhesive as well. It may be helpful to watch our videos before purchasing your items, just to make sure that you have all the ingredients you need for your project. Issue 9 of The Beading Wire has some great tips on mastering 2-part resin.

Update: For a limited time only, take 15% all 1,000+ items in our Mixed Media category with code MMBS at checkout.  Save on resin, epoxy clay, patinas, bottle caps, magnets, scrabble tiles and more.  Click here to see the sale, but hurry, sale ends Monday, August 19th!

Pairing Necklaces with Different Necklines

The Ziggy Necklace

Pairing your necklace with your neckline can sometimes be a challenge.  It can be frustrating and if you're like me, you have all sorts of necklaces with different lengths and styles to choose from!  You end up asking yourself "Does this work? Does it look right?"  And believe me, I understand.  I think this is something a lot of us second guess and could use help with.

How do you choose your necklace?  Generally, when picking out a necklace we tend to echo the look of the neckline.  This works well most of the time.  For example, a v-neck top goes well with a y-shaped necklace with a focal point, such as the Ziggy Necklace. This type of necklace also complements boat neck and crew neck tops.

The Purple Faux Lariat

For rounder necklines, choose rounder necklaces - this way the necklace falls right above the blouse in a flattering way. An example of this is the Lucy Necklace.

When you wear higher necklines, it's important not to overcrowd your neck area, and by choosing a longer necklace, you allow both your neckline and your necklace to shine. For tops with turtle necks or cowl necks, necklaces such as lariats and multiple strand styles look best. A necklace such as the Purple Faux Lariat would work nicely with a higher neckline.

The Angel's Wings Bridal Choker

With a strapless top, the choice is yours: a delicate chain, a bib necklace or choker (like the Angel's Wings Bridal necklace) looks great.  An open collar blouse looks stylish when paired with a thick, chunky necklace. Pairing a square neckline with a pendant that dangles from a long chain works really well.

It can also be helpful to know what the different necklace lengths are called: 14" is a collar, 16" is a choker, 18" is princess length, 20" is matinee length, 24" is opera length, and 30 - 33" is a rope or lariat.

Common Necklace Lengths

Adding a necklace gives your outfit a stylistic finishing touch.  And although certain necklaces match particularly well with certain necklines, what's most important is wearing a piece you love.  How you wear your jewelry is a personal choice, so remember to make sure that you let your personality shine through!

-Karlin

Spotlight Saturday: Jump Rings

Jump rings are used in just about every project but finding the right one can be tough.  I think it helps to have all different sizes and colors on hand for comparison.  Why use the wrong size when you don't have to.  Sometimes it can feel like you are Goldilocks, trying ring after ring... but you'll know when it's right.  When a project calls for a lot of jump rings, like chain maille or the Carmela Necklace, the jump ring opener can be a valuable tool.  Worth it's weight in gold, you might say.

Featured Video: How to use Beadsmith's Jump Ring Opener

The Beadsmith's jump ring opener is such a convenient tool to help you open and close jump rings while keeping your hand free.  It can also replace the need for a second pair of pliers in some cases.  It will help to steady jump rings so they don't go flying across the room.  

Featured Project:  Carmela Necklace

Shown here is the center piece of the Carmela Necklace.  It is comprised of gold plated oval connectors and gold plated jump rings.  Jump rings are what brought this idea to life.  They were the perfect little connecting tools to use as building blocks in this piece.

Featured Product:  Jump Rings

There are many varieties of jump rings. Because many jump rings are so inexpensive you can always have extra in your jewelry storage. When choosing the right jump ring, pay attention to the gauge of the jump ring as well as the size. When looking at gauge the higher the gauge number, the thinner the jump ring. For example, a jump ring that is 18 gauge is much thicker than a jump ring that is 22 gauge. This also applies to wire and other findings. See our handy wire gauge guide in our Techniques & Guides section on our website. There are a lot of helpful tools there.

Beading Contest: Ocean Treasures Finalists!

The 10 finalists for our beading contest "Ocean Treasures" have been announced and it's up to you to decide the winners!  See each entry and cast your votes on our Facebook page.  Simply "like" your favorite entry—or entries—to cast your vote.  The entry with the most likes from the United States and the entry with the most likes from abroad will each win a $100 Beadaholique gift certificate!

Entries are numbered in alphabetical order. Voting ends Wednesday August 14th, at 4PM PT.

"Sea Turtle's Cycle of Life" - Barbara Bellatti

"Peaceful Waves" - Chiara Cattaruzza

"Greek Ocean's Bottle Necklace" - Maria Diamantatou

"Star of the Show Adjustable Ring" - Carrie Grabowicz

"Exotic Wings Necklace" - Olga Karaulova

"Gift from the Sea Necklace" - Milena Petrova

"By The Sea" - Marilyn Lee Reed

"I Lay in the Tidal Pool (Bracelet)" - Casey Sharpe

"It's a Shore Thing" - Autumn J. Stump

"Beadwoven Starfish and Seaglass Earrings" - Joanne Zammit

We received some beautiful entries this time around—it was so hard to narrow it down! The next contest will be announced in the September issue of The Beading Wire, so be sure to stay tuned.

Visit our Facebook Page to vote now!

Beading Table Wednesday: 08/07/13

Kat's Table

This week I am working on some medieval inspired projects.  When I am working, it helps me to be inspired by how I can use something unexpected in an unexpected way.  Have you ever found a bead or a focal piece that you really want to use but have no idea how to implement it into a project?  I found this great Lion and Snake focal piece medallion, but the only problem is that it has no holes.  So I can't string it, and I can't put a jump ring in it unless I punch a hole.  Despite that, I think I have found a way to creatively make it a center piece in my new creation.  Be sure to check back in our free beading projects to see what it becomes. Challenge yourself this week. Make the unexpected!

Karlin's Table

My table is very colorful this week, full of Czech seed beads in a bright Rainbow Opaque assorted mix. These beads are so colorful and fun! I'll be incorporating them to make a few pieces inspired by one of my favorite Disney Pixar movies - can you guess which one? Can't wait till it's all done and I can share.




Megan's Table

It's soutache time again!  Have you tried soutache bead embroidery yet?  If you've done any hand sewing or traditional embroidery, you might be surprised at how similar it is.  As a long time stitcher, I was shocked how much less intimidating this technique was once I got started.  The hardest part is planning it out!  I'm trying something a little different with this piece which uses SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS pearls and will have chain dangles.