Indice dei contenuti per December 2017 in Bead&Button

For many years, this season would find me scurrying around from store to store, looking for the perfect holiday gift for each family member. Until recently, that is, because almost everyone has now taken to creating an online wish list with links to the exact thing they want. I know a lot of people like that because then they’re sure their gifts will be appreciated. But to me it seems impersonal. And since I actually enjoy pondering what I think my loved ones would like, I am going to go back to my old ways. But this year, I plan to stay home a little bit more and make some handmade beaded gifts. And what better place to start than this issue! Not only does it contain lots of gorgeous,…

AKS GEM, JEWELRY & BEAD SHOW Dallas, TX; December 1–3, 2017 aksshow.com For both wholesale and retail shoppers, the show features beads, gems, and jewelry. Classes taught by Naomi Fron. AMERICAN BEAD AND MERCHANDISE SHOW Knoxville, TN; November 11–12, 2017 Atlanta, GA; November 18–19, 2017 Memphis, TN; December 9–10, 2017 americanbeadshows.com These two-day events showcase beading and jewelry supplies, finished jewelry, weaving materials, and more. Look for coupons on their website. INTERGALACTIC BEAD & JEWELRY SHOWS Richmond, VA; November 11–12, 2017 Charlotte, NC; November 18–19, 2017 beadshows.com You’ll find hand-selected beads, gems, and stones from all over the world at both of these events. GEMSTREET USA BEAD & JEWELRY SHOW Hamburg, NY November 10–12, 2017 gemstreetusa.com From amethyst to zircon, this show offers fine gems, jewelry, beads, minerals, and fossils. TULSA BEAD MARKET…

Julie Malcolm BLING IT UP polymer winner “Golden sunset” • Shiny polymer clay beads with fire-polished beads and glass pearls. Roxanne Brown BLING IT UP Readers’ Choice Winner “Night shine” • Bib necklace with silk duppioni padded base, hand-stitched with rhinestones cups. Diane Bowman UPCYCLE stitching winner “AI or IT necklace” Bead embroidery with circuit boards and broken computer parts. Kimberly Newman UPCYCLE metals winner “Story time cuffs” Cuffs made from place mat/ napkin rings, cut and hammered with rhinestones, broken jewelry, and other found objects added. Join us >> We invite you to participate in our monthly design challenge! Create or share an original design that fits the monthly theme. If your piece is chosen as a winner, it may be featured here in the magazine as well as…

DIFFICULTY square stitch / bead weaving Capture crystal chatons in square stitch bezels, and secure them with a crisscross of seed beads. Embellish them with even more crystals in a design that resembles a Maltese cross. FIRST MALTESE CROSS UNIT 1) On 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread and leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, pick up 20 11° seed beads, and tie the beads into a tight ring with a square knot. Sew through the next several beads, pulling the knot into a bead. 2) Pick up two 11°s, skip back two beads in the ring, and sew through the two beads you skipped and the next two in the ring (figure 1, a–b). Repeat this stitch nine times to complete the round (b–c). Sew through all the beads…

Have yourself a handmade holiday with these quick and clever projects. Each easy endeavor makes up to three treasures, including glittering jewelry, unique ornaments, and charming gift toppers. Small changes to the components and designs will arm you with handfuls of presents for every holiday gathering. THERE’S STILL TIME! Special 16-page HOLIDAY SECTION WEAR JEWELRY TO MAKE YOU FEEL FESTIVE THROUGHOUT THIS PARTY-PACKED SEASON. CARE PRESENT TOPPERS FOR THOSE SPECIAL PEOPLE ON YOUR GIFT-GIVING LIST. SHARE BEADED ORNAMENTS TO HANG ON PINES AND WINDOWPANES FOR ALL TO ENJOY. SPONSORED BY PRECIOSA ORNELA…

PENDANT 1) On a comfortable length of thread, work a 16-bead ladder using color A 110 cylinder beads (figure 1). To stabilize the ladder, zigzag back through all the beads (figure 2). 2) Work row 2 in brick stitch, using color B 110 cylinder beads. To begin the row, pick up two Bs, sew under the thread bridge between the second and third beads in the ladder, and sew back up through the last B just added. Sew through both beads again to align them, exiting the last B (figure 3). 3) For the row’s remaining stitches, pick up a B, sew under the next thread bridge in the previous row, and continue back through the B just added (figure 4). Continue for a row of 15 Bs. 4) Ending…

RING TOP 1) On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of a color A 4 mm bicone crystal and a color C 3 mm bicone crystal four times. Tie them into a ring with a square knot, leaving a 12-in. (30 cm) tail. Retrace the thread path, and sew through the next A and C (figure 1, a–b). 2) Pick up a color D 3 mm bicone crystal, an A, and a D. Sew through the C, going in the same direction, and continue through the next A and C in the ring (b–c). Repeat this stitch three times to complete the round, and sew through the next D and A (c–d). 3) Pick up a color E 15° seed bead, a color B 4…

Twenty-seven years ago, bead designer and teacher Helena Tang-Lim was an advertising account executive, working for several big advertising agencies in Singapore and serving multinational companies as her clients. To escape from the stresses of corporate life, Tang-Lim started to bead. Her new hobby had actually begun because she wanted a pair of beaded shoes. “There is a local mixed race of people called the Peranakan in the southeastern Asian region. They make the most beautiful beaded shoes,” Tang-Lim says. “I wanted the shoes but could not afford $1,000 for them. I had been pretty crafty, so I decided I would learn how to make them. Of course, in hindsight, that first pair probably cost me more than $1,000. But it gave me a brand new hobby.” Tang-Lim progressed in…

DIFFICULTY right-angle weave SINGLE-ROW BRACELET 1) On 3 yd. (2.7 m) of thread, pick up 10 2 mm pearls. Leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, tie the beads into a ring with a square knot, and sew through all the pearls again (not shown in the figure for clarity). Continue through the first seven pearls (figure 1, a–b). End the tail. 2) Working in right-angle weave, pick up eight 2 mm pearls, and sew through the last two pearls your thread exited at the start of this step. Continue through the first five pearls just added (b–c). Repeat this stitch 19 times, or for the desired length (c–d), allowing for ¼ in. (6 mm) shrinkage due to the embellishment. 3) Pick up two 11° and a clasp loop, and sew…

in autumn of 2015, Kellie DeFries was as busy as an elf on Christmas Eve as she encased the body of a car with Swarovski crystals. This wasn’t just any car she chose, but a hand-built 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster. DeFries calculated the surface area to determine the crystal count, and then divided the project into sections before tackling the epoxy application with her patent-pending Crystal Katana pickup tool. It took her a grueling 462 hours, all concentrated within 39 days. So how many crystals did she apply? Drum roll please… 247,148 crystals! Can you imagine the bead dreams she must have had during this arduous task? Thank you, Kellie DeFries, for bringing the one-of-a-kind car to the 2017 Bead&Button Show where nearly 10,000 people enjoyed the display. For details…

My beading wish list would be for more color options for findings. I really wish that more fancy clasps came in black, antique copper, and antique brass. Silver and gold should not be the only choices. – Marcia L. Balonis I wish for a magic beading wand that would clean up my studio and bead boards! Until that happens, I’ll be happy with more storage and organization supplies like the flip-top plastic boxes shown on p.12. – Lindsay Burke Besides wishing I had more time to bead, I would really like to learn how to use a loom. – Janice Chatham My wish is that beading would burn a lot of calories, almost like running a marathon. In that case, beading would require you to consume chocolate, ice cream, cake,…

READY, SET, BEAD! Jane Danley Cruz’s new book makes finding time to bead a breeze! Projects are arranged by the approximate amount of time it takes to complete them, with chapter 1 projects taking less than an hour each and those in chapter 4 taking up to four hours. This is a great book for beginner to intermediate beaders and features 25+ quick and easy designs, including earrings, rings, bracelets, pendants, and necklaces, all using easy-to-find beads. Find this Kalmbach publication at JewelryAndBeadingStore.com. EMBROIDERY SQUARES What do you get if you pair bead embroidery with the adult coloring trend? Beading Between the Lines designs on Ultrasuede! These 4½ x 4½ in. (11.4 x 11.4 cm) embroidery templates are a great way to get started with this fun technique! Look for…

Renacer necklace “Renacer” translates as “to be reborn” in Spanish, so it is truly fitting for this piece. Not only does the cherry blossom signify rebirth from the cold of winter, but with this necklace it also signals my return to beading from a long sabbatical I took to attend to my health. I love designing pieces that are inspired by Mother Nature. Beading to me is a healing therapy that gives me strength and allows me to express my thoughts and feelings. Aurelio Castaño White Plains, New York aclpatternsandmore.com Velvet Crossing “Velvet Crossing” combines my love of RAW, CRAW, structure, and balance. I was inspired by Melanie Potter to create a jewelry design where the clasp blends seamlessly into the design and is part of the front focal point.…

TURQUOISE: Looking somewhat like a cross between sky and water made solid, the mesmerizing bluegreen hue of turquoise has enchanted mankind for millennia. turquoise was one of the first gems ever to be cut and polished. People have imbued this sky colored stone with magical powers since prehistoric times, and it holds a place in the sacred mythology of diverse cultures in far-flung parts of the globe. In Egypt turquoise was carved into scarabs, symbolizing life, death, and rebirth. The stone was also associated with Hathor, the Mother Goddess, deity of beauty, joy, fertility, and the sky. In the western hemisphere, hundreds of miles from its source at the Cerillos Mine near Santa Fe, New Mexico, highranking Aztecs were buried with fragments of turquoise in their mouths at grave sites…

Kumi Q&A Q Why do I need to know about Z-spiral and S-spiral in kongoh gumi? AHave you ever strung all the beads for a kumihimo design — and double-checked to make sure you did it right — only to end up with a jumbled pattern when you started braiding? If so, you need to learn about these two variations because chances are you were probably braiding a kongoh gumi Z-spiral when the piece was designed as an S-spiral (or vice versa). The names refer to the direction of the diagonal lines that are created in the braid as a result of the order in which you move the cords (and the direction in which the disk is turned, if you are using a disk). These two factors determine the order…

DIFFICULTY soutache / bead embroidery Make a stunning pair a soutache earrings that are embellished with pearls, cupchain, and crystals. LARGE COMPONENT 1) Apply a thin coat of E6000 on the back of four of the dagger beads, and place them on the foundation, allowing a minimum 2 mm border around each dagger. Allow to dry, then cut them out, leaving a 2 mm border around each dagger (photo a). 2) Tie a double knot (Soutache Basics, p. 37) at one end of 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread. Trim the tail close to the knot. Cut a 10-in. (25 cm) piece of soutache braid in each of three colors, and create a stack with the color A on the bottom, color B in the middle, and color C on…

DIFFICULTY bead weaving / circular peyote CRYSTAL COMPONENTS 1) On 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of a color A 3 mm bicone crystal and a 15° seed bead three times for a total of six beads. Leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, sew through all the beads again to form a ring, and continue through the first A (figure 1). 2) Pick up a 15°, an A, a 150, an A, and a 150. Sew through the A your thread is exiting, going in the same direction (figure 2, a–b). Sew through all the beads in this stitch again to reinforce (not shown in the figure for clarity), and continue through the next 150 and A (b–c). 3) Pick up a 15°, an A,…

DIFFICULTY tubular peyote / bead weaving LARGE COMPONENT How to pick up beam and bar beads: Pick up each beam bead through the top hole (TH), middle hole (MH), or bottom hole (BH), per the instructions. Pick up each bar bead through the top hole (TH) or bottom hole (BH), as directed. When using two- and three-hole beads, check first to ensure that all holes are open. 1) On a comfortable length of thread and leaving a 14-in. (36 cm) tail, pick up a beam bead (BH) and an 11° seed bead 14 times, and sew through the first beam again to form a ring (figure 1, a–b). Retrace the thread path twice to reinforce (not shown in figure for clarity). Turn, and sew through the next hole (MH) of…

WHAT’S HAPPENING BEADING FOR A CAUSE For those of us who devote a lot of time to beading, soothing and therapeutic are not surprising words to associate with the hobby. Recognizing this, twin sisters and bead shop owners Ann and Anita Tristan decided to offer support to their northwest Ohio community in a caring, beady way. These owners of Bonita Bead Boutique provide specialized art beading programs geared to adults and children in hospitals, outpatient cancer centers, and a developmental disability art studio in Toledo, Ohio. Earlier this year, the Tristans paid a visit to the children and teens at the ProMedica Toledo Children’s Hospital, teaching them how to create their own lampwork necklace or bracelet. They also worked with parents coping with having a child in the NICU area,…

Q My jewelry sometimes looks boring to me. What can I do to spice things up or put my beads together in a fresh, new way? A Often in making a piece of beadwork, we work in mostly solid colors. In reality, though, most of what we see has highlights, shadows, and variations that show reflections. When we apply this idea to our beadwork, it makes jewelry more appealing and the process more fun. Making (and using) a mix One thing you can do is take beads left over from other projects and transform them into something new. Here’s an example: I recently came across some two-hole crescents in a variety of colors left over from earlier projects and some I had purchased because I liked the color. As I…

memory wire is a hardened steel wire (usually 21–22 gauge) that goes through a chemical process that causes it to maintain its shape. It “remembers” its form and will snap back into position after being stretched. Caution — it may lose some of its springiness over time if it is coiled and uncoiled a lot or if you are rough with it (purposefully stretch and bend it), so you may not be able to count on your memory wire jewelry lasting forever. But if you treat it well and you follow these suggestions, you’ll find memory wire to be a useful and enjoyable material to include in your beading repertoire. THE RIGHT STUFF Memory wire comes in several sizes that are perfect for making necklaces, bracelets, and rings. While memory…

this project is made as a beaded eight-cord kongoh gumi braid. You can work on either a marudai or a foam kumihimo disk. The instructions below are for the disk. SETUP 1) Cut four cords to 8 ft. (2.4 m) each. Center them on a 10 mm or larger split ring, and tie an overhand knot to secure the cords to the ring. This creates the eight cords you need for the kongoh gumi braid. 2) Align the kumihimo disk so you have a dot at the top, the bottom, and each side. 3) Feed the ring through the center hole in the disk from front to back. Arrange the cords around the disk, placing two at the top, two at the bottom, and two on each side so you…

DIFFICULTY netting You will outshine everyone this holiday season with crystals that twinkle like stars on an embellished netted collar. NETTED BASE 1) On a comfortable length of thread, attach a stop bead, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Pick up a repeating pattern of an 8° seed bead and two 11° seed beads five times, then pick up an 8°, four 11°s, an 8°, and two 11°s, and sew back through the fifth 8° added (figure 1, a–b). The edge with the four 11° will be the outside (bottom) edge of the necklace. 2) Pick up two 11°s, an 8°, and two 11°s, and sew back through the third 80 added in the previous row (b–c). Repeat this stitch, but sew back through the first 80 added in the…

CREATING A STACK Lay the cut lengths of braid on your work surface with their center Vs of thread running in the same direction. Create a stack by laying one braid on top of the other, and hold the stack gently on the sides between your thumb and finger. DOUBLE KNOT Tie one overhand knot. Tie another overhand knot, but slide it down to the first knot before pulling the thread tight. BEGINNING A NEW THREAD AND BURYING THE KNOT To begin a new thread, tie a double knot at one end of the new thread, and trim the tail close to the knot. To bury the knot, sew through a bead and the inside curve of the adjacent stack, or just sew through the stack. ENDING THE THREAD To…

NECKLACE 1) Cut two 20–28-in. (51–71 cm) pieces of leather cord. Tie a lark’s head knot: Fold the cords in half, and pass the loop through the pendant from back to front. Pull the cord ends through the loop. 2) On 12 in. (30 cm) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of a color A 4 mm bicone and a color B 4 mm bicone four times, and sew through the beads again to form a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Tie a square knot, and end the threads. NOTE you can substitute a big-hole lampwork bead or Dione bead for the three crystal rings. 3) Repeat step 2, making a ring with As and color C 4 mm bicones. Repeat step 2 again, making a ring…

DIFFICULTY tubular peyote / bead weaving EARRINGS 1) On 4 ft. (1.2 m) of thread, pick up eight SuperDuos, and sew through the beads again to form a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Tie a square knot, sew through the next SuperDuo, and continue through the open hole of the same SuperDuo (figure 1, a–b). 2) Pick up a SuperDuo, and sew through the open hole of the next SuperDuo (b–c). Repeat this stitch seven times to complete the round, and continue through the open hole of the first SuperDuo added (c–d). Repeat these stitches once more to add another round of SuperDuos, using tight tension to make the beadwork cup, and then sew through the open hole of the first SuperDuo added in this round (d–e). End…

many popular beading techniques, including peyote stitch, brick stitch, loomwork, and square stitch end up with exposed bead holes and thread on the edge. Some people like this look, while others simply accept it as a result of the technique. But many beaders find this unacceptable in their beadwork, either because they think it looks unattractive or unfinished or they see it as a point of weakness in the piece because the exposed thread could more easily be cut or damaged. If you’re among this group, take heart — you’re not alone and the good news is that there are several ways to cover this edge. SIMPLE BEAD EDGE This technique provides the simplest solution. It is easy to stitch and hides the bead holes and exposed thread. You can…