Saturday, May 30, 2009

An Upward Spiral

Cellini Spiral Tutorial

I was feeling ambitions the other day, and decided I might polish up my tutorial on Cellini spiral with some new step by step photographs. So I got the camera out, and snapped a few tutorial shots.

Not one to waste precious Fireline, I decided to continue with the Cellini spiral, and create a bangle bracelet after my photographs were in the bag. Once the initial steps were complete, and the spiral was starting to take shape, I noticed something interesting about the tube in front of me.

It looked like a ring.

I’ve never been much of a fan of beaded rings, but something about the gradual curve of the blue 6o beads really caught my eye. I instantly pictured wearing something like it on a finger.

Cellini Spiral Bangle


The Inspiration:


After my Cellini bangle was complete, I set out to find a way to make a spiral peyote tube large enough to wear as a ring. I wanted to maintain the single row of 6o beads in the center, for it was these beads that created the jewel-like appearance that I wanted.

I considered simply increasing the number of 10o’s, to create a wider tube, but I wanted a bit more flexibility if any shaping or tapering would be needed. I decided to add a second row of 10o’s, with 15o’s making up the center of the Cellini tube.

The Beads:

I was pretty frustrated by the fading of the purple galvanized beads in the bangle. They stood up to the wear from my hands, but flaked from constantly rubbing against the table as I stitched. My stash of 8o seed beads is pretty low at the moment, and my only option for matte beads were the Picasso green Toho’s leftover from my RAW necklace.

Cellini Spiral Beads



To match the olive colored 8o’s, I chose 15o Toho's in Gold Lined Black Diamond, copper lined green 10o’s, and opaque black 6o’s. Once again, the combination is somewhat snake-like, but I love the subtle sparkle of the lined beads against the neutral opaque beads.

The Beadwork:

I wouldn’t call this a failed attempt, exactly. I’m actually quite happy with the ring that I made. The only trouble is that it’s unlikely to fit anyone but me.

Cellini Spiral Ring



As predicted, I ended up using the 15o beads to taper the tube and shape it to my finger. This means, of course, that it will fit only on the finger I was working with, and no other.

This might be the first time I’ve ever made something just for myself. So it’s back to the drawing board, as far as Cellini rings go, but at least I got a nice bauble out of it!


3 comments:

  1. Beautiful bracelet & ring. I am hopeless at sizing rings for anyone other than myself. The only people I make rings for are my two friends, cos I know if it just fits over the knuckle on my index finger it'll fit their middle ones!It took a lot of trial & error to figure that out though, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. GORGEOUS as usual!!! I just love the ring, so cool!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ring sizing is tough. The other trouble with stitched rings is that they will inevitable stretch just enough to make them too wiggly.

    They are really fun to make though!

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com