Giveaway: Peyote Pendant Tutorial

My very first necklace creation of 2011 was a sunflower variation of my Sky Blossom pendant, using circular peyote rings and daisy chain. Working out the palette was a lot of fun!

I started by pairing up different shades of yellow and brown - canary with terracotta, and rootbeer with lemon. I wanted hints of green for a background, so I added yellow-lined black diamond with it’s olive-y vibe, and transparent lemon lime cubes. A few fire polish beads in an earth tone mix offered some extra yellows and browns.

While I was working on this piece, I took some snaps and created a brand new beading tutorial. The project includes instructions for making all of the peyote rings, and weaving together the continuous chains to make a no-clasp necklace.

I also started a new tutorial feature - text only PDFs. So beaders can still study the project in full color, and have the option to print without images to save on ink and paper.

To celebrate a new year of beading, my first giveaway of 2011 will be a copy of my Circle Peyote Pendant Tutorial!

How to Enter:

For a chance to win, just leave a comment below, and answer this question:

Which beading technique have you yet to try or master?

This giveaway is open to everyone! If you do not have a Blogger profile with email enabled, make sure that you have included a contact method such as a shop or website, or a spam free email address (beadlover AT yourmail).

For an extra entry, leave a second comment with a link to a blog post about this giveaway!

One lucky winner will be drawn at random on Friday, January 28th.

Good luck, and happy beading!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Wavy Beaded Bracelet

When I first started experimenting with beading techniques and combinations of stitches, I surprised myself by coming up with what I would eventually call the "Athena Bracelet". By combining peyote stitch with single strands of beads in alternating lengths, a wavy pattern emerges.

The first two bracelets I made reminded me of motifs on Greek pottery - hence the name - and I made several more with different colors and patterns. Although the beadwork has a soft, fluid look, the short rows of beads are actually quite sturdy, and the entire bracelet band keeps its shape while being worn.

The Inspiration:

Since I've had the sea on my mind, I decided it was time to bring out the wavy Athena Bracelet again, and see if I could improve upon it. I certainly wanted to add beaded clasps instead of silver, and perhaps simplify the beadwork to make it come together much quicker - and with less thread.

The Beads:

I started with some of my favorite seed beads - abalone lined crystal 11/0's. I matched them up with some light blue Ceylon 11/0's and blue and white pinch bicones. For just a little more contrast, I chose some white lined peridot seed beads that have a nice sea-green color.

The Beadwork:

This time around I tried using square stitch for the beaded panels, instead of peyote. The straight rows of beads are much easier to work with, since they can be stitched straight through to add the loose bead strands. The toggle and loop clasp is also much easier to use than a metallic closure, and blends in with the entire bracelet for a nice clean look.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Forever June Necklace

The Big Reveal is finally here, and all of the fabulous USE THE MUSE II entries are now on display. The wide range of beadwork styles and imaginative pieces is amazing - a treasure trove of inspiration and delight!

It was such a thrill to spot my entry, “Forever June” in the N-Z gallery, among all of the amazing artwork submitted by my fellow beaders. Scarlett Lanson deserves a big round of applause for all of her hard work, and for bringing us all together around the Muse.

The Inspiration:

As soon as I had ordered my kit for the USE THE MUSE contest, I set to work on possible designs, eagerly awaiting the mystery component. Because it was already revealed that the Muse was a LillyPilly pendant, I was able to come up with some metal-free ideas.

I tried to think of ways to incorporate many of the other kit materials, including the silk ribbon, but in the end my most satisfying idea was to somehow stitch the pendant onto flat beadwork. I surveyed my mental inventory of techniques, sketched out some designs, and waited for the kit to arrive and complete the inspiration.

The Beads:

I wanted to use as many of the kit’s beads as possible, without overwhelming the gorgeous shell pendant, or looking too “busy“. I was able to incorporate all of the wonderful Swarovski crystals and pearls, and the 15/o seed beads. To this I added a few selections from my own stash, including some delicious abalone-lined crystal seed beads from Artbeads.com.

The Beadwork:

With the idea of stitching the pendant directly to my beadwork, I decided to build a necklace using St. Petersburg chain. The V-shaped version of the stitch creates a small platform at the center of the necklace, perfect for embellishing.

Rather than simply pin the pendant down with a bead or two, I decided to enhance the floral motif with a brick-stitch beaded flower. Another flower at the back of the necklace makes up one half of the clasp. For a little whimsy, I added some fringe at the V, with a platinum pearl peeking through the Muse.

I named the necklace “Forever June”, because although the pendant and flowers have a summery feel, the Swarovski crystals and St. Petersburg chain give the necklace an icy winter vibe. I like the idea that it’s something cool to wear in summer, and warm to wear in winter.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Moonlit Multi-strand Necklace

The multi-strand necklace was the very first beading/jewelry technique that I ever learned. I was working at a bookstore at the time, and a beading kit ended up on the clearance table for 75% off. I scooped up two of them, with the idea of using the beads for crafts.

I didn’t expect the actual project to be so appealing until I opened the kit and saw how easy it could be. That year, nearly everyone received multi-strand necklaces for Christmas.

The Inspiration:

Multi-strand necklaces are wonderful because it’s almost like bathing yourself in beads. The way the strands flow and drape is unlike any other style of necklace there is. I haven’t made any multi-strand pieces since giving up metals, and I’ve really been missing them. So I set out to find a way to create a lovely shower of beads without the use of eye pins.

The Beads:

For this experiment I threw together a mixture of interesting shapes and colors to inspire a really unique multi-strand necklace. I chose heavy metal rainbow mix seed beads, gunmetal twisted bugles, jet black Czech druks, and gold lined black diamond 15o’s.

The Beadwork:

I replaced the traditional eye pin, bead cone and clasp necklace ends with short herringbone tubes. These became the base for a beaded clasp as well as the individual bead strands. For fun, I used brick stitch to turn the black druks into tiny little flowers, adding some green fringe for leaves.

I’m pretty happy with the results of my experiment. I can see using larger beads for the herringbone tubes, allowing for even more bead strands without increasing the size of the tubes too much. I really prefer the beaded clasp, since it means there are no wires to bend or jump rings to fiddle with. Simplicity is good.

No Fool's Gold

Being environmentally friendly is becoming more and more important for business crafters. Our customers want to know that our products are good for the Earth. As beaders, it’s not easy being green, but it’s well worth the effort.

Open Pit Gold Mine in Kalgoorlie, Australia

One of the commitments I have made since declaring myself a jewelry designer is to swear off metals whenever possible. I’ve been against the use of gold in jewelry for a long time, but I also try to avoid silver and nickel, too.

The Inspiration:

After writing The Truth About Gold - an article about the hazardous effects of gold mining - I decided to do an experiment to see if I could mimic authentic gold jewelry using seed beads and no metals. So, I grabbed a sketch pad and started browsing the websites of some popular gold and diamond jewelers in North America.

I saw a lot of gold chains: some plain, and some with dangly things hanging from them. It wasn’t very inspiring at all. Finally I came across a photo that made my inner magpie sit up and pay attention - a charming little gold and gemstone Y style necklace. It was made with a set of gold rings covered in multicolored briolettes, suspended from a simple gold chain.

With my inspirational necklace found, I set out to recreate it with seed beads, and a touch of my own style, too.

The Beads:

I decided to add a touch of diamond to the necklace, so I paired galvanized metallic gold beads with crystal foil-lined beads in 10o and 6o. For a splash of color, I also added some foil-lined blue 6o seed beads.

The briolette necklace I had found had much more color, but I didn’t have any other 6o foil lined beads. I wanted the beads to be uniform, so I opted not to add other styles of 6o’s.

The Beadwork:

To make a gold chain, I used basic St. Petersburg Chain, adding in a hint of “diamonds” here and there. The chain is stitched in two parts, with the top ends connecting for the back of the necklace. Beaded loops connect the chain and pendant at the front.

Taking a little further inspiration from Sheryl Yanagi’s Byzantine seed bead chain maille, I added a pendant of seed bead hoops with diamond and sapphire “gems”.

In the end, this necklace looks almost nothing like the piece that I drew my inspiration from. However, I think that I was able to achieve my goal of making a necklace that would look right at home in an expensive gold jewelry showcase.

Now only one question remains. Why would anyone spend so much money on dirty gold when green beads are just as beautiful?