Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tree of Life Beading Tutorials

I know I’ve mentioned it once or twice before, but I often find myself envying designers who use metal materials like wire in their jewelry. One of my favorite taboo designs is the Tree of Life pendant. The construction is relatively simple, but the results are always amazing - beautiful, mystical trees made from everything from gemstone chips to swirled silver.

In honor of Earth Month, I wanted to pay a little tribute to the variety of Tree of Life designs out there. Here are some of my favorite tutorials, along with some gorgeous original designs.



This very beginner friendly version from Handmade Fashion Jewelry and BeadsOnline
uses a rectangular base frame, and a handful of crystals.




Lots of step-by-step photographs accompany the tutorial for this chip-bead
Tree of Life tutorial from Dana's Jewelry Designs.




This tutorial by Lisa of Lisa’s Craft Blog features beads that
dust the edges of the base hoop.




This top-heavy Tree of Life Pendant by The Beading Gem has room for lots of beads - perfect if
you want to use multiple colors or finishes for a fall inspired or birthstone design.




This video tutorial by Camille Sharon comes in at just under 10 minutes, but it’s worth it!
She gives a very detailed demonstration on making the basic beaded branch Tree of Life pendant.






The concept of a Tree of Life, or World Tree, has existed throughout many cultures and time periods. The metaphor of connection between the earth and sky, and all the branches in between, is a powerful symbol for both peace and the importance of balance in nature. Naturally, this motif translates well into jewelry designs and handmade crafts.

















Happy beading!

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7 comments:

  1. So pretty! Thanks. I think I might try making one of these soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here are two of my designs.
    REAL Mississippi river rocks!

    In honor of the name of my business!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tree of Life is one of my most favorite pieces. I have never made one, and I am VERY much a novice jewelry maker. I am going to ask a question that I hope does not violate decent jewelry making. I have a tendency to put a death grip one things I am making, therefore warping my pieces. What about using a big split ring as the base? Would that bw acceptable? Or tacky?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Some designers can turn the most ordinary objects into beautiful jewelry - perhaps a split ring base could open up new design possibilities for wire wrapping.
    It never hurts to try!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you! And you are right, what could it hurt to try?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mortira, I love your posts and really appreciate seeing this variety of trees of life. I actually have a metal necklace "Tree of Life" on right now, and love it. Never made one, but love looking at all of these for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm just catching up on my blog reading, so this comment is a bit tardy, but I think this is a stunning compilation of tree pendants.

    ReplyDelete

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