Book Spotlight: Zulu Inspired Beadwork

Because so many of the beadweaving techniques that we have come to love have ancient origins, it’s only natural when we want to use them to make traditional looking jewelry and beaded art. The beading methods, colors, and patterns that we choose can result in designs that make us look back to our roots, and appreciate the innovations of the beaders before us.

All over the world, the art of beadwork is still being used for traditional adornment, and being passed down through generations not only for social and ceremonial purposes, but to give families a source of income by supplying unique jewelry for international trade. Some of the most beautiful and intriguing beadwork comes from Africa - a continent where beads and jewelry are an important, though not always pleasant, part of history.

In Zulu Inspired Beadwork,renowned beader Diane Fitzgerald shares some of these histories, along with beautiful descriptions of traditional beadwork from South Africa. Diane goes into great detail about the origins of the beads and techniques used by Zulu women to create their work, the importance and meaning of the colors they prefer, and how the beadwork is used both personally, and as wares for the tourist trade.

After visiting villages, studying the beadwork, and even deconstructing finished pieces, Diane has completed full tutorials for some of the most popular and stunning Zulu beading techniques. Some of them will be familiar to readers, like the Ladder Chain (African Helix) and Zig-Zag (Chevron) chain. Others are departures from basic techniques like ladder stitch and netting, and some are completely unique.

There are 22 Zulu beadweaving techniques covered in the book, each with step-by-step instructions and clear diagrams. Diane has provided many examples of color and pattern variations, and many of the projects include photographs of genuine Zulu designs to help inspire you.

If you enjoy making unique pieces, or want to explore new and exciting techniques, Zulu Inspired Beadworkwill provide many new ideas and test your skills!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
Diane Fitzgerald and Interweave Press
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Halloween GI Joe Pendant

I didn’t put much effort into a Halloween costume last year, so this time around I made sure to go all out, including making a new necklace to go along with the outfit. The Harley Quinn necklace from two years ago was a fun project, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity this Halloween - plus it would be a great time to use up some destash beads.

We decided to go as characters from our favorite video game, which has been renamed "The G.I. Joe Game" at our house. It held the record for most guns in a video game ever, so I thought that was a good place to start. I went through all of the action figure accessories in the toy box, and chose one that would make a good pendant - one that had a place for a bead loop, that is.

The red-lined sapphire seed beads are from the destash tray. I added them awhile back for possible use in a multi-strand design. The holes are just too small for most stitches, but for this project I didn’t mind suffering through a few needle switches. I used openwork right angle weave to make a simple chain, and frogged a clasp from another necklace . Even though I never take apart pieces, I had saved this one because the beads in it are just too good to go to waste.

As for our costumes, they are totally custom made. I put together and altered items from the back of my closet to get the Lilith look. Despite heavy rain, we had a blast. I had to carry an umbrella to keep my hair from melting - the wig is custom colored and shaped with a mixture of Kool-aid powder and conditioner.

What was your Halloween costume this year?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Gearbox Software
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Happy Halloween Jewelry

Happy Halloween, beaders! I hope you'll be having a fun and spooky evening. To get things rolling, here's a quick collection of delightful Halloween jewelry designs.

What are you dressing up as this year?

Spooky Houses Halloween Necklace - Halloween Candy Corn Bracelet - Beautiful Web Necklace

Halloween Spiderweb Necklace - Glam Halloween Necklace - Halloween Ribcage Necklace

Eyeball Necklace - Black Skull Necklace - Pumpkin Pendant

Trick safely!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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Lac and Kashmiri Bead Giveaway

As beaders, when we think of insects in relation to our work, we might consider the many wonderful color and pattern inspirations that they provide, from butterfly wings to honey comb. Dig a little deeper, and it turns out that bugs and insects are actually a pretty important part of the bead and jewelry making world.

We’ve already seen how the natural clay from termite mounds creates the perfect kiln material for African bead artists, and silk makes a great material for both fiber beads and thread. But did you know that there are beads made directly by the power of insects as well?

Materials and products made from lac - the secretion of tiny tree-dwelling insects - have been around for hundreds of years. It is used in the production of varnish and shellac, as well as unique beads and jewelry. The natural resin secreted by the insects that feed on sap is harvested, crushed, sifted, and heated to create an ideal bead making material. The resulting beads have a wonderfully natural appeal. Lac jewelry has been an important part of Indian customs for generations, with a long tradition of craftsmanship and style.

If you’d like to give lac beads a try, our friends at Maruti Beads would like to share some of their beautiful bead designs with you! They have graciously offered a selection of lac and Kashmiri beads, as well as their own custom maruti beads to one lucky Inspirational Beading reader! Similar in style to lac beads, Kashmiri are made from synthetic polymer clay, and embellished with a variety of materials such as rhinestones and silver. You may also know them as Bollywood beads - each bead design is handmade in India, and has a fantastic, exotic look. Some are very similar in design to the popular pave beads, and would work well in trendy pave projects.

How to Enter

For your chance to win a package of 60 assorted kashmiri and lac beads, visit MarutiBeads.com and choose your favorite bead style. Then leave a comment on this post, and let us know which one you liked best. Is it the Kashmiri with studs and hearts? The gold and blue lac hexagon? Anything goes!

Important: Comments must be posted here on Inspirational Beading to qualify, but no log-in is required. If you do not have a Blogger profile with email contact enabled, please make sure to include an email address, shop, or website link, so I can contact you if you win!

One reader will be drawn at random on Tuesday, October 30th. This giveaway is open to international readers.

Good luck!

I would like to thank Maruti Beads for sharing this fantastic bead giveaway. Inspirational Beading does not receive a commission for featuring these products.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and MarutiBeads.com
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Another Ugly Necklace

Throughout this year’s beading challenge, I’ve been pondering the possibility of doing a bead collector’s necklace - a project made with a wide variety of beads and stitches. It seemed like a good idea to keep in mind if I ever got stuck with a lot of odds and ends. With only a few really good projects left on my destash list, and a whole lot of beads that I didn’t know what to do with, I decided to do just that. But with a twist!

I never got around to finishing the backwards quadruple St. Petersburg chain from a few months back, so I decided to use it as the base for another UFO collage. I collected up all of the singles and pairs, seed bead mixes, and assorted hopeless beads from the destash tray, and got to work constructing a new ugly necklace. This time I actually had to really stretch to get all of the elements I wanted in one piece. I was able to use up all of the remaining silver-lined crystal seed beads, and had to start adding some of my beach sand mix to keep things going.

I had just as much fun putting this piece together as I did the first one. I ignored the rules, made awful color choices, and just put beads and thread together whatever which way I wanted. It was a great way to relax and recharge - like unclogging a drain and dancing in the rain all at once. I included several leftover UnFinished Objects from the first ugly necklace, too, so my work space looks a little tidier than it did last week.

Have you tried any wild, crazy, or ill-advised beading projects lately?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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