Playing With Beads

I love metal. Soldering is my thing. But like many of you I started as a beader. The simple act of putting beads on a string is so relaxing, plus you get the added bonus of a necklace to wear at the end of it all.

I have not made a necklace in a while and inspiration arrived in the form of this wonderful post over at the Beadshop.com blog, about their employee beading day. It was a walk down memory lane for me, as this is where I got my start in the bead biz back in 1992. Owner Janice Parsons is one of the most gifted bead artists I know. She started beading many years ago at her mother's antique store. That store evolved into The Bead Shop of Palo Alto, CA and the rest is history. Now the legacy of The Bead Shop lives on online at beadshop.com.

Back in the day as an employee of The Bead Shop I lived and breathed beads. Every day there was a new challenge, a new necklace to string or earring to wire wrap. We had such BEAUTIFUL beads. Vintage, semi-precious, tribal, handmade... you name it, we strung it. I learned a lot from Janice, my fellow employees and our wonderful customers. That experience started me on my beaded career path.

So... seeing the great bead combinations that JP and her gang put together on their team beading day made me want to get out the beads and create. And that's just what I did. I took photos along the way to share my process. This is a photo-heavy post. To see the pictures in more detail, click on each to enlarge.

I wanted to create a piece that was reminiscent of my early beading days. The first beads I loved had a tribal/ethnic feel to them. I poked around in my bead stash and put this mix together. I really didn't have a finished design in mind other than I knew I wanted to make a multi-strand piece strung in a random style.

Metal  spacers are a MUST! That strand of copper heishi dates from my early Bead Shop days. I used to put that bead in everything I made.

I added some seed beads to the mix. Tiny beads are a must in a random multi-strand design. These great beads came from Baubles and Beads in Berkeley, CA (another great local-to-me bead store.)

Aren't these AMAZING!!! Czech glass picasso beads, also from Baubles and Beads. I threw those in the mix (even though I wanted to hoard them.)

I got this clasp from Saki Silver at BeadFest this past August. The cones are from Tierra Cast. Cones are perfect for closing multi-strands.

I cut 5 long strands of nylon bead thread and began to string. Random pattern. Stringing each strand a bit before passing over to the next so they grow at an even pace.

Added in a turquoise disc for interest. Divided and passed the threads through the center hole. At this point I felt that I needed an additional strand, so I untied the knot I made at the beginning, added another thread and strung it to this point.

Added beads so they covered the thread over the disc. Knotted everything to hold it together under the disc and kept going.

And going.

And going.

Until I reached the end.

To close, I tied all of the strands together in an overhand knot like the one I made at the beginning. I added a drop of Hypo Cement to each knot and let dry. Then I cut the thread just above the knots.

To attach the cones, I cut a piece of 18-gauge wire and made a loop at the end to capture the strands and wire wrapped the loop closed.

I slid the cone down and wire wrapped the clasp to the end and did the same for the other side.

And that's it! The necklace is ready to wear.

This project is a great way to work with beads in your stash. Thanks for the inspiration, Bead Shop team!

Featured Designer for Dakota Stones this Month and a Giveaway!

Comments are closed! Check the next post for the winner!

What an honor! The lovely bead purveyor Dakota Stones contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would be a featured designer for their monthly blog series. Would I? A chance to design some jewelry using stones from one of my favorite suppliers? Sign me up.

It was a really fun project to do. Stringing beads is my first love. (I know I wrote the book on how to solder, but beads were my gateway drug.) So I grabbed my Soft Flex beading wire and went to work. (Okay, there is SOME metal and soldering in there, but mostly it's BEADS!!)

Here is a teaser picture of one of the projects. To see the rest, hop on over and read the entire post on their blog.

Like I mentioned before, I love to string beads! If you have not beaded for a while, I urge you to jump in and string up a quick project. Soft Flex beading wire (.019 original silver color is my favorite) makes it fast and easy. Brush up on your stringing skills with my FREE class from Beaducation.com.

 

It has a running time of 50 minutes and shows you all of the basic skills you need to string a sturdy necklace. Plus I am wearing a sassy red dress in the video.

I also have a little kit of treasures to give away to one lucky reader. I have a lovely centerpiece (like the one I used in one of my blog designs) a variety of semi-precious beads and a mini-spool of Soft Flex. Just add a few beads from your stash to round things out, and voila! You'll be on your way to stringing. Comments will be open through this Sunday, January 12. I'll pick a winner on Monday and send your packet out after I get back from my adventures on the 20th (more about what I am doing coming up this week!)

Happy commenting and good luck!