Playing with Patinas

I have had color on the brain lately. Must be the spring (!) flowers that are popping up in California already.

I found a remedy for my colorlust. Yesterday I was dropping off some class samples at Bead Inspirations in Alameda, CA and saw these on the shelf. So I bought a bunch.

I am hooked. Now I want to patina every piece of metal that I have with alcohol inks. I experimented with the metallic and colored inks on copper sheet and got great results.

Before applying the inks, I textured the metal sheets and then annealed them. I did not remove the firescale after heating as it added to the depth of the patina. I sprayed them after they were dry with some acrylic fixative.

I made earrings out of the two smaller pieces.

The earrings feature Peridot and Freshwater Pearls. I am incorporating the larger piece of metal into a necklace design that I'll share with you next week. It has a Valentines theme and I think it's coming out pretty nicely.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Endless Knotted Strand Tutorial

I had a student contact me on my Facebook page the other day with a question on how finish off a knotted necklace without a clasp.

I thought I would respond via the blog so I could share this technique with all of you as well. If you are looking for a tutorial on how to knot pearls, you can read my latest article in BeadStyle magazine. (You can purchase one, here.) You can also check out my guide to necklace lengths so you can choose the right length for you. 

 Choose your thread. I use nylon or silk beading thread. You can use any type of thread you like but I prefer silk or nylon. The main thing is to check the size of the thread in relation to the size of the bead hole. The thread should fill the hole, but still allow the bead to slide smoothly and freely down the thread without much effort.

Cut your thread and string it through your needle so that it is doubled over. Fold a piece of tape to hold the ends together. Leave about a 3" tail.

String on a bead with a large hole at the end. It will need to accommodate four strands of thread for the final closing knots.

String on a pearl. Do not tie a knot between the large holed bead and the first pearl. Tie a knot after the first pearl and continue knotting until all beads are knotted on the strand. (This is a short strand for demonstration purposes. Your necklace will need be be at least 22" long to slip over the head.)

 Do not tie a knot after the last bead.

String the needle through the large holed bead.

Pull the threads so the necklace tightens up. Cut the needle end of the thread leaving about a 3" tail.

Tie a single overhand knot (thread ends right over left) and tighten.

Turn the entire piece over and tie a complete square knot (right over left and left over right.)

Repeat on the other side.

Seal the knots with clear nail polish and let dry overnight. Cut extra threads away with a pair of sharp scissors.

Your necklace is complete!

Hope that quick tutorial helps! If you have any questions about this tutorial or any other beading or metalworking technique, leave me a message on my Facebook page or shoot me an email. I may just answer it here on the blog!

More of My Creative Space

Whew! It's been a couple of BUSY weeks! The spring (well, not quite spring yet) cleaning bug bit me hard and I have been in reorganization mode.

I focused my energy on my creative space. And good thing, too. It was getting, a bit, uh, shall we say unorganized. (That is the polite term for a junked-up, messy pile of you-know-what.)

My original work table was great. It worked for metals and soldering, but I needed a place to BEAD. Plus I did not have a place to store my hammers so I could reach them easily.

So one trip to IKEA and the hardware store later, (and one clearing of a messy corner) I now have this...

A bead table.

The peg board is very handy. Originally it was white, so I spray painted it a nice dark brown color to blend in with the wall. I hung some of my bead strands up for inspiration. My hammers finally have a home!

I also sorted some of my wayward beads... They needed to be relocated to where most of the beads live in my house.

The bead cabinet. It's one of my most favorite things, ever.

Most of the drawers have beads sorted by color, but this drawer is where my ends-of-strands or single beads go. It is full of random bead mixes.

So, there it is. I have some great ideas to share with you soon, so stay tuned. My creative space is going to be hopping with new projects and I have a "how-to" coming up in the next few days.

Now, off to mess up my new table!