Fall Harvest Bracelet-Wrapped Loop Beaded Jewelry Tutorial

Oct 312017
 

Inspiration comes from so many places: nature, the work of other artists, color palettes and the like.

I’m often inspired by materials, especially when somebody has put them together in a way I wouldn’t have thought of.

fall harvest bracelet cover

This wire wrapped bracelet, full of Czech glass beads, was inspired by a strand of beads in a recent Dollar Bead Box called “Fall Harvest Mix.” 

This bracelet is fun to wear, as several of the beads are drilled off center, making it easy to fidget and fiddle with them!

Something about the matte finish of the beads made me think of candy corn, so I had to run out yesterday to get some just for this photo shoot.

Do you love or hate candy corn? I love it until I’ve eaten too much, then I hate it… and myself, lol.

You may find these videos useful in making this bracelet:

Tools and Materials:

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

Watch the Fall Harvest Bracelet-Wrapped Loop Beaded Jewelry Tutorial video at YouTube.

Summer Gypsy Bracelet-Beaded Jewelry Tutorial

Aug 082017
 

All the lovely strands of Czech fire polish beads that I’ve received in recent months from my Dollar Bead Bag subscription are what got me started on today’s bracelet.

I knew they would look really pretty together as a multi-strand bracelet.

summer gypsy bracelet cover

Using a slide/tube clasp keeps the design simple and the focus on the beads. I added in just a few copper spacer beads to fill out the strands and tie all five of them together. The colors were inspired by summer and by the Summer Gypsy Earrings I made recently.

This bracelet has five strands, but add more if you like!

I ended up using three of my strands of Czech fire polish beads: Opaque Red Vintage Bronze Luster, Light Erinite and Crystal Light Beige Luster. These were filled in with some small turquoise nuggets and a strand of frosted orange glass seed beads.

You may have noticed some larger beads on my work table that I didn’t end up using in the finished bracelet. I had thought when I began to throw a few cute beads onto headpins and make a couple dangles near the clasp, but ended up changing my mind on that.

Picture how elegant this bracelet would look with all the strands the exact same beads. Simple and sophisticated. It would also be pretty done in ombré shades.

Tools and Materials:

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

Watch the Summer Gypsy Bracelet-Beaded Jewelry Tutorial at YouTube.

Imperial Jasper Bracelet Video Tutorial

Apr 182016
 

imperial jasper bracelet (1)

This bracelet design is similar to ones I’ve done before, combining single strands of larger beads with smaller ones on multiple strands. It’s easy to do, and an interesting look. It’s also a great trick for stretching a few special beads to make an entire piece of jewelry. 😀

The silver stardust beads bring out some of the silvery gray color in the jasper beads. I’d considered using black beads as an accent, but thought they were too stark.

Tools & Materials:

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

Watch the Imperial Jasper Bracelet Video Tutorial over at YouTube.

Gunmetal & Crystal Bracelet Video Tutorial

Aug 042014
 

Are you inspired by materials or by ideas? I’ve found I often have to have a material in hand, and then the ideas just start flowing for possibilities what to do with it.

This gunmetal slide clasp came in a goody bag from Fire Mountain Gems. I don’t usually work in grays, so put it aside a long time ago. But then I found I liked the colors in this photo, gray included, enough to add it to my “Color Inspirations” Pinterest board.

gunmetal & fuchsia color pin

Finding the right combination of colors, textures & shapes of beads was also a challenge. These matte finish glass gray ones in the middle contrast nicely with the shiny sparkle of the Swarovski cubes & bicones and the frosted greens. The little bits of black seed beads and the gunmetal chain pull it all together.

gunmetal & crystal bracelet

I challenge you to do a project based on a Pinterest pin. We’re collecting all these pics for a reason, right? 😉

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

Materials:

  • slide clasp with seven holes
  • 7 10-inch pieces bead stringing wire
  • beads of your choice to string approximately 7 inches on each strand of wire
  • 2 7-inch lengths of chain
  • crimps
  • crimp covers
  • wire protectors
  • jump rings

Tools:

  • wire cutters
  • chain nose pliers
  • crimping pliers
  • bead stoppers (optional, but useful if you want to string your beads in advance)

Keep in mind that you’ll need to make this bracelet longer than you normally would to account for the width. The clasp, crimps and wire protectors will take up about one inch of length, so plan accordingly.

To attach stringing wire to clasp loops slide on a crimp bead and slide wire into one end of a wire protector and out the other.

Hook the wire protector over a loop of your clasp and slide wire back through crimp. Gently squeeze ends to make wire protector more of a teardrop, rather than horseshoe, shape. Use chain nose pliers to flatten crimp close to wire protector.

Use crimping pliers to pick up a crimp cover and place over flattened crimp. Squeeze gently to close crimp cover and form into a round bead shape. String on your choice of beads and repeat crimping to attach other end to other piece of clasp.

Attach as many lengths of strung beads to your slide clasp as you’d like, making sure to not twist the strands. Check strands against each to make sure they are all the same length.

Use jump rings to attach lengths of chain to either end of clasp.

Pearl & Crystal Stretch Bracelet Video Tutorial

Jun 302014
 

Stretch bracelets are easy to make AND you don’t have to be quite so precise with the sizing, which is excellent for gift giving.

pearl & crystal stretch bracelet still

Using pearls & crystals gives this a bracelet a classic and classy look. Of course, you could use any beads you like: How about a rainbow of colors, several shades of your favorite hue or all mixed metal components?

Whatever you decide to use, enjoy the video and happy creating!

Materials:

  • 36 6mm glass pearls
  • 24 6mm bicone crystal beads
  • 48 4mm spacer beads
  • 4 6mm x 20mm 3-hole spacers
  • .5mm stretch elastic

Tools:

  • sharpie
  • super glue
  • scissors
  • ruler
  • bead stoppers
  1. Leaving stretch elastic on the spool string the following pattern four times.
  2. glass pearl> spacer bead> crystal bead> spacer bead> glass pearl> spacer bead> crystal bead> spacer bead> glass pearl> end hole of three-hole spacer
  3. When stringing is complete, trim elastic from spool, leaving a few inches extra for tying knots and secure each end with a bead stopper.
  4. Repeat steps 1-3, using the center holes of three-hole spacers.
  5. Repeat steps 1-3 one more time, using remaining holes of three-hole spacers.
  6. Tie ends of elastic into secure knots, pull into holes of three-hole spacers to conceal and add a dab of super glue to knots. Wait until glue is dry to trim excess elastic.