Craft, Beading, Jewelry Making
DIY lessons for Audio, Craft, Beading, Cooking, Home Improvement, Jewelry Making

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This is an elegant bracelet using Swaroskvi pearls and Japanese seed beads. The tutorial comes with pictorial step by step guides. So it is easy to follow even for a beginner. You may make a matching necklace as well. The tutorial is in
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Created by DIY Lessons Jun 14, 2009 at 8:43pm. Last updated by DIY Lessons Oct. 10, 2009.
Making bracelet using eye pins and jump ring (Free)
How to Stitch A Bracelet (Free)
Created by DIY Lessons Jun 11, 2009 at 9:26pm. Last updated by DIY Lessons Oct. 10, 2009.
Wanna learn wire jewellery making? Here is a list of free and paid tutorials on wire jewelry making (wireworks) contributed by us and our members. We hope you enjoy reading them. Do give credit to the teachers by leaving a comment at the post.
Types of Wire for Jewelry Making (Free)
… ContinueCreated by DIY Lessons Jun 11, 2009 at 9:21pm. Last updated by DIY Lessons Oct. 10, 2009.
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Created by DIY Lessons Jun 10, 2009 at 7:44am. Last updated by DIY Lessons Oct. 10, 2009.
A couple of beautiful Valentine's Day projects you can make with paper: framed papercut hearts at Martha Stewart, and an elegant printable card from Emily Montgomery at Paper Seed. I love the simple design of this card, and that it won't cost you a whole ink cartridge.
Do you like flying elephants? Of course you do. You can download and assemble your own fantastical pachyderm, or watch him come to life in a little stop-motion video right here. He's a sample of the work produced by the Curiosity Group, a Portland-based marketing agency.
Oh, excuse me, I mean what name would you have if you were a product made by a famous Swedish furniture company whose corporate colors are yellow and blue? Find out here, if you'd like five seconds of Friday silliness.
The talented Alma Loveland has created some Valentine's Day freebies, including these sweet tiled patterns you can use as Twitter backgrounds.
"I love your nostrils." 




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But first, a Beading Daily exclusive invitation
Win prizes! Eat! Drink! Meet new and exciting people! No, not your office party . . . I'm talking Bead Fest Philly in August, 2010. You're invited to our first ever, in-person, Beading Daily Bead Fest meet-up. Yes, we are giving you plenty of advance notice to save the date. This will be an exclusive, free event just for members. (Not to worry if you're not a member yet. Join online any time or sign up at the door. We're easy.)
And speaking of Beading Daily exclusives, here's a special preview of a technique for you. Circular brick stitch is one of my favorite stitches. It's easy to learn and completely adaptable to an infinite variety of bead sizes, shapes, and materials. This is a really basic mini-lesson, working seed beads around a central bead. If you find you like doing it, consider my Green Circle Brick workshop at Bead Fest Santa Fe in March or at Bead Fest Philly in August. Or, consider one of over a hundred other fabulous Bead Fest classes.
Your circular brick-stitch lesson
The trickiest part of circular brick stitch is fitting the right number of beads in a flat circle for each concentric round. Don't try to squeeze in too many beads, or the shape may buckle into a ruffle (which is nice only if you want it that way). For a flat circle, spread out your stitches neatly and evenly around the circle.
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1: Pass through the central bead twice, placing the two thread loops on either side of the bead. The brick-stitched beadwork will attach to these base threads. You want them strong.
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| 2: Always start a row of brick stitch with 2 beads. String beads 1 and 2. Pass under the thread loop and up through the second bead strung. Pull the thread and nudge the beads with your fingers to lie snug to the center bead.
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3: String bead 3, pass under the thread loop and pass back up through bead 3. Again, nudge the new bead in place and keep your thread tension snug.
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4: Repeat around your center bead, spacing the beads to fit evenly. In this lesson, 8 green beads fit nicely around the center round black bead; string bead 8, pass under the thread loop and back up through bead 8. Pass down into bead 1, under the thread loop, and exit out bead 1 again, ready to start a new row. Continue, starting each new row with 2 beads.
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Bead Fest Philly classes are online now
Go ahead, sign up to learn that stitch you always admired. Don't wait for all the best seats to be filled by someone else––register for workshops (maybe even mine) today. And stay tuned for more about our Beading Daily meet-up at beadfest.com and right here on Beading Daily. For the latest information on all upcoming Bead Fest events, sign up for the Bead Fest e-mail newsletter and start planning for your next event today!
Beading Daily Readers' Favorite e-Projects from 2009This is my first post for 2010, so Happy New Year! Before the holidays I buzzed around the forums chatting with you about what projects you like on Beading Daily. It became clear there were leaders of the pack in favorite technique and materials. I’m still fairly new as your editor, so this was a delightful introduction for me, at least to those of you on the forums. I learned that not every Beading Daily member calls themselves a beader, that we are men as well as women, teen to senior, and that we live all over the world, from the Americas to New Zealand. What we all have in common is our desire to be creative and not only learn to be better ourselves but to help others grow, too. Whether we call ourselves a beader or otherwise, we enjoy being online friends through Beading Daily. Jewelry makers of the world, unite! Better still, jewelry makers–unite the world! That's our Beading Daily call to action for 2010. Here are the three most popular designs in each of our major jewelry-making categories on Beading Daily: stringing, beadweaving, and wirework. |
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| Mixed media leads the trend in stringing A common interest in using new materials in stringing designs was and continues to be reflected in which projects you liked best online. You made these the top downloads of all our stringing projects this past year. It’s clear that youthful, mixed-media styles and components continue to be hot. One thing is for sure: however you put your jewelry together, you all love using beads somewhere in your designs! |
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| Brass Filigree Snowflake by Jess Italia-Lincoln |
Chirp Chirp by Danielle Fox |
October Shore by Cynthia Thornton |
| We itch to stitch! Seed beads and beadweaving hold us in their power and we love being captivated! Peyote and right angle weave were our favorite beadweaving techniques in e-Books, but individual techniques with high popularity ratings included brick stitch and caddis weave. |
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![]() Crystal Radiance by Tina Koyama |
![]() Caddis Weave Bracelet by Anne Fletcher |
![]() Two-drop Peyote Beaded Beads by Dustin Wedekind |
| Our wire desires We loved wire spirals, coils, and anything wrapped this year. I do have to point out that no matter which project you loved best, almost every wire project incorporated beads, especially artisan-made beads or crystals. Watch for more wire and bead designs to be a strong trend in 2010. |
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![]() Coiled Gem Drops by Janice Berkebile |
![]() Caramel Swirl by Cindy Wimmer |
![]() Raindrop Earrings by Jenna Kolyar-Cooper |
Look to us for top trends in 2010 |
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It’s not only a new year, but a new decade! Can you believe it? Just think about what you were doing ten years ago. I was the editor of Beadwork magazine with a toddler toddling about, a wild-man kindergartner, a husband getting his umpteenth degree, and a really bad hairdo. Now I look at my deep-voiced 6' 3" boy, my door-slamming hormone-challenged girl, and my professor husband, and think . . . where did the decade go? But instead of getting too wrapped up in lost time, I think I’ll celebrate instead. For one, I’ve got a better hairdo, and that alone is worth celebrating. I’ll also celebrate this new decade (and my 100th blog!) by perusing all 1,035 projects in the Interweave store and picking out a dozen of my favorites. Disclaimer: This was a near-impossible list to make. Have you been to the store lately? There are lots and lots of wonderful projects there, my friend—you’ll have a hard time choosing, too. |
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4: Tribal Shield Copper Earrings Tom and Kay Benham’s copper design is simple enough for beginning metalworkers to do, plus I just love that they are in this store, even though this is a beading site! |
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Check out all the projects in the store to celebrate this new decade with beads. Let us know your favorites here on Beading Daily.
When I was an illustration student at the University of the Arts, one of my pals was a jewelry major. She always had copies of Lapidary Journal around, and they were a great reference for me when I painted anything with jewelry in it. Later, my rendering skills came in handy as a product designer for The Franklin Mint. where I mastered the art of painting a sparkling glint on jewelry illustrations. At the time I never dreamed I'd ever make jewelry. Now, as an Interweave editor, I am surrounded by decades of amazing Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist issues and actually do use metal in my jewelry. Most of my metal pieces don't have a sparkling glint––but I can always paint that on. –Leslie, editor, Beading Daily
Beading Daily welcomes today's guest editors from Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist––Editor in Chief Merle White and Managing Editor Helen Driggs, sharing the shining features from the past year that most inspired them.
There's no question that Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist has everything you need to learn how to make the jewelry designs you dream of! Don't miss a single issue of instruction and inspiration–subscribe today!
What are metal seed beads?
Metal seed beads are just that––tiny beads made completely of metal.
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Want to see some beautiful work done with metal seed beads? Look at these breathtaking projects by Shelley Nybakke: Simply Marvelous, Darling (top) and A Metalsmith’s Match, Version 2. Want to create your own beautiful work with metal seed beads?
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And after you sign up for a wonderful class or two, check back here on Beading Daily to let us know your metal bead luuuurrrve stories.
At first glance, this necklace looks like a large link sterling silver chain. Look a little closer and you will see it is made entirely of spring clasps! What a totally cool idea as you can remove chunks to alter the length. There is also no more groping for the clasp to undo the necklace.
Forget electric cars, quit mixing your at-home biodiesel; just attach one of Dutch John's handy wood gasification contraptions to the back of your car and fuel your transportation with backyard wood chips.
Says DVICE,
"This old Volvo modified by a guy calling himself Dutch John, uses a popular WWII process called wood gasification, where freshly cut wood chips are heated until they release gasses that can be used to run the engine.
The catch is that you need to heat the wood up to around 2,500 degrees F, so you probably don't want to mount the gasification unit under your seat.
A typical ...more
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Hongkiat has compiled a collection of 30+ insane fire dancing images. Fire dancing has roots in many different ethnic cultures, influencing contemporary performance art (Cirque du Soleil, Burning Man, eroticism, and more).
Inspired? Get started with some basic poi moves. Poi is a performance art that includes juggling, object manipulation, and in some cases, fire.
Click through for image credits. ...more
Related:
Another goody from Wired's Danger Room (previous post, the oh so very cute Koosh Bullet). This time the weapon on display is the amazingly "smart" handgun: a gun that won't shoot unless you're wearing the right watch.
Says Wired,
"German firm Armatix has an electronic safety that automatically disables the pistol when it’s not within a few inches of a custom wristwatch. The watch sends a wireless arming signal to the gun. If the gun is picking up a signal from the watch, a green LED on the back lights up. Try squeezing the handle without wearing the watch, and you will see a red warning ...more
Related:
Conceptual furniture project by designer Kai Linke proposes the idea of growing furniture from plant roots.
Says Dezeen,
"Kai's experiments so far involve cultivating fast-growing plants such as grass, cress, bulbs and bamboo and chanelling their roots into a miniature chair-shaped mold. Once the roots have completely filled the mould it is removed, leaving a scale model of a piece of furniture.
This exploration is the first stage of a long term project, which Linke hopes will result in a full size chair made of roots."
Mold Making principles +a little Gardening = makes for some pretty ...more
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More augmented reality fun (Rock Paper Scissors Tee, Video Game Drone) and another peak into our sci-fi future.
Via New Scientist,
"If only drivers could see through walls, blind corners and other dangerous road junctions would be much safer. Now an augmented reality system has been built that could just make that come true.
The prototype uses two cameras: one that captures the driver's view and a second that sees the scene behind a view-blocking wall. A computer takes the feed from the second camera and layers it on top of the images from the first so that the wall appears to be ...more
Related:

From Leah Buechley's photostream via the CRAFT Flickr pool, Leah shares: "on the steps of Shih Chien U, turn signals prototyped by me w/ parts from the taipei electronics markets & made by (awesome) Shih Chien University fashion students" in Taiwan.
More:

How-To: Make a Turn Signal Bike Jacket
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CRAFT is celebrating love, glitter, and craftiness with the Crafty Chica Love Shrine Challenge. Preserve your memories and tell your love story by building a shrine that creatively reflects your personality and expresses your hopes and dreams.This type of project is all about personal self expression. I began by digging through my collections of postcards and love letters. I sifted through my memories, photo by photo, reveling in the nostalgia of my drawings and notes from days gone by.

Certain things caught my eye, and whatever inspired me was set into a pile. Then I collected all the little treasures that I've gathered over the years — things like old wooden letters from a printing press, the tiny ceramic deer that my grandmother gave me, and a little gift box with a perfect bow. Finally, I went through my craft supplies and pulled ribbons, fabric flowers, pieces of bark, feathers, and seashells. Distill the materials that you've collected into themes. Look for common threads in your items that tell a single story. I didn't have any expectations for an outcome, and I started by just pairing up colors, textures, and associations. I found three distinct stories in my materials, and then selected the core "anchor" pieces for each shrine. Everything went into a big pile on my work surface, and I sat down with a drink and my current favorite playlist on the stereo.
This week I will share each love shrine and my step-by-step process for creating it. I hope that you will join our challenge and make your own individual shrine and add it to the Crafty Chica Challenge Flickr pool. Be sure to include a little story that describes your intentions. The reward is the beautiful shrine, but winners will be chosen to receive great ilovetocreate prizes too.
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Anna at Mochimochi presents her new pattern in her shop Hugs + Squoze ($5), a cuddly little duo to make for your main squeeze (or for yourself, of course) for Valentine's Day!

Franco of Franco's Fiber Adventure, created this ingenious portable loom from a clipboard and a few other simple supplies. [via Craftster]
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Ranjit Bhatnagar is making an instrument every day in February. Some are electronic, some are mechanical, and some are both. This walnut shell rattle seems easy to make with a drill and some string, and makes a pretty satisfying jangle, suitable for weekend sock-clad marching band parades around the house.
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