Author |
Message |
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - 10:53 pm
You can do either/or. Helpful, aren't I? I think they each have a tiny bit of a different look to them. I did a bracelet for my aunt out of beads she had from another broken bracelet. The silver beads with the turqouise flowers have double holes, so I used one of the double clasps on it:
This is the bracelet I made for oldest niece for Easter (her dress was teal, white, black.) It's a double strand, but instead of the double clasps, I crimped each strand and attached them to the same jump ring and clasp.
The double hole spacer beads (the silver with flowers) does make my aunts bracelet more rigid, but still, quite a different look from my nieces which is looser if that makes sense. What you can do when making the bracelet is leave the decision until you're done stringing it all. You can use a bead stopper or leave your stringing material (wire, thread, whatever) attached to the spool, or tape off one end or use extra wire, thread, whatever and crimp it at the very end of one side and then string your beads. When done stringing, attach the strands (minus the crimp bead) to the 3 hole clasp and then attach them with your one crimp bead and see what looks better. Word of warning though, if I'm going to drop a strand of beads at any point, this is usually that point, lol. So when checking to see which looks better, don't forget your strands aren't crimped and hold on to them! It's rather surprising how teeny tiny beads can get so heavy when they're with a bunch of other teeny tiny beads, isn't it?!?
|
Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 11:57 am
You bet it is. It never crossed my mind (remember? I'm new at this) until I lifted that container. Yikes! I really like the combination of the double-holed spacers and the beads, but I think for 3 strands of the same, I may go for the looser look like your niece's. Have you ever tried braiding 3 strands?
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 1:48 pm
I've been doing beading for years and I still get surprised, lol! I have tried braiding and it didn't turn out all that great. But, I read a tip somewhere about braiding them that I haven't tried yet. Basically you string three strands, each one a little longer than the last. You take strand one and wrap strand 2 around it. You're going to have to use some kind of clamp or tape so they don't come undone. Then take strand 3 and wrap around strands 1 & 2. You don't want to have the strands crimped yet because you may need to add or take off beads to make all three strands end at the same spot (hope that makes sense!) Then when you have the legnth right, crimp all three strands together. It's not so much braiding as wrapping, but same look. I haven't tried it with the new tip but after doing the first one, that made a whole lot of sense to me. The problems I had was that even though I'd made all three strands the same legnth, two of them were much shorter after braiding and with braiding the strands got really tight, to the point I thought they might snap if flexed. So I'm thinking making the 3 strands different lengths will solve the problem of having two strands too short and wrapping instead of braiding will take care of the tightness.
|
Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 7:37 am
Hey Biloxi!!! Wishing Stephanie a very happy birthday. War, I tried braiding it, and it does seem very "starchy" - and boring. So I think I might try stringing one strand with white chips and using your method to see how that works. We are popping over to Michaels with our coupons (they are making us come on 2 days; only one coupon per day) in a few. I need a couple more findings. Starting Saturday, they are having another good bead sale. They need to stop those, my wallet can't take much more. Haha!
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 8:46 am
It's Stephanie's birthday? Happy Birthday to her!!! The one I braided was just seed beads, but yeah Dakota only wore it for a few minutes, she complained it was so tight it was catching the little hairs on her arm. Let me know how that works, Lum. I have 3 15% off your entire purchase coupons but they're only good on April 26 from 4-8. Also good on sale items. I went over with Kota the other day when she bought her little pottery wheel and was thrilled to see the swarovski crystals stuff off of sale, lol. Whenever I see it on sale I feel like I have to stock up cuz the prices are the same as the bead store and ordering online. I'm actually good on supplies for awhile which makes me happy!
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 1:02 pm
Lum, that is very sweet of you to remember Stephanie's birthday. Thank you to both you and War for her birthday wishes.
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, April 17, 2009 - 10:54 am
I hope she had a very good day, Biloxi! Wanna hear how I spent a little over two hours last night? First, I have to explain my bead set up, lol. I have a laptop desk that I set my bead tray on. Darren had bought the laptop desk for his computer and it worked so well for my beading that we had to go buy a second one...I can carry it to the table, the couch, the desk, whereever I want to work. I also have, as I've said before, the tackle box for all my beads. The clear plastic containers that have compartments and it has a lid that locks. One container has orphan beads, one has spacers, one has all my findings. So last night, my laptop desk/bead tray were sitting on the chair. I had a couple piles of seed beads on the tray and a spiral rope bracelet I've been working on and wanted to finish it up. I asked Dakota to hand it to me and asked her to be careful cuz I didn't want to have to pick the seed beads out of the carpet. What I totally forgot about and what she missed though was the clear container with all my findings in it. I'd pulled it out to do a quick fix on a necklace for Kota earlier and because I'd been in the middle of trying to hurry her out the door for practice, I didn't close and lock the lid and put it back in the tackle box like normal. I saw it just as she picked up the desk and before I could say WAIT! that whole damn box tipped over. All I could do was sit and watch in horror as crimp beads, wire guardians, bead caps, crimp covers, jump rings, split rings, chains, etc spilled all over the carpet. Oy. Darren suggested just vacuuming it up and I had to inform him of the realities of the situation. "See this," (holding up a wire guardian) "I just paid $4.99 for 20 of them!" He said, "Oh, hell!" and got down on the floor with me to pick every last piece out of the carpet. My bil showed up right about then to pick the kids up for practice (Caleb will sometimes go to help) so they couldn't help. We ended up putting it all into a bowl and I sat there for the next hour and a half sorting it all back out. I've dropped beads before, even seed beads, but this was the biggest mess I've ever had to sort through. Halfway through I was ready to throw it all out, lol. Even worse is that I sort all that stuff by color so it's not just a matter of picking out all the crimp beads, it's picking out all the silver ones, gold, bronze. I didn't think I'd ever finish!
|
Jasper
Moderator
09-14-2000
| Friday, April 17, 2009 - 11:51 am
War, if it ever happens again try putting a stocking over the end of the vaccuum that way they don't get sucked in and you can pick them off the stocking as you go.
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 6:09 pm
Oh War, what a mess that must have been. I got my beads today. However, I was mistaken about the tootsie rolls. They come from eebeads, not artbeads....so no tootsie rolls for me.
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Saturday, April 18, 2009 - 10:32 pm
LOL, well to tell the truth...my thought was that we would sort as we picked them up off the carpet. Yeahh, that lasted about 30 pieces before I realized what a pain in the ass it was. Woo hoo for new beads! Sorry about the no tootsie rolls though. I placed an order last night with FMG for some crystals (some=144, lol.) Need to start thinking about neighbors rosary and I like the idea of using crystals. If they don't work out right, I'll always find another use for them!
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 12:51 am
I've been playing around with the spiral ropes some more. You can do some really neat things with them, mixing with different beads for different looks. I've spent the last several days working on a necklace and then tonight on a bracelet.
Few things to note: After the necklace, bracelets are a snap to do and go pretty quickly, lol. Especially with this one because I alternated the spiral pattern with simply stringing a few crystals. I think it might look better as a necklace if the spiral pattern is a longer area than on a bracelet, but overall I'm happy with the way it turned out. Working on the necklace I discovered how much easier it is to work with shorter strands of thread rather than one long one. Beadalon has a thread glue out with a nifty long, skinny tip to get between the seed beads and dab a drop of glue right on the knot and that worked perfectly. Doing a little tugging (not brave enough to tug really hard, lol) they seem pretty strong, even it if is made with several shorter threads.
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 5:25 am
War, those are very pretty. I really need to get over my fear of tying off thread. I can see where on a necklace you would have no choice. That would be way too much thread to work with at one time. I am going to make a bracelet and some earring with the beads I just ordered. If that goes well I want to try a matching necklace. Here is my bead table with those little drawer things I told you about;

|
Beekindpleez
Member
07-18-2006
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 9:44 am
Wow, Biloxi, that is a beautiful set up. War...your pieces are gorgeous. How many beads are on that necklace?? It's a lovely set.
|
Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:13 am
Be still my beatin' heart! What a nice set-up, Biloxi! Are there beads in all of those drawers? Do you bead a lot? What do you make mostly, what kind of material do you use for the most part? War, that necklace and bracelet look so nice. When we were at Michaels last week, I saw some see-through "chips" with slight insinuations of blue, so I decided to get them this week to brighten up the spiral bracelet I want to make with those blue chips. When I touched them though, I realised they are plastic, so I am now wondering if that would work. Also I used flexible wire for the blue stone chips, which would show through on the see-through clear plastic ones, right?
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 12:04 pm
Thanks. I really like it. It took me a while to find a place. At first I was at the dining room table. That required me packing everything away when I was done. I can't do anything like a laptop tray and the couch. If I tried that Stephanie would be right there with me. Beads would be a flying. I make mostly bracelets, lanyards and some necklaces. Most are pretty straight forward, nothing fancy. That is why I am so excited to try spiral ropes. Most of the drawers have beads, the rest have findings. I like to work with the Swarovski Crystals, mostly in the bicone shape. I have some pearls I made a few bracelets out of. The lanyards are seed beads with a few crystals. I will see if I can find some pictures.
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 12:47 pm
Here a couple pictures,
necklace with matching bracelet
pink lanyard
light blue and white pearl bracelet
black pearl and crystal bracelet
|
Beekindpleez
Member
07-18-2006
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 1:10 pm
Wow! You're good. Those are so pretty.
|
Lumbele
Moderator
07-12-2002
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 1:19 pm
Wow is right. Biloxi, they are beautiful and look very professional. When I grow up, I want mind to look just a neat. Have you ever sold anything, anyone?
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 2:00 pm
Thank you very much. Beading tends to calm my busy mind. My biggest problem is I have to be very symmetrical in most everything I do, especially beading. I need to learn to let go of that and be more adventurous in my designs. Yes, I have sold a lot of lanyards. The Credit Union down here has bought a lot of them. More times then not I just end up giving things away. I really need to stop doing that to. When someone offers to pay for one I need to learn to say "sure", instead of "oh you don't have to pay me". I forgot when I posting earlier about the wire I use. It is the, Soft Flex, Fine. It is wonderful. I love working with it and I think it makes a huge difference in the outcome of the piece.
|
Beekindpleez
Member
07-18-2006
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 3:25 pm
I gave a neighbor a pair of shoes like these:
And then she asked me to make four pairs for her for Christmas gifts and she paid me very nicely, so I guess I have sold something. LOL These are very fun, and very easy to make. I have them in every color. Ha! I put them in a bag made of sheer fabric that matches the shoe, with a little bag of some extra crystals. They look so fancy and make a really nice gift. Especially if using the Swarovski crystals. My favorite is Aurora Borealis. Sorry about the pics not being as nice and clear as all of yours. I've only been able to figure out how to post pics from my cell phone, so they're usually kind of crappy. lol I don't have the patience to make the pretty jewelry you guys make. I usually do my beading on clothing. And I also make book thongs. But I figure beading on clothing and crystalling on flip-flops is "All About Beading". I really like looking at the pictures of the things you all are making. Fun!
|
Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 4:28 pm
Bee those are fantastic! How did you make them? I would love to make some for my grand-daughters...heck some for me too. I have thought about putting some beading around the neck of a black tee I have.
|
Beekindpleez
Member
07-18-2006
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 5:07 pm
Biloxi...I just use long needle nose tweezers, dip each crystal in Gem Tac and place them. Before they dry completely, I make sure each crystal is right. I haven't had a crystal come off yet! I can easily make a pair in an evening. This is a shirt where I put bugle beads around the neck and arms:
And this is a T-shirt where I wrote a message in crystals:
I've worn and washed and dried it a million times and never had a crystal fall off it yet.
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:05 pm
Bee, I ended up at the mall last week against my will but took the opportunity to browse through the jewelry. Also looked at some clothes, and beaded accents on clothing seems to be rather popular right now. Tons of shirts with it. A lot are done like your sandals and shirts, with the flat back pieces, but also some that have the beads sewn/thread on. I really don't think I'd be able to do that and have it come out so nice and neat. Biloxi, I love your set up! It's so neat and organized. And you have your own space. I like those containers too. Lum, yes, the wire will show through anything that's clear (plastic, glass, crystal, etc.) If they are somewhat blue, it might not show too badly. Biloxi, check out the beadalon bead thread glue. That stuff is awesome. The tip is super small so it can squeeze between seed beads (or any beads) and get the drop of glue right on the knot itself. It seems to be working rather well with using different strands of thread. Thanks all for the compliments on the necklace and bracelet! I'm still pretty thrilled with the way it came out. I think there's about a gazillion beads on them, lol. When I do the spiral rope bracelets and use crystals on each spiral (each spiral -3 beads- seed bead, crystal, seed bead) I use anywhere between 60 and 75 crystals, so that's 60-75 spirals. Times 3 for each spiral plus however many core beads. The necklace is just about 20 inches long, so little more than 3 times the size of the bracelets. LOL, so yeah, about a gazillion! Dakota's bff has a birthday coming up and she just might end up with the necklace and bracelet. She loves jewelry and spends enough time with us that Darren and I like to get her something for holidays and birthdays. Dakota asked me today if I'd make her some anklets. With hot weather coming and shorts and sandals, she wants some. I've never done anklets and am wondering if I need to do anything special to make them stronger than bracelets? I'm thinking they may end up getting caught on stuff more often than bracelets. Especially for an active kid like Kota.
|
Merrysea
Moderator
08-13-2004
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:26 pm
I've never done beading, but I'd think with anklets you'd want to just use seed beads to keep it small and thin. That would help prevent it getting caught on things or scratching her other leg.
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:49 pm
That's a good idea Merry. I can also use other beads as long as they're small and don't have sharp edges (like the bicone crystals.) Small and light is probably the best way to go for anklets. Biloxi, one thing I meant to mention in my last post and forgot about it is that from reading my beading mags, personal experience, and chatting with a few people at the bead store is that assymetrical designs seem to be a very hard thing for most beaders to do. I've had a few people tell me that they can't make things that are uneven. I know for me when I make a new piece or look at jewelry, I see patterns. It's very hard to think about doing something assymetrical without seeing it as cluttered, unbalanced, and yep uneven. I've been trying to work on that but my brain doesn't seem wired to do it. I've been thinking the best way to get over it is to toss some beads (complimentary colors) into a bowl and then just picking them up one by one and adding them in that order. It's very hard to work in a way that's different than what you are used to.
|
|