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MLBS 2019 Mid-Atlantic Bead Shop Hop Opening Day!

Wyatt and I spent a beautiful Saturday celebrating the beginning of the Main Line Bead Society Bead Shop Hop at two of our local bead shops. I went to Studio 36 Bead Shop in Pottstown, PA for a Facebook Live, and Wyatt went to Blue Santa Beads in Media, PA for demonstrations.

Seventeen stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia are participating in the three week event coordinated by the Main Line Bead Society and Sponsored by Beadalon. Participants have the opportunity to win swag from each shop, including a grand prize valued at $500!

Lisa from Studio 36 makes the most beautiful painted acrylic flowers and leaves! Her process is a secret, but the results are spectacular! I showed her how I use the Beadalon Tying Station to make an adjustable sliding bracelet. We have written instructions posted for a similar project, and the Facebook Live video shows making Lisa's flowers into "beads" to include in the design. I love going to the shop to see all of the goodies!

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Memory Wire Mayhem Part 1

Memory Wire is steel wire, either stainless or carbon, that holds its shape. You can find all about Memory Wire on the Beadalon Memory Wire Page including all shapes, sizes and finishes. There are so many designs that you can make with it, and so many different ways to finish off your designs.

The two most important tools to use with Memory Wire are the Memory Wire Shears and the Memory Wire Finishing Pliers. Never (say it with me) never, ever use your nipper tool to cut Memory Wire - always use Memory Wire Shears! After you've strung up your design, you have a lot of options for finishing it off. In the Facebook Live video, the first technique that I show is making a loop with the Memory Wire Finishing Pliers. When you turn the loop, make sure you hold the wire as far down in the jaws of the pliers as you can so you don't bend the tips of the tool. Another good tip is to come back with your Chain Nose Pliers and bend your loop back a little bit so it looks more like an eyepi…

Netted Beaded Bead Pendants

Have you ever wanted to make a Beaded Bead? Stitching up beads using circular beaded netting is so versatile and you can make so many different variations! This project uses increases and decreases to create a netted beaded bead. For this particular bead, you need:
(8) 3mm bicone beads
(16) 4mm bicone beads
(8) 6mm beads
(4) 8mm beads
Size 15 seed beads
Delicas

If you want to change out your bead shapes or sizes, all you need to do is change up the counts of your size 15s in the even rounds. It took me a while to get my counts the way that I liked them, so just stick with it until you're happy with the results.

The materials can stay the same, though. You'll use:
WildFire (I like .006 Green)
Needles (I like the WildFire Needles - make sure you flatten the tip of your WildFire with a pliers before needling your thread)
WildFire Cord Cutter

Beadalon's Instant Pendants are the perfect finding to showcase your beautiful beads!

Click here for the step by step instructions, and wa…

Making a Sliding Knot Bracelet with Beadalon Bead Stringing Wire and Polyester Braided Cord

I've been making friendship bracelets since I was a kid, and it brings me such joy when they start "trending" in the marketplace! There are several companies out there making these kinds of bracelets, so of course, I needed to design one that used Beadalon materials! I love the way that the Beadalon Beading Wire looks braided and the Polyester Braided Cord is a great material for a sliding knot. The Cord Ends perfectly join them together. Fun large hole beads from Dakota Stones and a charm from TierraCast finish it off!

I hope you like making this project as much as I do. If you've made one, please show it off in the Jewelry Making with Beadalon Facebook Group! Not a member yet? Be sure to join and don't forget to set your reminders for our next Facebook Live on Thursday at 2:00pm EST.

Happy Beading!
Meredith

Flat Pattern Artistic Wire Cha-Cha Hoop Earring

My beady friend, Emily Scott, was my special guest for Facebook Live last week and she showed a fantastic project using Flat Pattern Artistic Wire! She was gracious enough to send along written instructions as well. I'm so happy to be able to pass them along to you all.

Materials

Artistic Wire Flat Pattern Wire 18 Gauge and 20 Gauge Artistic Wire 6 headpins 6 beads (2 larger, 4 smaller)
Tools
Chain Nose Pliers Bent Chain Nose Pliers Flat Nose Pliers Round Nose Pliers Flush Cutter Battery Operated Bead Reamer with Wire Rounder Burr Attachment Large Bail Making Pliers Ring Mandrel Triangle Needle File Hole Punch Pliers Nylon Jaw Pliers Artistic Wire Findings Form Earring Question Mark Permanent marker
Instructions

Making Your Hoops:

Wrap Artistic Flat Wire around the top of the Ring Mandrel to form the loop.Flush cut where the two ends meet.Using Flat Nose Pliers, slightly flatten the ends of the loop.The hoop opening should be no more than 1/4” wide and should be symmetrical, side-to-side.Re…

Put a Needle on the Record Earrings

A few weeks back, we welcomed Sol from the Bead Chest to a virtual bead party on Facebook Live! He sent a big box of beads ahead of time to play around with, and Kelly and I took the opportunity to try out a whole bunch of different Beadalon stringing materials and tools to design with.

We used Elasticity and the Crochet Hooks to crochet up a long necklace/bracelet with Trade Beads.

We used Cotton Cord and the Loop Crimp Ends to make a bracelet.

We used Hemp and the Acrylic Tying Station with the Batik Bone Beads to make a bracelet.

We used the Conetastic and Instant Pendants to make earrings.

We used 24 gauge Artistic Wire to crochet Roman Glass together into a necklace.

We made delicate earrings with Roman Glass Buttons and the Vinyl Discs as spacers.

Kelly and I had so much fun experimenting with designs, it was hard to pick the one to feature! We ended up picking these earrings which use bracelet sized memory wire and vinyl beads made from old records.

It's a super fast and …