Beadalon Blog

This is the workshop I taught at CHA last month. It was so fun to see those crafty ladies make this project! They were up bright and early at 7am on Sunday morning to cut, glue and bead their way to personalized jewelry. Give it a try! Making Personalized Jewelry with Katiedids™ Creative Components By Katie Hacker for Beadalon Necklace Katiedids 2-hole 25mm round component #356B-530 18 rose 6/0 Toho seed beads .018" diameter SilveRose™ Beadalon 7 # JW03SR-0 Silver 4mm round solid ring #314B-166 Silver fancy bail #327B-035 Silver (thin) head pin #312B-013 Silver lobster clasp #315B-007 Silver extension chain #324B-010 4 silver #2 crimp beads #JFC2S-1.5G 4 silver crimp covers #349B-010 Optional: 12mm acrylic dome, paper image & dimensional glaze or resin Earrings 2 Katiedids 35mm rectangle #356B-514 12 rose 6/0 Toho seed beads 2 silver (thick) head pins #312B-113             2 silver round/oval hinge earrings #308B...

Do you play with materials and not care about "finishing" something? I do this all the time. Play for play's sake can lead to learning what works, what doesn't, what you like working with. One thing leads to another, and another, and maybe even to a good design idea or engineering solution that you CAN use in a finished piece. Here's an example: I found a leftover piece of hollow rubber tube in a bead box. (You know how things migrate out of their proper places!) For reasons I never question, I started to play with it. First I wrapped a bit of 24g Artistic wire around it. Then I strung wire through it. Next I strung an orphan big-holed bead onto it (a Paula Radke bead). Eventually I had this completely random but intriguing snippet. I pinned it to my cork board where I put things like this, my experiments and inspirational stuff. It started to collect a bit of dust before I really noticed it again. A few months later I started working with more intent on de...

Here's a quick idea for an interchangeable pendant. The bail clips onto ribbon, chain or any type of stringing material so you can easily switch the pendant out. Attach one to the front of a handmade card for a quick, last-minute gift! 1. Start by passing a head pin outward through the upper two holes on a Katiedids™ Creative Component #356B-526. 2. Make a wrapped loop to attach the head pin to a removable bail #353B-010. 3. Cut a 4" piece of .015" diameter Beadalon 19 silver color and pass it under the head pin. 4. String fifteen SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS 4mm black diamond rounds onto the wire and pass the other wire end through the beads in the opposite direction to form a circle. Press the beads down into the channel on the component. 5. Use E6000 to glue a crystal flower into the bezel in the center of the component. Katie Hacker Beadalon Design Team Member www.KatieHacker.com

I am currently working on the instructions for this gorgeous pearl and chainmaille bridal jewelry set. By using different elements, you can completely customize the look of your chainmaille. Here I have used tiny drop-shaped pearls and have woven them right into the weave. The chainmaille weave is called the Barrel Weave. It’s a variation of the European 4-in-1 Weave. Once I have completed the instructions for this weave, they will be available at www.Beadalon.com . Look for this necklace to be featured in an upcoming Beadalon ad in Martha Stuart’s Wedding magazine! Lauren Andersen Beadalon Design Team Member www.thechainmaillelady.com

This is a fun, sparkly project that would make a perfect gift for Valentine's Day. Each of the ladies in my family received a pair of these lovely Byzantine chainmaille weave and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Baroque Crystal earrings for Christmas. I made my earrings using several different colored crystal baroques and then wrapped them each and did not put names on the packages. When it came time for the ladies to open their gifts, each one got a different color crystal and then they began to trade with each other for the colors that they liked! We all had so much fun! The earrings are very easy to make. Take a pair of ear wires and work your section of the Byzantine chainmaille weave directly off of the wires. Attach a Baroque Crystal to the end of the weave using a jump ring. Repeat for a matching earring, and then you’ve just created a gorgeous pair of blingy earrings using one of my favorite techniques! The instructions for the Byzantine chainmaille weave are in my book “Basic...

I am a totally devoted fan of WildFire™ beading thread, and use it exclusively. One of the things I like about it is its ability to hold a knot. When I heard someone claim their knot came undone, I figured it was probably the knotting method and not the thread. In all my work and years of beadweaving and stringing and more, I have never had a WildFire knot misbehave, or Dandyline™ either for that matter. Here are my tips for securing a knot in WildFire or Dandyline: 1. Leave yourself several inches to finish off the thread . Do this anytime you need to end or add thread. Trying to knot with an eensy tail is frustrating. Six inches is minimum. 2. Secure the thread in several places before you knot . I call these "anchor hitches." These help distribute the pull on your thread so the tension is not all on the one final knot.   First, exit the beadwork after your stitching is finished (Figure 1, showing odd-count peyote). Weave back into the beadwork along the t...

Girl with a Pearl By Katie Hacker for Beadalon Necklace .015" diameter silver Beadalon 19 JW14S-0 silver medium curb chain 340B-030 silver elongated cable chain 340B-010 12 silver #1 crimp beads JFC1S-1.5G 12 silver lines crimp covers (variety pack 349B-101) 12" freshwater pearl strands: 5x6mm amethyst rice, 5x6mm white rice, 6mm white potato, 6mm amethyst potato, 8mm white potato 2 white 12mm round glass pearls 4 silver 8mm jump rings 2 silver 18mm bead rings silver 3-loop end bars silver 3-loop end bars with clasp/extension chain attached Bracelet 2 loops of bracelet-size memory wire 32 silver eye pins leftover freshwater pearls from the necklace: 5x6mm amethyst rice, 6mm white potato Earrings 2 silver 25mm kidney ear wires 308B-310 2 silver medium ball head pins 312B-253 2 white 12mm round glass pearls 2 silver 18mm bead rings Tools Round nose pliers Chain nose pliers Wire cutters Crimping tool Memory wire cutters For the necklace 1. Cut a 8" length of bea...

My book, Modern Expressions: Creating Fabulous and Fashionable Jewelry, (North Light Books 2010) is featured in the "Hot List" of the February issue of Harper's Bazaar . It's an honor to have my first solo book mentioned by a magazine of such importance in the fashion industry. Thank you HB and I hope I can still wow you with my creations. Thanks to Sarah Reynolds, the marketing manager with F+W Media, who has been a great partner in turning my book into a hit. Who would guess that a guy who loves fashion magazines and is constantly inspired by his favorite issues would be reading about his work in the pages of one of those very same magazines? So amazing! -Fernando Dasilva Beadalon Design Team Member www.modern-expressions.blogspot.com