Beadalon Blog

One of my favorite quickie projects is a wire wrapped ring. Here's one of my Beading Lessons from Beads, Baubles & Jewels that explains how to do it. You just need wire cutters, a ring mandrel and a colorful bead. It's easy! http://www.beadalon.com/bbj-1208.asp By the way, we just filmed the next series for Beads, Baubles & Jewels and you're going to love it! We have lots of great guests, including some familiar faces from this blog. Leslie Rogalski and Lauren Andersen both dropped by to share some cool new techniques. Beadalon has been sponsoring the show since it began more than seven years ago. Visit www.beadsbaublesandjewels.com to find it on your local public television station. -Katie Hacker Beadalon Design Team Member www.KatieHacker.com  

Materials:   • 22 gauge lemon meringue Artistic Wire • 2 purple 30 mm MOP bead frame ovals • 2 aqua 8 mm rounds • 2 yellow 6 mm rounds • 2 pink 6 mm cylinders • 2 silver kidney ear wires • 2 silver head pins • 2 silver beaded rings • Instructions • For each earring: Cut a 6" length of lemon meringue wire. Coil it around the lower outside edge of the bead frame. Pass a head pin through the aqua bead, silver ring, yellow bead and one hole on the bead frame. Make a basic loop to attach it to an ear wire. Squeeze the ear wire shut above the dangle. Cut a 3" wire length and coil it around the ear wire. You'll find more fun earring ideas in the Design Workshop at Beadalon.com! -Katie Hacker Beadalon Design Team Member www.KatieHacker.com

Check out these amazing new (patent pending) Wire Banding Pliers! In this video, wire wrapper extraordinaire Wyatt White   demonstrates how easy it is to create the double right-angle bend that's integral in precision wire wrapping.  Visit Wyatt's page in the Design Workshop to see some gorgeous wire wrapped designs using Beadalon's German Style and Stainless Steel Wire: http://www.beadalon.com/white.asp

I am so excited to be a part of the Beadalon Design Team  and to share my passion for Artistic Wire ! I've been using Artistic Wire for many years in just about everything that I create: Home Décor, Paper Crafting, Jewelry and even Outdoor Living projects. What’s really cool is that my mom (we call her “Momma Bev”) is a wireworker as well. She has made some amazing pieces and has been published numerous times in many different magazines and books. I love creating and brainstorming with my mom! And, we both love to share new techniques and projects with our students. Next week, I'll be teaching my first Artistic Wire Workshop for Beadalon during the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Summer Conference & Tradeshow in Rosemont, Illinois. It's a two-hour class and I wanted to feature both a Paper Craft and a Jewelry project. So, I reached out to Momma Bev and asked her to design a card for me using the NEW Beginner Thing-a-ma-jig  and to create a NEW Pattern for my