Beadalon Blog

We had so much fun this week with our dual coast  Facebook Live  with   Julianna C Avelar , inventor of the  Baby Jewel Loom   and   Mama Jewel Loom . The Baby Jewel Loom is a great choice for beginning Loomers (like me!) because it’s always in the warp position – you don’t have to worry about getting the correct tension with the Rod like with the Mama Loom. It’s great for quick, smaller projects – and you can also make larger projects by sewing together multiple pieces. Check out Julianna’s latest book,   Jewel Loom Inspirations   for more project ideas. For this project, I used  Size 6 Czech Seed Beads  and  26 Gauge Champagne Artistic Wire . You can use all types of materials with the Looms, including (but not limited to)  Leather Cord ,  WildFire ,  Hemp Cord , Beading Thread, Ribbon,  Nymo  and  B-Lon . Pro Tip: To best thread WildFire onto the  Jewel Loom Needle  (or any needle), first use flat nosed pliers to flatten the WildFire. Then it should slide through the eye of

I'm still playing around with the thick gauges of  Artistic Wire  this week, and I love this trendy bangle that's super easy to make. It's a perfect project because it doesn't take too much wire, and you can use any beads that you have lying around - as long as they have holes large enough to fit over the wire. I like wearing a few stacked together when I want to make a bold statement. To make the bangle, wrap the wire around the  Artistic Wire 3D Bracelet  Jig 3 times. Use an  Artistic Wire Crimp Connector  with a  Mighty Jaw Crimping Pliers  to secure the two wires together. (Here's a great  video  Wyatt did that breaks down this technique step by step.) This is my favorite Cold Connection technique. The  Nylon Jaw Bracelet Bending Pliers  are the perfect tool to put a slight bend in the straight Crimp Tube. Use 20-24 gauge wire to wrap beads around the bangle in a symmetrical or random pattern. Its as easy as that! You can see the whole demo by tuning into

It was a beautiful Spring day here in Pennsylvania yesterday, so we had class outside for this week's  Beadalon's Facebook Live Video ! One of the things Beadalon/ Artistic Wire specializes in is Heavy Gauge Wire -  10 ,  12  and  14  Gauges round out the category that spans from 10-34 Gauge. Originally, we were going to demonstrate a cool bangle bracelet (check in next week for that one!), but it was so nice outside that we were inspired to blow some bubbles - and the 14 gauge Artistic Wire is perfect for making a whimsical, beaded bubble wand! I like using  Memory Wire Shears  to cut the thicker gauge wires. Because they are such a heavy duty cutter, they make it much easier to cut - and easy is good! I cut about 2.5 feet of 14 Gauge Tinned Copper Wire and wrapped it around a  3D Bracelet Jig , but any round object in the right size will work. Then, I made a wrapped loop to secure the circle into place. In the video, I used my hands to form one of the wands into a heart