It's always a Conetastic day when Sandra Lupo is in the Beadalon Studio!

We were so lucky to have Sandra Lupo join us in the Beadalon Studio to demonstrate a gorgeous stacked cone bracelet using her Conetastic Tool.

Sandra is an amazingly talented metalsmith, beader and inventor who designed the Conetastic Tool. The original tool comes with three mandrels and make cones about 1" long. She also designed two additional mandrel sets - the Hourglass Mandrels and the Inverted Mandrels. Full instructions are included in each of the sets!

The original Conetastic Tool comes with the base, three mandrels and a modified Allen Wrench

The Conetastic Hourglass Mandrels can be used together, separately, or mix and match!

The Inverted Mandrels allow for the coils to stack even tighter together and make even longer cones.

Sandra shared so many great tips for getting the best cones from the Conetastic. Even though I have been using it for years to make cones (I like to use them as tassel toppers), I learned some extra tricks to take my cone making to the next level:

- use 20 gauge wire and work right from the spool
- hold the tool in your non-dominant hand, and use your dominant hand to guide the wire
- wind away from you, not towards you
- start with a quick turn of the wrist to lock the wire in place on the diagonal
- hold the tool so that it's perpendicular to your body as you wind to get a really tight cone
- Use your index finger and thumb to guide and press the wire around the mandrel

I was so impressed that just these few little adjustments made my cones perfection! Not only can you nest the cones for bracelets like we did, but cones are perfect for Kumihimo, Crochet, multi-strand designs and more - whatever you're making, you can use the Conetastic Tool to make a cone for it!

Our bracelet was strung on a simple piece of 16 gauge Artistic Wire. We made a section of beads, then added two sections of nested cones, one on each side. We finished our bracelet off by using the leftover 16 gague wire to make a homemade clasp using the Stepped Bail Making Pliers.

You can also make jump rings with the Conetastic Tool. Just make sure that you cut the rings with Flush Cutters and trim the ends so that both ends that meet are cut flat. This tool is perfect for people who like to have every part of their jewelry handmade from beginning to end.

There are several more projects with instructions on the Beadalon website that are made with the Conetastic Tool.

Find instructions to make this beautiful Caged Pearl Bracelet by Sara Ellis on the Beadalon website

Find instructions to make this beautiful Cleopatra Necklace by Sara Ellis on the Beadalon website

Find the materials list to make this beautiful necklace on the Beadalon website 

Find the materials list to make these super fun Ice Cream Earrings by Sandra Lupo on the Beadalon website

Find instructions to make these flirty Butterfly Earrings by Sandra Lupo on the Beadalon website

Have you used the Conetastic for your designs? Post a photo of your work on the Jewelry Making With Beadalon Facebook Group and join us each Thursday at 2:00pm EST for Facebook Live on the Beadalon Page.

Until next time...
Happy Beading!
Meredith