Beadalon Blog

ILLUSION NECKLACE I love when classic styles come back around again - the Illusion Necklace is one of those designs that always seems to be in fashion! A few weeks ago, we did a Facebook Live project featuring Swarovski Crystals in birthstone colors, Supplemax , Size 1 Crimp Tubes, and Beadalon Loop Crimps with Lobster Claw Clasps .  Written step by step instructions are now available !  We have a quick and dirty video here  so you can follow along and make the project your own! And if you'd like to watch the whole fun Facebook Live  with lots of extra tips and tricks, you can do that also.  Don't forget to join the discussion over at the Jewelry Making with Beadalon Facebook Group , and hang out every Thursday at 2:00pm EST on the Beadalon Facebook Page for a Live.  Until next time.....happy beading! Meredith 

This easy Bird's Nest pendant works up so quickly and can be customized to your heart's content. In last week's Facebook Live, I showed using 3 different types of wires to use to achieve 3 different looks using the same technique: 1)  22 Gauge Artisic Wire 2) 22 Gauge  Twisted Artistic Wire 3) Wire twisted with the Beadalon Wire Twister or the Professional Coiling Gizmo Instructions for a basic Bird's Nest: Straighten about 24 inches of wire with either Nylon Jaw Pliers or the Artistic Wire Straightener .  Thread beads of your choosing (I like 3 best) onto the end of the wire leaving about a 3 inch tail. Turn the beads into a triangle and twist the wire to secure. Hold the beads in one hand and turn them around so the wire circles around the beads in a nest shape. When your nest is as thick as you'd like, wrap the end of the Wire around it in 3 or 4 places to secure it. Use the end of the Wire to make a wrapped loop on the top. Download step by...

Our last Facebook Live for the celebration of Craft Month featured one of my favorite go-to designs when I need to get my creative juices flowing again. It brings me back to my childhood crafting days, but with a grown up twist. In fact, the Beadalon Acrylic Tying Station came about because I was making macrame bracelets in the office using a clip board, and the product development team (that I eventually became a part of) knew that we could develop a tool to make making knotted bracelets easier! Top reasons that I love the Tying Station: It allows for hands-free macrame knotting. It holds your design tight without crushing your stringing material. You can use it for other techniques - like this braided wire bracelet  and this ladder stitch wrap bracelet .  The ruler printed on the side gives you a measuring device at the ready and helps you space out your beads in your design. The included foam insert allows for making a longer piece like a necklace or wrap bracelet...

It was a party during Facebook Live this week! Meredith and Wyatt continued Beadalon's celebration of National Craft Month and challenged each other to make Wine Charms with Memory Wire and a mystery box of treasures from the depths of our beading stash. We had beads, wire, Bead Bumpers , charms, and more beads! Wyatt went the fancy route (of course) and stretched out his Memory Wire for more of a stem climber, while I went a little more traditional and did a complementary set. We had so much fun designing and sharing tips together. Wyatt also made a Wine Bottle decoration, and I showed how to make a knotted headpin and jump rings with Memory Wire Finishing Pliers. You never know what will happen when Wyatt and I design together! Wine Charms sets are super easy and quick to make. They make great gifts for all kinds of occasions - hostess gifts, bridesmaids gifts, birthday gifts, or a gift just because! Here are step by step instructions for making them. We also have a quick ...

For last week's Facebook Live, we hit the road again to visit with Studio 36 Bead Shop  in Pottstown, PA. Lisa is the shop owner and she has developed a beautiful and unique line of painted Lucite Flowers. If you haven't checked them out yet, I highly recommend it! She spent three years developing the painting technique and I for one am so glad she stuck with it. We used the flowers as components in a design made with the  Adjustable Bangle and Ring Findings Form  and the Katie Knotter Tool .  We also talked about different ways to make dangles, and shared tips and techniques for jewelry making. Lisa also gave me a tour of the shop at the end of the video, and I can't wait to go back. Watch the video to see how we made the bracelet, you can also find the full, written instructions  to make the bracelet form on the Findings Form web page. Materials: Adjustable Bangle and Ring Findings Form Katie Knotter Tool 14 Gauge German Style Wire We'll be on Fac...

If you need to make curves, bends, loops or rings in different sizes, the Stepped Bail Making Pliers are for you! In this episode of Facebook Live, Wyatt White showed how to make a gorgeous bail, several different shapes of connectors, hooks, and rings out of both Round and Flat Artistic Wire. Stepped Bail Making Pliers   make 6 different loop sizes: 9 mm (0.35 in), 8 mm (0.31 in), 6 mm (0.23 in), 5 mm (0.2 in), 3 mm (0.12), and 2 mm (0.08 in).   By just moving your wire to a different size on the jaw, you can vary your design and create all kinds of components. Join them together with Jump Rings made on one of the larger sizes for custom chains! As always, Wyatt's video is filled with tips and great advice for working with Wire. For example, when he uses thicker Artistic Wire, he recommends the 12 and 14 Gauge Cup Burr attachment for the Battery Operated Bead Reamer as a great tool to round off those sharp ends. Wyatt broke down two amazing projects...

This week on Facebook Live, Product Manager and Education Director Wyatt White taught us all about the different types of Beadalon Bead Boards . My favorite part of this video is all of the wonderful comments that our viewers chimed in with. We asked people to write in with why they needed a bead board, and here are some great reasons: I want a bead board because I have a small space to work on. So it would keep things more organized for me to not lose beads on the floor.  - Erin I always need to leave my design overnight or for a few days and go back to it and tweak it before I'm happy to go ahead and string it so it can stay on the bead board for a little while. -Maxine I love the measurements on mine so I don't have to play with measuring tape. Keeps everything together for a project. - Roberta I use mine to map out the design and they're great when I have to leave and come back to work on it later. - Zona I use a bead board to help me lay out my designs the way...

Sarah James from Jesse James Beads joined us on Facebook Live this week to launch their newest Goddess Beads collection. I had planned something else for our Facebook Live, but once I saw the beads Sarah brought, I just new it was going to have to be an earrings extravaganza! Sarah had made a gorgeous pair of earrings at the Beadalon and TierraCast Designer Battle Royale at Bead & Button in June, but she had lost one (sad face). So, we used some TierraCast Components, some Jesse James beads and Artistic Wire to whip up some new ones in no time! I grabbed some of the Artistic Wire Findings Forms to make matching earwires. We had so much fun designing, now I can't stop making earrings! Sarah was kind enough to leave some bead goodies behind, so I used her design as my inspiration for today's project! 22 Gauge Silver Filled Wire  (used in the video) or 22 Gauge Tarnish Resistant Brass Artistic Wire Memory Wire Finishing Pliers or Round Nose Pliers Findings Form Qu...

This week on Facebook Live, we went back to the basics for a simple strung bracelet that goes with everything! This is one of my favorite go-to projects and not only do I gift this design often, I use one of these bracelets as a way to measure other bracelets that I'm making to get the perfect size. It's a great gift for a friend (or yourself), and always a good seller. We did a great Facebook Live a few months ago which is a great refresher for what NOT to do when making your jewelry . I definitely recommend checking it out. This week, we focused again on proper crimping techniques . Since good crimping is the foundation for all jewelry, I think we can all benefit from a refresher! I love the energy that our group generates and how we all learn from each other. It's always good to go back and practice the basics! Let's keep the conversation going over at the Jewelry Making with Beadalon Facebook Group ! Happy Beading, Meredith

I was a little late to the Tassel Party, but when I got here, I certainly put my party hat on! And since the arrival of the Tin Cup Knotter Tool , I've been knotting every pearl I can get my hands on - especially these ones from JTV. In this week's Facebook Live, I break down step by step how to use the Tin Cup Knotter, how to tie the perfect knot, and how to make a Tin Cup Knotted Tassel. You can attach these tassels to a necklace, make earrings, or even a purse adornment! They are a great way to use up a few extra beads from another project, or tackle that never ending bowl of bead soup. Materials: Silk Cord that fits your beads or pearls - I used a Size 6 in Black Beadalon Tin Cup Knotter Tool Scissors GS Hypo Cement Tierra Cast Necklace Cones (or Cone of your choice) 4 inches of Artistic Wire 18-24 gauge to make the wrapped loop Instructions: Happy Beading! Meredith

I love the project that we featured on Facebook Live this week! The Slide Connectors with Lobster Extension Clasps and the Tube Slide Ends are some of the most versatile components in our catalog. These two Findings are similar in their function, but the Connectors that have the Lobster Clasps attached are slightly larger - with a 3.5mm opening and a Lobster Clasp and chain attached. The Tube Slide Ends don't come with a clasp, and they have a tube diameter of 2.44mm which makes them the perfect size for size 11 seed beads and Delicas. When we first brought these findings in, we were focused on using them for finishing off projects made with the Jewel Loom . However, once we started using them more and more, we realized that there are so many other ways to use them. For example, they are perfect for finishing off cup chain ends. I hate having to wire wrap the ends of cup chain, I don't ever like how it looks, and I never can find official "cup chain ends"...

This week's Facebook Live focused on this innovative gem - the Bracelet Knotter Tool designed by the amazingly talented Katie Hacker . Katie joined us for this Video and it was so fun to have her back working with the Beadalon Team! The tool works by holding a bangle bracelet in the foam pad secured to your work space with the acrylic C clamp. If your desk is too thick or doesn't hold the tool as you'd like, you can use a Tacky Bead Mat (another great use found!) to hold it in place. The foam pad holds your bangle tight enough to knot around it, but gently enough that it won't mar the wire or crack any beads that you have added. Katie originally designed the Knotter Tool to help her hold Cup Chain Bangles in place while she did macrame knots around them. I love discovering other, new ways to use it! The Katie Knotter Tool is definitely one of those tools that you didn't know you needed, and once you have it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it...

Artistic Wire Knitter Tool and Knitter/Kumihimo Weight Fun techniques always seem to come back around again, and knitting with Wire is no exception. The Artistic Wire Knitter Tools make it fun and easy to make gorgeous Wire ropes to adorn and embellish to your heart's content! In this week's Beadalon Facebook Live Video , I go step by step through everything that you need to know to make a simple knitted rope, add beads, and finish off the ends. It can be a little fiddley at first, but once you've got it down, it works up quickly and effortlessly. One of the challenges that I always have when finishing any kind of beadwork other than Crimping, is how to finish it off to add a clasp. My favorite technique for finishing off the ends is to use a Necklace Cone, and of course I'll make my own cone whenever I get the chance! Sandra Lupo's Conetastic Tool makes it easy to make your own Necklace Cones with any Wire you want to match your design. In preparing for the ...

It was a dance party in the Beadalon office for today's Facebook Live featuring the fun and funky Watusi stringing technique. It's a different way of using Bead Stringing Wire than traditional stringing that has a beautiful payoff. For the bracelet in this video, Wyatt used 2 pieces 12 inches long of . 024 White 49 Strand Beadalon Bead Stringing Wire ; beads that can accommodate 2 strands of the .024 Wire: and 29 inches of 19 Strand .018 Beadalon Bead Stringing Wire Pro Tip: Use a Spool Tamer t o keep your Beading Wire from unraveling! There are written instructions here , and I like how Wyatt tweaked the original technique a little bit in the starting and finishing. Crimping onto a 3 strand clasp makes for a really tidy start and finish. I love that once you learn the technique, there are unlimited variations! You can use different sizes of beads, different shapes of beads, different numbers of beads, etc. I'll be back next Wednesday to keep the party going! I...

Being a Mama is hard work, and what better way to show the special mamas in your life how much they mean to you than with a personalized birthstone necklace made with Beadalon's  Quicklinks ? There is a quick video that I made last year on Beadalon's YouTube Channel, but I thought it would be helpful to take a longer walk through of this project on today's  Facebook Live.  Materials: 314B-320  Quick Links 326B-414  Quick Links Connectors AWD-22S-10-08YD   22 Gauge Tarnish Resistant Silver Plated Artistic Wire A314-20S-10-02  20 Gauge Artistic Wire Chain Maille Rings 340B-060  Diamond Cut Ball Chain 338B-201  Ball Chain Ends 322B-012  Tag 315B-032  Lobster Clasp Beads of your choice Instructions: Wrap the beads onto the Quick Links using the 22 Gauge Artistic Wire and link them together with the Quick Link Connectors. Attach the Ball Chain Ends to the Ball Chain with Chain Nose Pliers, then use Jump Rings to attac...

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!...

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 ha...