Dance of the Damselfly

We all love a good Monthly Mix, don't we? Well, we especially love Alley Mori's mix! Created while she was visiting the Beadshop offices in February 2019, Alley's Kaleidoscope Mix was inspired by a gorgeous Stev'nn Hall piece of art that has been making the rounds in our private FB Group as an inspirational photo.

Alley put Kaleidoscope to work in this latest wrap bracelet masterpiece...adding O Beads, SuperDuos and CzechMates Tiles to round out the mix, this wrap is just heavenly. See more photos and her ingredients list below! We've added some "or" options to the list, since Alley used a button from her own stash and also because some of these items are very popular and are often sold out! Check out these substitutions on Kate's FTF, which we'll embed below after the Live Broadcast airs.

Ingredients:
1 Small to Medium Silver Button, we suggest  Little Fish Pond Button OR Humble Lotus Button
1 Spool Eggplant Micro C-Lon
1 Spool Grape OR Amethyst Micro C-Lon
1 Spool Teal Micro C-Lon
1 Pkg 1.5mm Metallic Maroon Leather
1 Pkg 1.5mm Metallic Purple Leather
1 Pkg 1.5mm Metalic Teal Leather
1 Tube Kaleidoscope Monthly Mix
1 Tube SuperDuos- Pastel Bordeaux OR Halo Magenta
1 Pkg O Beads- Crystal French Rose
1 Pkg O Beads- Crystal Magenta
1 Pkg O Beads- Crystal Cerulean Blue
1 Strand CzechMates Tiles- Pearl Coat Teal
(Are we out? Take a peek at our other Blue-Green CzechMates Tiles or try these colors: Gold Marble Rosaline, Metallic Flax or Matte Metallic Copper)
1 Dragonfly Pebble Bead OR Bali Dancer Slider
2 Jardin Round Rings- Antique Silver
1 Pkg Transitions Beads- Antique Pewter

**FYI, Alley paired her Leathers and Micro C-Lons as follows:
Metallic Maroon with Eggplant
Metallic Purple with Grape or Amethyst
Metallic Teal with Teal

Additional Learning:
How to Ladder
How to Macramé
Alley's Splice, four on Page 13 of these Episode Notes
FTF 4.5.19


Check out how Alley does her "splice" here...this joining of the leather at the middle of a wrap enables her to use lark's head knots at both ends...isn't that clever? Kate shows this more in-depth on the FTF episode linked above and embedded below. Check out these photos from Alley and Kate's broadcast to take a closer look at how this comes together! Note how Alley's splice can be covered by a variety of large-holed beads...in her sample she uses the Dragonfly Pebble Bead, on Kate's it's the Bali Dancer Slider...but you could also use Czech Rollers, Transitions, Evolve, River Shannon, a variety of Sliders...you do you! You can also see, above, how Alley attaches all three of her laddered sections of her Alley Bracelet (AKA Kate's Favorite on Steroids) by tying one strand in a lark's head knot through the button shank and then attaching the other two leathers to that knot itself rather than to the shank, chichis so smart!

Finally, here's the video! Enjoy...

Alley Mori's Maya Mix Necklace

This weekend, as we feature Stones and Tribal together, seemed like the perfect time to showcase Alley's beautiful necklace, based off Janice's Trail's End bracelet design. This piece is truly a work of art, and also a two-for! It can be worn as a necklace or wrapped around your wrist as a bracelet. As usual, Alley's eye for color, design, technique, and her sheer ingenuity are on display. Supplementing our February 2019 Monthly Mix, Maya, are a selection of beautiful semiprecious stones and tribal beads, including heishi, shadows, and more of the Natural Padres found in the mix. Scroll down for the full list of ingredients and techniques used, and please enjoy!

Ingredients List

1 Pkg Sable 1.5mm Indian Leather

1 Spool Gold Fine C-Lon
1 Vintage Finds Pinwheel- Blue Serpentine
1 Strand Popcorn Padres- Natural

1 Strand Matte African Turquoise- 6mm
1 Strand Matte African Turquoise- Large Hole
1 Strand Tribal Heishi- Brass 
1 Strand Shadows- Antique Brass (Bright Brass also works!)
1 Large-hole Serpentine bead (Alley bought hers from one of our Trunk Shows, but any large hole bead will work, it hides the end of the macramé loop) 

1 Tube Maya, February 2018 Monthly Mix, or purchase separately once sold out:

• 8-4481 Duracoat Opaque Eucalyptus
• 8-409- Opaque Chocolate 8/0
• 8-1233 Matte Opaque Mustard
• 8-4202- Duracoat Galvanized Gold 8/0
• 8/0 Metal Seed Beads - Gilding Matte Gold Plate
• 6-135S- Silver Lined Dark Topaz 6/0
• Popcorn Padres Natural

Techniques Used

How to Macrame

Learning the Wall Knot

Alley's closure consists of a loop of leather to secure around her Pinwheel stone. That leather loop is wall-knotted and strung with Padre beads and ended with a large-holed Matte African Turquoise bead and knotted. The tails of the leather are decorated with Padres, 6/0s, and Shadows. For the strung section, Alley starts at the Pinwheel with several strands of Fine C-Lon going through the holes of the Pinwheel and knotted behind. Note the single Shadow bead embellishment at the center...how pretty! Her strands are strung with the Maya mix, 6mm African Turquoise, Shadows, and Heishi. See how she tapers her strands at the end, combining two strands into one, before ending them in a macrame loop attached to her leather knot. Before attaching here, a large-holed Matte African Turquoise and her large-holed Serpentine bead are strung over her macrame loop to hide the end of it. 

Jewelry Making on the Go

Spring is here, which means summer time is soon to follow. For many of us, summer includes travel plans, which can put a hold on our jewelry making time. However, if you plan well, it is possible to bring a project or two with you, and beadshop has a number of tools that will make that possible. 

First, you can macrame in the car, airplane, hotel room, or wherever you are. Instead of using our regular macrame board, scale down by opting for the Mini Macramé Board by Anne Dilker, which is only 10-1/2 x 7-1/2 inches big. 

Mini Macramé Board by Anne Dilker

To keep your jewelry tools to a minimum while on the go, think of ways to use tools that have multiple uses, such as Handy Tape. This self-adhesive measuring tape is 25 feet long, and besides measuring in inches, it also shows millimeters.

Handy Tape 25 Feet Self-Adhesive Measuring Tape

Macrame means you will need lots of stringing materials, and to organize them, nothing could be simpler to use than beadshop's Little Box, a cardboard box that is 5 x 2-1/2 x 1-3/4 inches and holds eight spools of C-Lon.

Little Box 5 x 2-1/2 x 1-3/4 inch Cardboard Box

The right tools, packed along with your beads and beading supplies, can make your trip that much more enjoyable because you can continue to create, no matter where you happen to travel. 

Bead Stringing Materials and the Elements

During one of Janice and Kate’s live Facebook videos, they discussed an often asked question: What threads, used for stringing and weaving with beads, can you wear in the shower or swimming? 


The short answer to this question, which seems simply enough, is yes, depending on what you use as far as the stringing material goes. However, they went on to qualify this “yes” answer with a number of stipulations and recommendations. 

Leather Cord

First of all, there are some stringing materials they resoundingly said “no” to as far as getting wet. These definitely include leather and silk. Since these are natural fibers, they will stretch over time. In fact, many threads will stretch because as the finished jewelry pieces hang, either around an arm, your neck, or even hanging on a jewelry display, the weight will, over a period of time, cause materials to stretch.

Materials that are usually a little more safe to possibly get wet would include those made from nylon or cotton. For example, there is cotton cord, C-Lon, and Tuff Cord. These are much better choices for jewelry pieces that might get wet.

C-Lon

Keeping all of this in mind, it is a good idea to regularly check jewelry pieces, especially those you wear often, for wear and tear. It is better to know ahead of time, obviously, that a piece may have a weak area and needs repair then to be surprised one day when it comes apart as you’re wearing it. Unfortunately, restringing is part of jewelry making and a very common practice necessary to keep jewelry pieces we love to wear in the best possible condition. 

TUFF Cord

If you’d like to watch Janice and Kate discuss this and other related topic, the episode if available on beadshop’s Youtube channel for viewing any time.