Free Tip Friday: Making Freeform Peyote Stitch Beads

Updated to add the finished necklace I competed on the FTF on 1.4.19

I used Spicy Mustard Popcorn Padres, Dark Brown Bone Barrels, Nutmeg Reg C-Lon, and Spirits button. I also added Part 2 of the project broadcast from earlier today. Scroll to the bottom of the post to check out both episodes.

On this edition of Free Tip Friday I am sharing my all time FAVE seed bead stitch... Freeform Peyote.  Such an easy stitch as "freeform" is the operative word here. Practically goof-proof! I will post the video as soon as I fininsh the live broadcast.

You’ll need some of our New England Wood Beads. They come in three sizes. I am doing one of each. Make your own mix if you want. Anything goes, really... 

RECIPE:

To emulate my bead mix, you’ll need 2 colors of 8/0’s; 3 colors of 11/0’s with one of them being a metal seed bead; a strand of little shadows; a bag of heishi; a strand of faceted hematite rondells; and a strand of 4mm firepolish. 

My Color Palette:

I choose kind of a retro color palette in the following colors:

8/0: 8-1233, 8-64111/0: 11-1233, DB0907 or DB0022L, 11/0 Gilding MatteBrass Little ShadowsBrass Tiera HeishiGolden Faceted Hematite Rondelle, or Bronzed Faceted Hematite Rondelle, or Coppered Faceted Hematite Rondelle.4mm Polycrome Copper Rose 
Type the names in the search bar on beadshop.com for fast finding.

Toss in a spool of KO (I used Dark Gray); Size 10 beading needles and Old School Thread Clippers. And a Bigger Than Little Storage container to keep it together. 

The Raffle Palette!

On today's FB Live we raffled off all the materials needed for a pair of Lantern Earrings in a new colorway that Emily chose...how fun! In case you want one for your own, you can purchase this gorgeous palette using this ingredients list...

Happy beading!

Miyuki Cubes-Metallic Gold Iris

Miyuki 11-410FR - Matte Opaque Mauve AB 11/0s

Miyuki Bugles BGL2-2005 Matte Metallic Dark Raspberry

2mm Czech Glass- Crystal California Gold Rush

3mm Czech Melons- Pacifica Elderberry

2mm Pink Opal Rounds

Tierra Daisy Spacers- Antique Copper

KO Thread- Red

Earwires- GF with 3mm bead

Size 12 Beading Needles

Free Tip Friday: Sea Treasures Wrap Bracelet

Hey Everybody!
June Mix + Summer Feelings = The NEW Sea Treasures Wrap Bracelet.

What a fun Free Tip Friday today... as you will hear in the video, I was just in the mood to make a fun and quick summertime accessory. I hope you like making it, and please share your design take on it!

Ingredients I used:
1 Monthly Mix June, Sea Treasures
1 Half Circle Magnetic Clasp Antique Brass
1 pr Looped Leather End Antique Copper
1 pkg Home Run Antique Copper
5 Mini Hoop Antique Gold
Oasis Charm Antique Gold
1 meter Natural Stitched 5mm Leather
1 pkg .5mm Natural Leather 
1 pkg 7mm Antique Copper Jump Rings
Zap Glue

Free Tip Friday: Snowflake Earrings with Kate & Drea

Hi Everybody!

Wasn't it great to have Drea on the broadcast today? We had so much fun creating these festive snowflakes!
Here are the materials we used:

• SuperDuos in the following three colors: Crystal Bronze Pale Gold, Pastel Emerald, Full Labrador
• 3mm Czech Firepolish Full Silver
• KO Thread Smoke Green
• Size 10 Seed Bead Needles
• Bees Wax
• GS Hypo Cement
• 24G Silver Wire
• Xuron Thread Scissors
• Round Nose Pliers
• Chain Nose Pliers
• Xuron Maxi Shear Flush Cutter

The steps are pretty easy! There are 3 rounds of beading...or four if you do the extra 3mm Fire Polish row.

Start by stringing six SuperDuos. We used the Crystal Bronze Pale Gold to begin...and we'll just refer to them as "gold" from here on out.

 String through the same beads in the same holes again, to "double up" for a secure base. Pull tight so the beads form a tiny six-pointed star, and tie two overhand knots. Add a dab of GS Hypo Cement, but don't cut the tail.

String up through the top hole of the closest SuperDuo, string on two new SuperDuos (we used Pastel Emerald, hereafter known as "teal"), then through the top hole of the next gold bead. Your teal beads should nestle in a neat little V shape right inside the V of the gold beads. Continue through, adding your pairs of teal SuperDuos, then circle through the circuit again for security.

Now come up and out the top hole of a teal SuperDuo so your needle exits into the center of the V.

Add a single SuperDuo (we used the silver Full Labrador) and go out through the next teal Superduo so the silver bead is nestled right inside. Circuit through those three beads again to secure, then carefully go down to the gold bead, go through the top hole, and back up to the next teal bead's top hole. Pick up a silver Superduo, through the next teal top-hole, circuit through to secure, and down through the next gold and back up through the next teal. Continue around until you have all six silver "spires" or points of your snowflake.

If you'd like to finish your snowflake as-is, weave your thread back down through the SuperDuos to meet with your original tail in the center. Tie together, add a dab of glue, and trim the ends.

If you'd like to keep embellishing, go for it! We added 3mm Full Silver fire polish, which adds a nice bit of sparkle. They fit nicely in between the tops of the teal V's. When you string through, be sure you string through all three holes of the snowflake's point, if you skip the silver bead's bottom hole the point won't sit right.

Again, end in the same way: weave down through your beadwork and tie the tails together, glue, trim.

These cute little components can be used in a variety of ways. We created earrings with ours, but you could also use as a pendant, string several together to make a chain, use as a garland, ornaments, and more! Tons of ideas were tossed around on the Live's comments and they were all fantastic!

We wire-wrapped to create earrings. Make a wire-wrapped loop, stringing your loop through the top of a silver SuperDuo. Add a 3mm Full Silver, and wire-wrap another loop to attach to your earwire. Tahdah!

Watch the entire broadcast below for the complete step-by-step with Kate & Drea.

 We are dying to see what you all create! Please share with us! Send us an email or share on our new Facebook Group, Beadshop.com Community: The Bead Table.

Free Tip Friday: RAW Bead & our Monthly Mix!

Wow! I loved learning RAW (right Angle Weave) from Emily on FB LIVE on Wednesday. It was really a fun stitch to learn and the possibilities to embellish are endless.

I thought it would be fun to expand this idea into a beaded bead... a small and do-able project that is fairly quick to make and a great way to hone your RAW skills.

This project will work with any 11/0s (or 8/0s) for the base and any 11, 8 & 6/0s for the embellishments.

This is the monthly mix for October called Cinnamon Spice. You can find all of the recipes for our monthly mixes right here on our website.

For the base, I used 11/0 Gilding Matte metal seed beads, but you can use any bead you like for the base. I also used Smoke Gray Fireline thread and a size 12 seed bead needle along with some Bees Wax to condition the thread.

Your bead can be any size. My base was 6  rows x 4 squares (make 5 rows and then when connected together you have 6 rows for the finished bead.) Each square was 2 beads x 3 beads.

I used the monthly mix to randomly embellish the bead. I love how it turned out... looks pretty good on those 6mm From Childhood beads. Watch the complete broadcast below. Let me know how it works for you. I am excited to see what you make. -Kate

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Free Tip Friday: Harvest Time Wrap

Hey All!

What a fun time on Free Tip Friday today! I am so glad you enjoyed the broadcast for Harvest Time Wrap.

It's a great way to stretch your creativity and use up some items in your bead stash. Or better yet, grab our newest Monthly Bead Mix and get stringing!

The finished piece I made measures 60 inches total. It wraps three times around my neck or nine times around my wrist. It's a perfect layering piece. 

As promised, here is the materials and tools list for what you will need to make your own wrap.

1 tube Harvest Time Seed Bead Mix
1 strand Drops- Jade Picasso
1 strand 6mm Melons- Champagne Turquoise Picasso

1 strand Little Shadows- Brass

1 length Wheat Chain- Antique Copper ( I used about 8")

1 length Little Keyhole Chain- Antique Brass
1 length Run Along- Antique Copper

1 Plain and Simple Toggle- Antique Copper

1 spool SoftFlex .014- Golden Bronze
1 pkg Beadsmith Crimp Tubes- Copper
1 pkg Wire Guardians- Antique Copper

Check out the #FreeTipFriday broadcast (posted below) for all the how-to details.

 Learn stringing and patterning techniques

 Link chain using wire guardians and crimps.

Drops add color and texture to the design.

Watch the broadcast below and let us know what you make! We'd love to see how you are inspired by this piece.
-Kate

Bead School Now Open

Those tiny little beads, known as seed beads, have been planted firmly into the Beadshop curriculum. To help beaders learn new bead weaving techniques, we’ve created a special place on Beadshop’s Web site just for them: Seed Bead School. 

Seed Bead School Inna Kit

Registration is not required to start learning at this school. Plus, you can work at your own pace and create your own homework and assignments. Begin by getting all the tools and supplies you need with the Seed Bead School Inna Kit. If you are new to working with seed beads, this kit is a fast and economical way to make sure you have all you need to get started weaving with seed beads. It includes a package of beading needles, which are thinner than regular sewing needles, as well as Clear Blue KO Thread, made of fine nylon, and beeswax, used to condition the thread so that it makes it easier to weave through the beads.  To also help you create an area to bead, this kit has a metal triangle tray to scoop and store your beads and a bead mat to work over. Additionally, the kit has a selection of seed beads in black, white, and a contrasting blue. This color trio will help you learn the basics. 

Chloe ~ Project and Sample by Emily Miller

Once you acquire some basic supplies and tools, you can take off from there and work through many of the free projects available on the Seed Bead School page. An excellent beginner project is the Beaded Berry Chain, a project developed by Emily Miller, who often appears with Kate during Beadshop's weekly Facebook Live Shows. 

Early Morning Ombre ~ Project and Sample by Emily Miller

Peyote is another lesson available at Beadshop's Seed Bead School. Currently two projects, Early Morning Ombre and Golden Ombre, are available as free downloadable instructions. For a limited time, these will also both be available in kit form, but they sell out quickly, so check Beadshop's selection of kits often and catch either after they are restocked.  

High Tea ~ Project by Emily Miller and Sample by Kate Richbourg

Seed beaders who are interested in adding another new stitch to their schedule will be ready learn Spiral Rope, which has three variations so far: High Tea; Fog Over the Bay; and All in Black + White. This rope technique can be used to make necklaces, bracelets, or anklets. Just adjust the total length of the piece as needed.

More projects are in development and will be added to Seed Bead School, so check back often.