Metal Bracelet Sliders on Sale

Desert Lavender

Project by: Janice Parsons Sample by: Janice Parsons

If you have been dreaming about making a Prairie Bracelet or two or three, now is the time to load up on the metal slider components that make these jewelry pieces so much fun and so easy to make. The sliders are on sale! Plus, there are new finishes available, including gold, antique copper, and antique brass.

Metal Sliders

5mm leather is used for the Prairie Bracelet project, and these sliders slip easily onto the leather and can be arranged any way you choose. Our sliders come in a variety of shapes - such as feathers, hearts, stars, round, and square - and are free of lead, nickel, and cadmium. They are also hypoallergenic, which is so important for anyone with sensitive skin. 

The Prairie Bracelet continues to be one of the most popular beadshop projects. You can find a helpful list of ingredients, which links directly to the products you need, fourteen different sample projects, and a free project instructions download on the beadshop's Prairie Bracelet page. 

Beadshop in Tucson

FB LIVE Special Edition Calm Waters Kit

Some of the beadshop gang were lucky enough to visit Tuscon, Arizona at the end of January 2017 and enjoy the gemstone and jewelry goodness that settles on this town during the end of January and on into February every year. Kate and Grace were kind enough to share part of their trip live through Facebook. The impromptu show, which was broadcast in front of the Gem Mall tent, was recorded so that you can watch it on YouTube if you missed it. It was a jump packed episode. 

Part of the show included a how-to from Kate on wire wrapping gemstone beads, and she demonstrated with some chunky howlite nugget beads that were dyed and stabilized to look like turquoise and 18 gauge craft wire. If you want to make the same necklace yourself, a kit is available. Along with showing how to make the necklace, Kate reviewed various types of hand-tools you need, such as Maxi Shear Flush Wire Cutters, and she also discussed how you can use different beads and wire gauges but should be careful to test them out first. It is important that your wire fits easily through your bead holes, for example. 

If you ever decide to head to Tuscon during the shows, the Tucson Show Guide website is a wonderful resources, highly recommended by Kate, to help you navigate and plan your agenda. Other tips to consider once you get there is staying hydrated, wearing comfortable shoes, and bringing a rolling cart for your gemstone purchases. 

Watching Kate at Tucson, at least, is one way you can get a feel for Tucson. 

Wrap It Up with New Wrap Bracelets

Load up the stitches and create two new bracelets designs recently published at beadshop! 

Purple lovers, hello! Brittany Ketcham honors the talented Nicole Anderson with a new sample project for My Stitches in Time. This includes a free seven-page downloadable project handout with detailed instructions and color photographs of many of the weaving steps required. For additional assistance, there is also a video demonstrating the five stitches used to construct this wrap bracelet. The project page for this new sample also provides a complete list of ingredients and shop links so that you can order exactly what you need. 

Stitched in Time: Project by Nicole Anderson ~ Sample by Brittany Ketcham 

Another new project addition is Marilyn. The project page for this wrap bracelet also has a full list of ingredients, and in addition to that, step by step written instructions and color photographs that show details of each of the woven sections of the bracelet. To see a view of the finished bracelet stretched out from one end to the other, a photograph map is also provided on the project page. This way, you can find everything you need in one spot. Marilyn is made up of lots of neutral shades, copper, pearl, beige, and opal for example, so it is a piece that can be worn with just about any item in your closet.  

Marilyn: Project by Nicole Anderson ~ Sample by Beckie Ten Eyck 

Wrap Bracelet Sneak Peek

Simple Stitches in Time will be the theme of some upcoming Facebook Live shows airing February 15th and the 22nd, 2017 on beadshop's Facebook page. If you want to get a little bit of a head start so you can follow along with Kate and Janice during these shows, head over to the Simple Stitches in Time page on the the shop's web site. Pick you our favorite design and order supplies before the show. You can also watch a helpful stitches video now that is already uploaded on YouTube, and download the free project handout.

Kindness
Project by Nicole Anderson ~ Sample by Janice Parsons

Pictured above is Kindness, made with distressed denim 1.5mm Indian leather. Some of the beads used include a mix of matte gold colored, 4mm luster stone gray Czech beads, and antique brass. 

Beauty
Project by Nicole Anderson ~ Sample by Kate Richbourg

The Beauty wrap design is an excellent blend of neutrals so you can wear this with anything. It is finished off with a 16mm plated pewter button with a bird in a tree design. 

Grace
Project by Nicole Anderson ~ Sample by Janice Parsons

For purple fans, there is Grace. Like the other two designs, stitches are mixed and matched, Herringbone Stitch to Spiral Knot.

Once you watch the video and review the ingredients lists provided, you may not be able settle for just making one of these. 

Beads, Components, and Kits on Sale Now

C-Lon

Now is a good time to load up on beads, components, and kits for your jewelry making stash because there are lots of sales going on, and remember that you can always stack discounts. 

C-Lon is 10% off until 1/17/17 midnight PCT. No coupon code is needed to get the discount, as it is already marked down before you add it to your shopping cart. It is made in the USA and can be used for micro-macramé, stringing beads, and other techniques such as bead crochet, braiding, kumihimo, and laddering. Lots of beadshop projects utilize this stringing cord, such as the beautiful Odyssey. 

Blush - Sample by Grace Noland and Project by Janice Parsons

Beloved Dakota Stone Beads are marked down 20% right now. These are extremely popular. Incorporate them into earrings, bracelets, or necklaces. The Stretch Therapy is a good project for using an assortment of these stone beads. 

8mm Amazonite Round

Take advantage of markdowns on a select number of beadshop kits. You know how fast these usually sell out, so don't wait too long. 

Forest Green- Kit

Then there are the wonderful Vintage Finds that Janice Parsons dedicates herself to constantly hunting for so that jewelry designers can add these precious pieces to their collections. Right now, they are marked down 25% off until 1/17/17 midnight PCT. 

Enjoy the savings and start creating!

Leather Tips and Tricks for Jewelry Making

Strap leather and leather cording are very popular materials used in many of beadshop's projects. Leather is a versatile medium that is long lasting and comes in lots of colors as well as thicknesses. For those just starting out with using leather or for those who want to expand their current knowledge-base about using leather in their jewelry designs, you can now find a comprehensive collection of Tips and Tricks available on the beadshop 
web site.

This how-to collection is visually appealing and very clear, showing you all kinds of information that will help you select the right components and beads for your projects. For example, a leather diameter and bead key illustrates which type and size of beads to use for different diameters of leather, from 1mm all the way up to 2mm. 

Finishing off the ends of a piece that uses leather is another trick explained, with over a half dozen options provided. This includes hook suggestions as well.

Strap leather, which is flat versus round like leather cord, is also explained and includes descriptions of various ways to adorn the leather with metal slider components as well ideas for finishing off the ends and adding clasps. 

The beadshop Leather Tips and Tricks page is one you will want to bookmark on your Web browser. You can also learn more about using leather by watching the previously recorded Tricks to Leather Facebook Show. 

Tassel Jewelry Ideas

Awakening & Protection Earrings by Kate Richbourg

Tassels are a fun way to add movement and texture to a jewelry design, and they also offer some fast alternatives if you are looking for quick jewelry projects to make. Earrings, especially, are a way to allow you to add some beads or other components with a tassel or two and whip up some statement pieces you can make today and wear today as well.

The 35mm tassels available from beadshop come in sets of six and are pre-strung on a mother cord to help keep them intact. A tiny amount of GS Hypo Cement added to the threads wrapped around the loop holding the strands of the tassel together are also helpful in keeping the tassel's integrity before you begin to work with it. When handling these tassels, it is a good idea to have your project read for the tassels before taking them off the mother cord; otherwise, the loops at the top of the tassels can lose their shape. 

Kate Richbourg has developed new earring projects called Awakening & Protection Earrings that incorporates tassels and ornately carved components from beadshop’s collection of vintage finds. You can download the free pdf project and easily order necessary supplies using the ingredients list on the same page. The downloadable instructions include step-by-step photographs as well as how-to instructions. 

Enjoy makings making some long and dramatic tassel earrings you can make in just a few minutes!