Three Bracelet Projects Working Together

Save time and get the most out of your beading supplies with His, Hers, and BFF Wrap Bracelets. Make a single wrap for him, a triple wrap for you, and a double wrap for a BFF with this free project from beadshop. Along with a list of ingredients, this project also has a thirteen page PDF file with instructions and how-to images. There are currently ten sample projects available in a range of colors: Fire Sign, Forest Green, Stormy Skies, Sea Green, Cloudy Day, Steel, Wander Around, Party of Three, Deco Gold, and finally a design in the Beader Showcase by Lisa LaBarre-Kurz. 

Since these three bracelets incorporate the same type of beading ingredients as well as beading techniques, you save time and supplies. Each colorway uses just two tubes of beads, one spool of C-Lon, some 2mm Leather, and three Buttons (one for each bracelet).

Party of Three ~ Design by Janice Parsons
Sample by Beckie Ten Eyck ~ Single Wrap

The His version of this bracelet is a single wrap that is long enough for an eight to nine inch wrist. Some guys might have wrists that are a little larger, for example ten inches, and if so, just add a few more rows on the end to get the extra length you may need.

Party of Three ~ Design by Janice Parsons
Sample by Beckie Ten Eyck ~ Three Wraps

The Hers version is much longer, around twenty-one inches total, and thus can be wrapped around an average seven inch wrist three times. This extra length means you can also wear it as a necklace too.

Party of Three ~ Design by Janice Parsons
Sample by Beckie Ten Eyck ~ Two Wrap

Finally, the BFF version wraps around a seven inch wrist twice, so the full length of this bracelet before you start wrapping is about fourteen to fifteen inches. 

Along with having plenty of the right ingredients to make all three bracelets, you will find yourself using the same techniques, most importantly the ever popular laddering technique. In fact, it is recommended that if you are new to laddering that you make sure to watch beadshop's free video tutorial on this technique:

After making all three bracelets, you will be a master at the laddering technique and have some beautiful beaded jewelry pieces to share. 

Favorite Jewelry Supplies of Beadshop Staff

Every member of the beadshop crew is addicted to beads, and as you can imagine, if you were to also work at beadshop, with so many beautiful beading ingredients to pick from, you might start creating a long list of favorites. Each staff member has specific tastes and is eager to share personal picks at the beadshop Staff Picks page. 

5-Wrap-Tahoe-Pumpkin-Seafoam by Janice Parsons

First, there's Janice Parsons, the owner, and her list of favorites. Her color preferences tend to lean towards greens and earth tones, as is evident by one of her favorite wrap designs, 5 Wrap Tahoe - Pumpkin & Seafoam. This is a great beginning project and is loaded with Blue Gray Padres and brass beads on Distressed Pumpkin Colored Leather.

Ghana Circa 1850 Bodom Beads

Bodom beads (Ghana circa 1850) are on Kate's favorite picks page. Her love of metal shows through on her list with the addition of lots of metal findings and components alongside beautiful Shadows Antique Brass and other crystal and bead selections. 

Mr. Bumble Silver 12 x 16mm Plated Pewter Charm

Linnea admits to catching the gardening bug, and these adorable Mr. Bumble Silver Plated Pewter Charms are a one of the influences she receives from nature that you'll see on her favorites page. 

I Heart You

The webmaster at beadshop, Karen, loves simple and fast projects so she can enjoy her jewelry right away, and the Prairie Leather Wrap is one of her go-to projects, which means using lots of cute sliding components such as I Heart You Sliders. 

Let It Be

Grace is often behind the camera at beadshop, taking photos for the web shop and also filming the Facebook Live Shows that have become so popular. As a very visual person, Grace loves color. Some of the bead strands on her favorite picks page are these Let It Bee beads, which are made with thermo-sensitive liquid crystal that continually changes color based on the temperature around it.

3mm Picasso Green Turquoise Czech Fire Polish Glass Beads

Cara is a full-time beadshop associate, and her favorites page is loaded with cute silver findings, a rainbow of Stringing Materials, and lots of sparkly glass beads, such as these Picasso Green Turquoise Czech Fire Polish Glass Beads.

So if you feel overwhelmed by all the products you can pick from at beadshop, wander over to the Staff Picks page and get the inside bead scoop from those in the know. 

New Odyssey Kits!

Odyssey Kits

Thank your mom, or anyone special to you, this Mother's Day by making or gifting one of the new additions to the Odyssey project, Lydia or Guin. Either kit has colors that align with the latest Pantone Spring 2017 Fashion Color Report, Pale Dogwood and Niagara.

If your mom loves to create like you do, then the kits include all the ingredients and instructions to let her enjoy a few hours of beading. The Odyssey is considered an all-levels project, which can be completed in three to four hours.

Lydia

The Lydia Odyssey sample is named after Janice's mother, who loved the color of Antique Rose. This jewelry design is strung on Tea Rose 4 ply Irish waxed linen and finished off with a 16mm Bamboo Silhouette Antique Copper Plated Pewter Button. 

Guin 

Just as with the Lydia kit, all the supplies you need to complete Guin are already in the kit when you order it. Kate's mother loves the color blue, and this piece is packed full of beautiful blue hues: Seafoam crystal lined AB 6/0 seed beads; Denim Irish Waxed Linen; and Light Blue Fine C-Lon. 

Additional tools required to make an Odyssey, other than your hands, include a tape measure, flush cutters or Xuron scissors, Deep Dish Project Tray and Insert or Macramé Board, scrap twine, and two binder clips. Each kit comes in a pretty organza bag to make the gifting that much easier for you. 

Beader Showcase Take Two!

Project by Brittany Ketcham-Roney ~ Sample by Debi Moore 

Not just once but now twice, talented beader Debi Moore has made it into the beadshop's Beader Showcase with one of her special jewelry pieces! This wrap bracelet is based off of Brittany Ketcham-Roney's In the Garden project. 

The overall look of Debi's bracelet includes a collection of earth tones for a neutral affect, making it a very versatile pieces. She used C-Lon in the color Golden Olive, along with 24Kt gold plate metal size 8/0 and size 6/0 seed beads and natural 1.5mm Indian leather. 

If you would like to join Debi Moore and many other talented jewelry designers who have shared their talents with beadshop, review the guidelines provided at the top of the Beader Showcase page. 

We would love to see your beautiful bead creations!

Beadshop Gift Cards

beadshop gift card sample

Wondering what to gift your beading and jewelry making friends? Beads, finding, tools, supplies, and more of course! No matter if your friends are just starting to learn to bead or they are long-time bead and jewelry pros, a beadshop gift card is the perfect gift. Plus, it is so simple to order and is sent directly to the recipient. Gift card amounts range from just $25 up to $100 and come in a variety of designs such as Happy Birthday, Valentine's Day, or just a simple Bead Happy greeting works too. Just choose a design, use a drop down menu for the amount, add to your shopping cart, and then check out. 

beadshop gift card sample

Gift cards at beadshop never expire and can be used on purchases at beadshop.com storewide. Those gifted will receive a PDF file of the card with a redemption code two business days after your purchase. If you are hoping for someone to gift a beadshop card to you, then remember to add one (or two) to your wish list.

Want to learn more about beadshop gift cards? Head over to the beadshop gift card page and select an available card, and also see the guidelines below.

Please note the following guidelines so that we may process your Gift Card in a timely manner:

1. Discount codes are not applicable at the time of purchase.
2. The Gift Card is sent in a PDF file so you can print it out if you wanted to include it in a greeting card.  We will send the PDF file to the email address on your order, or...
3. If you would like us to email it directly to the lucky recipient, we will need their email address. After clicking to check out please write that into the box that asks, “Is there anything you’d like us to know?” Please make sure their email address is spelled correctly. You can also write a message for the recipient here. They will receive an email with the Gift Card image and any message you would like us to include.
4. When purchasing a Gift Card, a shipping charge is required to complete every transaction, even though we are not mailing it. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We will refund the shipping charge to your original form of payment when your Gift Card order is processed.
5. Please allow two business days for us to process your Gift Card order. Also please note we do not process Gift Cards on the weekend. We know Gift Cards are time-sensitive, so we will do our best to get your Gift Card out promptly, but please plan accordingly so that the Gift Card arrives to you or your recipient in time for your special occasion.
6. Every Gift Card is assigned a unique code which is used by the recipient during checkout. If a balance remains after purchase, the code can be used on another purchase until the Gift Card balance is zero.

Thank you for shopping at beadshop.com. If we can answer any questions you may have about purchasing a Gift Card or perhaps answer a beading question, we can be reached Monday-Friday from 9am- 4pm Pacific Standard Time at 650-474-0101.

Charm Bracelets for Throwback Thursday!

Grace's Charm Bracelet.

At beadshop.com we love charm bracelets. They are so simple to make and are perfect for preserving memories like special occasions, vacations or life events. 

Some of the beadshop.com gang were chatting one day about their favorite pieces of jewelry and the topic of charm bracelets came up. It turns out  Kate, Grace and Cara all have charm bracelets in their collections. They brought them in and shared the memories that the charms held. It was fun to hear where the charms came from and to see the eclectic collection.

Kate has been collecting charms for her bracelets since she was a little girl.
She is now on her way to filling bracelet number 5!

We wanted to share some tips on how to get started and create your charm bracelets. They make such thoughtful gifts and cherished mementos. Start by selecting a sturdy chain, that has roomy links, like our Endless Love and a lobster claw clasp like our Swivel. Charms are best attached using a heavy-gauge jump ring. We like a 6mm, 18 Gauge ring as it is fine enough to fit through the loop of most charms yet heavy enough to stay together without coming open.

Cara's Bracelets. Many of her charms have moving parts!

The other main trick to assembling a sturdy charm bracelet is knowing how to open and close jump rings securely. Consult our skill builder to brush up on your technique. Use a chain nose and bent chain nose pliers to manipulate the rings.

All the bracelets pictured together make quite an impression!

We carry a variety of charms so you can jump right in and start designing your own. We'd love to hear how you incorporate charms in to your designs. Do you have a charm bracelet with special meaning? Share your thoughts and photos in the comments.

Color and Jewelry Personality

Janice Parsons is known for her color coordinating skills, and to help share her strategy for designing using color inspiration, she and Kate Richbourg dedicated a Facebook live show to the topic. During the show, which is now available through beadshop's YouTube channel, they work together to offer a sort of color workshop for beaders. Along with watching the show, you can also download a free Tricks of the Trade handout that Janice originally used while teaching in her brick and mortar store when it was open from 1983-2008. 

Color Inspiration

As Kate explains during the show, "Color can change the personality of the piece," and Janice agrees that it is important to feel free to experiment and not "be afraid of color." Both designers suggest that working with color is a good starting point when you are creating jewelry. Begin with a photograph, fabric, painting, any object that provides a ready-made mix of colors that personally inspires you. For example, in Janice's handout. a beautiful bouquet of flowers is selected as the place to begin, and eventually, by following her steps for design by looking at shapes in your object and coming up with adjectives that not only describe it by also how you feel when you look at it, you can collect beads and jewelry components that work well together. This is what Kate calls thinking of "the big picture" before focusing on too many details like what your clasp will be. 

This show, which aired live on the beadshop Facebook page on 1/25/17, is one you will want to watch and probably take notes to help you develop your own inspiring and colorful jewelry pieces.