Free Tip Friday: Learning the Wall Knot with Leather Cord

Thanks so much for joining me today for this fun and fast project! Decorative knots are so stunning in wrap bracelets and this one looks great AND is easy to learn... a WIN all around.

I used 1.5mm Sable Leather Cord, Lt. Turquoise Picasso Roller beads and the Flower of Life Button in Antique Gold.

Download the handout with the written steps here. Enjoy!

Spring Bead Together at Janice's in Alexandria, Virginia

Saturday, April 21, 2018
Alexandria, Virginia
Learning to Knot Pearls

This is us with just one having to leave early....

We had such a fun day beading together. I invited anyone who lived nearby (I live now in Alexandria, Virginia) to come for the day and learn to pearl knot. We had a nice turnout of ten...just the right size for the community room of my complex. 

I shared with everyone my all-time favorite and essential technique: Pearl Knotting. My theory is if you can get comfortable with making knots, you can string and design anything. It's that first knot that is challenging. We have some great, class handouts you can download that really go over everything. There's our classic, Pearl Knotting and our more advanced, Gem Knotting....both worth a read. There is also Tin Cup, which uses a floating bead technique....also worth a read!

We all made necklaces using freshwater pearls, a lovely silver metal bead by Nunn Design and a lobster claw clasp. I teach an age-old method of knotting that doesn't require any tools...just  pre-string your beads and then knot one at a time. The end tips we used (.036mm) have an extra large hole, so we needed to add an 11/0 seed bead inside each bead tip to keep the double knot of the doubled Micro C-lon from slipping through. 

Everyone makes a few mistakes when they first start knotting, but with time and practice, the knots get closer together. Like anything worth doing, knotting takes practice!

We used Micro C-Lon and a Flexible Eye Needle

Freshwater Pearls and a Nunn Faceted Barrel Bead

Finished Necklace

I added one of my jewelry tags with the clasp

Old Fashioned Silk Thread

Tin Cup Floats using Griffin Silk

I'm not sure where the time went. It just flew by. There was so much to go over! I talked about old-fashioned silk and using Griffin to create floating necklaces. Much of this is covered in the handouts I linked at the beginning of the blog. 
We promised to get together sooner rather than wait a whole year. I'm in favor! It's definitely made me excited to teach pearl knotting, gem knotting and floats on Facebook Live! More samples and planning needed but this was just pure fun. Thanks everyone! 

~janice

Free Tip Friday: More SuperDuos & Soft Flex

Hey All!
Thanks for tuning in today for FTF. My design is inspired by Sara Oehler from Soft Flex and our broadcast from Wednesday, April 18.

The bracelet design can be used as the inspiration for so many projects!

For this broadcast I used:

• Picasso Opaque Green SuperDuo
• 4mm- Luster Iris Tanzanite
• Endless Love Chain Satin Gold
• 1.5mm 24G Goldtone Headpins
• Soft Flex Extreme Gold
• Little Lobster Matte Gold
• Gold 2x2 crimp tubes
• Gold Crimp Covers

Tools Used:

• Xuron Maxi Shear Flush Cutters
• Round Nose Pliers
• Chain Nose Pliers
• Xuron Crimping Pliers

I can't wait to see your take on this project! Enjoy!

Free Tip Friday: More Weaving with the Jewel Loom... PLUS leather.

Hey Gang!

Thanks so much for joining me today on FTF.

Looming with leather on the Jewel Loom is so easy and satisfying and I can't wait to see how you interpret this technique.

You could choose a variety of materials, but I used the following:

• 2mm Matte Copper Hematite Cut Cubes
• 2mm Matte Silver Hematite Cut Cubes
• Charcoal C-Lon D or Micro C-Lon
• Size 10 Sharps
• Bordeaux Ultra Suede
• .5mm Distressed Gray Leather 
• Courtesan Button Silver
• E6000
• and of course the Jewel Loom

Just a word of caution when you are looming with cut cubes. When you cut the project off of the loom, it may be a bit stiff. "Massage" the bracelet to loosen the beads up a bit. I really had to massage the piece pretty well to get it to have nice, supple movement.

Check out the FB broadcast from Wednesday, April 4th on how to glue the suede to the ends of the bracelet and the broadcast below for all the details on creating this bracelet using leather and the cubes. Enjoy!

Free Tip Friday: More Bead Embroidery... tassels and more!

Hi Gang!
Thanks so much for joining me on FTF today. I loved the way the finished piece turned out.

I had fun choosing the beads for the tassel. Find both of Emily's Bead Embroidery Projects on our website at this link. 

Here is a list of what I added to the ingredients: 

• I Ching Coins
• Blue Currency
• Little Shadows- Antique Brass
• 5mm Rondelles- Stone Bronze
• Persian Turquoise Picasso-4mm
• Tierra Heishi-Antique Brass

Enjoy... and I can't wait to see what you make! -Kate

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Free Tip Friday: It's a three-technique mash-up today!

Hey Everyone!
So glad you could join me for the week's Free Tip Friday episode.

Today's project was a mash-up of three beadshop.com projects and techniques, Born Yesterday, Trail's End and Poetry. We also discussed choosing needles of projects and did some troubleshooting on beginning a Poetry project.

I used the following products for the sample:

1 strand 5mm Rondelles- Mustard
1 strand 5mm Rondelles- Wine Red
1 strand 8mm English Cut- Picasso Green Aqua
2 ft Satellite-Antique Copper
1 basket Irish Waxed Linen. I used Walnut 4-ply
.5mm Distressed Denim
1 spool Micro C Lon. I used Charcoal
1 Madame Butterfly Turquoise
2 Mini Hoops in Antique Copper
Flexible Eye Needles- 10 PK
Peekaboo Antique Copper Button

It was such a fun project to share!

I can't wait to see how you create using a mash-up of these techniques.

Watch the video below for all of the tips and techniques. Enjoy!

Free Tip Friday: Handmade Wire Link & Czech Glass Bead Bracelet

Hey Gang!
Thanks for joining me on Free Tip Friday today. It was a fun project to share with you. A great mix of Wire and Czech Glass Rondelles creating an easy-to-make and wear design.

Here is what I used on the broadcast:

20 Gauge Silver Plated Wire and 5mm Ivory Mercury Czech Glass Rondelles

18 Gauge Silver Plated Wire and 8mm Glazed Peach Glass Rondelles

You'll need the following tools:
Chain Nose Pliers
Bent Chain Nose Pliers
Round Nose Pliers
Nylon Jaw Pliers
Flush Wire Cutters

All of the how-to is in the video below. Enjoy!