Aphrodite bracelet by beadsmagic.com

Hi everyone,

Today I want to share with you a quick pattern. I found this beautiful bracelet on Pinterest and I quickly pinned it onto the FREE patterns group board for future reference. Today, however, a pinner signaled that the picture had a dead link (I hate daed links, so thank you very much!).

I looked for the original pattern on beadsmagic.com, where it was first published, but I could no longer find it. I therefore tried to figure out how to make this little beauty, and here is my interpretation of the pattern. I’m sorry it is not very detailed and professional, but since the creation is not mine, I don’t have many pictures and I do not want to take possession of an idea that was not mine.

Here are the quick instructions and the diagram below should be of help to understand the direction of the threads (if something is not clear, please leave a comment to the post):

• Row 1: RAW with 2 needles technique, creating picots of 4 seed beads: for each thread add 1 6mm fire-polished bead, 4 size 11/0 seed beads, pass again through the first size 11/0 in the same direction as before, add 1 6mm fire polished, repeat for the other thread and then cross the 2 threads in a size 11/0 (repeat for the entire length of the bracelet)
• Row 2: pass through the top seed beads of the picots formed in the previous round, adding 1 seed bead, 1 6mm fire-polished bead and another seed bead between one bead and the next.
• Row 3: pass through the previous round, adding picots exiting from the top beads of round 1 picots

Personally, I would use a thicker thread for the first round, since the beads are heavier and you pass through them only once. I hope you will have fun making this wonderful bracelet, and thanks to beadsmagic.com for creating and sharing the image!

Have a lovely day!

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Pattern: Black lace earrings

Hi everyone!

These days I have been experimenting a little with the beautiful book Bead Romantique by Lisa Kan, so after the Autumn Sparkle and the Romantic Vintage earrings, I decided to create a new pair of earpieces using one more pattern from this amazing text.

This time, however, I based my creation on the instructions for making a necklace (the Black Lace Lariat at page 100). At first, I wanted to make one of the flower medaillons on page 102 and then simply attach it to a fish hook component but I soon realized that I did not have most of the beads suggested (and, after seeing such an inspiring project, I wanted to make the earrings right away!) so I adapted the pattern.

While the instructions of the lariat in the book are covered by copyright, my adaptation takes only a small part of the pattern, changing materials, bead counts and adding extra steps, hence creating a quite different pattern. I therefore felt free to share with you the step by step instructions of my variation. So, if you also would like to create these elegant lacy pieces, just follow the step by step tutorial and pattern below.

Time to complete the project: 1 hour

Difficulty: 2/5

Hope you enjoyed the pattern…if you did, don’t forget to leave a comment ;-)

Have a wonderful day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Tutorial: Autumn sparkle (variation of pattern by Lisa Kan)

Hi everyone! 

I am very excited to show you this new creation I made some days ago. It is the first time I use Swarovski Rivoli in a pair of earrings…and I love them so much, it will surely not be the last!  

The design was inspired by the gorgeous Netted Rivoli Chain pattern I found in the beautiful book Bead Romantique by Lisa Kan (page 24) (full review of the book coming soon). As you could easily guess by the lack of chain in my piece, I changed the design quite a bit. First of all, I decided to incorporate in the creation the charming green rivolis I recently purchased. I therefore substituted the red and golden colors of the original pattern with olive and dark bronze shades. 

I then also modified the pattern, as I wanted smaller pieces that could be used everyday…If you would also like to try this alternative design, here are step-by-step instructions on how to stitch you own pair of sparkling little treasures:

1. Complete the bezel as suggested by the book (finishing round 8).
2. Weave back, reaching round 6 and exit from one of the size 11/0 beads inserted in round 5.
3. Insert 5 15/0 rocailles and pass through the next 11/0 from round 5. Repeat around the pattern 9 more times, for a total of 10 picots. 
4. Pass though the first bead added in the previous round. Add 4 size 15/0 rocailles. Stitch back into the last bead added in the previous round and through the 11/0 bead next to it (you will add the erring finding in this loop you just made, so my advice is to pass through all the beads of this round once or twice more in order to reinforce it). 
5. Pass through the next 5 picots you created in step 3 of this tutorial, reaching the opposite side of the round. Then, pass through the next 11/0 bead and through the first 2 15/0 rocailles in the next picot. 
6. Add 1 size 15/0 rocaille and pass through the last 2 15/0 rocailles of the previous picot. Pass throught the 11/0 bead next to them and the next 2 15/0. 
7. Pass through the bead added in the previous round. Add 3 size 15/0 rocailles, 1 glass drop, 3 more 15/0 rocailles and pass through the bead again in the opposite direction. 

You can now weave back through the beads and close the work. I however decided I wanted to cover all the back of the rivoli adding some netted rounds. I tend to like this solution, because these crystals have a foil on the back and, even if it is very well made, after a bit of wearing, it might get chipped and the sparkle of the stone will get affected. I therefore like to cover it with beads in order to ensure longer durability. If you wish to do the same, just have to keep netting, reducing the number of beads you add on each round (see the last picture below). 

I hope you will have fun creating these small earpieces…and come back soon! 

Have a creative day! 

p.s. Your feedback is very precious for me, so if you are using this pattern, please leave a comment to let me know if you liked it (or not)! Thank you!

 

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Book review: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments by Sandra D.Halpenny

Title: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments 

Author: Sandra D. Halpenny 
Rating: 9/10 
Number of pages: 88 
Subject: Beaded snowflakes 
Level: intermediate 
Main techniques: Circular netting 

Beaded lace snowflake ornaments is a  very detailed and specific book. It mainly is a pattern paperback, with a small introduction on materials and techniques (7 pages), followed by 14 beautiful snowflakes (see more snowflake ideas here).

Each project is clearly illustrated with extremely precise drawings. They are so intuitive that I almost didn’t read the written instructions while stitching. Sandra D. Halpenny did an amazing job in making every step crystal clear and in creating an incredible variety on such a narrow topic.

The only downside of the book is represented by pictures of the finished items, which are not very good quality. Furthermore, there are not many  tips on how to use the creations or change effects by using different bead sizes and finishes (but you can find some in the next paragraphs :-) ). However, as I said earlier, this is mainly a pattern book and it does an excellent job at fulfilling this purpose.

I must point out that the text can be quite pricey, if you don’t find it on sale. If you are interested in few patterns, though,  you can purchase them individually on the author’s website here and then create a large amount of different looks by changing color, size and finishes of beads.

In the pictures below, you can see some examples: on the top left, snowflake #2 was made with size 11/0 Ornela Czech transparent and silver-lined beads. On the top right I used slightly larger silver lined and white beads with a pearl finish, together with Swarovski crystals and Czech firepolished 4mm beads to bring to life snowflake #4. On the bottom left, with the same beads (except for the crystals), I made snowflakes #7, while the last one (snowflake #12) was created with the same seed beads of the first, adding some 4mm firepolished beads.

Once you finish, you can use the snowflakes to make cute holiday and winter decorations: from Christmas tree ornaments, to gift cards and boxes embellishments; from festive earrings to icy wreaths…let your creativity fly!

…and have a wonderful day! 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Bead embroidery (part 2)

Hi everyone!
 

After some information about the teaching materials I used to get started on bead embroidery (which you can find here), I want to share with you my first experiments.

The first piece I wanted to make was a native-inspired pendant, starting from a carnelian cabochon. I glued it to the Lacy’s Stiff Stuff and started my adventure. 

Many beads later, I was at the third round when, suddenly, I heard something falling on the floor…it was the cabochon!…yes, I screamed: the glue didn’t hold up and now I could not glue it anymore, because the first round was framing it too tightly…I screamed again…then I remembered what I should do:

• Breathe
• Keep calm
• Start over from a new piece of Lacy’s Stiff Stuff
• Don’t throw the old piece away!

So, that’s what I did. I started and finished my piece adding all the necessary fringes and embellishments and then I went back to the broken one. 

I started thinking, and thinking…I was almost losing my hope, when I suddenly had an idea: I filled the center with seed beads and small lucite flowers, added a border…and, voilà…I had a new pendant! Now I have two pieces and I created something I would have never made if it wasn’t for my mistake! :-) 

Here are both my  creations…enjoy!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Bead embroidery (part 1)

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share with you my experience with bead embroidery. I am quite new to this technique: I only made two pendants up to now and, I have to confess, I was quite intimidated by it when looking at pieces from other artists. A few good readings and videos later, however, everything looked quite clear…and after a couple of inevitable but very educational mistakes (wow…I sound so calm about them now!), I was ready to turn my first design into an actual creation…so, let’s start! 

First of all, I think videos are the best way to understand and learn in a very intuitive way…and if they are free it’s even better!...so here you can find a series of instructional videos from Beadaholique completely devoted to bead embroidery, giving amazing step by step instructions and advice. Now, if you feel totally confident, you can already start making your own creations! 

I however believe a couple of additional references can be extremely useful to get more insights and confidence. The first of them is a book: Beading with Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin. Besides presenting some amazing (and incredibly inspiring) pictures of completed pieces, it also features six chapters which are dense of useful information on tools, materials, edges, attachment methods, bezel stitches and how to create original designs. Instructions are clear, complete and easy to understand. 

Since I believe in always hearing at least two points of view (besides loving craft books), I also purchased The Art of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini. This is also a nice reference, but I find it a bit more confusing for the beginner, as the choices of the two authors are reported separately and, while pictures are still beautiful and inspiring, instructions are a bit less complete. I would still advice to buy both books, but if I had to pick only one, my choice would be the first. 

I also recently purchased one more book: Dimensional Bead Embroidery by Jamie Cloud Eakins. I am not sure I really needed it, but after reading her Beading with Cabochons, I just couldn’t stop my hand from clicking on “buy” when the new one was released! While I didn’t have much time to go through it, I can say that chapters are laid out quite similarly to her first book and pictures are still amazing. I will hopefully soon be able to read it and write a more complete review. 

I would also like to point out that many other books on the topic are available, and they might be as valid as the ones I talked about in this post. What I am saying is just that, for a beginner, the ones I mentioned are of great help and a source of inspiration which will allow you to confidently move your first steps in the fantastic world of bead embroidery!

Here you can see my first completed creation and here you can find out more about my first practical experiments with this technique. Now, I would love to hear about yours too: which books do you think are the most inspiring? Do you have any favorite material/stitch/fringe technique? Share them in the comments! 

…and have a beautiful day full of creativity!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)