This is a piece I made for a special bride-to-be this past fall. The Mother-In-Law to be commissioned it in hopes of incorporating a treasured rhinestone brooch that was her mothers. You can see the snow-flake like brooch in the middle. The dress was ivory so I used off white Swarovski glass pearls and crystals. With a plain hair comb and a bit of 22g wire you can do anything! Just anchor your wire to the comb with a few wraps and start stringing and wrapping. To finish it, I sealed the wrapped area with a satin ribbon. You can also paint a layer of E6000 over the ribbon and leave to dry overnight to create a bit of "grip". Or you can always commission me to make one for you. I don't have long hair, but if I did I'd probably have a thousand of these things incorporating all kinds of brooches, feathers, charms and whimsies to pin my hair up in.
New Jewelry Book on the Shelf…
Man, oh man this book is super cool! It's by Linda Kopp who was also the editor for Metalworking 101 for Beaders. It's called the Jewelry Design Challenge because all of the designers were sent the same materials to create one piece of jewelry for the book. We could do whatever we wanted with the materials plus add one "wild card" material—this element made the challenge even more fun. I chose fiber/felt. I was really inspired and intrigued on so many variations with the same materials. Here's a little snippet of my piece in the book…that looks way better in the actual book. Shooting on polka-dots…what was I thinking?
Beaded Beads…
This is a little re-play post from March of 2006 that I swiped from my ol' podcast site, The Candie Cast. If I remember right, I damn near lost my mind putting this tutorial together because I was living in China at the time and got the pattern from a Chinese beading book….a VERY tiny diagram, lots of loops, arrows and characters…you get the idea. (Sorry for the language, but sometimes there is no other way to describe it. Aiya!) But! A good challenge, none the less. I've had so many people fall in love with making these beads, the latest Terry, from FL. So Terry, this one's for you…
I warn you these are addicting to make. They will be spilling out of your pockets, purses, drawers etc…. I warn you! Now have fun!
Materials-
- 30 beads of any shape and size (just be sure the hole in the bead is big enough for the cord to pass through twice)
- good quality nylon cord
- bit of glue
Here goes nothing:
Cut 20" of cord and double it over so the ends meet and string 5 beads onto the left end/side of the tail.
Thread the right end of the cord through the 5th bead in the opposite direction that the left tail is going-I call this a 'cross'.
Pull the two ends snug so it makes a star in the middle of your bead cluster.
String 4 beads onto the left tail.
But on the 4th bead thread the right tail through in the opposite direction that the left tail is going (I call this a cross).
Look carefully at the orientation here. At the top is the original 5 beads and in my fingers is the 4 beads. The right cord comes out and goes into the bead directly to the right of it.
This is how it should look. Notice how the cord looks like it is going through two beads side by side.
String 3 beads onto the left tail.
And cross the right tail through the 3rd bead.
And the right tail goes through the bead directly to the right of it again.
**Repeat the last three steps TWO more times so that you will have a total of 4 clusters around your central star at this point.
Now run your right tail through the two beads to the right of the bead where the right tail comes out (as seen in picture) and string 2 beads onto the left tail.
Cross the right tail through the 2nd bead and pull the two ends snug.
This completes the top half of the bead, making sort of a dome shape. Deep breath, let's push on!
The right tail goes through the bead just next to it.
String 3 beads onto the left tail.
Right tail goes through the 3rd bead, making the cross.
Now this time, the right tail goes through not one but TWO beads to the right of it!
String 2 beads on the left tail.
Right tail crosses through the second bead.
**Repeat the last the last three steps TWO more times! We're almost there!!!!
Now, do you see that tiny gap….and notice you have one bead left?
String the remaining bead on the left tail.
This is where it gets a little confusing, but I think you will understand the idea. The left tail with the bead on it goes across and through the bead on the left, then it keeps going through the remaining 3 beads in the cluster of 5. Same goes for the right tail except it goes through the right side, opposite the left. Remember that the cord should make a triangle at each bead junction and the cord must pass through each bead twice. Tie the tails in a knot where they meet up.
Trim the ends and dot the knot with some glue to secure. Yay! We made it!
Please, please, please let me know if you try to make these and the pattern has a glitch. I've checked over it, but I need a proof-reader so to speak! And also, if you make something with these, please send me a picture of the finished project.
XO, Candie
Return to Sender…
Copyright 2006 DRG
Thank you for all the warm thoughts. We're hanging in there and got a little good news today. It's almost strange that this happened so soon after I got home…makes me wonder if it was in the Universe's plan all along.
Saw my "Return to Sender" bracelet posted as a free project on the Simply Beads website–I'd forgotten all about this little number because it's three years old. Oy! It's probably one of my favorite projects I've ever made for SB (did that sound a little Napoleon Dynamite-esque?). Have you played with Envirotex Lite? The finished surface is fabulous. So durable and clear.
You can snag loads of postage stamps on Ebay for next to nothing. And the bases are made from those famous scrabble tiles. Will we crafters ever tire of them? I think not.
Fan-atic for Fabric…
It's that time again….thinking about what clothes to take home in July. That sounds obsessive, but the thing is our washer only has one water line running to it and that's hard cold water. We have no dryer so we hang dry everything (this is all normal here because of the energy it takes to heat water and run a dryer for 1.3 bil people) so you can imagine how "great" our clothes look after six months all crunchy and gray. This is a con to apartment living in Ch!na, but the upside is you can buy fabric and have clothes tailor made for a pretty low cost.
I'm working again for Plaid at the Craft and Hobby Association convention doing the jewelry make and take. Yay!! I always wear Asian style clothing because I love the styles and cuts…or should I say silhouette like they do on Project Runway. This snazzy red and white fabric number will be transformed into something kimono-esque. I've got a whole stack of fabric to take to the tailor. It's sort of nerve racking because there is no guarantee that the fabric you love will look good in what you want to have made—this is something I take for granted when shopping for clothing back home. Thank you fashion designers! Boy, I've had some doozies over the last few years where the clothes just don't look right. The agony and excitement of scissors and beautiful fabric, I tell ya.
And then of course you need some jewelry to match. The fan necklace is one of the pieces I made to wear at the show in February featuring Plaid's new Connect line–glass links and beads in fabulous colors. You can pick your own links up at Michaels. I glued the silver fan to the square link and added a string of seed beads to tie it on at the top with nylon cord. The clasp is from Beadalon. I wear this piece all the time and get tons of compliments and it was SO EASY to make! Somehow that makes the compliments sweeter. Maybe I'll take a picture of all my fabric and show you some before and after shots…. that could be fun.
Tree-mendous Jewelry Holder…
You can probably imagine how many pieces of jewelry I own. It's a lot. You too? It oozes out of boxes and drawers, I tell ya. This is one of my storage solution pieces I keep on my night stand.
It's an ever-growing tree that blossoms rings, necklaces, bangles and more. Confession: I have 3. One is out in the living room with ornaments and things, the other one I inherited from my pal that moved and it holds my BIG rings collection. You can pick these dandy things up at Ikea for around $5 dollars I think.
This tree has a potpourri of pieces on it… I've been collecting jewelry ever since I was in middle school, digging through my grandma's attic and my mom's old stuff. Then there are a few pieces from my older sister from the 80s. Yesssss. But, what I wouldn't do for a slinky bracelet! Remember those? They weren't very durable, but they looked cool. There are also necklaces made by my friends on here. Anyway, it's another way to have keepsakes out, surrounding yourself with memories of those favorite people and times—-which I love…..
Burn Baby, Burn….
I've been meaning to show you this slick little Berzomatic pencil torch I got awhile back. I use it for soldering silver, copper and brass. Back home I use a Smith torch which uses acetylene and air. Over here I would have to buy an acetylene tank the size of the Empire State building and well, that doesn't really evoke a comfy settling feeling in my little studio—even if I drew a smiley face on the side of it. I was thrilled to find this option and it runs off propane-everyone loves a short stubby tank that you don't need to chain to the wall, right? If you live in the States, you can use those cute cannisters they sell for camping grills. The bonus is you can buy them almost anywhere (this is nice when you run out of gas Sunday afternoon and you're hot to finish your project). I think I paid around $40 (plus shipping) for the torch and then small cannisters are around $6 or $7 so it's pretty cost friendly.
It's great for small pieces and simple jobs like soldering an ear post. I have noticed for slightly bigger pieces like a brooch, I need to build up my fire bricks to make a little oven so the piece can stay hot, but that's no biggie. If you are thinking about soldering, try this torch. Accessible and small, I give it a 10.
Hi, I’m Candie. I design jewelry and crafts, author books, teach classes and host television programs. I thrive on simple ideas that anyone can achieve. I also love projects made from unexpected materials that stand the test of time. Join me as I lead a creative life! 
