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Crafts, beading, greeting cards, digital graphics, tutorials and more...
Monday, October 30, 2017
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Bracelet of the Day: For Your Eyes Only - Lavender & Jet
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Nickel Plated" (190)
- ZoliDuo beads "Jet"
- IrisDuo beads "Metallic Violet"
The metallic seed bead color that goes best with this colorway is silver. I only had Miyuki nickel plated seed beads in 15/0 and 11/0 so I tried substituting Toho's nickel plated seed beads for the 8/0 beads. Unfortunately, Toho beads don't work at all with this pattern because they're too big. Fortunately, Claire, from Supply Emporium, has the hard to find Miyuki 8/0 nickel beads in her Etsy shop so I was able to make today's bracelet once I got the beads. Supply Emporium has Miyuki nickel plated beads in 15/0, 11/0, 8/0 as well as 6/0. Clicking on each bead size will take you to its page in her Etsy shop. My blog readers can get 15% off any order over $30 using the coupon code "15BLOG".
Because the motifs are so large on this bracelet, you may need to be creative with the way you attach your clasp so make it fit. For my 6-inch wrist, I need six motifs and my bracelet will be a little too loose but still acceptable. The bracelet I'm blogging about today has seven motifs and it needed to fit an 8-inch wrist. Luckily I had this extra long toggle clasp which, along with extra jump rings, made the bracelet long enough. Seven motifs with an oval magnetic clasp and one jump ring on each end will exactly fit a 7 1/2-inch wrist. The seven motif bracelet that I blogged about HERE measures 8 inches long and fits a size 7 1/2-inch wrist perfectly with the clasp and jump rings that I used. Today's bracelet measures a little less than 9 inches and will just barely fit an 8-inch wrist size because of the longer clasp.
You can buy Akke Jonkhof's "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet pattern in her Etsy shop, HERE. Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos as well as IrisDuos. My blog readers get a 10% discount by using the code "Bead10".
Below is a small sample of another colorway that I've decided not to make into a bracelet:
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Lila Vega Luster"
- IrisDuo beads "White Teal Luster"
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Friday, October 27, 2017
Princess Earrings - Pink Coral Moon Dust
PRINCESS EARRINGS
- 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Metallic Chocolate" (461)
- 4mm bicones "Light Amethyst" (Chinese)
- 4mm fire polished beads "Pink Coral Moon Dust"
I made this pair of "Princess Earrings" to go with one of my favorite bracelets. I like the "Printemps Earrings" that I previously made to go with it, but I wanted some larger earrings in the same colorway. All three patterns that I used to make the set below are free ones.
Click HERE to download the free "Princess Earrings" pattern. Click HERE to download Deb Roberti's free "Bowtie Bracelet" pattern. Click HERE to download her free "Printemps Earrings" pattern.
I originally blogged about this "Bow Tie Bracelet" HERE and these "Printemps Earrings" HERE.
Unfortunately, these pretty fire polished beads have been discontinued. However, I found a few places online that still have some in stock:
Aura Crystals (1 left)
Lakikaisupply Etsy (7 left)
BeachCastleBeads Etsy (7 left)
lanabeads2 Etsy (1 left)
DrBead Etsy (9 left)
Simply Beads (15 left)
BobbiThisnThat Etsy (2 left)
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Bracelet of the Day: For Your Eyes Only - Mint & Aqua
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Light Pewter" (4221)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Light Pewter" (4221)
- ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Mint Luster"
- IrisDuo beads "Metallic Aqua"
I love this pretty colorway. This blue is a relatively new color and I'm starting to see more and more kinds of beads in this color. It's the same color as the 2-hole cabochons that I used to make the "Demoiselle" bracelet that I blogged about HERE. I also have SuperDuos in this color but I'm not sure if I've used them to make anything yet. The color also goes by the name "Satin Metallic Arctic Blue".
You can buy Akke Jonkhof's gorgeous "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet pattern in her Etsy shop, HERE. Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos as well as IrisDuos. My blog readers get a 10% discount by using the code "Bead10".
Baubles & Beads will close for good on November 1st. Between now and then, everything is 60% off.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Bracelet of the Day: For Your Eyes Only - Teal & Copper
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
- 11/0 Czech seed beads "Vintage Copper" (CZ01770)
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
- ZoliDuo beads "Pastel Petrol"
- IrisDuo beads "Vintage Copper"
I wanted to use these copper Czech seed beads because they perfectly match the color of the IrisDuos. However, I only have them in 11/0 so I used pewter 8/0 beads. I also used pewter 11/0 seed beads in the center of each motif so that there wouldn't be copper seed beads next to the copper IrisDuos.
You can buy Akke Jonkhof's gorgeous "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet pattern in her Etsy shop, HERE. Red Panda has the copper seed beads HERE.
Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos as well as IrisDuos. My blog readers get a 10% discount by using the code "Bead10".
Monday, October 23, 2017
Bracelet of the Day: For Your Eyes Only - Turquoise & Copper
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Duracoat Pewter" (4222)
- ZoliDuo beads "Turquoise Travertine"
- IrisDuo beads "Copper"
I now have ZoliDuo beads in a few more colors plus I have enough now to make a proper bracelet like I showed you in THIS post. It won't have a purple motif in the center like my sample bracelet. I made another "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet yesterday that I will show you as soon as I can take photos of it. My plan is to make three or four more colorways with this pattern and then I will need to focus on making some Christmas beadwork and other projects.
You can buy Akke Jonkhof's gorgeous "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet pattern in her Etsy shop, HERE.
Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos and IrisDuos. My blog readers get a 10% discount by using the code "Bead10".
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Friday, October 20, 2017
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Monday, October 16, 2017
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Buta Earrings - Lila Vega
BUTA EARRINGS
- 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
- ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Lila Vega"
- 3mm druks "Opaque Amethyst Luster"
- 4mm fire polished beads "Opaque Amethyst Luster"
- 3mm bicones "Purple AB" (China)
These are the pretty earrings that I mentioned HERE in yesterday's post. I found a way to make them come out flat by using 15/0 seed beads instead of 11/0 beads on either side of the 4mm fire polished beads. You might not need to do that though. It will depend on the sizes of the beads that you use. I haven't tried to make these with Toho seed beads but I think they might cause warping problems and I know that Sam uses Miyuki beads.
One other thing that I changed was that I used bicones in a different size than called for. They don't really have an effect on how the beads fit together though because of the way they sit between the ZoliDuos. I tried 4mm bicones but they looked too bulky in the space. Having said that, Swarovski 4mm bicones might fit fine and 3mm Swarovski bicones might actually be too small. I used Chinese crystals which tend to be larger. In any case, the ones I used fit perfectly and I like how they look.
You can buy Sam Wescott's "Buta Bracelet & Earrings" pattern in her Etsy shop HERE. If you're wondering how Sam came up with the pattern's name, she explains it HERE on her blog. Or, do a quick Google image search for "buta" and you'll instantly understand why she chose the name.
Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos and everything in the shop is on sale through Wednesday, October 18th. Also, with the coupon code "Bead10" my blog readers get an additional 10% off.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Playing with my beads...ZoliDuo beads
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY BRACELET
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Dark Bronze" (457)
- ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Blue Luster"
- ZoliDuo beads "Alabaster Lila Vega"
- IrisDuo beads "White Lila Vega Luster"
I saw Akke Jonkhof's gorgeous "For Your Eyes Only" bracelet pattern in her Etsy shop, HERE, and decided to give it a try. Although this looks like a complete bracelet, it came out horribly warped so I have taken it apart. I should mention that I wasn't actually following the pattern even though my bracelet does look pretty much like Akke's photos. I didn't connect the motifs the same way she did with hers. My motifs were so wonky that I just did the quickest thing I could think of to connect them so that I could take some photos.
You see, I wasn't really keen on the new ZoliDuo beads until I saw Akke's pattern and another one that I thought were pretty enough to tempt me to give them a try. The other pattern that caught my eye is a bracelet and earrings pattern by Sam Wescott which you can see in her Etsy shop HERE. I have Sam's pattern but I'm having some trouble getting my earrings to lay flat. I will blog about them as soon as I have some completed earrings to take photos of.
ZoliDuos are funny beads to work with because they come in left and right facing beads. Sam gave me a tip for remembering which is which. When they are right side up (they are flat on the back and rounded on the front), with the bulgy end at the bottom and the skinny end at the top, a left-facing bead will look kind of like the letter "L", so think "L" for "Left". The right-facing beads form a backward "L".
I don't have a lot of experience with them yet but my impression is that they can be fussy to work with in relation to other types of beads. After I took apart my first bracelet attempt, I decided to try a completely different thread path. This time I was successful but it resulted in a smaller bracelet and I don't have enough ZoliDuos to make one that is long enough to fit me. That's why both of my examples have a purple motif in the center. I only bought 20 left and right ZoliDuos in each color. That would have been exactly enough for a five motif bracelet except that I got a broken bead which left me short by one. The moral of that story is to make sure that you buy more beads than you'll need for your project in case of broken beads or plugged up holes.
Below are a couple of photos of the sample bracelet that came out flat instead of warped. I also connected the motifs the way that Akke did hers. The only thing that I changed from Akke's pattern was to add seed beads between the IrisDuos to cover the thread. I didn't bother to attach a clasp because it's too short to go around my wrist.
Queen City Bead on Etsy has ZoliDuos as well as IrisDuos and everything in the shop is on sale through Wednesday, October 18th. Also, with the coupon code "Bead10" my blog readers get an additional 10% off.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Bracelet of the Day: Mini Bridges - Ruby Luster
MINI BRIDGES BRACELET
- 15/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- 11/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- 8/0 seed beads Miyuki "Light Bronze" (457L)
- Mini Silky beads "Chalk Red Luster"
- 2mm Czech pearls "Antique Ivory"
- MiniDuo beads "Ruby Luster"
In THIS post on Tuesday, I showed you some "Mini Bridges Bracelet" samples including two in this colorway. I did make some changes when I made today's bracelet. I switched from Toho seed beads to Miyuki beads and I made a small tweak to the pattern instructions so that I could do so. In the steps where you are told to pick up two 15/0 seed beads near the Mini Silky beads, I picked up three beads. Later, when adding the MiniDuos, I went through the middle bead in each trio of seed beads. Doing this created a little more space between the pearls and the Silky beads. It also allowed me to use 11/0 seed beads between the motifs even though the Miyuki seed beads are so much smaller than the recommended Toho beads.
Because you'll be using lots of tiny 2mm beads and 15/0 seed beads to make this bracelet, make sure that you use either 6 pound Fireline or Nymo B thread. You'll also need to use a size 12 beading needle. Even though I did this, I had to start over once while making this bracelet because one of the tiny pearls exploded when I tried to get my needle through it. I rarely have an issue with beads breaking so it took me by surprise when it happened.
You can buy Claire's "Mini Bridges Bracelet" HERE. When you buy this pattern, you'll also get a copy of her regular "Bridges Bracelet" pattern.
Baubles & Beads
The owners of Baubles & Beads are retiring and they're in the process of selling out their stock of beads and supplies. Everything is 50% off so click HERE for some great deals.
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