Jewelry & Beading

May 26th, 2008

Do you want to design for yourself? Materials

Materials: Building a palette
I usually like to build my working palette and choose my materials after I’ve decided upon focal point, theme, and color, but it can be fun to try it the other way around. Some designers like to use this method most of the time, sorting through their beads and treasures, and letting […]

By Cyndi -- 2 comments

May 23rd, 2008

Beading tutorials by Ruby Fischer

Ruby Fischer’s beaded bracelet
Ruby is a friend of mine from About.com’s Jewelry Making Forum. She’s an extremely talented and giving bead artist, who has compiled a wonderful set of tutorials that are available on her website, Ruby’s Jewelry Design. You can also find information on Ruby’s book on her website, and a link […]

By Cyndi -- 2 comments

May 20th, 2008

Creating and selling your own jewelry tutorials

Technique Tuesday!

Have you ever thought about selling your designs? Not the finished product, but the designs themselves? Here’s how Christina Ritchey decided to go about it:
Creating and selling jewelry tutorials
Tags: design, designing, jewelry business, tutorials, Wearable ArtShare This

By Cyndi -- 0 comments

May 19th, 2008

Do you want to design for yourself? Color scheme

Color Scheme: So many colors, so little time
Color is one of the basic elements of design, and many designers start off with just knowing that they want to make something purple. Or green. Or green and gold. Choosing your color scheme first is a perfectly natural pathway into designing. You might find that making your […]

By Cyndi -- 2 comments

May 15th, 2008

Soda can tag pendants

Art Attack Thursday!

Altered Angel shared these wonderfully fun little tag pendants that she made from various soda cans! She graciously added a tutorial that you’ll have to go to page 3 of the comments to find :-)
Can’t you just think of a million uses for these beyond simple tags? Go leave her a nice comment […]

By Cyndi -- 5 comments

May 13th, 2008

Turning a geode into a beaded pendant

Technique Tuesday!

On a trip to Arizona, I found some small cut geodes in a gift shop and promptly bought ten, having no clear idea what I was planning to do with them. Looking at them later, I decided to make a freeform beaded setting, which would cover the less-attractive back and leave the cut and […]

By Cyndi -- 8 comments

May 12th, 2008

Do you want to design for yourself? Theme

Theme: Your guiding concept
Suppose that you have an idea or a concept that won’t leave you alone…you just must design something with that theme in mind, but you can’t find the notion of theme on your list of design elements and principles? Never fear, theme is a wonderful potential pathway into designing. Many many of […]

By Cyndi -- 2 comments

May 6th, 2008

The versatile spiral stitch

Technique Tuesday!

There are so many wonderful things that you can do with a basic spiral stitch. If you’ve never tried it before, start with the basic steps that I’ve illustrated below. After you have gotten the rhythm, let your imagination go wild!
Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5
Repeat from Step 2
Tags: Beading, beads, tutorialsShare This

By Cyndi -- 2 comments

May 5th, 2008

Do you want to design for yourself? Focal Point

Focal Point…show me where to look!

Just as it does in a painting, the focal point in a wonderful piece of jewelry captures your gaze and directs your eye where to settle. Additional focal points can create a sense of movement by guiding your eye around a piece. Having a strong focal point can create a […]

By Cyndi -- 1 comment

May 5th, 2008

Do you want to design for yourself?

Make Art Monday: A new series on design!

Learning the basics of beading and jewelry making by following how-to instructions is a good way to develop a repertoire of techniques. But sooner or later, the day comes when you find yourself wondering if it would be ok to modify that pattern just a bit. As you […]

By Cyndi -- 3 comments