Tabla de contenidos para April 2018 en Bead&Button

FIND THE BEAD STRAND Join the fun! Find the hidden picture of a bead strand (exactly like the one at right) and email me by May 5 with the page number the strand is on (put “Find the Bead Strand” in the subject line). We’ll pick a name at random the following week to win a copy of Sherry Serafini’s new book, Inspired Bead Emroidery. Good luck! Congratulations to Susan Farbstein of Flossmoor, IL, who found the strand on p. 85 of the December issue! April 22 is Earth Day which got me thinking about the carbon footprint of beading. I’m not sure how it could be calculated, as we use so many different tools and types of beads. But a quick internet search on the topic suggests that since…

CRYSTAL RECOGNITION Swarovski plays with our perceptions as they present their new Light and Shadow Collection. New shapes include the entrancing Eye Fancy Stone and twinkling Starbloom Fancy Stone (left). The “Growing Crystals” collection breaks new ground with precision cutting that resembles a mid-metamorphosis crystal (above). New to the color family are scarlet and crystal velvet brown. Plus, you'll see more new shimmer effects colors, including erinite shimmer (lower right). Find them at a bead store near you. CZECH, 1, 2, CZECH New colors inspired by artisans — Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh — are hitting the shelves at bead stores near you, including 4 mm wide-cap mushroom buttons (also in 7 mm and 9 x 8 mm), 3 x 6 mm 2-hole bricks, 3-cut 60 seed beads, and 4…

We invite you to participate in our monthly design challenge! Create or share an original design that fits the monthly theme. If your piece is chosen as a winner, it may be featured here in the magazine as well as on our website, FacetJewelry.com. March, 2018: IT’S SO EASY BEING GREEN We don’t wish to contradict the sage wisdom of a certain frog, but when it comes to making jewelry in March, there’s only one color that comes to mind. It’s the color of patina on copper, a crocus peeking through the last winters’ snow, or a shamrock in a buttonhole. Pick your shade: sage, emerald, moss, bottle, pea, olive, sea, blueish, or apple! Show us your favorite for the March 2018 Facet Design Challenge: GREEN! April, 2018: ULTRA VIOLET…

bead embroidery Internationally known instructor and artist Sherry Serafini offers 15 + new and innovative designs in her latest book, Inspired Bead Embroidery. Through a variety of fabulous projects, beaders will expand their knowledge and techniques with Sherry’s help. Available at JewelryandBeadingStore.com. Supplies • Any leftover beads you want to use • ½" (1.3cm) round cotton cording • ½–1" (1.3–2.5cm) felt ball • Batik ribbon or strips of lightweight fabric • Fibers or yarns • Size 11 or 12 beading needle • Fireline, 6-lb. test, in smoke • Double-sided tape • Small, sharp scissors • Fabric tape (in a pinch, Scotch tape will do) Make the Bangle 1. Wrap the cotton cording around your wrist to decide how you want your bangle cuff to fit. Keep in mind, it has…

bead weaving How to pick up the Kheops beads: The side with two holes will be the base. Sew through the Kheops entering from a base hole (BH) or from a side hole (SH), per the instructions. BASE 1) On a comfortable length of thread, attach a stop bead, leaving a 12-in. (30 cm) tail. Pick up a Kheops bead (SH), a color C 11° seed bead, a color D 11° seed bead, and a C, and sew through the open hole (BH) of the Kheops (figure 1, a–b). Pick up a color A Honeycomb bead, two color B Honeycomb beads, an A, a Kheops (SH), a C, a D, and a C, and sew through the open hole of the same Kheops (BH) (b–c). 2) Pick up an A,…

loom weaving Customize it The following instructions are for the teal bracelet (front). Modify as desired, or try these examples: WARP THE LOOM 1) If using the Little Ricky Loom, set the headstock of the loom in the very last set of holes, as far from the base as possible. If using the regular Ricks Loom, position the tailstock so the space between the warp rods is about 1 in. (2.5 cm) longer than the desired weaving length. For either loom type, make sure the warp rods are secured with stoppers. sizing note The finished bracelet will be the length of the weaving plus the length of the clasp. The clasp shown is just under 1 in. (2.5 cm), so for a 71⁄2 –in. (19.1 cm) bracelet, the weaving should…

Q If I want to shorten (or lengthen) a beaded braid pattern, how can I determine the number of beads I need to string? A Not all beads are the same size and there are many different types of projects so there is not a simple answer to this question. However, here are my simple guidelines for three of the most common types of projects. BEADS ARE ALL THE SAME SIZE When an eight-strand braid uses beads that are all the same size, it is easy to calculate the finished braid length. Here are some simple guidelines. The general rule for seed beads is that the number of beads per inch is one bead less than the bead size. For other beads not listed below, it is best to make…

EXQUISITE STITCHING WITH MULTI-HOLE BEADS by Renee Kovnesky Renee Kovnesky offers 25 stitching projects to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and pendants. The book opens with an introduction to materials and techniques that allows beaders — both beginner and intermediate — to get stitching quickly. The stepby- step instructions and illustrations are straight forward and easy to understand. Plus, many projects include variations, offering readers plenty of options for changing the look of the finished piece. This is a great gift idea for friends just starting out in beading. Kalmbach Books ISBN: 978-1627004336 JewelryandBeadingStore.com INSPIRED BEAD EMBROIDERY: NEW JEWELRY DESIGNS by Sherry Serafini We love Sherry Serafini, and so do the rock stars Lenny Kravitz, Steven Tyler, and Melissa Etheridge, all who have worn her beadwork. If you’re a Serafini fan,…

For a fun mixed-media look, try wine corks! For a simple and straightforward approach, drill a hole through the cork vertically and string it on wire to make a pendant (dangle a few beads or charms off the bottom for extra pizzazz). Or, cut a cork into slices for earrings, pendants, or components. Use wood-burning tools, rubber stamps, or acrylic paint to decorate them, and finish with an acrylic sealant. Pierce the disks as needed to use them as you would a charm or bead. Ribbon can be used in all sorts of ways to make jewelry. See our excerpt from Sherry Serafini’s newest book (p. 24) for a fun way to pair fiber and beads. Do you love Minions, Legos, or Pokemon? It’s easy to turn small toys into…

loomwork / wire COILED WIRE PENDANT BAIL 1) Wrap the 16-gauge wire around the dowel 26 times (photo a). Note: the size of the dowel is a matter of personal taste but your leather must be able to slide through it. 2) Slide the coil off the dowel, and use wire cutters to trim each end of the wire, making sure to cut both ends on the same side of the coil. File the ends so they are smooth. If desired, patinate the coil with liver of sulfur, following the manufacturer’s instructions. PREPARE THE LOOM 1) Cut the leather to your desired length, keeping in mind the length of the clasp and findings. String the leather through the coil, and tie the ends together in a loose knot. Drape the…

“Humanity can live without science, it can live without bread, but it cannot live without beauty. Here the secret lies.”– Fyodor Dostoevsky Tatiana Fitzpatrick believes, as her favorite 19thcentury Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky did, that “Beauty will save the world.” “This is why I started making bead art more than 15 years ago and have made it my life’s passion,” says Tatiana, 39, who is Russia-born but now lives in Arizona. “There are so many problems facing the world today, from ecological devastation to behavioral depravity to ethical immorality. Almost all of my art is focused on highlighting the problems through my expressions of beauty in beaded art.” Her “The Beauty in the Bees” necklace was designed to highlight and honor what Tatiana describes as “one of the most important…

bead weaving How to pick up Arcos beads: Sew through the center and end holes, entering from the inside edge (IE) or the outside edge (OE) as directed. Check that all holes in the two- and three-hole beads are open before starting to bead. 1) On 1 yd. (.9 m) of thread, pick up a repeating pattern of a Minos and a SuperDuo three times, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Sew through the beads again, and tie them into a ring with a square knot. Sew through the same hole of the first SuperDuo added, and continue through the open hole of the same SuperDuo (figure 1, a–b). 2) Pick up a 15° seed bead, an Arcos (OE, end hole), and sew through the next Minos and the open…

bead weaving The GemDuos are beveled on the top and flat on the bottom. With the top of the GemDuo facing up, sew through the top hole (TH) or the bottom hole (BH), entering from the left or right side, per the instructions. note For the mauve bracelet, the designer flipped the GemDuos to have the flat side facing up to show off the shiny underside. The other bracelets are stitched with top of the GemDuos facing up. BASE 1) On a comfortable length of thread, pick up 12 color A 11° seed beads, and sew through the beads again to form a ring, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Continue through the first eight As. note The holes of 11° seed beads can vary slightly between manufacturers and coatings.…

CONNECTICUT STATE BUTTON SOCIETY ANNUAL AUCTION With their 70th anniversary just completed in 2017, the Connecticut State Button Society is holding their annual button auction this spring. What treasures will you find? Plainville, CT; March 17, 2018 connecticutstatebuttonsociety.org COLORADO STATE BUTTON SOCIETY ANNUAL BUTTON SHOW AND SALE CSBS is celebrating 50 Years: 1968–2018! Check out this year’s event, appropriately themed “Westward Button Trails.” Denver, CO; April 6–8, 2018 coloradobuttons.com NEW YORK STATE BUTTON SOCIETY Help the society celebrate their 75th birthday! Binghamton, NY; April 27–29, 2018 nystatebuttonsociety.org To see if there's a button society in your region, visit nationalbuttonsociety.org. No local club in your area? There's a large online organ– ization called “Buttonbytes” that's free and open to anyone interested in the hobby.…

You’re probably aware that a carat — not carrot — is a unit used to measure the weight of a precious stone. “Carat” is derived from “carob.” The carob tree produces seeds that are uniquely uniform in size and weight, which made it useful for olden-time traders when weighing gemstones on scales. One carat is equal to 0.2 g; five carats equals 1 g. Ever wonder how to submit a project? Do you have an original project to share? A great twist on an old stitch? Maybe a new kumi combination? We accept proposals for beaded projects, articles about artists, helpful beading tips, and more. Go to FacetJewelry.com/magazine/bead-button and click on “Submission Guidelines” in the purple rectangle. It's a great way to gain exposure for your beadwork.…

tourmaline is a complex group of minerals with some very unique properties. It’s also a gorgeous, sparkly gem that comes in every color under the sun, sometimes more than one in the same stone. High quality material can be found in North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. But 95 percent of all tourmaline worldwide occurs as the black, opaque mineral known as schorl. MISTAKEN IDENTITY Legend has it that tourmaline crystals were considered to have magical and even demon-repelling powers, and have therefore been treasured since ancient times by witches and shamans. However, early use of tourmaline is difficult to authenticate, since people generally misidentified it as whatever more famous gem it resembled. Schorl was lumped in with every other black stone. The green material, widely recognized today,…

tubular peyote / bead weaving How to pick up Nib-Bit beads: With the wider flat bottom base nearest to you, sew through the top hole (TH) or the bottom hole (BH) per the instructions. COMPONENTS 1) On 4 ft. (1.2 m) of thread, pick up 20 color A 11° seed beads, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Sew through the beads again to form a ring (not shown in the figure for clarity), and continue through the first A (figure 1, a–b). 2) Working in tubular peyote, work 10 stitches using As, and step up through the first A added (b–c). 3) Work a round using color B 11° seed beads, and step up through the first B added (c–d). 4) Work a round using 15° seed beads. Place a…

right-angle weave / netting PREPARE THE EGG The wooden eggs come painted white. If you want a different color for the base of your egg, paint it with acrylic paint. Use thin coats of paint, allowing it to dry after each layer. CROWN 1) On 2 yd. (1.8 m) of thread, pick up 12 color A 15° seed beads. Leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail, tie the beads into a ring with a square knot, and sew through the first few beads. 2) Pick up an A, a color B 15° seed bead, and an A. Skip the next 15° in the ring, and sew through the following one (figure 1, a–b). Repeat this stitch five times to complete the round, and step up to exit the first B added…

tubular peyote / bead weaving FLOWER 1) On 2 ft. (61 cm) of thread, pick up a color A 3 mm melon bead and six color C 15° seed beads, leaving a 6-in. (15 cm) tail. Sew through the A melon again in the same direction to form a loop around one side of the A melon bead (figure 1, a–b). Pick up six Cs, and sew through the A melon again to form a loop on the other side (b–c). Sew through all the Cs again to tighten, and continue through the next two Cs (c–d). 2) Working in tubular peyote stitch, work two rounds using Cs, stepping up after each round (figure 2). 3) Pick up an A melon, and sew through the opposite C in the last…

THREAD AND KNOTS CONDITIONING THREAD Use wax (beeswax or microcrystalline wax) or a thread conditioner (like Thread Magic) to condition nylon beading thread and Fireline. Wax smooths nylon fibers and adds tackiness that will stiffen your beadwork slightly. Conditioners add a static charge that causes the thread to repel itself, so don’t use it with doubled thread. All conditioners help thread resist wear. To condition, stretch nylon thread to remove the curl (you don’t need to stretch Fireline). Place the thread or Fireline on top of the conditioner, hold it in place with your thumb or finger, and pull the thread through the conditioner. ENDING AND ADDING THREAD To end a thread, sew back through the last few rows or rounds of beadwork, following the thread path of the stitch…