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It's fire season at my home in northern California --
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time to keep alert and stick close to the house. I've been taking pictures and picking a lot of cherries. The photo above is of a few of my favorite things from my yard: cherries and honeysuckle. These little fruits look a lot like a big bucket of shiny beads, inspiring me to check the studio for big, dark red beads. Here's to finding some inspiration close to home!
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Beading Big
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| Rainbow front. Photo courtesy of Suzann Wilson |
Beads might be small, but the strength and generosity of bead people is often bigger than life. Suzann Wilson's project for Rainbow Hospice (RainbowHospice.org) is a perfect model for big dreams. When I met Suzann at a show in June, her giving spirit and personal strength came across immediately. She had just finished this giant project, and was still riding the high that comes from accomplishing a sizable, charitable goal.
PCM Expo/The Original Creative Expo
Reno, Nev.
August 14, 15, 16, 2008
pcmexpo.com
Pasadena Bead and Design Show
Pasadena Hilton, Pasadena, Calif.
August 14 to 17, 2008
beadanddesign.com
Gem Miner's Jubilee
Lebanon Expo Center, Lebanon, Pa.
August 15 to 17, 2008
gem-show.com
Suburban Bead Encounter
Holiday Inn Select, Naperville, Ill.
September 7, 2008
Suburban Bead Encounter
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Tell over 75,000 readers where and when to come to your bead show! Contact Jan Clemmons at 770-438-1703.
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The project, a 3 1/2 x 7 x 2-foot beaded fiberglass rainbow, is a visual reminder for individuals who have experienced loss. "The Promise of Park Ridge" is using rainbows, a classic symbol of hope, in a quest to raise funds for the hospice's Camp Good Mourning program. Camp Good Mourning helps children who have lost a parent or sibling to long-term illness. Suzann contributed her time in remembrance of her aunt and in support of her friend Debbie's fight against cancer.
Suzann received a great deal of volunteer help from family and friends, keeping with the spirit of the project itself. She covered the entire rainbow with beads between April and June, despite cool temperatures and a need for more glue! The completed rainbow was positioned in front of the Park Ridge Public Library where it will remain for eight weeks.
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| Rainbow back, with Suzann's logo at the top center. Photo courtesy of Suzann Wilson |
Visit Suzann's blog (SuzannWilson.blogspot.com) to see photos of the rainbow in progress and read her story. Suzann's beautiful necklace The Desert and the Ocean is featured on page 62 of June's Simply Beads magazine. Her design, the Little Black Dress Choker, can be found in the August issue on page 68. Congratulations to Suzann for creating a little extra hope with a lot of beads!
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 Blue Lotus
Designs By Diane Hawkey
Shades of aqua and azure give an exotic feel to the handmade lotus beads in this heavenly set.
Materials
- Ceramic beads: 1 (1-inch) bird, 1 (1 3/8-inch) lotus, 2 (3/4-inch) lotuses
- 1 1/0 aqua seed beads
- 6 (6mm) crystal AB Swarovski bicone beads
- 4 (8 x 5mm) rose quartz faceted rondelle beads
- 4 (10 x 14mm) purple/green swirl candy jade faceted pillow beads
- Hill Tribes silver flower charms: 1 (5mm), 2 (4mm)
- Silver eye pins: 2 (1 1/2-inch), 1 (2-inch)
- 8 (1.3mm) silver crimp beads
- 2 silver ear wires
- 10mm Hill Tribe silver toggle clasp
- 4 (22-inch) lengths .015-inch-diameter nylon-coated flexible beading wire
- Round-nose pliers
- Crimp pliers
- Wire nippers
Finished Size
Necklace
19 1/2 inches (including clasp)
Earrings
1 3/4 inches long
Necklace |
| 1) |
String a crimp bead on one 22-inch wire 1/2 inch from one end; place short wire end through one half of clasp and back through crimp bead. Use crimp pliers to flatten the crimp bead. |
| 2) |
String 18 1/2 inches of seed beads. |
| 3) |
String a crimp bead; place wire end through remaining half of clasp and back through crimp bead. Gently pull wire to tighten; flatten the crimp bead. Trim excess wire. |
| 4) |
Repeat steps 1 - 3. Repeat steps 1 - 3 again, only string 18 3/4 inches of seed beads instead of 18 1/2. |
| 5) |
Repeat step 1. String 38 seed beads, crystal AB bicone bead, 36 seed beads, candy jade bead, 18 seed beads, crystal AB bicone bead, 17 seed beads, rose quartz rondelle, 25 seed beads and a candy jade bead. |
| 6) |
String 27 seed beads. Repeat beading sequence in step 5, only in reverse. Repeat step 3. |
| 7) |
Open loop on 2-inch eye pin; slide on 5mm silver charm. Close loop. Slide 1 3/8-inch lotus bead and bird bead on eye pin; use round-nose pliers to form a large loop above bird bead. Trim excess wire. Open loop and attach to center of beaded strands. |
Earrings
| 1) |
Open loop on 1 1/2-inch eye pin and slide on 4mm silver charm; close loop. Slide 3/4-inch lotus bead, rose quartz rondelle and crystal AB bicone bead on eye pin. Form a loop above top bead; trim excess wire. Repeat once. |
| 2) |
Open loops on ear wires and attach beaded eye pins; close loops. |
Sources: Ceramic beads from Diane Hawkey; Hill Tribes clasp and charms from Asia Charisma; candy jade pillow beads from ZNETSHOWS Inc.; seed beads from Osiris Beads; rose quartz rondelles, Swarovski crystal beads, ear wires, eye pins and beading wire from Rings & Things.
Copyright © August 2007 Simply Beads magazine. All rights reserved. Back to top.
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Good Tools
I'm a big fan of Alton Brown's Good Eats on Food Network, and I always learn a great deal watching his very scientific cooking show. He is a big fan of tools that can multi-task. One of my favorite multi-tasking jewelry tools is a Fiskars® Craft Hand Drill. I use it to drill metal sheet, form long wire coils, twist wire, wind jump rings and install a new paper-towel holder under the kitchen cabinet. This inexpensive and easy-to-use tool requires no electricity, so you don't even need an outlet, and it can hold very small drill bits used for jewelry making.
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Helping Beads
Every beader can find a way to help their community. I worked for Habitat for Humanity to build housing for low-income families during one summer back in the 90s. I wasn't very skilled or confident with the tools of the trade, so I ended up helping by producing a brochure and getting the printing costs donated. We all have our talents! Making and donating jewelry would be another great way to use your talent to help others.
Every year I donate several pieces of finished jewelry to a community auction for a local high school and an auction for breast cancer research. Your local animal shelter, youth center, church, hospital, school or fireman's fund usually host auctions, events and fundraisers. Check the local paper, Internet or follow your heart to a cause that personally motivates you.
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