Dark Twist November 24, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, jewellery, necklaces.Tags: gothic, jewellery, necklace, beads, peyote, pendant, seed beads, beadweaving
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Here’s a little something I made for myself. Although I don’t think ‘little’ is the right word to describe it, this is quite a chunky piece! The original project was designed by Cindy Cohn and can be found in Jewelry Designs with Art Glass Beads, a one-off magazine from the makers of Bead & Button.
For my version I’ve replaced the art glass bead with a lava bead lentil and used my favourite black & grey colour scheme for the Cellini spiral. I finished it off with lengths of faux suede thonging and black chain. I tried to inject lots of different textures and bead finishes into this piece and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I’m going to enjoy wearing this : )
Here’s something to cheer you… November 15, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, tutorial.Tags: Swarovski, beads, crystals, bookmark, silver, peyote, book thong, seed beads, beadweaving
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…on this grey wet weekend. These book thongs were for a commission and I had so much fun making them, it was great to just lay out loads of bright funky colours and go wild! Don’t forget, you can make your own beads just like these using my tutorial ; )
Free Tutorial – Vintage Lace Choker October 21, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, jewellery, necklaces, tutorial.Tags: beads, beadweaving, seed beads, tutorial
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Last week I posted some photos of my Vintage Lace choker and I’m pleased to say that I’ve just finished the tutorial! You can find it on my website’s Beads & Tutorials page.
Vintage Lace October 15, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, jewellery, necklaces.Tags: beads, beadweaving, flowers, jewellery, necklace, peyote, seed beads
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Here’s a little something that I made yesterday. I wanted to make a choker that had a kind of lacy ribbon feel so I used a combination of size 11 and size 8 cream seed beads in what I guess is a kind of right angle weave (I made the stitch up as I went but it’s so simple and I’m sure it’s been done 1000 times before!).
I designed the rosette using peyote stitch for the centre and then added petals in a beautiful turquoise, then anchored it to the choker by a glass pearl. Finally I made a fringe using the same seed beads and pearls. The fringe hangs straight and not wavy as in the photo!
I’m very happy with how this turned out, and it’ll be available in my Etsy shop very soon. I’m thinking of making a free tutorial for this design so watch this space : )
Confiscated! October 10, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, challenges, earrings, jewellery.Tags: beads, beadweaving, challenge, earrings, jewellery, peyote, seed beads
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I made these earrings for one of the reader’s challenges in Bead magazine, where the theme is Outrageous Earrings. The name of the theme made me think of the collection of unusual earrings I had in the early 80’s, including minature globes, tiny Rubiks cubes and even plastic toilets! I remember wearing a pair of big white plastic triangles to school one day but the teacher quickly confiscated them : (
So as a tribute to my rebellious old earrings I decided to make something similar with seed beads. This is my first time peyote-ing triangle shapes and after several attempts I found that the trangle was still too small so I stitched together the three sizes I had made. Not quite the same as the original earrings but I love ‘em all the same. I hope you do too!
Another new tutorial! October 2, 2009
Posted by thecrimsonmoon in beads, jewellery, necklaces, tutorial.Tags: bead embroidery, beads, beadweaving, Etsy, jewellery, seed beads, tutorial
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I’ve finally got the tutorial for my Black Eyed Susan pendant finished! I’ve been working on it for a while now but in the end I wasn’t happy with the step-by-step photos I’d taken, so I decided to redo them all. This project is a mixture of bead embroidery and beadweaving, using seed beads and a cabochon or button. All simple techniques and suitable for beginners and advanced beaders alike. As you can see from the photo, you’re not limited to making Black Eyed Susan’s either, with a change of colour you can make any of the flowers in the daisy-like family. You can find the tutorial in my Etsy shop and in the Beads & Tutorials section on my website : )
