Bead Table Wednesday - Painting Chain and Beaded Clusters

In today's video I share how to alter chain with Vintaj Patina paints. With a few tricks you can quickly transform a plain chain with a pop of color. The second half of the video is demostration on how to embellish chain with wire and keishe pearls.

Video Resources:

Vintaj

Nunn Designs

Lima Beads

Bead Cruise

Current Monthly Challenge

Muffin Tin Challenge

Humblebeads Vip Party Group

Supplies Used for Chain:

Vintaj Patina Paints

Nunn Designs Round Chain in Antique Silver

Liver of Sulfur Extended Life Gel

400 grit wet/dry automative sandpaper

Beaded Clusters:

Keishe Pearls (Rings & Things) 

5mm oval copper chain (soldered rings)

26 gauge brass colored wire

Birds and disk beads: Humblebeads

Patina Ideas

The other day I ran across this formula for creating patina on copper sheets with Miracle-Gro and vinegar and thought it would be worth a try. Hint - it has to be the Miracle-Gro water soluble azalea, camellia and rhododendrons plant food. You can read the directions here from Home Depot. 

I would use copper sheets from a jewelry supply shop, Ace Hardware or Hobby Lobby - they don't have a coat and you'd like to use thicker .016 copper sheets for most jewelry projects. 

(Photo credit: Home Depot)

This is a super fun idea from Rena Klingenberg using a Sharpie as a resist for patina - so many possibilities! Check it out here. 

(Photo credit: Rena Klingenberg)

You can totally fake a patina with Vintaj's Patina paints. Check out the video on Lima Beads here. 

(Photo credit: Lima Beads)

Another favorite of mine is Swellegant patina paints. I wrote a review with lots of tips a few years ago. Visit my blog for the article here. This is great for updating inexpensive pewter or brass components.

Have fun exploring coloring metal with these simple techniques! And if you try out that Miracle-Gro formula let me know - I'd love to see the results.

Learn To Make Leather Links For Jewelry

 Leather Infinity Links Video Workshop

by Tracy Statler

Leather in accessories is hot, hot, hot! I think I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. If you want to make chic jewelry that's in demand now, consider incorporating some leather into your designs. Leather is a wonderful material to work with and pair with your art beads. It adds lots of texture and interest to your jewelry. My stylish friend and book contributor, Tracy Statler is currently offering a video tutorial on how to make these fun leather infinity links. These components are a versatile way to add leather to your jewelry. Incorporate them into bracelets, necklaces and even earrings.

In this video tutorial, Tracy takes you step-by-step through the process of creating her innovative beaded leather infinity links. She also provides you with a handy supply list and helpful tips and tricks to make creating these cool components much easier.  Tracy is available for questions and support, if you need help. She does allow designers to sell jewelry that is created from her tutorial, which in my book is a huge plus and very generous! There's even an option to pin and share your designs on a Pinterest gallery board that Tracy has created specially for those that purchase her tutorial. That's a great way to connect, share and promote your jewelry!

Click Here To Purchase

You can purchase Tracy's video tutorial through her blog, Make Bracelets! I highly recommend that you check it out.

Oh, and as if you needed any more eye candy or convincing, below are more examples of Tracy's work showing the versatility of her leather technique. If there are any jewelry designers to keep your eye on, it's this girl. She's a phenomenal, high-quality designer that enjoys sharing professional tips and tricks, knowledge and supply resources, teaching and writing jewelry-making tutorials and how-tos. What more could you possibly ask for? Do your-jewelry-making-self good and join her on her blog here.

I hope you enjoy her inspiration. I know I do!

Bracelet by Tracy Statler

Tracy Statler Designs

Erin Siegel is a jewelry designer, beading instructor and co-author of the jewelry book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry: 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbon and Cords. To find out more, visit her blog: Erin Siegel Jewelry.  

Vintaj Patinas

The new Vintaj Patinas for metal have been on my radar for a while.  I was able to try out the new metallic colors and glaze at CHA this year and they offer some fun ways to alter metal.  I was totally inspired this morning by a photo of leaves and wanted to work up something that captured the colors of the autumn leaves.  I knew it time to pull out my collection of patinas and paint up some metal. 

What I love about the patinas is how easy they are to apply and their instant gratification.  Just put a little dot on plate and them brush it onto your metal.  That's it.  Done and over.  You can layer on other colors or mix the colors like paint on your palette.  No chemicals are needed, no sealers.  That's my kind of color system!

For the project above I used the opaque colors of amethyst, ruby, ochre and rust.  There is a whole rainbow of colors available including the new metallics.  Now why is the Renaissance wax peaking out of the corner there? 
 

Well, let me tell you - the patinas can be shiny when they are a solid color.  I didn't want to buff them to make the metal show, I liked the opaque, saturated color.  So I pulled out the wax and dabbed on a light layer changing the patina to a matte finish.  Ah yes, much more my style. 

When opaque the patinas almost remind me of enamel.  Use can use the glaze for different wash effects.  They can be used as a faux natural patina on metal or go crazy painting up your metal in fantasy colors.  

Metal leaves from Vintaj.  Disk beads and polymer leaves from Humblebeads. 

Check out Lorelei Eurto's results from last week.  I love how she did the patina on the chain.  So many possibilities, so little time.

Studio Saturday with Erin Siegel

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard.
The following week we choose a random winner.

This week's winner is Erin S.! Congratulations! You have won a Time Flies Pendant from Gaea! Send Gaea an email with your address and she will get your prize out to you soon!

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This week we visit the studio of

Erin Siegel of Erin Siegel Jewelry

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 My Bead Fest 2012 Instructor Badge

 I had the pleasure of attending the Bead Fest Summer show in Philadelphia last weekend. It's a great bead show. I went last year but, this year, I didn't just attend the show, I taught at it! Yep, I've had my first experience teaching at a national bead show. This was a personal goal of mine and a major milestone for me. I enjoy teaching very much. I've taught lots of classes at local bead shops, but this is on a whole different level. It sure was a wonderful feeling to hang that official badge around my neck! I felt so professional. It was a privilege and a feeling I'll never forget, but I'll be the first to admit that badge sure does come with a whole lot of hard work and dedication. The amount of planning, prepping and preparing to teach a class at this show was like nothing I've ever experienced before. It's a joyous kind of work that I love doing, but boy oh boy, you sure do need to be prepared, love what you do, love to teach, and be on top of your game to pull this off successfully. I have a lot of respect for all those instructors out there. I know first hand that they must absolutely love every ounce of what they create and love to teach it! I think this must be true because it is true for me. 

 Bohemian Knotted Earrings

I taught my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Workshop. I adore these earrings. I love to make them, I love to wear them, I love all the materials I use in them and I love the simple knotting techniques used to create them. They are very "me" and I love everything about them. I figure if I love my earrings that much, then maybe someone else might like them, too. Well, I think I was right about that because six very nice ladies signed up for my workshop to learn how to make them! I was thrilled.

 Bohemian Knotted Earring Kit 

featuring artisan metal components by Miss Fickle Media.

I was well prepared for class. Each student received a Bohemian Knotted Earrings Kit. The kits include all the materials to make each of the 3 styles of earrings in the workshop. "Sun Earrings", " Fringe Earrings" and "Chandelier Earrings". The kits contain Irish waxed linen cord, colorful gemstone rounds and artisan metal links and ear wires handmade by Shannon LeVart of Miss Fickle Media. I commissioned Shannon early in the year to make these components for me. Her handmade metalwork makes all the difference in the finished pieces.

 Cover page of my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Tutorial

Each student also received a spiral-bound, hand-out that included materials lists, clear instructions,  step-by-step photos and a resources list . For me, a thorough hand-out is a vital part of teaching a successful class. It really helps the class to run smoothly and each student can follow along easily even if everyone is working at a different pace. I received lots of positive feedback from students about how much they loved and appreciated the hand-out booklet. My first experience teaching at a national bead show was a good one and well worth all the effort I put into it. Each student enjoyed the class immensely and that is the most important thing to me. In fact, I even received some really awesome complements at the end of class from seasoned workshop attendees!

I know not everyone can get the opportunity to attend a show, let alone take a class or workshop. There are a multitude of reasons that might be the case for many people. So, I've decided to turn my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Workshop into a downloadable PDF TUTORIAL! I've heard from quite a few that expressed interest in my class, but could not travel to attend it in person.  I'm so very excited to offer my workshop in this way. Now, you can purchase my Bohemian Knotted Earrings Tutorial along with my Bohemian Knotted Earring Kit in my Etsy shop. I hope many more will enjoy making these earring designs as much as I do.They are so much fun to make!

Now for my questions for you this week:

Do you take any beading/jewelry-making classes at shows or local bead shops?

Have you taken any online classes or workshops? or downloaded any tutorials or patterns online?

Leave a comment answering any of these questions and you will be entered for a chance to win a digital copy of my 20-page, full-color photo, Bohemian Knotted Earrings TUTORIAL. The PDF file will be sent to the winner via email once I receive the winner's email address.

Thanks for joining me today and happy creating!

Erin Siegel is a jewelry designer, beading instructor and co-author of the jewelry book, Bohemian-Inspired Jewelry: 50 Designs Using Leather, Ribbon and Cords. To find out more, visit her blog: Erin Siegel Jewelry.

Holiday Gift Ideas - Eight Free Jewelry Projects

With the chill in the air and October looming only days away I realized it's time to start thinking about the holidays.  I love making jewelry this time of year for both my gift list and for shows.  

Here are eight free projects to give you a jump start on your gift-making ideas!

Willow Fields Necklace

Summer Solstice Necklace

Memory Wire Cuff Bracelets

Wire Nest Bail Pendant

Rossetti Necklace

Favorite Things Pendant

O-Ring Bracelet

Raven Necklace

Wire Nest Bail Tutorial

1. Cut 18" of 24 gauge wire.

2. Pull the wire through the pendant hole, centering the pendant on the wire. (Add a charm at this point if you want - example shown in the last two photos.) Wrap the wire around the pendant, forming a large loop measuring 3/4" tall.

3.  Repeat with both the front and back wire.

4. With the wire at the front of the pendant, wrap it up and around the loops until you run out of wire. Repeat with the back wire until the loop is covered and secure.

5. Trim any excess wire.

6. Push the trimmed ends of the wire as close as possible to the loops to avoid snagging wires.

To finish off the pendant add a few wrapped dangles unto a jump ring and attach to the bail.  String a silk ribbon on the jump ring for an easy way to finish the pendant.

Click on the collage to see the images larger.

Pendant: Humblebeads. Glass: Dream Girl Beads. Charm, wire & ribbon: Bello Modo.

Rossetti Necklace

This necklace was inspired by our monthly challenge, I tried to capture those soft glowing colors.  I wanted to create a necklace that looks like it would have been worn during that time period with a filigree wrapped pendant, stones, Czech glass and a very generous opera length chain. 

Supplies:

42mm clover petal brass filigree

26mm polymer clay bead

2 8mm faceted Czech glass rondelle

14 5mm Czech glass drops

2 12mm faceted lepidolite square beads

2 10mm faceted orange aventurine barrel beads

2 6mm fired agate beads

14 7.25mm brass jump rings

2 5mm brass jump rings

1 15mm jump ring

6 2" brass eye pins

20 1/2" brass cable chain

Directions:

1. Place the polymer clay bead in the center of the filigree and fold the four corners around the bead.

2. Attach the large jump ring through the openings of the filigree.

3. Create looped links with each of the beads, string one on an eyepin and create a loop.  Except the drop beads, add 7 drops beads to the eyepins and then make the loop.

4. Attach the glass rondelles links to the large jump ring with the 7.5mm jump rings.

5. Attach the remaining links with the 7.5mm jump rings in the following order: drops, square bead, rondelle, barrel, fired agate.  Add a 7.5mm jump ring to the last beads.

6. Attach the chain to the last jump rings with the 5mm jump rings.

Sources:

Stones: Rings & Things.  Brass: Vintaj.  Glass drops: Ornementea. Glass Rondelles: Raven's Journey. Lily Bead: Humblebeads.

Studio Saturday with Shannon LeVart

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

This weeks winner is commenter number 13; Barbara! Congratulations! 

You have won 2 Puzzle Piece Buttons from Tari Sasser's studio of Creative Impressions in Clay.

Please forward an email to Tari with your address so she can send these buttons out to you.

 

This weeks Studio Saturday is Shannon LeVart of missficklemedia.com. Who is presently not in a studio creating but rather elbow deep in correcting dangling participles.

 

 What an intense week this has been with the launching of the Color Drenched Metal tutorial. I have been attempting to bring this file to completion for some time now and its delay has been overcome with the help of friends and family.

  In spite of the fact that I am NOT a professional writer, the tutorials I offer are tangible items that I am proud of. Overcoming a lack of funds and a lack of time to pull together organized, thoroughly researched and personally tested files is feat that I pat myself on the back for. I know by the hundreds of emails I receive that I have helped many a jewelry designer achieve personal goals of adding new skills to their repertoire. Sharing what has given me thrilling moments of discovery in my own work is a driving force that I cannot ignore.

    But darn it if it isn't one of the most difficult things to get a handle on!

 

 - Researching the topic can take months; is someone already offering this? Is this useful, practical information? What kind of buyer will be interested? 

 - Purchasing the necessary supplies to complete the stepped out instructions is expensive. From beginning to end, every tiny detail needs to be accounted for, logged and linked for buyer availability.

 - Photographs need to be focused, well lit, chronologically listed, and edited.

 - Text needs to be clear, grammatically correct and laid out in an easy to read manner.

 - Proof reading by an editor, testing by honest people who will tell you what to fix and re-working it until the tutorial flows is a final process that takes weeks to complete. 

 But complete it is! Ready for consumption so to speak! Aaaaaaaand I have a free copy for a randomly drawn winner next Saturday! 

 

 However, in order to qualify for next weeks drawing, you must leave a comment with an answer to this question;

What obstacle is in YOUR way of seeing a project to completion? 

 

 Heath issues in my family is a big obstacle of mine. I am constantly torn between caring for sick ones and soldiering on through business projects. It can make a good mama feel guilty and a good business woman feel neglectful.  But I did something different this time, I asked for help! I received it in abundance and went forward in my goal. And the reward is all that much sweeter sharing it with loved ones who took the time to assist me.

Thank you for sharing your time with us here at Art Bead Scene and for participating in comments!

Much Love & Respect,

Shannon

 

missficklemedia.com

 

Findings Worth Finding: Bead Cap Flowers

Turn a petal bead cap into a blooming flower with just a few quick steps. 

You'll need: a bead cap, a 6mm round bead, a 3mm bead and a 1" headpin.

Tools: bench block, hammer, round nose pliers, wire cutters.

Step 1. Push the 6mm bead into the bead cap to spread out the petals a little.  Remove the bead.

Step 2. Place petal side down on a bench block, hammer gently to spread out the petals more.

Step 3. Attach the 3mm bead to the center of the bead cap with a headpin. Trim wire and form a loop.

Necklace featuring a Jade Scott pendant and lime branch disk beads from Humblebeads.

Vintaj TV

Here is a video from the talented folks at Vintaj using their new rivets.  Love them!  You can find Vintaj findings at Bello Modo, they offer free and fast shipping.

Playing with Patinas

Today's post is from Beverly Herman, she has been experimenting with patinas and has generously shared her process.

I used Sophisticated Finishes to create the verdigris finish on the dragonfly. This product contains special salts and oxidation agents to speed up the process. Highlights of the dragonfly body were achieved with Silver-black.

Supplies:

Brass Dragonfly

Sophisticated Finishes Patina Green Antiquing solution

Silver-Black solution

Fine steel wool

Johnson & Johnson paste wax

Rubber gloves

Q-tips

Step 1: Use fine steel wool to clean and prepare the surface for patina.

Step 2: Paint a coat of Sophisticated Finishes on the dragonfly. Let it air dry and repeat for a second coat. I waited over night for the oxidation process to take place.

Step 3: Use a Q-tip to darken the body of the dragonfly with Silver-Black. Repeat for the outside edges of the wings. Take the steel wool and run it across the body to bring out the brass highlights.

Step Four: Paint a third coat of the patina over the entire dragonfly. Wait over night for the oxidation to take place.

Step Five: A final time use the steel wool to bring out the brass highlights on the wings and body. When you are happy with the results rub a small amount of paste wax over the dragonfly and polish with a soft cloth.

Notes: Sophisticated Finishes is water-based for easy clean-up. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands. Additional information about this product can be found at http://www.modernoptions.com/

Pictured here is a copper etched pendant that has been treated with the Sophisticated Finishes solution.

Patina solution: Michael's.  Silver/Black Solution: local lapidary/jewelry supply shop.  Dragonfly: Vintaj.  Paste Wax: Ace Hardware.

Beverly blogs at noeasybeads.blogspot.com and sells her jewelry and patterns in her Etsy shop.

Headpin Mania!

Okay, so I finally picked up a little micro torch from the local hardware store. I've wanted one forever, but always as one of those 'some day' things. After reading Candie Cooper's Metalwork 101 for Beadmakers, I knew I had to break down and get one. They are so easy to make. like really guys, SO EASY! Beth Hemmila was kind enough to put together a video showing us the ropes. I know what you'll be doing this weekend!

Hint Jewelry: How to make headpins with a micro torch.

Altered Findings

You want to put your unique stamp on everything you create, but maybe you aren't at the point where you can create your own findings or perhaps time is an issue. One great trick I learned is to alter commercial findings to make them your own. Here are two examples.

A few tools to have on hand:

wood dapping block and punches

ball peen hammer

small bench block

hole punch

screwdriver

1000 grit automotive sandpaper

pliers

The bracelet started with a blank brass pendant from Vintaj. I used a screw driver on the back side of the pendant and hammered away to create the dotty texture. Put the pendant on the bench block, place the point of the screwdriver on the back of metal, tap the top of the screwdriver with the hammer.

I then used the dapping black to give it a slight curve to fit comfortably on the wrist. With a quick swipe of the sandpaper, the dots are highlighted. I used the hole punch to create a hole on the other side of the pendant.

I repeated the steps to alter a moon pendant and dream charm. I flattened the design of the moon with the hammer before I did anything to it. I also ran the sandpaper over the clasp to bring out a few of the highlights on the hammered texture.

The second project uses a silver chain that I purchased at my local bead store. I cut off two links, shaped them with my chain nose pliers and hammered them flat to strengthen them. I created custom links in just a few minutes.

With a few basic tools you can alter your findings until your heart's content. Have fun playing!

Sources - Brass findings: Vintaj. Tools: Rings & Things. Art Beads: Humblebeads.