Ann from Australia makes and designs cute koala and Christmas theme beads to be displayed at the upcoming Glass Artist Guild show at the Mount cootha Botanical Gardens in Brisbane. She has used stainless steel beadable cutlery purchased from Adrian Schwab of www.beadables.com
Read MoreUnique ideas for Hair Sticks from Leah Tuscany
Leah Tuscany from Miami university makes a handmade loom for knitters adorned with her handmade glass beads!
Read MoreUsing Natural Products in Your Designs
What I love most about the beadable products, is the versatility they provide. I wanted to share a technique I have used in the past to create more organic utensils. In this video, I am using deer antlers, that have been drilled through the center. I choose antlers that are longer then the shaft, and either a glue like an epoxy, or as I used here, a locktight super glue. The reason I chose the super glue, was the container allowed for me to use a 20g needle, which allows me to easily coat the entire inside of the bead. JB weld also has a really nice system in a plunger type of container. After you coat the inside of the bead, you simply put in on the shaft and to finish it off, I like to use either bondo or a plastic/ wood filler. With either option, you can mold, texturize, paint, sand to get your desired finish. The wood fillers can even be found in multiple colors, which is why in this video I chose to use it. Be sure you buy a wood filler that hardens. There are fillers available that don’t harden. With this technique, you can find so many natural products to use with your designs! Beach glass, shells, driftwood, antlers, or even unique vintage items. Once I bought a stash of vintage prayer beads and made a lot of beadable items using those. Just let your creativity lead the way!
TIPS for making giftware
I wanted to share a few “secrets” with you all. A lot of time with the beadable products, especially the pens and pencils, you might find a really cool bead you want to use, but you find that the hole is much larger then the 2mm shaft, and thus you have this funky wobble and your beads often don’t line up perfectly. From years of experience, I have a few tips to share with you! I use these techniques also when I’m making jewelry, especially pendants and earrings too! Basically, I keep a huge stash of pewter spacers on hand in a variety of styles and sizes. I use the spacers essentially to put under the beads on the shaft, or to put in the top and bottom hole of the larger bead. It just depends on the style of the bead I’m attempting to use. There is a lot of just trial and error, but having a good selection of supplies is really key! Hope you enjoy the video! As always, if you have questions, I love teaching and helping others. So please don’t ever hesitate to contact me!
educational video on how to use spacers to prevent misaligned beads on beadable products.
Jewelry Design from Cattail Creek Boutique
Patti of Cattail Creek boutique used the disc shape handmade lampwork glass beads to create a beautiful pair of onyx earrings. I really love her style!
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