Showing posts with label Beading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beading. Show all posts

Monday, August 18, 2008

Making Beads from Polymer Clay - Makume Gane Technique

This website, Bead Making, gives an excellent tutorial on making beads using the Mokume Gane method of layering clays, alternating with a sheet of gold laminating paper.

If you are interested in the process of Japanese bead making using this silversmithing technique, this video is excellent to review and follow. Just click here: Makume Gane

I used that YouTube video to make about four dozen colorful blue, green, pink, gold and aqua beads. Following the steps in the video tutorial, here are my steps in making Makume Gane clay beads, shown in pictures:

First, I rolled five colors of Sculpey clay (available at craft stores for about $1 per cube, sale price) with my pasta maker machine. This machine saves your hands from a workout, and thoroughly mixes the clay while taking out air bubbles at the same time. (Use any of the clay colors to make scrap balls which will be layered with the Makume Gane processed clay slices.)

Next, I layered five colors of clay together. Different colors can be created by mixing the clays from their primary colors originally purchased; this is how I made the aqua and the pink colors from the purchased primary colors of clay.

Translucent clay is necessary to add to the layers of clay, because it gives a nice sheen to the finished bead. The translucent clay looks white, so make sure you purchase the clay clearly marked "translucent".

The gold leaf sheet was added last, then folded over several times (not in the pasta machine during this process) to make a stack of clays about 1/2 inch thick.

Then the stack of clays was shaved off to wrap around balls of clay. This makes the design on the covering of the previously molded bead from scrap clay. I made three differing sizes of beads. After trying to get them into uniform sizes, I learned that the trick is to take one round ball (again, scrap clay) which you have shaped, and cut it into two equal halves...ta da....each ball will then be the same diameter after rolling. This shaping was done by hand, but there are various little machines to purchase if you think you are going to get into this hobby in a big way.

The colors I chose to make are some of my favorites, and will complement some yarn recently received in a yarn swap on Ravelry.

Next, a hole was bored through the bead with a T-pin (used in jewelry making), or a large needle could be used to make the center hole. When the beads looked symetrical after poking the center hole and with a litte more cylindrical or round reshaping, I placed them on foil and baked them on a cookie sheet in the oven for 25 minutes at 265 degrees. After baking and cooling, the beads were buffed with wet sandpaper a few times.
Then I sprayed the beads with acrylic spray several times to make a shiny surface.

I'm in the process of making earrings with these beads and will show more pictures of the finished beads in the next post. There are enough beads to make another watch band with earrings to match, similar to what was posted a few weeks ago in this blog.

If this process sounds like work, I can only say that in my humble opinion (IMHO), it was a lot of fun. And it was rewarding to make beads in the colors I desired, while at a fraction of the cost to purchase ready-made beads. And I ended up with a slew of cool beads.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Beading Watch Bands

My fun watch handcrafted by a Carolina crafter was given to me by my daughter. I not only hurt my pride when I fell on it, but also shattered one of the ceramic beads on its band. Result of this mishap: unhappiness in breaking the watch and one ugly bruise. I replaced the broken bead and continued on.

And then the battery eventually died. I tried to buy a replacement battery, but realized the battery cost more than a brand new working watch face. (New watch faces are available at the craft store for about $9.)

So I decided I had done everything I could to repair that gifted watch, and tossed it. Sigh. On to the next craft adventure: making a beaded band for a watch face.

Here were the tools required to fashion a new watchband:

1: the new watch face with included battery
2: strong black fishing line ... there are lots of available cords, but my husband's tool box was handy for raiding
3: dichroic glass beads, cloisonne beads, spacer beads, jump rings
4: a pair of wire cutters and a couple of pair of beading crimpers

Here is a picture of most of the stash used:

If you visit this website, you will find information from start to finish on how to make a watchband with three strings of beads on each side of the watch face. Be sure to purchase your watch face before trying this particular tutorial, because many watch faces do not have three places to tie in your beads.

The watch I had purchased was made with one loop on each side of the face, so I used two medium weight strands of black fishing line through each side of the face, strung the glass beads onto the line, and secured the ends of the clasp to each end of the four-inch strand of beads.

The picture on the right shows half of the completed watch band. Remember a little glue to secure knotted ends never hurts.

And here is the completed watch (and matching earrings -- a tutorial on how to make them was given here here in a previous post).

Two more websites that I found useful for making beaded watchbands are here and here. The picture does not show the shimmering dichroic beads very well, but the process of making them gives beautiful results. You might be interested in reading about dichroic glass here.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Socks with Beads Knitted In

Finally finished that pair of socks with Noro yarn and the beads knitted into them that I blogged about previously.

The beads are plastic, but since I won't be throwing these socks into the dryer, they should hold up pretty well. That Noro (Japanese) yarn is great to work with. A pair of handmade socks is a real pleasure to wear, and you would never know that wool was next to your skin. The softness and its light weight are incredible.

Now on to making a pair of socks for our soldier friend in Afghanistan through the Sox For Soldiers see picture here program discussed in this YaHoo Group started by Kim, one soldier's mom.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Beading on Socks

Beads knitted into the cuff or body of a sock give a different look to women's foot apparel. Beading makes a pair of socks unique, and it really is fun to put them into knitting. Random Knits gives a step-by-step tutorial. She knitted up pink socks with girly beading, and her efforts look great! Take a look at her Beading on Socks tutorial; it is complete and well done, but seems a bit time consuming.

Her YouTube presentation gives this visual and verbal explanation:




I searched out more information on the topic of "beading in knitting" and found a quick way to accomplish the same beading task. Knitty's website said:

Hooking beads onto individual stitches "as you go" is an outstanding method for those who hate to take the time and trouble to string loads of beads onto yarn it.

It is also great for spontaneous or accent beading, and also for yarns that are too delicate for the punishing strain that results from carrying a heavy length of pre-strung beads on the yarn. Beads are hooked on with a crochet hook small enough to fit through the hole of your beads.

Hooking beads onto stitches with a small crochet hook does not require juggling skills, although it may seem that way the first few times you try it. Since this method is so easy to learn from watching a demonstration, and so difficult to learn from words, here is a blow-by-blow description of my hooking method as it has evolved through hooking thousands of beads:
1) Impale the bead onto a crochet hook small enough to fit through the hole of your bead.

2) Insert the hook into the stitch loop where the bead will sit, making sure that the hook is facing you.

3) Pull the loop through the bead.

4) Replace the stitch loop onto the left needle if necessary.

People are usually a bit afraid that they will drop the stitch when they try this technique. Be aware that the stitch loop does not need to come off the needle at all for the bead to go on. Even if it does come off the needle, as long as the loop has the crochet hook in proximity, you should be safe from it slipping into oblivion. And once the bead is seated securely on the loop, it isn't going anywhere. Once you feel secure about the process, you will no doubt be taking all sorts of liberties.

Here is a picture of my first sock where I used the above technique for impaling the bead onto the hook. Just the toe needs completion, and I'll have half a pair of beaded socks completed.

But on the next sock, I will bead ONLY on the knit stitches since the bead will be more prominent. (Beads seem to recede into the purl stitch.) Oh well, live and learn.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Beading: Asus Eee with Crystals & Mirrors

A traveling grad student showed a tutorial on covering her Asus Eee PC with crystals. Here is a picture of her beautifully blinged out PC. She explains about how she glued on Swarkovski crystals onto its top in AK's Blog.

AK used Swarkovski crystals in fuschia, rose, light rose and aurora, in SS12, SS9 and SS5 sizes, gluing them to entirely cover the top of the case.

Using AK's tutorial, I decided to make my little Eee a pretty covering. Not only would it have its own T-shirt case, but it would also be personalized with initials. The T-shirt case was blogged about previously here.

First I sketched two calligraphy capital letters of "N"and "M" on the Eee top, using a ruler and approximating letter placement.

Since my Asus Eee has a light blue top, I used flat backed round crystals in small sizes in two different colors of turquoise and one dark rose color. I also purchased small mirrors at the craft store. Good old Wal Mart rounded out my accessories for the decorations with adhesive backed rhinestones (at a much cheaper price than those crystals). The heart-shaped BigBoxStore rhinestones are at the at the bottom of the initials, along with two earring fronts, tiny square mirrors, and more heart-shaped larger rhinestones.
The initials are painted with acrylics. Although the shadowing does not show very well, those crystals certainly brought out personalization in the middle of the letters.

I used a gel type glue; it was a mess to work with. But I was afraid Elmer's School Glue would not hold up to the light abuse which I tend to give my working machines.

This project took lots longer than I had anticipated, but at least my beading and painting efforts won't allow ownership confusion with any other Asus Eee that might be hanging around at the local coffee shop.

Note: Actual sizes are larger than they appear (the top is 5.5 inches by 7 inches).

Friday, May 9, 2008

Beading Necklace with Weaving Techniques


I enjoyed creating this jewelry last year, using beading and weaving techniques. Each jewelry item took me about a week to make, weaving and beading sporadically (who knows how many hours?).

Kits are available here Beaded Jewelry as well as many other places on the internet.

The pictured necklaces were made when I took a class at the Grand Junction Art Center last year. Patterns were furnished, as well as a supply list. The class was about four hours in length.

The necklace on the left used a heavier jute thread, and I embellished it with beads, and a plasticized orchid woven into the middle of the center piece. On the right, the purple waxed threads and blue accent beads were woven in a similar hemp using differing colors of lilacs and blues. Each is about 24 inches long, but can be customized to your desired length.

A reference search can bring up some easy learning tools so that you can make your own jewelry without going to a formal class.

Another website for making lariat necklaces can be found at Beadwork, as well as a supply list.

If you like beading, using the weaving method along with beading is yet another innovative way to used those pretty Swarovski crystals.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Beading: How to Make Earrings

An inexpensive and fun craft is creating hand-made earrings and necklaces using pretty findings and glass Swarovski beads. The glass beads are my favorite because they reflect light and have a nice sparkle.

To the right are about a dozen pairs of earrings that I made and wear often.

It is easy to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets with just a few tools and different colored beads and silver accessories that are found in abundance on the beading aisles at your local craft store. The internet is a great source for finding beads, too, and if your order includes the T-pins and earring hangers, it usually pays to purchase from an outlet.

While traveling, it is fun to scope out bead stores in other areas. Bringing back beads from a different locale and using them in making jewelry reminds me of the place where the beads were found.

Here is a quick tutorial on making some crystal earrings that explains how easy it is to make earrings, step-by-step from Karla Schafer, Auntie's Beads Designer, on YouTube.



Give it a try, and you will probably end up with a huge stash of pretty beads. And your local craft store will love you for your shopping!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Beading


Let’s talk about beading.

I was mesmerized by this activity about two years ago and made over fifty pairs of earrings. Shown in the picture is one pair of those surviving earrings and its matching necklace, and a pair of glasses with a beaded string attached. Those articles, as well as about a dozen of my favorite earrings and bracelets which were self-made (note that term “self-made“, NOT “homemade”!) survive in my jewelry stash.

Like most crafters whose made supplies have outgrown one’s personal use, I gave away many of my beaded articles to friends and family.

I continue to work with beads and “found” objects, and have kept the myriad beading items honed down and tucked away in two boxes, an admirably small cache. You never know when you just HAVE TO HAVE a hand-made bookmark or hostess gift at the ready.

But my long-time friend Carol in North Carolina has professionally taken to fashioning great looking earrings and necklaces from novelty beads and findings. Her jewelry items are nicely displayed at this website: Carol's Creations

Take a look and see what she has up her sleeve and in her portfolio.

And if you have not looked into beading for yourself, most beading shops and craft stores offer short classes teaching this hobby. Well illustrated instruction books are readily available, too.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Knitting Markers with Colorful Beading

Knitting Markers made from beads and jump rings (close up below)

While listening to one of my favorite knitting podcasts over the weekend, I surfed over to one of the sponsoring knitting websites and found accessories which make knitting more fun. One of the accessories I found was knitting markers with beads attached. Since I have a collection of beading materials, I took the idea of colorful markers and made some of my own.

I am knitting two projects now, and am using six of the markers incorporated into the work. It makes the handwork even more fun as I come across one of the markers. Not shown are a couple of knitting markers where I used an old ring as the marker, and attached a small bead string to it. Make sure that if you are making these yourself, be aware of any closure of the rings which might snag your yarn. Just firmly crimp all attachments, and VOILA! You are in business.