I know spring is near when I start thinking about St. Patrick’s day beads and jewelry.

To celebrate, I have decided to offer my St. Patrick’s Day necklace with the shamrock pattern video for free until March 17.

That gives you plenty of time to make this motif before the big day.

Also, I have a four leaf clover ring pattern on video that will go along nicely with your Shamrock necklace.

You can access the videos at the bottom of this page:

Free Beading Patterns: St. Patrick’s Day Necklace

Enjoy!

One of the most exciting aspects about jewelry making is that you are going to be able to use your creativity to its maximum. Designer jewelry is simply composed of great creativity and superb marketing.  Not only do you get to choose colors and the variety of stones and mediums used for jewelry but the design as well.

All of this means though that there is much to learn which basically will be broken into three areas. This is learning about the materials used, the techniques and types of jewelry and finally the design. Without all three of these components, you will not have designer jewelry.  Here are some facts concerning these three categories.

Learning about the Materials

Most likely, your initial thought about jewelry making and what you are going to require is the beads and stones. Of course, these are a very important part of jewelry making but not nearly all of the requirements.  Here are some of the major items you are going to need.

• You will need the material that you are going to string your beads on. For example, this can be jewelry thread, wire, elastic threads and even fishing line can be used in some cases. With designer jewelry, even this simple item can be critical to the design.

• Then there are the various clasps. For example, if you are making a necklace then you need an interlocking clasp. If you are making earrings then you need the wires or clasps. There is a wide selection of these and each have their pros and cons and specific uses.

• Then there are the stones, jewels and beads. Again, you will soon learn to broaden your horizons when it comes to these items. You are going to have many choices as to the materials that each of these are made from as well.

Each of these items lends itself to the overall finished piece of designer jewelry.

Learning about the Techniques.

For the beginner it may seem that you simply string a series of beads onto a thread for example and that’s basically it. Well it can be but that soon leads to boredom and you start looking for other types of techniques. This is the birth of designer jewelry that all starts with your desire for creativity.

There are several techniques and most of them are categorized into their degree of difficulty.  You are soon going to come across terms such as brick stitch, flat square, or plain knotted just to name a very few. In addition, there will be different finishing techniques as well.

Designer Jewelry

Now your initial thought may be when it comes to designer jewelry that this is only something that the rich and famous wear. This concept comes from there being a few chosen designers who have become renowned for their work as a result of the interest of these influential people.

In its true form though designer jewelry is any piece of jewelry that has been uniquely designed and is not mass-produced. It doesn’t necessary mean that it has to have been designed by one of the famed jewelry designers.

If you have made a piece of jewelry from your own creativity then in essence you have made designer jewelry.

The fact is that there are so many different types of beads on the market to make jewelry. Beaded jewelry evolved from different cultures around the world. There are the beads of rosaries that come from the Christian faith and the beads that the Natives use for many of their jewelry and stitch patterns.

Jewelry beads are for decoration, ceremonies and more. Just as there are many different beads there are also many techniques in jewelry making. The most popular is the tiger tail which involves beading thread or eye pins. Some of the beads available are gemstones, pearl, metal, crystal, coppers, topaz, agate, onyx and more. You can also find beads in any imaginable shape and size.

You can find beads at craft stores and even buy them conveniently online. This way you can scan the sites collection of beads and choose the ones you love and have them delivered right to your door. There are those who use jewelry beads for their own use and others who make jewelry for friends and family or sell it to make a profit. If you are in the business of making jewelry you may want to consider buying your jewelry beads at wholesale. You can find jewelry supplies online as well.

One of the more popular beads is glass beads. They are used for jewelry and other purposes like drawer knobs and glass art. Some of these types of beads are blown. This is where the glass gets softened with heat and then it is wound around a metal rod called a mandrel. This happens when a large bubble is blown and then decorations are added and the glass is stretched to form a long tube that gets cut into individual beads.

There is another technique in making jewelry beads which is called, “pressing.” With this technique two hot mounds of glass are pressed together around a hole in a mold. This forms the glass bead.

A pate de verre which is cold casting is done when a mold is filled with broken glass frit. The center is filled with different materials and then fired. These fuse glass beads need larger pieces of cold glass in the kiln to make what if referred to as bead stock. From this stock the beads are cut.

One popular type name in glass beads is Murano. These are beads from Murano Italy.

There are also the Venetian beads that come from Venice. These types of beads are made over an open flame and have been for centuries. These beads are considered to be some of the best beads on the market and high quality.

So whether you are making your own jewelry or just taking it on as a hobby there are so many different types of beads on the market for you to make those necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings and more.

If you are looking for something unique when it comes to jewelry then you should consider looking for Vintage pieces. These pieces can date back eras and decades and there are many designs to choose when it comes to Vintage. The most popular of the periods are Early Victorian, Georgian, Late Victorian, Mid Victorian, Edwardian, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Retro. The designs from the Georgian time period tended to be handmade and the qualities were different. However, they are the rarest pieces on the market today. Most of them are nature inspired with birds and leaves. Precious stones were also used in these designs. The Victorian era came next and covered most of the 1800’s.

It consisted of Early Victorian from 1837 to 1850 which carried romantic pieces, Mid Victorian from 1860 to 1880 with grave designs and Late Victorian from 1885 to 1900 with more feminine pieces. The star and crescent designs popped up a lot in that era. The arts and Crafts era was from 1894 to 1923 and consisted of intricate designs. The jewelery was simple, colourful and made from uncut stones. The Art Nouveau styles were natural and were mostly butterflies and flowers. The next era was in the 1900’s and called the Edwardian era. The fashion was expensive gems like emeralds and rubies along with diamonds. Then the Art Deco jewelery appeared and was influenced from Africa, Egypt and Japan. Finally, Retro jewelery emerged in the forties and took its cue from Hollywood glam.

The fact is that Vintage Jewelery is making a big comeback these days with people searching for something special and unique. You can find a lot of costume and vintage jewelery which can be more than thirty years old and some even a hundred years old! However, the most popular vintage jewelry comes from the Victorian Era which boasts brooches, rings, watches, earrings, figure pins, Bakelite, lockets and cufflinks. There are even pieces for your hair. When you find one piece you like keep searching because you are sure to find a similar design within that era to add to your collection. During the Victorian Era, Queen Victoria had a huge influence on fashion and jeweley. The beginning and end of that era was bombarded in the Ferronieres style.

This featured chains and ribbons that had a jewel in the center and was meant to be worn on the forehead. Not only did the Queen own several pieces she also gave them away. Another piece was made up of hundreds of seed pearls sewn with mother of pearl and horsehair. These were very expensive pieces. The bodices and waists were tight in this era and women wore too much jewelry, especially rings. If you are interested in adding some vintage pieces to your jewelry collection you can find them at flee market and street fares and some garage sales. Another good source for vintage jewelry is estate sales. Some of these pieces can be quite costly, but for the vintage jewelry buff there is no price too high!

If you have been making necklaces and bracelets for some time you may feel that it is time to start trying your hand at making bead earrings. They are not difficult to make, but there are a few things that you need to know and special findings that you need in order to make durable earrings that hang well and look great.

If you want to make earrings, it can be much easier if you use head pins. These are straight pieces of wire that end in a knob or flat piece. It is this end that keeps the pin from sliding right through the bead. If you are using beads with very large holes, you may want to use a head pin with a larger end on it. You can find very ornate head pins that have decorations on the end. There are head pins with open loops at the ends and ones that are also more plain and utilitarian. The ones you will choose are ultimately what will work best for the size of the hole and the style of the earrings.

When you are selecting your headpin, make sure that the shaft is long enough that it will be able to pass through all of the beads and still have enough to attach to the finding at the other end. Whether you are using a fish hook or a stud, you want to be able to attach it firmly and this can mean wrapping a fair bit of wire at the top.

If you are creating earrings, make sure that they hang well. You want to be careful about not bending the head pin or your earring will be crooked. This can make your earrings look amateurish and badly put together. Again, there should be enough wire passing through the beads that they are not pushed tightly together because this can make the earring look stiff and it will not hang properly.

Earrings can be symmetrical, which means that the beads are the same and assembled in the same order, on both earrings. Or, they can also be asymmetrical. They may use different beads or be assembled in a different order. If you do go with an asymmetrical look, you will need to balance making them look like it was intentional that they were put together differently, but similar enough that it is obvious that they are meant to be from the same pair.

Although the metal used on the head pin is not a huge consideration because it will be covered by beads, the metal used for the hook, post or wire that will go through your ear is something you need to be careful about. If you are making them for someone who has sensitivities to metal you will want to find out which metals they can wear. You want to pick high quality findings to use because the wire will touch the skin. The last thing you want is for the earrings you have made to cause any bad reactions.

Bead earrings can be fun and easy to make. Learning how to make them properly may take practice but it is well worth the effort.

If you are interested in learning how to make beaded earrings please check out the beading classes we offer here: How to Make Beaded Earrings

What I mean is that Valentine’s Day is coming up and it’s really creeping up on me too quickly.  I’m not done shopping for my husband and I always get something for my kids.  Maybe you have some other people that you’d like remember on Valentine’s Day.  If you’re in the same predicament I’m in and you’re a little behind, then this little heart pendant may be just thing you’re looking for.   I made this hammered heart and then added some weaving and a small “key” going down the center (look closely and you’ll see it). 

If you’re interested in learning to make this, the tutorial is here http://www.jewelrymakingprofessor.com/shop/Key-to-My-Heart-Pendant.html

I recently met a wonderful jewelry designer while looking at jewelry making blogs.

Her name is Jean Yates.

I was fascinated by her book called “Links.”

In the book, Jean teaches how she creates jewelry designs based on her own experiences, her own hopes and dreams.

One thing I really like about her design approach is that she often thinks back to her early childhood memories and uses those as a starting point for her designs.

I like that so much because children’s minds are so free to be creative, and if we practice going back to when we were children and really try to feel what that was like, we will be released from so many of the restrictions we put on ourselves as adults.

I highly recommend Jean’s book to help you get your creative design juices flowing.

Here’s a link to her book on Amazon: Jean Yate’s “Links”

You will see in the reviews section on Amazon that Jean has many raving fans!

I also recommend you check out her blog which is very interesting and creative:

Jean Yates Blog

Jean also told me that she writes a column for a beading magazine in Australia called Australia Beading Magazine and that she really enjoys doing that.

After you read Jean’s book, please leave a comment here and let me know what you thought about it.

Thanks!

I have a new bead kit available that goes with my flower heart necklace video.

The flower heart necklace is an advanced design if you are looking for a challenge, and it’s perfect for this time of year as we draw nearer to Valentines Day.

I have the kit available in my favorite color, fuchsia, as well as clear crystal and swarovski pearls.

Here’s the link if you would like more detailed information about the kit:

Flower Heart Beading Kit

How much of the jewelry that you make do you keep for yourself, sell or give away as gifts to friends and relatives?  I tend not to keep most of my pieces.  I usually figure someone else will have more use for it than I would because I don’t go to fancy places or parties and the only place I ever wear a dress is at church.

Well, this Christmas season, I decided it was high time I treated myself to something nice.  And if you’re like most women, it’s high time you treated yourself to something too.  Why not try a nice pair of earrings?  These triple tiered garnet earrings were what I created as my gift to myself this Christmas.  I like the weight of them especially.  They’re not heavy, but I can feel them swinging under my hair and that seems to make me happy.

If you’d like to treat yourself to a nice gift, try making these from my tutorial.

http://www.jewelrymakingprofessor.com/shop/Triple-Tiered-Garnet-Earrings-SKU162442125.html

I have a wonderful new peyote pattern video class that I want to share with you.

The instructor is my good friend Andrea Mazzenga, the owner of Buttercup Beads bead store, and a wonderful teacher.

In this video she shows you how to make a very simple peyote beadwork bracelet design called Peyote Madness.

If you haven’t tried peyote before, this is a great video to start with because Andrea uses a flat even count peyote stitch which is the easiest peyote technique and is the basis for more complex techniques we will introduce in the future.

She uses beautiful colored size 11 and size 8 seed beads and creates a nice picot fringe that gives the bracelet a little pizazz.

She also shows how to sew on a button as well as some interesting ideas for embellishments.

Andrea wil be introducing more peyote videos as well as other videos in the future so please stay tuned!

Enjoy!