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Project Ideas These are the gifts I gave my two children (Jenny, age 21 and Brian, age 19) this year for Mother's Day. They are "Peace, Health and Harmony Prayer Bracelets." I was inspired by Rachel, a former employee. She helped me pick the stones and I prepared a list stating what each stone represents, which I gave with the bracelet. I think they liked it, and my hope is that they will find comfort in holding the beads when they need to reduce stress in their adult lives. I was asked by my friend, Pat Bolin, if I would redo the beadwork on her daughter Sarah's wedding dress. The dress had arrived and it was not the beadwork Sarah had remembered, and not what she wanted. Sarah picked out 4mm crystal Swarovski cubes and I sewed 3 rows of them across the bodice. This is how it looked from a distance:  and how it looked up close:  Chandelier 
American Flag Pin Since September 11, 2001, we have taken comfort in our patriotism and in the displaying of American flags. I've seen some intricate beaded projects, but this one is real easy. Several of my customers came in looking for supplies to make this pin, and I made one up for myself. Many different sizes of pins or beads can be used, but this one was made with nine 1 1/2" safety pins and size 6 seed beads. The beads are strung, as pictured, on the open side of 8 pins. The only hard part is getting these pins around to the unopen side of the 9th pin - leaving the open side clear to pin to your clothing. You wind the pins on, one at a time, around the spring. A split ring plier helps to hold the spring open. They all have to go on the same way so the beads end up on the forward side.  What to do with odds and ends? Knot them into an asymmetrical necklace. For this one, I used all African beads - sand, bone and metal. I cut 5 strands of black waxed poly, each 2 yards long. I started in the middle, folded the five strands in half and looped them all through the stone donut. Then there are ten half strands, which I split so that each side had five strands. Then came the fun part - I just started adding beads and knotting! Sometimes just one or two strands would go through the bead and sometimes all five, depending on the size of the hole in the bead. I didn't preplan the design, but I built both sides up at the same time, and if it looked right, I knew it was balanced. When it was long enough, I brought all ten strands together in one big knot. I trimmed the strands, put another little bead on the end of each and tied one last knot. I used the cut pieces of thread that were long enough to add dangles below the stone. 
This one used up bits of chain and miscellaneous semi-precious beads. I wired the beads into the pieces of chain so that I had 3 lengths about 18" long and connected those to a toggle clasp. I used up more pieces of chain in a dangle off the clasp. The necklace that inspired me to make this one had all the same chain, but I used all different pieces and I like the way it looks. The second picture is a closeup of just the toggle. (I have these sterling toggle clasps in the shop with either garnets or amethysts for $12.50 each)  Do you have a charm bracelet you never wear? I did too, but I turned it into a charm necklace, added a few bead dangles and now I wear it often! I get lots of compliments on this necklace and it was so easy. I just took a length of fairly heavy sterling chain and transferred all the charms to it. I put a few special lampworked beads on headpins and worked those in with the charms to give the necklace a little more color. |
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Bead in Hand
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