Stocking Fillers from Stash - Hoop Earrings Tutorial

I am almost afraid to mention the word, as every time I do in real life it evokes a sigh of dismay, but there is no denying that it is time to start thinking of Christmas! For those of us who craft, this often involves planning and making our own gifts, as well as the torture of Christmas shopping on the High Street. Every year I vow to do mine online from the comfort of my own home, but I never do.

As I have a bead stash to bust, I have been thinking about quick and easy gift ideas to make myself and to share with the readers of this blog in the hopes that all of our stashes will be a bit smaller by the 25th December. I have been wanting to write tutorials for some time and I thought now was a good time to start.

For my first tutorial I have chosen a simple pair of simple hoop earrings that I have made many times, I hope you like them!

You will need;
Beadalon stringing wire
1 pair of earwires
2 crimp beads
6mm fire polish beads (FP)
Size 11 seed beads (11)

Tools; Wire Cutters, Crimping Pliers, Round nose Pliers

1. First cut a piece of beading wire 7 inches long, thread on 1 FP and 1 11, repeat 8 times then thread 1 FP.


2. Thread 1 crimp bead onto one end of the wire, pass the opposite wire through the crimp bead to form a circle.

3. Pass both wires through the FP next to the crimp bead and pull tight.

4. Crimp the bead and trim the wire ends.

5. Attach an earwire.

Repeat steps 1-5 to create a second earring.

I have assumed a knowledge of basic techniques such as crimping, if you are just starting out you can find instructions here -> http://www.beadstylemag.com/en/How%20To/Basics.aspx

or alternatively you can contact me if you have any questions and I will be happy to help!

Well, there it is, my first ever tutorial! I hope you like it and find it easy to understand. As always any comments would be appreciated and if you do use the tutorial to make some stocking fillers for your friends, we would love to see pictures! You can add them to the OTTBS Flickr pool here http://www.flickr.com/groups/1455268@N20/

Happy Christmas Beading!

Sarah.

Wednesday's Wear It or Frog It

This weeks rummage through the jewellery stash unearthed this purple spiral bracelet which I have never worn. I love the colours and the the center drops that I used create a really lovely textural piece, but it is too big, like an inch and a half too big! I don't really know what I was thinking, I must have been so relaxed (spiral stitch is so meditative!) that I forgot to stop. I hate unpicking but it is too pretty to waste, so I will unpick and redo it a little bit smaller.

Monday Moodboard - Pink & Black

Welcome to the Monday Moodboard! I've chosen sophisticated but fun pink and black as this week's colour scheme. Of course, black is black but you can use any shade of pink from palest tea rose to vibrant magenta or even a mix of several shades. And don't forget that you can take inspiration from the images themselves, including the shapes and textures.

Clockwise from top-left: Pink gerbera with a heart of chocolate!, Dark, Antithesis, Cute in pink and black.

We would love to see what you make using these colours as inspiration so if you'd like your work featured in next week's reveal post just send a photo to me at liz@thecrimsonmoon.co.uk or add it to our group pool on Flickr.

Wednesday's Wear It Or Frog It

This necklace has been in my 'hmm not sure' box for some time. Looking at it now I realise that's because it's really not my style. I'm also horrified at how I wasted these beautiful triangle beads by just stringing them when I could have woven them into something far more interesting! Even though I still think it's pretty I've decided to frog it and use the beads for something else.

Monday Moodboard Reveal - Autumn Colours

Welcome to this week's Monday Moodboard! Here's a recap of the mosaic I posted for inspiration last week...

Clockwise from top-left: October Queen, Pot of Gold, Autumn Green, Chocolate Brown in Basketweave.

Nothing from me this week as I completely ran out of time! But we do have two gorgeous pieces from our team members Sarah and Maria.

Sarah created this stunning metallic gold and olive cuff in 3-drop peyote using the knitted image as inspiration...


And this beautiful autumnal butterfly pendant was made by Maria using wire and a mixture of beads.


If you've been inspired by this or previous Monday Moodboards then please drop me a line with your photos to liz@thecrimsonmoon.co.uk or alternatively add them to our Flickr group pool - we'd love to see your work!

Wednesdays Wear It or Frog it.

I rediscovered this necklace two weeks ago during the great wip cull of 2010! At the time it escaped the frog pond as I love the colours and anticipated that it would get more wear during the Autumn/Winter season and also because I remembered that it was a really fiddly job sewing those tubes together and didn't want the effort to be wasted. However, it's been back in my main jewellery box for two weeks now and I haven't worn it, so I have taken the plunge and frogged it.

Monday Moodboard - Autumn Colours

The trees are starting to change from green into autumn colours, the weather is getting colder and I picked up my first conker yesterday! So what better time to have an autumn themed Monday Moodboard...think chocolate brown, forest green, fiery gold and burnt orange or whatever colours make you think of autumn.

Clockwise from top-left: October Queen, Pot of Gold, Autumn Green, Chocolate Brown in Basketweave.

We'd love to see what you make using these colours so don't be shy, send us a photo! You can email them to me a liz@thecrimsonmoon.co.uk or if you have a Flickr account simply add them to our group pool.