Free Pattern - Diamond Lines Peyote Bracelet

You may recognise this pattern as I designed for my entry in this month's Moodboard Challenge. I thought that you may enjoy it too. It is odd count peyote, although you could use even count, leaving off the last bead in each row and brick stitch them on at the end. Happy beading!

Sarahx

Wednesday Review - Beading Supply Sites

Sorry i am a little late in getting this review out to you, but i was having a very big dilemma about what/who to review. I have a mountain of books and magazines, but i thought to myself to do something different so here we go....

This weeks Review will be on Beading Supplies and where to get them from ;o) We all love to buy beads and I thought it would be nice to share sites i have collected over the years.

I will start with...
Crystals & Ice  www.crystals-and-ice.co.uk
Jenny & James have a wide variety of supplies at good prices. They are fast at posting out your items too (which we all know is very important lol) I always buy my findings here, their headpins / eyepins and ball spacers are a must for any project where you don't want the plating to tarnish quickly. I am very sensitive to most plated metals, but the quality of these ones are brill, even I can wear the ear wires.
So why not check them out and see if you find them as good as I do ;o)

The Second Shop on my list is...
Jencel  www.jencel.co.uk
Celia is such a lovely lady, and she also has very good prices on her supplies. I buy a lot of my 3mm & 4mm Faceted Czech Glass Beads from her, and thread and I just love her 'Silvered Glass' Ovals! Celia's website is full of eye candy and it is very hard to stop clicking the 'buy' button! Fast postage with her too, normally within a couple of days (if the postal service is working properly) lol. Keep up the great work Celia!!

The Third Shop is...
Debbie at Beadservice www.beadservice.co.uk
Debbie also has an array of goodies from beads to findings. Debbie does lovely mixes of seed beads too in various sizes at very good prices.

The Fourth Shop is....
Lynn Firth at Stitch and Craft www.stitchncraft.co.uk
Cor could I do some serious credit card damage if i lived near her shop! I spend enough when their stall is at the bead fairs I attend! The hardest part is choosing colours! If you need seed beads and thread you need to buy it all with them. They sell all sorts from beading thread to seed beads to needles to ummm everything!!! Mmmm..... Heaven lol.

The Fifth Shop is...
Caron at www.noseksjustgems.com
The one stop shop if you need Swarovski Crystals at a good price! I buy in bulk from her, and also again very good at fast delivery. Caron has a lovely selection of tiara blanks too ;o)

The Sixth Shop is....
thesouthamptonbeadshop.co.uk
I found out about this company when i went to the chepstow bead fair earlier this year. I like the range of seedbeads they supply, and they also have a lot of tantalising treats in their webshop.

Oh well, i think that is enough eye candy for you to be going on with. There are far too many fablous items in each of these shops for me to put here, so just go have a browse for yourselves and I wish your bank balance luck ;o)

I hope you have enjoyed this review, and I have not bored you to tears. Don't worry Sarah will be back next week with a sensible one hehehe.

Happy Buying & Beading Blog Followers. Ciao for now.

Carol XXX

April Moodboard

Another submission to our black, white and red challenge to share with you this week, a beautiful red and black cuff from Catherine...


Thanks for joining in with us Catherine!

If you'd like to play along with us this month and be in with a chance to win one of these gorgeous Spring Blossom kits from Sarah, please see the original post here.

Basic Stitch Tutorial - Spiral Rope

Another of my favourites and a very popular stitch among beaders is spiral rope. Also known as spiral rope chain, spiral staircase or spiral stitch, it is very versatile and you can make it as simple or as embellished as you like.

There are two sets of beads in spiral rope, the core beads and the outer beads. The core beads run through the centre of the rope, these are usually the same colour and size throughout. The outer beads spiral around the core beads and can be one colour and bead type or a combination of several. You can achieve a multitude of different effects simply by changing the combination of colours, sizes and types of beads you use.

For this tutorial I'm making a very simple rope using size 11 seed beads with 3 outer beads over 4 core beads.

1. With a comfortable length of thread, pick up 4 core beads and three outer beads. Slide them down the thread leaving a tail of about 8-10".



2. Sew through the 4 core beads once more, in the same direction.



3. Position the beads so that the outer beads are on the left.



4. Pick up 1 core bead and three outer beads. Keeping the first set of outer beads pushed to the left, sew through the top 3 core beads.



5. Sew through the single core bead that you just added before pulling the thread snug.



Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the rope is as long as you need, pushing the outer beads to the left each time.

Note: You can push the outer beads to the right if your prefer, just make sure you push them all in the same direction throughout the rope.

Here are a few finished ropes in various colours...



I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, please leave a comment if you have any questions or tips you'd like to share!

Magazine Review - Beads & Beyond May 2011

Beads and Beyond is a British based monthly magazine. I don't get it every month as there aren't that many seed bead projects, but when I do I am always impressed with the design, format and layout which is very fresh, modern and clean and makes this magazine a real pleasure to flick through. This issue has 14 featured projects including stringing, lampwork, wirework and one seed bead piece. There are also features on jewellery makers, 15 lariats in purple and lime and the designer challenge projects.

Of the projects my favourite is the seed bead necklace (no surprises there!), which is a beautiful blue floral pendant with a fringed strap. There are some particularly beautiful wire work projects in this issue, the treasures of the sea projects are inspired by nautilus shells and are just stunning, also there is a wirework fossil pendant which I love and want to try making for myself. There is a very fashion led necklace called Anchors Away which includes stringing, wirework and a bit of sewing that would be perfect for this years nautical fashions, I really liked this one! The lampworked goldstone nuggets are also beautiful, though it's not a craft I practise, my husband has banned me from anything that involves a torch!

If you are interested in the nautical trend, there is a round up of beads and charms, including some fabulous swarovski fish crystal beads that I really want to own. There are lots of giveaways in this magazine too.

While this magazine will probably never be my absolute favourite, simply because there aren't enough seed projects for me, this magazine is a lovely general jewellery making magazine with some beautiful on trend projects. It's lovely to flick through and the photography is inspiring, so definitely worth a look!

Happy beading!

Sarahx

April Moodboard

Three gorgeous submissions to the April Moodboard challenge to share with you this week!

Sarah made this diamond patterned bracelet using peyote stitch...



Lesley made this sparkly choker in right angle weave...



And Mandy made this russian rope bracelet...



If you'd like to join in with us this month and be in with a chance to win one of Sarah's fab Spring Blossom kits, please see the original post here. And don't forget, your submission doesn't have to be beadwoven, you can use any kind of beading technique, all are welcome!

Refelctions Bracelet Tutorial

Ok, so I liked Sarah's tutorial so much i wanted to give it a go. Only problem I had was that i didn't have a swarovski ring. Typical eh?

So i thought i would adapt the design and make my own version, so here it is. A Spinner Style Bracelet.

Carol XXX