Tutorial - Starburst Earrings

Perfect for using up those last few cylinder beads, these pretty Starburst earrings are also very quick and easy - they take literally minutes to make!

You will need:

• A small amount of cylinder beads in colours A (centre colour), B (main colour) and C (accent colour).
• A size 10/12 beading needle threaded with about half a metre of beading thread.
• Pair of earwires
• 2 x 4mm jump rings, thin enough to go through a cylinder bead.
• Pliers

How to make:

Pick up 4 A beads and sew through them all again plus one more to create a circle.

Pick up 1 A bead and sew through the next bead in the circle. Repeat another 3 times.

Step up at the end of the row by passing the needle through the first bead you added, ready for the next row...

Pick up 2 B beads and sew through the next bead. Repeat another 3 times.

Step up through the first bead you added...

Pick up 1 B bead and sew through the next bead. Repeat another 7 times. Some of the beads will be added between the pairs from the last row, as shown below...

Repeat the last row once more, picking up 1 B bead each time. Step up.

The key to this design is to keep the tension light. Don’t pull the thread too tight as this will cause the edge to curl!

Pick up 2 B beads and sew through the next bead. Repeat another 7 times and step up through 2 beads at the end.

Pick up 1 C bead and sew through the next 2 beads. Repeat another 7 times and step up.

Pick up 2 B beads, 1 C bead and 2 B beads and sew through the next C bead. Arrange the beads so that they form a triangle with the C bead at it’s tip. Repeat another 7 times.

Follow the thread path another couple of times to stiffen the points (if necessary) before weaving both ends of the thread into the beadwork and trimming. Open up a jump ring with your pliers and slide it through one of the cylinder beads on the points, add an earwire and close the jump ring to finish. Repeat to make a second earring.

Hope you have fun making these! Liz x

Free Jack 'o' Lantern Cuff Pattern

Here's a little treat for you (as opposed to a trick!) to go along with our October challenge - a fun Jack 'o' Lantern Peyote Cuff Pattern designed especially for OTTBS in this month's challenge colours! As well as a cuff, the pumpkin motifs would also work well on their own as earrings. While there is a bead legend and amounts needed on the pattern, I haven't included exact shades so that you may choose your own.

Pattern Finds - Perfect Evening Earrings

Our last pattern finds for this month is the tutorial for these very beautiful earrings by Nancy Dale (NEDBeads on Etsy). Nancy is an active member of our Facebook Group and is currently converting people to cubic raw! These stunners are made using peyote stitch though. I really must treat myself to a pair of rivolis!



As always, click on the pic to be taken to the listing.

Happy Beading!

Sarahx

Pattern Finds - Fringed Beaded Bead by Jade Dog Beads

I love projects that use up leftovers, those little bits and pieces left over from other projects. I generally use them to make rings but sometimes I would like to do something different and this gorgeous project by Darcy at Jade Dog Beads certainly fits the bill. I have followed Darcy on Facebook for a long time and have always loved her fringed beaded beads, so I love the thought of being able to make one myself!



Link to Darcy's shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/JadeDogBeads?ref=seller_info

I hope you like it as much as I do! I think it will make a fabulous summer accessory,the difficulty will be be in deciding what colour to make first!


Happy Beading!

Sarahx

Stashbusting Project Idea - Bead Soup Rings.

We have all got them lurking about at the bottom of drawers or bead boxes, those almost finished tubes of beads with just a gram or so of seed beads in, just a little bit too much to throw out, but not quite enough to make anything with. This week I have been on a mission to clear out these tubes by making bead soups and stitching them up into wide peyote rings with a button focal bead.

The pink, cream and gold ring was the 1st I made and has just the 3 colours, but still works out quite nicely. The proportions can be tricky, don't use the same amounts for all colours, I found this looked a little odd and not random enough. The purple ring has 6 different shades and finishes. The brown button ring has brown as the main colour in the mix with beige and 2 different shades of gold.

I found that having one shade as the main colour (at least 50% of the finished mix) worked well and then add different amounts of related colours in different shades and finishes. One of my most successful mixes was a blue one with 6 closely related shades of teal and blue, each one a different finish, it stitched up really nicely too.

Once I had my mix I then stitched up the rings using 2 drop peyote stitch, these are 12 beads wide. I then zipped them up and added a focal.

Great little stashbusters and I think if you made them wider and longer, they would make great napkin rings!

Happy beading,

Sarahx

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

Basic Stitch Tutorial - Peyote

Welcome to the first of our basic stitch tutorials! In this series of tutorials we'll be showing you the basics of different stitches and techniques, building up a collection of tutorials that you can refer to whenever you need them. Because you can do so much with the basic stitches once you've learnt them we won’t be including instructions for finishing or embellishing.

We’re beginning the series with peyote stitch, a very versatile technique which is well worth adding to any beaders repertoire. In this tutorial I’m using size 8 Japanese seed beads to create a strip of peyote 6 beads wide. This is a quick and easy way to learn peyote as you only need to add 3 beads per row and the bead size means it works up quickly. I’m also using C-lon beading thread and a size 10 beading needle.

Before you start, thread your needle with a comfortable length of thread. Pick up a stop bead, move it down to about 8" from the end of the thread and sew through it again in the same direction, being careful not to split the thread. The stop bead is a single bead in a contrast colour, it stops your beads falling off and helps you to achieve a better tension when you work the first few rows.

You may find it easier to work the first few rows on a flat surface.

Pick up 6 beads and slide them down to the stop bead.



Pick up 1 bead, skip the first bead on the row and sew through the second bead.



Pick up 1 bead, skip a bead on the row and sew through the next bead.



Pick up 1 bead, skip a bead and sew through the final bead to complete the row. Pull the thread taut to line up the beads.


You’ve just completed 3 rows of peyote (the 6 beads you picked up at the start count as rows 1 and 2) and now have a small strip that has ‘up beads’.

Onto row 4...

Pick up 1 bead and sew through the first ‘up bead’.



Pick up 1 bead and sew through the second ‘up bead’.



Pick up 1 bead and sew through the final ‘up bead’.



Continue picking up 1 bead and sewing through the ‘up beads’, adding 3 beads per row until the strip is as long as you need. You can change the direction that you sew or you might find it easier to flip the strip over after every row. Make sure you keep the thread taut as you work.



Here’s a bracelet I made with the above instructions, using a 'Salt & Pepper' Miyuki bead mix.



I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, if you have any questions then please ask away!

Giveaway Prize - Sneaky Peak 3

Even though I bead and make jewellery myself, I love to wear pieces made by other beaders, so today's sneaky peak prize is a pair of my signature circular peyote earrings in the Rose Garden colourway inspired by the pink, green and creams of this months moodboard challenge. The circles are 1 inch and finished with sterling silver earwires.

Rumour has it that the husbeast is planning a trip to Cardiff tomorrow, which means a visit to Crystals and Ice, my local bead shop, I may just have to pick up a little something for the giveaway!

Happy beading!

Sarahx

Free Pattern - Blue Waves Peyote Bracelet

This Valentines day the husbeast treated to me to a trip to Cardiff, which is always dangerous for my stash busting plans as the lovely bead shop Crystals and Ice is there. True to form I bought quite a lot of seed beads though I did restrain myself and stay away from the delica's! I bought some blue's, forgetting that I already had a plastic carton full of them)and wanted a simple pattern to use some of them up. I came up with this and thought that I would share it with our lovely OTTBS readers as I bet I'm not the only one with masses of seed beads in blue! I think it would look good in lots of other combinations too, I may try a black and red version at some point.

The dimensions using size 11 miyuki seed beads are width 1.31 inches, length 6.47 inches, just add or detract rows to resize. The bracelet uses the odd count peyote technique, if you aren't familiar with this or need a refresher, here is a link to a tutorial on about.com http://beadwork.about.com/od/beadingstitchtutorials/ss/Flat_odd_Count_Peyote.htm

Happy beading!

Sarahx

The Trials & Tribulations of Goal 8!

First of all, huge apologies for my lack of posting lately. I've been really busy with orders and commissions (although I'm not complaining!) plus other non-beady stuff and have spread myself a little too thin.

Also I came to a total standstill with my last goal. I had planned to use up that gorgeous tube of beads by the end of the week but three weeks later they were still sitting on my desk! Several times I had an idea, tipped the beads onto my bead mat and had a go but everything I tried was a disaster.

I discovered that they're not very good for herringbone, triangle stitch or right-angle weave. I had an idea that because they're triangles, they would look good stitched in rows on a bead embroidered cuff and I visualised a lovely zig-zag texture. No. They wobbled about a bit and it just looked messy, so back into the tube they went.

My last resort was peyote stitch which I had dismissed at first because of their shape. Success! They fit together brilliantly to give an unusual effect. So off I went, merrily making a six bead wide strip to make a bracelet...and ran out of beads three quarters of the way through! Grr. Determined not to buy another tube of these flippin' beads I unpicked it all and started again with four beads. Several hours later and with the addition of some red and gold seed beads I had this bracelet...



Now who was it that said beading was relaxing, lol.

2nd April Goal Completed -Sarah

I dug out a bag of hex beads and half a tube of matte frosted (one of my fave finishes) size 11's out of my stash late last week and was determined to bead until I had used them all up. I made strips of peyote which I zipped up and strung with strands between. I haven't explained that very well have I? I have a fair on Saturday so I am busy but after that I'll make another and take photo's and do some instructions because this was a really good stashbusting project! You can just keep going until all your beads have going, it's fun too. I actually counted and I had 5 seed beads left and 3 culls from the hex beads, result!

1st Goal Complete (Liz)

Happy Easter to you all! Well I am pleased to say that I've completed my first goal and, even if I do say so myself, ended up with a lovely cuff for my sister! The design is a new tutorial from Lynn Davy which I thought would be perfect for using up some of the bugle beads I have and never use. I still have loads of those Navy Iris 15s left but I was happy to use some of them at last plus half a pack of twisted bugle beads, the rest of a pack of purple size 11s, some metallic silver beads and these gorgeous black and purple AB faceted beads that I seem to have had forever! I hope you like it.

Some helpful links...

Here's some links that might help to use up some of our bead stash in great and beadiful ways.
This is one for the African Helix Stitch
This one is for free Delica patterns
This one is for Jewelry Making and Beading Projects
This one is from Bead and Button Magazine for Free Projects
Here's one for a Square Stitch Rosette Beaded Ornament
This one is for a Beaded Icicle
This is for Free Patterns
Here's one for a Bracelet with Paua Shell Cabochon and Seed Beads
Free patterns from A to Z
More free beading patterns
Free Peyote Patterns
Even more free Beading Patterns
Here's one for a beautiful Necklace
Bead Tree Tutorial
This one is for Bead Crochet
Here's many different Tutorials
Here's one for a beading glossary

I hope that these links will be helpful to you in using your bead stash up and making beautiful beaded pieces!
So until next time please don't forget, "Operation Tackle that Bead Stash" and Bead Happy!
Hugs and happy beading...
Bobbi