Updating Old Beading Tutorials with New Lower Prices

For the last couple of weeks, I have been updating old tutorials and moving them off of the Bead Infinitum website and into my Etsy shop. With the transition, most of the patterns are getting larger gallery sections, and significantly, the prices will drop. Because these tutorials are my earlier work, the designs don't use any of the fancy new bead shapes. Pretty much everything can be made with regular seed beads and round beads, with the occasional finding (jump rings, clasp) or rivoli. No two-hole beads! So you can work from your stash.

First is the Wisdom Mandala Pendant, one of my all-time favorites to make because you can use so many different colors, and it's super detailed. Plus it has two different sides so if you mess up one, you can call it the back.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/596085014/

Starburst Galaxy: Make yourself a constellation of stars! Necklaces, earrings and bracelets!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/596195590/

Ionic Polyhedra Beaded Beads
Detailed instructions for 3 polyhedra, plus photos and information on many more!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/596108446/ 

Borromean Link
includes three different link shapes.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/596079388/

Lotus Drops Necklace and Earrings
https://www.etsy.com/listing/596090984/

Rivoli Urchin Necklaces and Pendant
https://www.etsy.com/listing/598377582/

In the process of updating and moving old tutorials into my Etsy, I'm combining some of them together into collections based on a theme.

This collection is on flat angle weaves with stars. It contains two complete tutorials, plus the step illustrations for a third star weave, and two pages of extra bonus material including random photos and illustrations I found buried deep inside the folders of my computer.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/598454638/

Cluster Bead Tutorial Collection:
Cube Cluster, Octahedral Cluster, Star Cluster, and Sea Star
https://www.etsy.com/listing/598630846/

Infinity Beaded Bead Collection:
91 colorful pages including 4 complete patterns and extra bonus material never before released. Make them all with just seed beads!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/612440095/

There's still more to come.  Thanks for looking! 

Floret Earrings and Charms with Modified Prismatic Right Angle Weave PRAW

Learn to make Floret Earrings and Necklace with this original variation on Modified Prismatic Right Angle Weave (MPRAW). This version of MPRAW is like Modified RAW described in Contemporary Geometric Beadwork, and other beading patterns. This tutorial is written for intermediate beaders who want to learn more about right angle weave (RAW). Knowledge of cubic RAW or modified RAW is recommended.

This tutorial includes detailed instructions for making the Floret Earrings and the matching necklace with of tiny pendants with matching beaded beads. Everything uses Japanese seed beads in two different sizes with the addition of other small round, roundel and/or bicone beads. They are a wonderful way to small amounts of leftover seed beads and other small one-hole beads.

Each floret is 11/16 inch wide (12 mm) and almost an inch tall (23 mm). They’re small and light, making them comfortable to wear as earrings.

The tutorial is detailed including 15 colorful pages, with 110 full color illustrations and photographs. The tutorial gives detailed illustrations, photographs, and written instructions to make the Floret Earrings and matching necklace.

 Thanks for looking!

New Tutorial Space Ship Earrings and Blast Off Bracelet with Crescent Beads

This tutorial explains how to bead weave a bracelet and earrings with Toho’s 2-holed Crescent beads and a variety of seed beads. The Blast Off Bracelet is solid and somewhat flexible. The cable is round and measures one centimeter thick. It’s stitched lengthwise, making easy to add units for a perfect fit.

This tutorial includes step-by-step instructions for weaving Space Ship Earrings and the matching Blast Off Bracelet. The designs include loops of seed beads that make for simple and elegant way to attach jump rings and clasps. Use your purchased clasp or stitch a toggle bar with seed beads to finish the bracelet.

This tutorial is designed for advanced beginning bead weavers. If you know how to use the basic tools of beadweaving (needle, scissors, bead mat), you are ready to follow this very detailed tutorial.

With ear wires the earrings measure about an inch and a half (38 mm) long.
Beaded bracelet measures 1 cm thick.
The tutorial is very detailed, 13 colorful pages, with over 77 full color illustrations and photographs. The tutorial gives highly detailed illustrations, photographs, and written instructions to make the earrings and bracelet.

Tila Icosahedron Beaded Beads Necklace with Nuts and Washers in Blues with Lampwork Glass

For this whimsical necklace, I made 6 beaded beads, including 4 Nuts and Washers and a Tila Icosahedron and an Octahedral Cluster. Then, I added 5 borosilicate and lampwork glass beads torched by 5 different artists. Together they make a pallet of blues and silvery greens. This is an unusual and strand of beads, eclectic yet harmonious, and never to be repeated.

They're all strung on a 26 inch piece of silk and cotton cord, that I twisted and plied on my spinning wheel in colors that match the beads. I tied sliding knots so you can adjust the necklace to wear it long or short. Alternately, You could use this set as a beginning of a more elaborate necklace, but I would wear them just as they are, strung on cord.

 Includes 4 inches (10 cm) of beads. Largest beaded bead (the doughnut) measures an inch (25 mm).

Thanks for looking!

New Tutorial - Cellini Asterisk Pendants

Make these starfish pendants in 2 sizes with this original variation on beaded Cellini spiral, using peyote and herringbone stitches and seed beads.

Alien flower pods or star fish? The center of these pendants is an urchin-like hollow puff of seed beads, with five pointy legs growing out of the base. The beadwork is stitched with just 3 sizes of regular Japanese seed beads. No fancy shapes required! So if you are a bead weaver, you probably already have everything you need.

This project is suitable for intermediate bead weavers who like peyote stitch. If you like the Victory Pod Earrings, you'll love making the matching Cellini Asterisk Pendant.

This tutorial shows three versions of the large Cellini Asterisk Pendant. The large ones measure 6 cm (2 and 3/8 in) point to point by 17 mm (less than 3/4 inch) thick. I made the easier version first, and although I like it, it is a bit squishy and, its legs are a bit wiggly. For the second version, I set out to make it stiffer, and so it is. The legs are also a wee bit fatter.

All of the adjustments are explained in the instructions. The stiffer large pendant is used in the step photos and illustrations. After you learn to make the units and assemble them, there is one page on stitching a bail, and another page on how to make the easier version of the pendant and how it differs from the harder version. There is also one page on the small pendant, including a few key illustrations and comments to get you started, and then a bunch of step photos showing how to assemble the pieces, including the bail.

You can also make these pendants with 2, 3 or 4 points instead of 5. So if you want to make a whole alien garden, you'll have lots of different flowers to put into it.

The tutorial is 15 pages, with 100 full color illustrations and photographs, a colorful feast for the eyes. The tutorial gives highly detailed illustrations, photographs, and written instructions to make Cellini Asterisk Pendants with seed beads and thread.

Thanks for looking.

New Tutorial - Cellini Flowers and Leaves Beaded with Peyote Stitch

I'm pretty excited about my newest tutorial, Cellini Flowers and Leaves.  With these instructions, you can learn to make earrings and a pendant with sparkling leaves and flowers. Cellini Flowers and Leaves are my original variations on beaded Cellini spiral, combining peyote and herringbone stitches.

Beading leaves is fast, fun, and easier than it looks. After you master leaves in two sizes, try a flower and a branch, and assemble everything into a cascading corsage pendant. Then bead earrings. And if you still want more, try the large flower beaded bead shown below. Aside from an 8 mm round bead in the small flower, everything is stitched with regular Japanese seed beads, using only a gram or two of each color. So if you collect seed beads, you probably already have everything you need. There's no need to buy more beads; just get right to beading!

This project is suitable for advanced beginning beaders who want to learn more about peyote and herringbone stitches. For you designer types, the pattern ends with drawings to inspire you to create your own beaded jewelry compositions with Cellini Flowers and Leaves. With so many different designs in one pattern, you could combine the techniques to make your own designs for pendants, bracelets and elaborate necklaces.

Cellini Flowers and Leaves is my third tutorial using the Cellini beading technique, and it won't be the last! The first was Slugs in Love. This is a new Slugfest kit with matching earrings that I assembled. 

 I still have a couple kits left before they are all sold out.

The second was Snail Shells and Twisty Bits. With this tutorial, you can make a bangle bracelet like this.

You can also make necklaces and doughnuts like these...

... as well as pendants in various sizes, like these.

And this example shows how Twisty Bits work seamlessly with classic tubular Cellini spiral stitch.

As always, thanks for looking.

New Tutorial - Baroque Cube Beaded Beads and Earrings Made with Peyote Stitch

I love beaded beads, and one of my favorite inspirations for them is the symmetry of a cube.  This version is one of my smallest and most detailed.  Since the design is based upon the structure of a cube, each beaded bead has 6 holes running through its center. 

This tutorial will show you how to weave little beaded beads with seed beads and little drops.  Using just a pinch of each color, these beaded beads are a great way to use up leftover seed beads from other projects. The little beaded beads on the earrings use mostly size 15° seed beads.

This tutorial is suitable for intermediate bead weavers who know how to do tubular (circular) peyote stitch. Presented are the two variations shown. This is the larger version made with mostly size 11° seed beads.

Both are stiff and quite small for such detailed beaded beads.  Side length of each cube on the earrings is just 13 mm (1/2 inch), and for the larger ones on the necklace, they are just 17 mm. The larger version are still small enough for bracelets and necklaces. I like them simply strung on cord with lampwork glass.

See how small the earrings are, just the way I like them!  They're fancy enough to be noticed, but small enough that I hardly can tell I'm wearing them.

Each beaded bead contains over 300 beads, each precisely woven into place.
The tutorial is available in my Etsy shop, or if you'd just like to have these earrings and not make them, check out my earrings section to find yourself a pair.

Thanks for looking!

Wisdom Mandala Pendant with Lapis

I sold a Wisdom Mandala yesterday, which means I got to make another one!

I've been wanting to make one to match this pair of ginkgo leaf earring for a few months, and so I did. Of all of my designs, the Wisdom Mandala is definitely one of my very favorites to make and wear. It has so much detail and sparkle, and you really get to explore complex color pallets when you weave them.

This two-sided pendant is woven from hundreds of tiny seed beads and sparkling Swarovski crystals. It has a natural deep blue lapis in center, surrounded by all tints of silver, gold, purples and black. The mandala hangs from a beaded tube that I strung on a matching piece of silk and cotton cord that I spun on my spinning wheel.

The design is named for the Five Wisdoms in Buddhism. These include the bare non-conceptualizing awareness, mirror-like awareness, awareness of sameness, investigative awareness that perceives the specificity, and the awareness that spontaneously carries out all that has to be done for the welfare of beings, manifesting itself in all directions.

New Tutorial - Delta Queen Necklace with Beaded Pendant and Toggle Clasp

I just released my newest tutorial, and I admit I'm quite pleased with it.  It's one of the most involved tutorials I've ever written.  This tutorial explains how to weave the Delta Queen Necklace with beads and thread.

A dramatic pendant hangs from a thick cable of beads.

The necklace is finished with a beaded toggle clasp, a new clasp design created just for this necklace. Everything is woven with honeycomb weave (with a bit of herringbone weave), including the Daisy Chain Cable. Honeycomb weave like right angle weave (RAW), but with other angles. You don’t need to know RAW to follow this tutorial, but you do need to know how to weave the Daisy Chain Cable, shown below. If you don’t know the Daisy Chain Cable, you can find it in my Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/225147305/

To the best of my knowledge, honeycomb weave was first introduced in my paper, Using tiling theory to generate angle weaves with beads on page 21 as an example of a 2-across-edge angle weave.  In particular, honeycomb weave uses the tiling by regular hexagons, and the hexagons are very visible at the top of the pendant.  It's always been one of my favorite weaves in that paper, but it's taken me until now to design something with it.  I'm sure it won't be my last use of this weave.

This Delta Queen Necklace tutorial is a long project, suitable for intermediate to advanced bead weavers who are already very comfortable with the Daisy Chain Cable. The tutorial is a PDF file with 31 pages, including over 160 photos and illustrations. That's a lot of steps, but I think it's a fun project because you're not doing a billion repeats of the same thing (except the necklace cable.  That has a lot of repeats).  There are lots of different elements, and that gives you the chance to make lots of different coordinating components that all assemble into a single finished necklace.  Also, you don't need any fancy bead shapes, so you can really play with color rather than wasting time trying to track down that one weird bead shape in just the right color.

Can I tell you?  I'm really happy it's finally done... Although part of me wants to make another one of these necklaces, I'm also ready to move on to the next project because I've got a bunch more ideas for flat weaves that I'm really itching to try.

Thanks for looking!

New Tutorial - Daisy Chain Cable Beaded Bangle Bracelet and Earrings Angle Weave

I just released a new tutorial for that explains how to bead weave a bracelet and earrings with one size of seed bead, round or bicone beads, and thread. No fancy shapes required! The Daisy Chain Cable is solid and somewhat flexible. Its cross section is oval, measuring 7 mm by 8 mm when woven with size 11° seed beads. You can weave it as long as you want, and you can also scale it up or down with other sizes of beads.

This tutorial includes step-by-step instructions for weaving the bracelet into a continuous bangle. You will also learn two ways to end the cable, so you can add a clasp, make earrings or weave it into more complex pieces of bead weaving.

This tutorial is designed for advanced beginning bead weavers. This design uses the honeycomb angle weave. It’s like right angle weave (RAW), but with other angles. If you like RAW and want a new challenge, you’ll love this. However, you don’t need to know RAW to follow this very detailed tutorial.

The tutorial is 14 pages, including about 75 illustrations and photographs. The tutorial is a PDF file that gives step-by-step instructions for the bracelet and earrings in the photos.

The materials you will need include
Size 11° seed beads, colors A, B
4 mm beads, round or bicone
Thread: Fireline 6 lb.
Beading Needle, size 10 or 11

You can scale this weave down with size 15° seed beads and 3 mm beads, like I did for the earrings. Fireline 6 lb will still work, but you might want to use 4 lb instead. You can also scale this weave up with size 8° seed beads and 6 mm beads to make a chunky daisy cable that weaves up quickly.

Thanks for looking!

Marsala Beaded Bead Necklace

This necklace features Pantone's 2015 Color of the Year, Marsala with aquamarine blue and titanium gray.

It includes 8 beaded beads: 5 Nuts & Washers, a Cube Cluster, an Octahedral Cluster, and a Conway Bead. I carefully selected 7 lampwork glass beads to make the strand into an asymmetric, yet perfectly balanced strand of beads. That's 15 beads in all. Together they make a pallet that is rich and earthy, sophisticated, and oh-so in fashion.

They're all strung on a yard of blue cord of pure silk that I twisted and plied on my spinning wheel.

It includes almost 6 inches (15 cm) of beads. Largest beaded bead measures almost an inch (23 mm).  Thanks for looking!