Flower Power Bracelet - Day One

I wasn't really pleased with the flower made with the vitrail beads, so, I made three more of them to use up most of the petals. Beauty in numbers. What I discovered was that it wasn't the flower I didn't like, it was the photograph. While the strings (fifty beads) usually divide evenly with half of the cupped side being vitrail and half not, this one was one bead off. I knew I wanted to make a bracelet as the next logical project, and I like my bracelets to have five elements. So...I needed another flower. What better than the flower made from leaf beads.

I chose leaf beads with a marea coating and chose five that read pretty much as silver instead of ones that would more closely match the vitrail coating on the petal beads. I had already decided that I wanted blue as the main color in the finished bracelet, and that I would use silver as one of the supporting colors. I also knew that I wanted the center flower to be larger, but not completely different than the others. Since I had six cupped beads with the blue glass showing rather than the vitrail, I used this side for the second layer of petals. To accomplish this, I had to add a round of the 8/0 beads without stepping up, just as I did on the flower power ones.

I next made a bracelet base with the blue 8/0 seed beads I used in the center flower. It's highly likely that none of it will actually show once I add the embellishments, but it still supports my color choice. I'm using the 8/0 seed beads because I've found that if I use 6/0s or 5/0 triangles, I put on so much embellishment my flowers are hard to find, like the "Secret Garden" bracelet shown below.



After I finished the base, I marked the position of the flowers with a Sharpie marker.



Then I placed the flowers over the marks to be sure I liked how it was developing. When I make these flowers for a bracelet, I don't end the thread so I can use it to attach them and to add the embellishment. I use the makeup sponges to house the needle and store the thread. I wish I could remember who suggested this to me. I was using foam hair rollers which also work well, and I know that Jelcy Romberg was the one who passed that trick along to me.



I sew the flowers to the base by going through the bottom row of petal beads one petal at a time and working through the 8/0s, thus I sew through a petal, through an 8/0, through the next petal, through an 8/0...until all five petals are attached. Then I wind the thread up again until I'm ready to add the embellishment and attach the next flower. Oh, yes, I used blue C-Lon doubled for the flowers because I wanted to match the clear blue glass, and I used 6lb crystal fireline doubled for the bracelet base because it was handy and I couldn't find the spool of C-Lon.

So, I attached the flowers starting from the left and working to the right, placing each carefully on the dot before I started sewing. And, as usual, they got closer together as I moved across the bracelet, but when I wear it, no one will notice, especially with the embellishment. That's the working rationalization for this bracelet.



Tomorrow I'll add the embellishments and finish the bracelet. (I think I'll start saying "In the next post" instead of tomorrow.)

Bracelet Base Continued

I work with a double thread on quite a few of my projects, and I often have to add a new thread. Here's how I do it: Work with the old thread until there is about 4" left. Stop, thread a new needle, and start this new thread about 4 or 5 rows back from where the old thread waits. Make a few overhand knots along one of the sides, not through the middle beads, and exit the bead where the old thread is. Tie a square knot and continue beading with the new thread.

When the beading has progressed for about an inch or so, pick up the old thread and work it up along the side making several overhand knots. Cut off the needle and tie the ends in a square knot before clipping or burning the thread close to the beads.


The bead that I'm using in this base has 9 beads to the inch along the side. If you want to know how many beads you'll need for the base, multiply this number times three. In this case, twenty-seven beads to the inch or 182 for a 6-3/4" base.


I use the new 8mm heavy magnetic clasps on a lot of these bracelets. (If you can't find them at your local bead store, Cindy Tipton, the Beadlady, has them available on line.) Stop when you have a "Straight" row coming up, and the magnet will fit right in the gap. Take the thread through the first bead, string on the magnet, take it through the last bead. Now come through the bead right below and start working overhand knots along the thread between the bead and the magnet. Go through the magnet and work overhand knots on the thread between this side of the magnet and the end bead. (It's like sewing on a hook with buttonhole stitches.) Work the thread along the side and finish it by clipping the thread leaving enough to tie a square knot, before clipping it close. I add the other half of the magnet the same way on the other side by threading the needle with the beginning thread, adding one bead to the side to get to the "Straight" row.

Once you've made a few of these you'll be amazed at how quickly you can create a base. Next week I'll be building a bracelet on this base. It's going to be "Miss Beddie's Pond" with a new flower made from petal beads.


Here's another bracelet with the flowers made from leaves. I titled this one "The Secret Garden," because you have to look really hard to find the flowers.


I'm off tomorrow for a weekend at the Shreveport Louisiana Bead Retreat. I'm teaching a new piece, the Rose Vine Bracelet. I'll also be teaching this bracelet at Beadoholique Too in Houston during April.

Beaded Flowers - Day 5

Today's flower is worked pretty much like the leaf flower on Day 4. These leaf beads are quite a bit larger than the beads used in yesterday's flower, but you'll use the 10/0 delicas for the first two rounds and 8/0 seeds for the next round just as before. Add the leaf beads.

Here's the difference. I used a coin pearl for the center instead of a 6mm montee, so I didn't need as many 8/0s around the center to finish the flower. I simply added one more round of 8/0s between the leaf beads. If I use a montee as I did in the flower that's the centerpiece of the bracelet in the header, then I add at least two rows of 8/0s around the montee rather than placing them between the leaf beads. The photo below shows the back of the completed flower.

Tip: I don't end the thread when I'm making these flowers for use in a bracelet or necklace. (Jelcy Romberg passed this tip on to me.) Instead, I take the needle and place it in a hair roller, wind the thread around the foam, and close the roller. When I'm ready to use it in a piece of jewelry, I simply open the roller, unroll the thread, and remove the needle. I found the rollers at my local Dollar store. I also use foam make-up wedgies in the same way, but I don't remember who told me about substituting them for the rollers. Either way, the flowers are ready to go when I'm ready to use them without me having to add a thread to the back before I attach them.

Beaded Flowers - Day 4

I make flowers out of all sorts of leaf beads, but this is one of my favorites. It's a 7mm x 12mm top/side-drilled bead (note the arrow in the photo). These leaves are available in all sorts of finishes: vitrail, matte, lustre, rainbow AB, half-metallic, and marea (the one shown) as well as others. To make the 5-petal fower, you'll need ten 10/0 Delicas, fifteen 8/0 seed beads, five 7x12mm leaf beads, and one 6mm Swarovski montee, a #10/11 needle and beading thread (Wildfire, 6-lb Fireline, or C-Lon).

Begin as detailed in the third post . Then work one row of 8/0 beads, remembering to step up at the end of the row. Once the 8/0s are on, begin to add the leaves being careful to ensure the fancy finish is on top. Once the leaves are all set, move the thread to a delica on the inner ring to add the montee. Go through one of the channels on the montee to the other side and through a delica. Move to the other channel and go across as before. Weave your thread back through one of the 8/0 beads. Work two rounds of 8/0 beads. Take the thread to the back, make a few overhand knots between beads. Tie to beginning thread and clip.

Six-leaf variation: Begin with twelve 10/0 Delicas. Use round 8/0s rather than hex beads like I used above and work one round. Add the leaves and the montee in the center, moving the thread back up and through one of the 8/0 beads after the montee is in place. Work two rounds with the 10/delicas. Pull tight and take the thread through beads until you can take it through one of the leaf beads. Add one row of 8/0 beads between the leaves. Weave the thread on the back down to the beginning thread. Tie in a square knot and clip or burn thread.

Here's a bracelet that showcases these flowers, that is, if you can find them. The embellishment is very exuberant to say the least. The flowers are very quick to make. If you wear earrings, you can easily make two flowers, glue them to an earring back in less than an hour. Well, that is, if you have the beads at hand. It usually takes me longer than that to find the beads I want to use.

Beaded Flowers - Day Three

Today's tutorial is a basic review on loops. I created these diagrams to show you that there exists a difference in loops with an odd or even number of beads; the even-number loops yielding a more rounded petal as shown in the flower pictured above. However, no matter how many loops I made I couldn't tell any real difference. Hence, when you start creating flowers, just put in however many beads give you the size petal you want. I have found that when I stack the loops, I need at least 5 more beads in each subsequent loop to create a visual difference in the size of these petals.




Let's look at "pointy" loops and how they're created. For these loops, string on one half of the petal plus two beads. Skip the last bead you put on, and take the needle through the next bead. Pull tight by holding on to the bead you skipped, and thread on the beads for the other side of the petal.

Now here there is a difference in the final visual depending on the number of beads you put on the other side of this petal. If you put on the original number of beads without the two extras, you will have a point in the center of the petal. But, if you put on the original number plus one or two more beads and finish your loop, you'll have a petal that is straight on one side and rounded on the other. Take a look at the flower shown above. The large petals at the top are point-centered, while the other two sets of large petals have straight and rounded sides.

The current issue of Beadwork Magazine (April/May 2009) has a necklace on the cover by Jamie Hogsett which has wonderful flowers created with pointy loops. She builds her flowers on a different base, so check it out and add it to your repertoire of techniques.

Tomorrow, I'm going to show you how to make a flower out of horizontally drilled leaf beads. But first, I added some center interest to today's samples, by adding a stack of beads between the three inner base beads. These stacks are created by working the first half of the pointy leaf. I also added a tiny fresh-water pearl in the center. In the other flower I put a loop of two 15/0s, a 3mm crystal, and two 15/0s between the inner base beads (3 loops total).

Beaded Flowers - Day Two

I think the most exciting flowers that I make with this loopy technique are ones that start with six beads, three in each ring. It was a great day when I tried this variation, and it just keeps getting better. Begin with six beads, go through every other bead and pull the beads into this interlocking triangle arrangement. Actually, it will happen automatically when you snug up the thread. (I used 8/0 seeds for the center and 11/0 seeds for the loops on this flower.)

Begin the loops on one of the triangles as shown in the diagram. If you want more than one loop in each of these beads, add them now before moving to the next bead in this inner triangle, remembering that you are working on the back of the flower. This means that you will add more beads to the second and/or third loop before taking the needle to the next bead of this triangle.

Once you have the loops on the inner triangle, then move to the beads on the outer triangle and add the loops. It's strictly up to you as the designer of one of these flowers to decide how many and the length of each of these loops. This flower has three matching loops on two of the beads in the outer triangle: 10, 15, and 18 beads in the three loops on each side. Ah, but then came the fun. I made the loops larger on the other triangle as follows: 20, 25, and 30.

I finished this flower with a 6mm top-drilled crystal in the center. Then I took a good look at it. Is this a flower or a fairy? or maybe an angel? And could I make it into a dragonfly or some other kind of bug? This is going to be fun. I also think this technique could easily yield a beaded flower that resembled a pansy.




This photo below shows some other possibilities. The little flowers are made with 11/0 seed bead centers and 15/0 bead loops. The spiky one is a teaser for tomorrow's blog where I'm going to show you different kinds of loops.






Scarlett Lanson, The Beader's Muse, and a new regular columnist in Beadwork Magazine hosted a wonderful contest called "Use the Muse" over February and March. The "Big Reveal" was today. My bracelet is near the bottom in the gallery section. She's planning another contest very soon, and I know I'm going to enter. I hope each of you will also. This was the fastest turn-around on any contest I've ever entered, and since it was judged from photos, I didn't have to trust my piece to shippers and then wait for a long time for it to return home. It was a great experience!

Beaded Flowers - Day One

If you saw my Keishi Pearl bracelet in the February/March 2004 issue of Beadwork Magazine, you saw large loopy flowers created on a single circle, not a two-bead peyote start. That was then, this is now. Today I'm going to do a simple "loopy" flower with 11/0 seed beads and the two-row peyote start as explained "In The Beginning."



Here's the starting circle with two rows of peyote and 5 beads in the round. I've used two different metallic beads for the rows. I start adding loops on the inner or first row of the circle as shown in the diagram.


String on 5 beads and take the needle back through the same bead and then through the next bead in the inner row as shown by the arrow. In other words, skip the bead in the outer row and go through the next one on the inner row. This snugs up the inner row as you proceed around adding the loops.

Start adding the loops to the outer row of beads. I always work from the back, adding the next size loop all the way around. It's a lot easier for me to get to this bead than to work from the front and try and get to the next bead that needs a loop. The diagram shows a 9-bead loop, the photo shows an 11-bead loop. It can be any size you want.

Skip the bead from the inner circle and take the needle through the next bead in the outer row as shown at the arrow. Complete adding the loops all the way around.



You can stop here if you want or you can continue adding loops until the flower is as full as you want. I usually make each succeeding loop larger by four to six beads; I like an odd count for these loops.


If you want a lot of loops, use a #10 Delica or an 8/0 on the outer inital ring and use a lighter weight thread. I used moss Wildfire on the yellow/peach flower, and I had some trouble getting the needle through for the second loop. I used 4-lb crystal Fireline on the yellow flower--a better choice.





Fusion Beads posted a new tutorial for a right-angle-weave beaded bead today. It looks great made with crystals.

Rondelles Continued

I had a photo all planned out of this pen and the other six rondelles that I removed when I put on the lampwork bead created by my friend, Diane Schulz, Houston lampworker extraordinaire. But, I have spent the last hour looking for those other beads and cannot find them anywhere. The fun thing is that I found a lot of "stuff" I haven't seen in a long time and some I completely forgot I had.

Anyway, I took the beads off the pen so you can actually see them. The rondelles on the pen are made with two rows of delicas, one row of 8/0s, one row of 4mm bicones, another row of 8/0s and finished with the two rows of delicas. Easy and quick to make.

I know the start to all of my beads--putting on twice the number of the tube, bringing the needle around and taking it through every other bead until you reach the last two when you take the needle through these seems awkward at first. Here's the reason: when you make a standard start of putting on twice the number of beads, tying them in a circle, putting on a bead and skipping a bead all the way around, you create three rows of peyote, and I only want two. I also hate working against a knot and this method yields a very tight circle. I usually go through the last row a second time and pull it very tight before I finish off my thread.

Here's a rondelle that makes a nice flower or bead to use instead of a button for a closure. This one is constructed of four bead rounds, beginning with the usual 8 beads and through every other one. There are four rounds of 5/0 Miyuki triangles, and the bead is finished with two rounds of seed beads. I love these triangles which Barry (Caravan Beads) lists as "rococo." They positively look like they're lit from within. Tomorrow I'll show you two necklaces I've made with these beads.