Christmas Kits are Back!

It's that time of year again!  Christmas kits are available at your local Bead World this holiday season!  We try to make your holiday gift giving easy, with thirteen adorable and exclusive kits.  Each kit includes everything you need to make a special holiday project, with complete instructions and a color photo of the finished piece.  Can it get any easier than that?!   Every kit uses premium materials (Swarovski crystal, sterling silver, 14K gold filled, copper and more), so your loved ones get the very best.

Toy Soldier Earrings, $9.99

Christmas Lights Earrings, $5.99

Christmas Present Earrings, $10.99

Swarovski Crystal AB Christmas Trees, $8.99

Teri's Knotted Pearl Necklace

Teri’s Knotted Pearl Necklace

Teri’s Knotted Pearl Necklace is a stylish twist on a timeless classic. Everybody loves hand knotted pearls. Teri gives us a great way to freshen them up using sassy colored pearls and fun Vintaj charms.

Necessary Skills:
Cord Knotting
Using clamshells
Jump rings



You Will Need:
3 pieces of brass chain (1/4 inch, ½ inch and ¾ inch)
Size 5 Griffin pearl knotting silk (2 meters)
8mm teal freshwater pearls (1 strand)
Vintaj charm, sunflower charm and teeny lizard charms
5mm Vintaj jump rings (4)
7mm Vintaj jump ring
Size 11 seed beads OR 2mm Swarovski crystals
Clamshells (2)
Trigger clasp
Awl or knotting tweezers

Instructions:

1. Tie a knot in the end of the knotting silk opposite the needle. Thread the needle through the hole in the hinge of one clamshell. Pull the silk all the way through, so the knot sits in the cup of the clamshell. Tie a knot and press it against the outside of the clamshell, using your awl or tweezers.

2. Leave a ¾ inch space. Tie another knot and pull it tight. String on one seed bead, one pearl and another seed bead. Tie a knot and press it against the seed bead, using your awl or tweezers.

3. Repeat this technique until you reach the desired length. Be careful to use an even number of pearls! (Teri’s is 18 inches long.) Add the second clamshell and carefully knot inside the cup. Apply superglue to both knots, trim the silk and press both clamshells closed.

4. Open the loop on one clamshell, string on the trigger clasp and curl the loop closed.

5. Open the loop on the second clamshell, string on the 7mm jump ring and curl the loop closed. You now have a functional necklace!

6. Carefully open one 5mm jump ring. String on the end link of all three pieces of brass chain and the silk in the center open space. Carefully close the jump ring.

7. Carefully open one 5mm jump ring. String on the other end of the longest piece of chain as well as the loop at the top of the butterfly charm. Carefully close the jump ring.

8. Carefully open one 5mm jump ring. String on the other end of the medium piece of chain as well as the loop at the top of the sunflower charm. Carefully close the jump ring.

9. Carefully open the last 5mm jump ring. String on the other end of the shortest piece of chain as well as the loop at the top of the teeny lizard charm. Carefully close the jump ring. Your necklace is finished!

Bird Charms Take Flight!

Wow, kids!  Bird charms are so darn popular lately!  And it's no wonder, with all the super adorable bird charms available right now.  We've added quite a few fabulous feathered friends to our sterling silver charm boxes this week.  From swallows to hummingbirds all the way to the wise old owl, our range of bird charms is now top notch. Here is a quick preview of some of our newest...

Peace Dove, $6.00 at Bead World

Asian Bird Cage charm, $10.95 at Bead World

Disc with Bird Cut-Out, $10.95 at Bead World

Bird on a Perch, $7.20 at Bead World

Owl Pendant, $14.25 at Bead World

Hummingbird, $7.80 at Bead World

How to Make a Rosary

In honor of Easter, we're posting our Traditional Rosary instructions!  This is a classic Catholic prayer bead pattern that has been popular for hundreds of years.  Every Easter, Catholic beaders make literally millions of rosaries, which are then used in religious services and in prayer throughout the year.  From a beading perspective, a wire wrapped rosary is ideal for practicing your wire wrapping skills.  If you're not Catholic, you can give one as a treasured gift to a friend, or to a child at First Communion.  (As an alternative pattern, you can wire wrap 108 beads for a Buddhist prayer mala.)  You can find this Traditional Rosary pattern, as well as lots of other free downloadable projects, on our web site http://www.beadworldinc.com/

Materials needed:


53 beads for “Hail Mary” (A Bead)
6 beads for “Our Father” (B Bead)
1 crucifix
1 three loop connector or Rosary center
14 short lengths of chain (approx. ½ inch long)
24 gauge wire for wrapping, cut into 59 3 inch pieces
4 jump rings, 5mm 19 gauge


Traditional Rosary Instructions:
1. Using the 24 gauge wire, make a long wire wrapped strand following this pattern: chain, 10 of the A beads, chain, one B bead, chain, 10 of the A beads, chain, one B bead, chain, 10 of the A beads, chain, one B bead, chain, 10 of the A beads, chain, one B bead, chain, 10 of the A beads, chain. Each bead is its own wire wrapped unit, so you’re looking at 118 wire wrapped loops altogether in this project! It’s great wire wrapping practice!
2. Using jump rings, connect each end of the strand to the three loop connector.

3. Using the 24 gauge wire, make a short wire wrapped strand following this pattern: chain, one B bead, chain, 3 of the A beads, chain, one B bead, chain.

4. Using jump rings, connect one end of the short strand to the bottom loop of the three loop connector. Connect the other end to the crucifix.

Spring Dragonfly Earrings

Spring has sprung, the weather is beautiful and I am wearing a tank top!  This time of the year, I am always so grateful to live in the glorious Valley of the Sun.  While most of my friends are still shoveling snow out of their driveways, I'm watching hummingbirds hover over my blossoming honeysuckle.  This cute (and easy!) pair of earrings really reflect my sassy, springy mood.  Our dragonfly is made out of Swarovski crystal in sapphire, but you can use any color you prefer. 

Dragonfly Earrings:
Required Skills: Wire Wrapping
You will need:

• 2 4mm Swarovski Crystal bicones
• 6 5mm Swarovski Crystal bicones
• 2 5mm Swarovski Crystal rounds
• 2 TierraCast silver plated dragonfly wings
• 6 sterling silver daisy spacers
• 2 3 inch sterling silver headpins
• 2 sterling silver ear wires

Instructions:
• Stack beads onto a headpin in the following order: 4mm bicone crystal, daisy spacer, 5mm bicone crystal, daisy, 5mm bicone crystal, daisy, 5mm bicone crystal, wings, 5mm round crystal.

• Make a wire wrapped loop above the beads and wrap it closed.

• Bend the headpin gently to create a curve.

• Open the ring at the bottom of the ear wire and string the wire wrapped loop. Close the ring.

• Repeat all steps for the other earring.

Put the Pretties Front and Center!

Put the Pretties Front and Center!

There are few things I love in this world more than a beautiful, substantial toggle, but I hate wasting all of that silvery goodness at the back of my neck.  No matter how much I love a clasp, there's no sense paying for something that people may never even see.  What's a girl to do?  I say...put the toggle in the front of the necklace!  When you use a high end designer clasp, it can be the most stunning element of your entire piece.   (The toggle shown above left currently retails at Bead World for $16.50.)

Once you get used to the idea of  placing a toggle at the front of a piece, it opens up a whole new world of engineering options.  A toggle is a great place to anchor a pendant or large gemstone.  In the piece shown at right, turquoise and a pearl were wire wrapped onto a sleek, modern toggle.  This creates a "Y" neckline while maintaining the necklace's clean lines. 

You can wire wrap on any number of different decorative elements.  You can even add a cascade of mutiple dangles and drops.  In the necklace shown at left, three dangles shimmy down from the center toggle.  Each dangle is composed of multiple elements from the main necklace, and they are individually wire wrapped together.  It's an expensive, elegant look, but take note: it's made up entirely of leftovers that the designer had on hand! 

Have fun with big toggles and don't let them scare you.  Once you start experimenting, you'll see how much fun they can be!  I can't wait to see the gorgeous ideas y'all come up with!