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April 15, 2009, Vol. 3 No. 5 |
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We're celebrating springtime with a triple project newsletter. Originally intended for the April issue of Simply Beads, this triple project festival features designs by Candie Cooper, Margot Potter and Jean Yates. All of these well-known designers have regular online blogs and have a published book or a book headed for the presses.
Objects And Elements provided the chain, fill-in bezels, brass heishi spacers, ICE Resin and findings. This online store offers products and elements designed by artist Susan Lenart Kazmer. Susan transforms found objects into art pieces, imbuing them with the power of their own history. Her book, Making Connections, is a highly recommended primer for anyone interested in learning rivets, hinges and other "cold" ways to construct jewelry or mixed media pieces. The book is available at ObjectsAndElements.com.
Objects and Elements offers many bronze jewelry components in addition to sterling silver, Roman glass, mica splittings, waxed linen, charms, clasps, tools and even instructional videos. One visit will set your brain clicking with ideas and innovative solutions. I hope the projects will inspire your next creation.
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Free Project Blowout
Jean Yates has designed jewelry for the magazines Simply Beads, Australian Beading, BeadStyle, Stringing and Beadwork. Her 2008 book Links is filled with insight and personality reflecting her true passion for people, jewelry and relationships. Links is packed full of insightful personal designs that are hard to resist. Jean loves sharing her life with shiny, sparkly things so much she even keeps beads in her bedroom. Never one to let grass grow around her feet, Jean is hard at work on another book, but that's all I can tell you!
Visit with Jean at PrettyKittyDogMoonJewelry.Blogspot.com.
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Digg It
Design by Jean Yates
This necklace was made to look like a fantastic find on an archaeological dig. Resin captures the moment of discovery.
Materials
- 4 bronze bullet-shaped dangles
- Bronze bezels: 2 rectangle, 2 tiny round
- Glass shards
- Brass heishi beads in assorted sizes and styles
- 3 pieces of Roman glass
- 6 (9.5mm) bronze etched jump rings
- 4 bronze clasp hooks
- 2 (4-inch) lengths brass cable chain
- 6 inches 18-gauge brass wire
- ICE Resin kit
- Paper plate
- Tweezers
- Round-nose pliers
- 2 pairs of chain-nose pliers
- Wire cutters
Finished Size
18 1/2 inches (including clasp)
Instructions
| 1) |
Place all four bezels on a paper plate. Fill bezels approximately one-third of the way full with glass shards. Note: Use caution when handling glass shards as they are very sharp. |
| 2) |
Gently place heishi beads inside bezels, placing them on top of glass shards. Use tweezers to arrange beads as desired. |
| 3) |
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to make resin. Pour resin into the bezels. Allow resin to dry for at least 24 hours before touching. |
| 4) |
Form a wrapped loop at one end of 18-gauge wire, attaching loop to one rectangle bezel before wrapping. |
| 5) |
String the following: bullet dangle, Roman glass, bullet dangle, Roman glass, bullet dangle, Roman glass and a bullet dangle. Form a wrapped loop, attaching loop to other rectangle bezel before wrapping. Note: Make sure bezel fronts face same direction. Trim excess wire. |
| 6) |
Open a jump ring and slide onto a round bezel; attach ring to empty loop on a rectangle bezel. Close ring. Repeat to attach other round bezel to other rectangle bezel. |
| 7) |
Use jump rings to attach chains to opposite sides of round bezels. |
| 8) |
Use both pairs of chain-nose pliers to open last link on one chain. Slide link onto a clasp hook and close. Clasp should face inward. Repeat to attach another clasp hook to other chain. |
| 9) |
Use jump rings to attach remaining clasp hooks to previous hooks. These hooks should face outward. Gently open one side of one end hook slightly to make it easier to use. |
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Source: ICE Resin kit, bronze bezels, bullet-shaped dangles, glass shards, brass heishi beads, Roman glass pieces, etched jump rings, clasp hooks and chain from Objects and Elements.
Copyright © April 2009 Simply Beads newsletter. All rights reserved.
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Margot Potter is an irrepressible, ironic wit amongst beaders. Her Impatient Crafter Series includes three books (Impatient Beader, Impatient Beader Gets Inspired and Sparkletastic), and she is never afraid to shine, sparkle or share a funny story. Katie Hacker, Fernando DaSilva and Margot "show all" in the newly released Bead & Wire Jewelry Exposed, featuring modern, sparkly Beadalon wire and Swarovski crystal designs. In Beyond the Bead, Margot takes her talent with mixed media from the front cover to the back to inspire truly personal designs.
Visit with Margot at margotpotter.blogspot.com.
*Due to sensitivity to fumes, Margot substituted Diamond Glaze for ICE Resin in her project. I mention this only because if you have asthma or any sensitivity to fumes, this may be an important consideration. Although ICE Resin is a low-odor product, it is not completely without fumes and is best used in a well-ventilated area.
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Faux Resin Necklace
Design by Margot Potter
Washers and glass glitter are embedded in faux resin to create a compelling focal pendant. Jump rings encrusted with varied sizes and colors of washers connect the elements. An inked and distressed vintage zipper pull I found at a local estate sale gives the design a decidedly vintage appeal.
Materials
- Mini washers
- Bronze bezels: rectangle, tiny round
- Vintage zipper pull or other found object
- Jump rings: 2 (8mm) gold-plated, 3 (7.25mm) bronze
- 2 bronze clasp hooks
- 15 3/4 inches brass cable chain
- Black archival ink pad
- Light green acrylic paint dabber
- Gold metallic ink
- Foam applicator tool
- Round-nose pliers
- 2 pairs of chain-nose pliers
- Wire cutters
- Clear dimensional glaze medium or ICE Resin kit
Finished Size
17 1/2 inches (including clasp), with a 4-inch droplet
Project note: Clear dimensional glaze medium may react with the coating on the brass washers and turn green. If you want a clear appearance, use ICE Resin instead.
Instructions
| 1) |
Fill both bezels almost to the top with mini washers. |
| 2) |
Slowly add glaze medium to bezels taking time to drag bubbles out and make sure all spaces in washers are filled. Let dry. Note: Once dry, fill in indented areas with glaze medium and let dry. |
| 3) |
Distress zipper pull as desired with paint and inks. Note: Use foam applicator to apply inks. |
| 4) |
Open an 8mm jump ring and fill it halfway full with mini washers; slide both bezels onto ring sliding them on opposite sides of ring. Slide more washers on each side, leaving enough room to close ring with pliers. Close ring. |
| 5) |
Attach another jump ring filled with washers onto bottom of rectangle bezel; slide zipper pull onto ring before adding more washers. Close ring. |
| 6) |
Attach a 6mm jump ring to opposite end of round bezel. Slide jump ring onto center of chain. |
| 7) |
Open a 6mm jump ring; slide clasp hook onto ring. Slide ring onto end link of chain before closing. Repeat to attach other clasp hook to end of other chain. |
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Sources: Mini washers, bezels, chain, clasp hook, bronze jump rings and ICE Resin kit from Objects and Elements; gold-plated jump rings from Beadalon; inks and foam applicator tool from Ranger Industries Inc.; clear dimensional glaze medium from JudKins Inc.
Copyright © April 2009 Simply Beads newsletter. All rights reserved.
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Candie Cooper uses her art background and craft savvy to create mixed-media charms and jewelry. Her wide range of materials comes through in everything she does. In 2007, Lark Books released Felted Jewelry: 20 Stylish Designs. Her latest Lark book Metalworking 101 is due out September 2009. Visit Candie any time at candiecooper.com, and one click will take you to her creative and lovely blog. Candie's blog shares events from her studio along with recipes, recommendations and lots of pictures. The green tea muffins are delightful!
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Safari in Africa
Design by Candie Cooper
Get in touch with your wild side with this unique safari necklace!
Materials
- Bronze bezels: 1 rectangle, 4 tiny round, 1 small clasp with hook
- 40 (3–5mm) assorted brass heishi spacers
- Wooden beads: 4 (12mm) round, 2 (1 1/2-inch) rectangular
- Gold/copper glass shards
- Decorative paper
- 2 elephant charms
- 2 small brass leaf embellishments
- 8 brass jump rings
- 18-gauge brass wire
- 15 inches bronze chain
- Paper plate
- ICE Resin kit
- Round-nose pliers
- Chain-nose pliers
- Wire nippers
Finished Size
16 inches (including clasp)
Instructions
| 1) |
Cut pieces of paper to fit inside each bezel; place papers inside bezels. Place bezels on paper plate. Glue charms and leaves inside bezels as desired; add glass shards. Note: Use caution when handling glass shards as they are very sharp. |
| 2) |
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to mix resin. Carefully fill bezels with resin. Let dry at least 24 hours before touching. |
| 3) |
String a small brass spacer, large brass spacer, wooden bead, large brass spacer and a small brass spacer onto 18-gauge wire. Form a small loop at end of wire. Slide all beads against loop and trim wire approximately 1/4 inch past first bead. Form a small loop. Repeat five more times for a total of six wooden bead links. |
| 4) |
Cut a 7 1/2-inch piece of chain. Separate 15 links from leftover chain. Open a single link and slide on a brass spacer; slide link onto center link of 7 1/2-inch chain; close link. Repeat to attach seven links on each side of center link. This will be the top center section. |
| 5) |
To form bottom center section, open a loop on round wooden bead link and attach to one side of rectangle bezel; close loop. Repeat on opposite side of bezel. Use jump rings to attach round bezels to opposite ends of round wooden bead links. Use jump rings to attach rectangle wooden bead links to opposite sides of round bezels. |
| 6) |
Open a jump ring and slide on end loop of rectangle wooden bead link and one end of 7 1/2-inch chain; slide a round bezel onto ring before closing. Repeat with opposite end of chain. |
| 7) |
Use jump rings to attach round wooden bead links to ends of round bezels. |
| 8) |
Cut two 1 3/4-inch lengths of chain. Open end loops on round wooden bead links and slide on chains; close loops. |
| 9) |
Open end links of 1 3/4-inch chains and attach clasp hook to one end and small bezel clasp to other end. Close links. |
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Sources: Chain, bezels, brass spacers and findings from Objects and Elements; wooden beads from Blue Moon Beads; brass wire from Beadalon.
Copyright © April 2009 Simply Beads newsletter. All rights reserved.
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Points to Consider
The following letter came from Jane, via e-mail:
"I enjoyed your ‘Let's get ethical’ comments in this newsletter. I agree with your stance on design copyrights; however, I do believe that there are some grey areas, and wonder about your response to the following: I've been making jewelry for years -- for sale, for gifts and for myself. All my jewelry designs come out of my own head. I have no books or magazines about beading design. Just recently I've begun to pay attention to what other artisans are doing, and I am discovering that people are doing the same things as I am.
"When two people in different locations design something almost identical, unbeknownst to each other, who is to say who owns the intellectual copyright? I would never purposely copy someone else's design, but I think duplicates happen by coincidence."
My response for Jane is pretty straightforward: It happens! Great minds really do think alike. The first designer to publish the design or apply for a copyright becomes the owner. There is no such thing as an intellectual copyright. In most cases where two people come up with similar or the same idea, there are differences in the method or appearance. Beadwork features many common techniques that create similar-looking designs. Create a dated photo archive to help keep track of when an inspiration came to be.
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I am enjoying the warmth of the changing season and waiting for a rainless day to wash my car. It has been a muddy spring, and my travels have left a lot of evidence on my once-white wagon. Although dirt sometimes keeps me from hitting the road, I am headed to a local bead store for beading needles and a few shared smiles with fellow bead lovers.
Now, I must pick out the perfect piece of jewelry to wear (too many options). Join me: put on your best necklace and make some new, beady friends!
Barb Switzer
Editor, Simply Beads newsletter
PS. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to your beading friends, so they can subscribe!
Send feedback!
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Instead, fill out the easy feedback form to let me know your thoughts, questions, news or anything else you want to tell me about. You never know, I may feature it in an upcoming issue of this Simply Beads newsletter. Keep reading!
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