Wire Wrapping a Top Drilled Bead Pendant [Book Excerpt]

Top drilled drop shape beads and briolette beads make eye catching additions to your handmade wire jewelry creations. Unfortunately, top drilled drop beads can also be challenging to wire wrap, especially for beginners. 

There are a variety of techniques and which one is best for you to use will depend on the size of the drop, the size of the drill hole, what wire you are using, how you plan to use the drop and also how experienced you are with wire wrapping. 

This post will share a technique I often use to wrap top drilled drop beads. I think it is especially easy for beginning wire wrappers. It is an excerpt from my new book Wire Wrap Jewelry Making for Beginners that is available now for purchase on Amazon and some other retailers such as ParaWire.

Tips for Rounding Wire Jewelry Cut Ends with Ease

One simple step to improve your wire jewelry making is to make sure your cut ends are smooth and burr free. 

And getting a smooth wire end isn't very hard - if you have the right tools.

Creepy Halloween Bead and Wire Spider Earrings

Looking to make something creepy to dress up your Halloween outfit? Then these instructions on how to make a beaded spider is the tutorial for you. 

This project is versatile because you can use different types and sizes of beads - a great stash buster! I'll show you how I made the black spiders dangling on grey silk threads - but feel free to experiment with other sizes and types of beads.

Circular Brick Stitch Daisy Flower [Perfect for Beginners]

 When I was first figuring out how to make this pretty beaded flower, I had to try 3 different ways before I got it right. Once I realized how easy it was, I thought I would make a garden full of flowers. Of course, I didn't and just moved on to the next project on my list. 

I figured today was the day I would make more - maybe a pretty red drop bead for the petals with yellow or white (or both) in the center. I was hoping for something resembling a poinsettia. But knowing my bead collection (and lack of organization), my backup plan was black petals, with orange or purple - a little Halloween themed fun. 

I did finally find the red beads to make this version.  Read on to find out how to make these beginner friendly flowers.

Improve Your Jewelry Loops with 6 Step Bail Pliers

 Are you ready to try a new round nose plier for your wire jewelry making?  

This is a comfortable, easy to use round nose plier that will:

• improve the consistency of your loop size
• provide nice circular shaped loops
• allow you to make larger sized loops and curves.

 If that sounds good, then a pair of six step looping (aka bail making) pliers is just what you need.

I am a surprised by how long it took for me to use these round nose 6 step pliers for all my wire loop making. I guess old habits die hard, but now I rarely reach for my tapered round nose pliers to make loops. I think these looping pliers are great for beginner wire jewelry makers.

Sparkly Right Angle Weave [RAW] Bicone Crystal Bead Tennis Bracelet - It's Easy!

 Do you like sparkle? Then this bracelet is for you. This is a good beginner right angle weave (RAW) beading project.

To make a 7 inch bracelet you will need the following materials: Beading thread (I am using FireLine thread in Crystal), 100 4mm bicone crystals - formerly known as Swarovski but another brand will work, scissors, size 11 delica beads  (Translucent Silver Gray Luster), a clasp, and a beading needle.

Taking Pictures Like a Pro with my Fancy Nikon DSLR Camera

 I'm wondering if I'm overselling myself with the title of this post. I don't think so. After all, I've spent the better part of the last month working on understanding basic photography concepts. My camera is indeed a fancy Nikon DSLR. And the photos that I'm taking will be published in a print and online book about making wire wrap jewelry with beads, so they will have to be 'like' professional photographs. Now that I've overanalyzed the title, let's get to the intent of this post...Just capturing what I've figured out so far in case it helps anyone else AND so I know where I'm at currently as I strive to improve.

Star of David Brick Stitch Beading Pattern

 At a beading play date earlier this year, my friend mentioned that there is a serious lack of jewelry that represents Judaism - especially at holiday time. I pretty much promised myself that I would make some designs to make up for that.

This is the first one, a Star of David pattern done in brick stitch.