Bead Earrings - Scallop Shapes using Brick Stitch

Brick stitch scallops. I think that's a good descriptive name. This is the beadwork technique I played with most of last month.

It's just brick stitch, but by using some larger beads in the base row, and then following the line around those beads in the next rows, you end up with a nice curved or scalloped shape design. It can be used a variety of ways to make shaped beadwork. I have a bunch of examples I worked on this summer.

Making Fancy Wire Letters for Initial Pendants

I recently had a custom order for my friends wedding. I had a couple of ideas that I proposed for bridesmaid's gifts in addition to the gift bow necklace that I ended up making.

One of the other ideas was wire initial letter necklaces.

I like initials.  They're cute and obviously somewhat personal.  I've previously done a tutorial on how to make square stitch beaded initial pendants, but I thought I would share some of my wire initials too.

DIY Wire Gift Bow Hook and Eye Clasp - Necklace Redo

This project started out as a custom order for bridesmaid's gifts - a simple wire gift bow necklace. The tutorial for the gift bow charm is at the link.

As usual, I ended up with a few extra bows after the necklaces were delivered - and I'm getting super tired of the extra projects laying around. I really wanted to find another way to use the wire bows.  After brainstorming a bit, I decided they would make sweet hook and eye clasps. 

And even better, I had a necklace that is just crying out for a better clasp!

Learn to Make a Fancy Scalloped Wire Edge - Free Tutorial

This post has been a long time coming! I decided to make wire leaves following my previous tutorial tutorial so I could make another pair of the leaf dangle earrings.  Revisiting an old design is a great opportunity to see where else you can take it.

In this case, I decided to combine the leaf shape with a lacy edge that I first made on one of my heart designs.  I realized I never did a tutorial for that edge, so a little over 2 years later - here it is!

This is the lacy edge heart. If you are interesting in making this shape, start with the free wire heart shape tutorial.

Why is Herringbone Weave More Difficult with Flat Beads? - and What to Do About it.

Although it may not be obvious, herringbone wire weave works best with beads that are round in the center. They don't have to be perfectly round beads, but oval, rondelle, drops, anything that is rounded will work best because the bead can turn in the herringbone frame and it will still look fine.

So what do you do when you want to add herringbone wrap to flat beads?