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December 07, 2016

Leather and Crystal Loom Bead Bracelet

Still playing with making Chan Luu style leather bracelets with my new Mirrix Loom.

I emailed Mirrix after my first batch of bracelets to ask how other people made this style of bracelet with their loom.  They were quick to respond with some different options of how to set up the loom.  I'll be taking a look at that over the weekend to see if there is anything that works better.

Until then, I decided to play with my new crystal beads (and new buttons) from the gem show last weekend and make this crystal bead leather bracelet.

leather and crystal woven bracelet



This style is much quicker than the Delica bead leather bracelets I made last time.  Here's a quick look at some other goodies from this week.


These are all of the crystal beads I purchased at the gem show.  I really like the opaque colors.

crystal beads

Did I already mention I wish I bought more... I'm sure I did.  Another thing I wish I had purchased more of are these buttons.  Can you believe I only bought three?!  What was I thinking?

pewter button jewelry supplies

I guess I'm ok with only getting a few of these.  They were my splurge.  Rhodium plater cubic zirconia connectors.  The flowers don't have CZ's, but they're still cute.

cubic zirconia connectors

And another look at my new bracelet.  I'd show you the step by step, but those pictures didn't turn out.  It's rare, but when it's cloudy in Southern California, my pictures don't always work out.  Especially with the loom.  I'm still having trouble adjusting to taking pictures of something so large.

Chan Luu style leather and crystal bracelet

My bracelet came out a little small for me.  I'm still wearing it though and decided it will be a good test to see how it holds up to non-stop wear, including in the shower.

Chan Luu style leather and crystal bracelet

I forgot to mention, the crystal beads are attached to the leather using 6 lb. smoke colored FireLine.  I didn't double the thread or anything.  I may consider that if there are wear issues, but I find working with doubled thread can be tricky, so I'll avoid it if it isn't necessary.

I tried my hand at creating the evil eye tutorial.  I'm not sure if the pictures are salvagable or not.  It may have been too cloudy for them too.

circular brick stitch beaded evil eye

I was a little disapppointed with this one anyway.  The bead wasn't drilled straight so the brick stitch has one less bead on the starting round on one side than the other.  The bottom line, it's uneven.  But in some ways, I think it makes it look more eye-like, so I'm still deciding if I'll use this or not.  I probably will.

While I was doing brick stitch, I decided to use some of my ever-growing bead soup to make these circular brick stitch little baubles.  I use them as charms on stretch bracelets, although they can be almost anything.

circular brick stitch components

Oh, I almost forgot!! Today is such an exciting day for me!  It's the first meeting of my yet-to-be-named craft group, made up of my former baseball Mom buddies.

I wish it could be a jewelry making or beading group, but I don't know that many jewelry makers or beaders in the area.  But I do know a lot of other crafty (or wanna be crafty) Moms that want an excuse to get together and hang out since we have more time on our hands now that our baseball playing sons are in college.

Tonight, we'll be making stretch bracelets using my bead stash and planning future projects.  I'm still not sure of how all of this will run, but we will figure it over time.  I'll let you know as it evolves.

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3 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa, Your new bracelet is very nice and I do like that button! I've made many of these leather/bead wrap bracelets and I used to use a clip board---then I started using the MacrameBoard by Beadsmith and it really works very well. (I have no connections to this company, just really like the macrame board.) I also use the 6 lb. Fireline for my wrap bracelets and found it to work the very best. Some of the other products don't hold well, slip around, and/or stretch over time. I also got a loom recently and have made five bracelets but have not been especially pleased with the way the last row turns out---I'm using the wood loom with a different method of warping so there are only two warp threads. I like using the bead tube slides on the ends as they tie a very clean finish but I don't think they will fit with all the extra thread on the regular looms such as the Mirrix loom you are using. Maybe I'm wrong and there is a finishing method I don't know about. If you have an answer, I'd love to know it. I enjoy reading about your jewelry projects very much. Lynn Carling

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  2. Hi Lisa, I like the way you did your leather and crystal loom bead bracelet. It looks clean and really well-crafted. I've been making beaded jewelry myself but I haven't tried using a loom yet. It is easy to use? Which brand (if money is not an object) would you recommend? Thanks so much in advance!

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