How To Create A Morse Code Necklace

Materials:

Seed beads

Bugle beads

Tiger tail or silk cord

Crimp beads

Lobster clasp and ring

Tools:

Pliers

Using a morse code chart (see below) lay out the beads in the word that you would like to put in your necklace.  In the video, the word love is being spelled out.

If using silk cord, attach the clasp to one end of silk cord using the crimp bead and pliers, then string on your beads spelling out the word that you are putting on your necklace (see video).  Then attach the other end of your clasp (the ring).

If you are using tiger tail, attach the clasp to one end of the tiger tail and then fill up with seed beads in a clear colour until your necklace is 1/4 full of beads, then string on the word in morse code, then fill up the other side with clear beads.  If your word is short, you may need to do more clear seed beads before and after your word.  Once you have filled up the other side, attach the other side of your clasp (the ring).

We hope you enjoyed making this necklace as much as we did.  

Pearl Spacer Bracelet in Spring 2014's Colours

How to Make a Bracelet using Pearls and Spacers using Spring 2014 colours

Materials:
Pearls
Spacers
Elastic string

Using scissors, cut a strand that is double the size of your wrist and then add two inches. Tie together with a knot at the end of your strings.  String a bead and then 5 spacers, continue this pattern until the bracelet is the desired length.  Tie in another knot to finish off your bracelet. 

To make your bracelet extra trendy, make it in one of springs "it" colours.  According to Pantone, the Official Color of 2014 is PANTONE® 18-3224 Radiant Orchid, described as "an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm."  The other colors for this Spring are Placid Blue, Violet Tulip, Hemlock, Sand, Cayenne, Freesia, Celosia Orange and Dazzling Blue.

A Few Great Reasons to Have a Beading Party Before Your Wedding

Beading parties are growing in popularity as a fun and female-focused activity to enjoy with your friends and family before your wedding. You can choose to throw a beading party as part of your bachelorette party, as an intimate activity for yourself and your bridesmaids or even enjoy a beading session as part of some pre-wedding bonding with your mom or mom-in-law-to-be. It's a great way to relax, unwind, and have plenty of fun before your big day. Here are a few reasons why it’s such a good idea to host your own beading party, or have a private beading session,  before you wedding.

Homemade Jewelry Makes Perfect Gifts

Your bridesmaids and other attendants are integral in helping your wedding run smoothly: a good bridesmaid will help you get ready on the big day, smooth out any problems as the ceremony progresses, and is worth her weight in gold! It’s likely that you picked your bridesmaids because they are your beloved family members and closest friends. All of this means that it’s important to give your bridesmaids the perfect gift to thank them for being part of your wedding party, and for all of their hard work in the lead up to your big day. What better than a piece of homemade jewelry? Homemade jewelry makes the perfect gift because it shows that you care, especially if you’ve taken the time to make the piece yourself. You can then tailor each piece to the personal tastes and styles of your bridesmaids, leaving them with a piece of jewelry they will love and treasure forever. It's hard to think of a better gift!

Use Beads to Embellish Your Venue Décor

The great thing about making things yourself is that you can think outside the box, and the only thing that you are limited by is your imagination! Who says that you can only use beads to make jewelry? You could make beaded napkin rings to liven up the table décor at your wedding reception: these could then double up as your wedding favor to your guests. You could also sprinkle beads over your table centrepieces so that they coordinate perfectly with these personalize favors. Beaded boutonnieres for the groomsmen have seen an increase in popularity, as have beaded handles or brooches on bridesmaids bouquets. Or even create a beaded flower as the centrepiece for your wedding car ribbon, so that you can ensure it matches your bridesmaid dresses and wedding colour perfectly. Just don’t forget to ensure that your wedding cars have adequate fleet insurance! Your wedding cars may look great with their beaded accessories, but if they break down whilst you’re on the way to your ceremony then you need to know that the cars will be repaired quickly, and that there’s a back-up plan to get you to the church on time!

Match your Jewelry to Your Wedding Dress

The most obvious reason to throw a beading party before your wedding is so that you can create beautiful and personalised bridal jewelry. Whether you want to wear earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, or even all three, you can create your dream wedding jewelry set using swarovski crystal, pearls, and sterling silver plated components. You can ensure the necklace you make suits the neckline of your dress perfectly. You could consult with your hairdresser and create earrings that will match your wedding hairstyle perfectly. There are so many reasons why it’s better to make your bridal jewelry yourself! Do you need any more reasons to throw that beading party? Well, the average American Bride spent $144 on her wedding jewelry in 2012. However bridal beading packages start from just $30 per person. So as well as having your jewelry personalised to you and your tastes, you may also find that making your bridal jewelry yourself could help you save money too!  And don’t worry if you don’t think you’re creative enough because you won’t be attempting this alone:   A Beading Buds designer will work with you, the bride, prior to your beading party to choose the design and colour of the jewellery you want to create at the event. Why not give it a try? You’ll be amazed at all the beautiful things you can create!

By Lisa Fielding

Beautiful Maruti Beads from India

Maruti Beads

Recently through the “beading grapevine” we heard about Maruti Beads, an online bead store owned by Maruti International (India) that sells high quality hand crafted Maruti, Kashmiri and Lac beads.

What are Maruti, Kashmiri and Lac beads?  We were wondering the same thing, all that we knew was that we had never seen anything like it, each bead that we saw was an exquisite piece of art decorated with embellishments such as mirror chips, seed beads, silver plating and rhinestone.

We asked Maruti Intl to provide us with some more information about these unique beads and they were kind enough to not only provide us with the info, they also sent us a few of their beautiful beads so we could see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.   They sent us samples of their Kasmiri beads, Maruti beads and Lac beads.

Maruti Intl told us that each individual bead is handmade on their premises in an artisan’s studio by a select team of master craftsmen, who learned the skill by generations before them.   When we asked them to tell us a bit more about each type of bead, this is what they told us.

Pandora style Kashmiri Beads

Kashmiri beads are made from a mix of marble powder and manufactured resin. Also known as “Bollywood” beads, Kashmiri beads are hand decorated and use a variety of materials for embellishment.  I almost want to say that these beads remind me of the Pandora style beads but the holes are smaller and they are much more detailed.

Maruti Beads artistically blends the beauty of Kashmiri beads with silver plated side caps to culminate in a one of a kind creation exclusive to Maruti International.  

Lac beads are a time-honored Indian bead, handmade in a traditional manner passed down through generations by expert artisans.  Lac is a substance secreted by a tiny insect called Kerria lacca.  Lac beads are made from a mixture of Lac and marble powder, ornamented with silver plating, seed beads and rhinestones: detailed with metal elements, mirror chips and various embellishments.

After spending a couple of days wondering what I should make with these beautiful beads, I decided to make a bracelet so I could highlight all of their detailing.

Our bracelet made using beads from Maruti International

Maruti Beads is giving away $60 of their Kashmiri, Maruti and Lac beads mix (www.marutibeads.com/bead-mixes/maruti-kashmiri-lac-bead-mixes) every month to a lucky winner of their social media share/follow contest (www.marutibeads.com/blog). 

I know I’m going to enter this month!

Bridal Jewelry for your Wedding

Custom earrings made at a Bridal Beading Party 

We have been huge fans of Gown and Glory for a long time, a Canadian consignment boutique located in the Greater Toronto Area.  We love so many things about them!  We love that they offer fabulous designer gowns at a fraction of the cost, we love that they are helping to save the environment one dress at a time, and we love the amazing customer service every bride that walks into the boutique receives.   

Angela, from Gown and Glory, is sharing what to look for when choosing your bridal jewelry.

1)  Pick something that your are comfortable in.  If you are an earrings person, wear big sparkly chandelier earrings and a bracelet, if you like studs, wear subdued studs with a necklace.  If you like to make a statement, wear a big statement necklace.  It's all about your own style, and accessories are a way for you to make your gown look even more personalized.

2)  The shade of your dress is critical to the type of metal that should be in your wedding accessories.

If you are wearing a bright white gown (also known as diamond white), pearls, crystal and platinum will enhance the gowns shade.

If you are wearing a slightly off white gown you can wear gold, silver, and rose gold.  Rose gold is the new trendy "it" metal, and goes especially well with a colour scheme that has pink or black in it.  This shade also looks amazing with pearls, but be sure to maintain the off white colour in your pearl selection as well.

If you are wearing an ivory colour dress (a very light cream colour), wear gold, bronze or pewter jewelry and cream coloured pearls.

This is why many brides choose to have their jewelry custom made by a company such as Beading Buds, because then the necklace will be made in the colour metal and shade of pearls that best complement and enhance the detail of the dress.

Custom pearl and crystal bridal necklace

3)  Neckline of the dress. Pick jewelry that goes with the style and neckline of the dress. Make sure the necklace is the correct length to visually fill the space above the neckline.

If you are wearing a halter dress, wear a bracelet and earrings instead of a necklace perhaps, especially if there is a lot of beaded or embroidered detail already in the dress.  You can also wear a hairband, tiara or fascinator if you feel like you need to add more sparkle.

For a strapless dress you have a couple of options depending on the simplistic or extravagant look you're going for; you can wear a statement necklace with small earrings, or statement chandelier earrings and a bracelet, or a simple necklace, bracelet and earring set.  This can be as simple or extravagant as you choose, based on the style of your dress...and the vibrancy of your own personality.

If you are wearing a v-neck dress, wear a statement necklace with a large crystal or pearl pendant, to fill up the space and draw attention to the neckline. 

Custom necklace made at a Bridal Beading Party 

4)  Pick your dress first and then the jewelry.  It is much easier to match the jewelry to the dress, especially if you have it custom made.

5)  Make sure to consider all the specific details in the dress.  This can help set the tone and style of the jewelry.

For more information on Gown and Glory Consignment Boutique check out their website at www.gownandglory.ca

Amber teething necklaces for babies

We at Beading Buds just love jewelry, and are always looking for the latest trends. Nancy Ripton, from www.justthefactsbaby.com, is sharing with us a trend she came across, amber teething necklaces.
Nancy says, we were recently at a mommy event and we saw a mom and her little baby wearing beautiful matching necklaces. We commented on them and were told that it was an amber teething necklace. We were instantly intrigued and decided to do some research. Amber, a fossilized sap from prehistoric trees that grew as far back as almost fifty million years ago. It is always warm to the touch and has been used for centuries for its healing properties. It produces negative ions, eases pain and activates the healing process. This mommy wearing the necklace was from Europe where babies have been wearing these necklaces for generations.
If you are as intrigued as we are and would like to see how to make one yourself, check out this link http://www.ehow.com/how_2099756_make-amber-teething-necklace.html
For more great baby facts, check out Nancy's blog at www.justthefactsbaby.com/blog/

Beading programs and the Canadian children's arts tax credit

We are all so excited about the new Children's Art Tax Credit that the government has recently unveiled. Since we teach lunchtime programs and afterschool programs at many schools in Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto and all over the Greater Toronto Area, we are so happy that the parents of our little beaders will now be able to claim a portion of what they pay for these programs when filing their taxes.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/txtps/2012/tt120326-eng.html

Flower Bib Necklace

Tools:

Glue gun
Jewelry glue
Chalk
Scissors

Materials:

11 black or/and gold fabric flowers
9 beads
1 sq foot black felt
2 feet black ribbon

Chase away the winter blues with this beautiful and fun necklace.
Arrange the flowers on the piece of felt the way that you would like
your necklace to look. Take the piece of chalk and trace around the
roses and then cut out cutting inside the chalk line. Remove the top
rose on each end of your arrangement. Cut the ribbon in half and glue
one end on each side. Then glue all of the flowers onto the piece of
felt, try not to make the design too uniform. Then using the jewelry
glue attach a bead to the middle of each flower.

If you would like to make your own flowers, check out our past post from January 2011.

How to make a Bangle Bracelet

Materials:
20 gauge wire (appx 12 inches)
2 tube beads
1 focal beads
12-14 other beads depending on size of beads and width of your arm
1 clasp

Tools:
Round nosed pliers
Chain nosed pliers
Side cutters


With the weather so hot out, it's a great time to stay indoors and
make some beautiful jewellery to match all your summer dresses.

Lay out your design. Make a wire wrapped loop in your wire by making a
90 degree bend in your wire about 2 inches from one end of the wire,
then taking the 2 inch piece in your hand, wrap it around the base of
the bend to make a loop. Then using the chain nosed pliers wrap the
wire around several times (see video). Trip off the left over wire
using your side cutters. Now string your beads onto the wire
following the design that you laid out. Once you are finished
stringing the beads, make another 90 degree bend on the remaining end of the bracelet. Slip the clasp onto the wire and then wrap the wire around the base several times to make another loop.

Mother's Day Crystal Bead Bracelet

I was asked to attend at a Mother's Day event this year to teach mothers and daughters to make bracelets. This is a simple yet beautiful bracelet that every mother and daughter would love to wear.

Tools:
Round nose pliers

Materials:
12 - 14 headpins
12 - 14 6 mm beads (I like something sparkly, like a 6mm crystal bead)
1 jump ring
1 lobster clasp

Open up the jump ring and attach to the clasp. Next, put a bead onto a headpin and then using the pliers make a loop on the other side of the pin. Continue doing this for all 14 pins and beads. Then, take one of the beaded headpins that you just created and link onto the jump ring that is connected to the clasp, close the jump ring. Then take another beaded headpin and hook it just before the bead in the previous pin (see video). Use pliers to close the loop of the pin that you have just added on. Repeat the last two steps using up all of your beaded headpins until the bracelet is long enough to fit around your entire wrist. To close the bracelet, just attach the lobster clasp to the loop that you made on the last beaded headpin on your bracelet (see video). If you want to make a necklace, do the exact same thing, just use 30 headpins and 30 beads.