Bead Cell Phone Charm

I recently saw a cellphone charm that I absolutely loved, so I decided to recreate it for myself. This is a a quick and easy jewellery making project that only takes a few minutes and looks amazing when completed.

This is how I made it.

For this project you will need the following:

1) 2" head pin.
2) 2 glass beads.
3) 1 5mm swarowski crystal.
4) 4 silver spacers.
5) cell phone charm holder (these can be purchased at most craft stores or bead supply stores).

You will also need a pair of needle nosed pliers.

First take the 2" head pin. Holding the head pin, thread the first spacer. Next, thread one of the glass beads, then thread another spacer. Thread the swarowski crystal and then another spacer. Finally, thread the remaining glass bead and the last spacer. Using the needle nose pliers create a loop at the top of the head pin. Slightly open up the loop that you just created and insert the end of the cell phone charm holder. Close the loop at the top of the head pin using the needle nose pliers.

Good luck.

Below is the pic that inspired my cell phone charm.

Environmentally Conscious Bead Parties

We will be adding a “green” party package to Beading Buds. This package is an environmentally conscious alternative because we use beads made from recycled glass, reusable beading boards and encourage parents to use the jewelry the kids make as the loot bag, therefore eliminating all the plastic and other by-products that are usually in loot bags and other party favors.

While researching for beads made from recycled glass, I came across a company in Africa that explained how these glass beads are made. I found it fascinating and encouraging that beads are being made out of old glass.

This is how the beads are made. Recycled glass is crushed by hand. Dyes and colours are not added so the glass that is being crushed has to be the colour that you want the beads to be. Once you crush the glass, the mixture is called a "fritt". The fritt consists of mainly crushed glass, but some larger pieces can be left as they melt down during the baking process. Before the fritt is poured into the moulds, the moulds are coated with a fine mixture of kaolin clay and water to prevent sticking. The moulds are placed into a special machine that heats up and when the right temperature has been reached the bead making artisan takes out the moulds. He uses two awls, one to hold down the mould and the other to shape the bead, he also uses one of the awls to make the hole for the bead. This has to be done quickly before the glass cools. When the beads are completed every single bead has a slightly different shape and size to it because each bead is made by hand. Below are some pictures showing the different colours of the beads and what the beads look like.

Baby Name Bead Bracelet

I recently had a baby girl and since I am a jewellery designer and a first time mom, I just had to make my daughter her first piece of jewellery…so I made a baby name bracelet.

The following materials are needed to make the baby name bracelet. Flat nose pliers, tiger tail wire, a sterling silver lobster clasp, (6) 6mm swarowski crystals, sterling silver letter beads, (6) 4 mm sterling silver beads, (2) 6mm silver beads,(14) sterling silver spacers, (2) sterling silver crimp beads.

To make the baby name bracelet, put the crimp bead on one end of the tiger tail, loop through one end of the lobster clasp and thread back through the crimp bead, squeeze the bead using the flat nose pliers. Thread 3 of the swarowski crystals, 3 of the 4 mm silver beads, 1 of the 6mm silver beads and 7 of the sterling silver findings onto the tiger tail. I suggest the following pattern, sterling silver spacer, sterling silver 4 mm silver bead, sterling silver spacer, crystal, sterling silver spacer, 4 mm sterling silver bead etc. Thread the 6mm sterling silver bead and the sterling silver letter beads to spell out your baby’s name. String the remaining crystals, sterling silver beads and spacers repeating the same pattern as you did on the first side. Attach the other part of the lobster clasp to the tiger tail using the crimp bead and flat nose plier the same way you attached the first part of the clasp when you started the bracelet. Trim the tiger tail at each end using a pair of scissors or cutting pliers.

HINT, if your baby’s name has more than 6 letters, omit the 6mm sterling silver beads.

How to make a one bead wire ring using gold or silver wire

First you measure your 24 gauge gold or silver wire. The beading wire should be 14 inches, a normal ring is 10 inches and then the four extra inches are for the extra wrapping to make the ring thicker and sturdier.

Put the bead that you are using for your ring at the halfway point of the wire. Fold the wire right against each side of the bead to hold the bead in place. Start the ring as a size 8 using a ring sizer tube. Wrap wire around 2 times each side to give you four bands. Keep your bottom wire on the bottom and your top wire on the top. Then wrap each of the two wires around the bead at the front until you end up with a short piece of wire on each end. Then slide the ring of the ring sizer tube.

Wrap the short piece of wire along each end of the ring. Make it look clean by squeezing it with the end of the flat nosed plier. Use a nylon jaw pliers to straighten out the wires so they lie flat. When done trim off the ends with a cutter. It is better if you end your jewelry piece at the top of the band. Then hammer it slightly to make it sturdier.