Diane Fitzgerald's Favorite Beading Projects

It is not every day you have the chance to get the inside scoop from a master, let alone one who shares your own passion. Diane Fitzgerald is such a worthy mentor for anyone who makes, wears, or simply appreciates the art of beadwork. I encourage you to enjoy her journey with her in her new book from Lark,  "Diane Fitzgerald's Favorite Beading Projects." 

The appealing variety of styles, techniques and materials on the cover are indicative of the lovely, feminine and colorful projects found inside. Diane's designs are lush with seed beads but she also uses beads in other shapes and materials. 

Variations of designs include these
juicy versions of the Hard Candy bracelet.

Diane has chosen 24 personal favorite projects to represent her journey (so far!) as a teacher, designer, historian, and ambassador of global bead arts.  The delightful introduction by another bead master, Jean Campbell, fills in the storyline about Diane and how she became who she is.

Diane can be such a romantic.
The soft fabric used in this
Apple Blossom Necklace proves it.

There is a range of skill levels but truly anyone familiar with beading can make everything in the book. The projects have wonderfully clear illustrations and well written, step by step instructions. The photos are nice and large making it easy to see the beads, read the tutorials, and follow the illustrations.

Excellent details abound in close up photos.

There are also tips on using color, improving your technical craft, and inspiration from the four corners of the globe—which, by the way, Diane has visited. She has literally searched the world for inspiration and technique, and has gathered a history of beadwork along the way which is shared in comments scattered through her book.

Fortune Teller beads predict happy hours with bright colorss.

You all know I'm a seed bead devotee above most other materials. I have not been around the world  but I have been around as an artist, teacher, editor, and beady babe. I know a lot of beady peeps. So,  I have high expectations when it comes to inspirational and informative beading books. "Diane Fitzgerald's Favorite Beading Projects" will make your fingers itch to bead!

Diane's Zipper Bracelet is my personal favorite.
I  love the purple iris cube beads, too!

BEAD CAPS: Before, During, After

BEFORE

First I chose these Lucite beads from my stash

  DURING

Then I made a glorious mess playing around with Beadalon bead caps, Swarovski crystals, Swarovski crystal pearls, more beads, lots of wire, headpins, and stuff. You know, STUFF.

AFTER

Here are the finished bead components I made.

Want to see more? 
Tune in to Jewel School on Jewelry Television
March 18 and 19th 
10 AM to Noon EST.
See everything I made with 
Beadalon bead caps!

CREATING SWAROVSKI STYLE in TUCSON 2012

The CREATE YOUR STYLE with SWAROVSKI experience in Tucson this year was beyond my expectations.
First, being together with the other ambassadors was as warm and fuzzy as it was sparkly! I heard this event brought more ambassadors together in one place than ever before.
We had a special showroom with tables to share our creationss, kits, books and more with everyone. Seeing the diversity of work and astounding innnovation in materials and techniques among us was simply cosmic.  For example, look at Diane Whiting's Crystal Balls necklace--and the issue of Step by Step Beads in which it appeared. (True story--I was the editor in chief of that magazine and brought that project in from Diane before we even really knew each other!)

Kristal Wick's collection of finished jewelry and kits featured some of the most lush combinations of crystals and her original fabric beads, plus more yummy luxe materials. if you haven't made one of her necklaces, check out her kits and her fabulous books online--because you are missing out on making something extraordinary that will have people oohing and aaahing.

The vunderbar folks from Austria presented the new shapes, colors, materials, tools, effects and trends for the next year.  Everyone was so eager to see the presentation and listen to Chris, Raphaela and Katrin "romancing the stones!" (But we missed Nicole and Marlena, who could not attend.) Here are ambassadors Debi Simon, Brenda Schweder, Kelli DeFries and Stephanie Dixon.
Among other new tools and web enhancements, we'll all be able to add a fabulous color wheel tool to our own web pages, showing how to mix and match all the Swarovski elements styles and colors.I love getting our little "candy box" of samples of many new elements.



Classes, workshops, and make and takes were a huge success--can you tell from my student that she was happy with her Chessboard earring project?

The newest part of the event was a showroom for Ambassadors to display (and sell) our finished work, kits, tutorials, books and DVDs, and demonstrate our favorite techniques.It was so incredible to meet people face to face! The best part for us was being together with the other Ambassadors. I am sure our camaraderie was tangible. We just love being part of this group! (And we really missed those who coud not be with us.) Personally I can't eait to do this again next year. Thank you Swarovski for making this possible (and for the nightly Happy Hours). Huge hugs to our Ambassadors who helped put it all together (Tammy, Diane, Debi). Thanks to the local bead society folks who were just as nice as could be on helping us in any way we needed.
And thanks to everyone who came to see us!


Make the world beautiful!

BEADING ON A LOOM

Sign up to make this stellar cuff
at the Bead & Button Show!

Working on the Beadalon loom is so much fun, it really takes me back to my beady beginnings. I started using seed beads on a loom almost exactly like the one that every student will get in my class at the Bead and Button Show in June. I know, I know–what about those pesky warp thread ends, right? That "chore" has kept you from using the loom, right? Not any more!! In my class you will learn to whisk those ends outta sight plus many other practical and easy loom weaving tricks:

Use strong and non-stretch WidFire
to string the main long threads (warp)
and for weaving (weft).

We learn how to read and design a chart.

See how to make your piece as long as you wish!

Discover how many things you can
weave on a loom--earrings, for example!

The colors of the Hollywood Cuff
are shimmering Miyuki size 11 Delica beads

Next to the zen of weaving with Miyuki Delica beads and the satisfaction in the way those beads fit together, the best part of this project is the way we finish. We simple cut the cuff from the loom, fold under the threads, and adhere into a bezel cuff from EK Success. The look is superbly crafted and stylish.

So sign up! You keep the loom as part of the class kit, and I will have plenty of other patterns and blank cuffs for sale so you can make more– because I guarantee your friends will all want to be a film star too!

My Gift of Peyote Patterns for You!

I hope you enjoy these 8 peyote patterns, designed for Hanukah but with a few that are universal. Each medallion can become a pendant, cuff or brooch, or incorporated into a greeting card, work of fabric art... it's up to you! I made one into a necklace.

Worked in size 11 Delica beads, the actual size is h x w 1 5/8" (42mm) x 1 1/2" (40mm). Note how the side edges have the in-out beads. This enabled more horizontal straight lines in my designs. It also allowed me to use the bead holes along the top edge to attach a rolled peyote tube as a bail through which I strung my beaded cord. These patterns are easy to follow in either peyote or brick stitch.

A bit about Hanukah for those who wonder if Jewish kids really all got gifts for 8 days. I personally did not. With four kids in my family, are you kidding? Do the math! Plus, this isn't a "holy" day. It's much more of an historic celebration. Here's the short version:

Hanukah means "rededication." In 168 BCE when the Syrian king banned Judaism and took over the temple, the Jews took it back led by Judah the "hammer", the Macabee. After the battle the remaining temple oil (for the eternal flame over the Torah ark) seemed too low to last for more than a day, but it lasted 8 days --some say that's the time it took until new oil could be created. The festival is full of games (like playing with the dreidle) and fried food (more oil, that's right!) Traditional yummies include donuts, called "sufganiot," and of course my personal favorite, latkes, or potato pancakes.

No matter how you spell it, Hanukah is a festival of light and celebration for the Jewish history of survival against all odds.
So happy Hanukah, or as we say in my wonderfully multi-cultural house, Hanuchrismakwanzstice!

And more than anything, HAPPY BEADING!

Menorah, with all 8 candles lit,
reflecting the entire Festival of Lights.

Peace Dove. When are you showing up?

Dreidle, the toy top with Hebrew letters
standing for the words
"a great miracle happened there"
referring to the Hanukah story.

"Chai", Hebrew word for Life.
The toast "l'chaiim!"is to drink to life!

Hamsa, or Chamsa
Middle Eastern symbol for the protective
hand of Gd. The Hebrew word for five
(as in fingers) is "chamesh."

The  flag of Israel is designed
to look similar to a tallit,
or prayer shawl.

The Torah contains the 5 books of
the Old Testament. Portions are read
at every Jewish service.
Torahs are hand scribed on scrolls
to this day. No errors are allowed,
so they are written in sections
If a mistake is made, only the
one section needs to be rewritten.

Tree of Life, "Aitz Chaiim"
in Hebrew
shown here with day and night

More about how to learn PEYOTE STITCH

So many people have contacted me lately with the desire to learn peyote stitch. Perhaps it is the release of the new emag Fabulous Peyote Stitch with Crystal Accents.  Who can resist adding crystals to a stitch so wildly popular?
Everyone wants to learn!

Peyote stitch is sometimes called the gourd stitch. It is considered a Native American technique but is found in many other cultures around the world. Why is it called "peyote?" Wiki says the gourd stitch was traditionally used to decorate ceremonial objects in rituals involving peyote mushrooms, sacred rituals. That's all I know about it except it has to be THE most popular bead stitch of all time.

There are many version of peyote stitch, most commonly even-count peyote and odd-count peyote, referring to the number of beads per row. There are design advantages to which one you choose. Look at my original You Tube video for even-count peyote here:

 

It gives you some idea of how I teach; I draw the diagrams for you, and it has become my signature method. Since these original Doodlebead videos were made I've had my lessons from the TV show Beads, Baubles, and Jewels made into commercially produced DOODLEBEADS DVDs. These have much cleaner videos, but these originals remain my favorites. I made them using iMovies, and they were indeed to impetus for the product that became the DVD. :-) I hope to do more, with music of course. Edutainment, that's what the world needs!

You can buy my Doodlebeads DVDs--there are two volumes so far-- and I suggest Volume I to start. Along with the videos you will have access to printable diagrams as PDFs so you can follow the video while looking at the diagram I use in the tape. Go to my Sleepless Beader Etsy shop:

In case you are really new to bead stitching, there's also tubular, circular, and multi-drop versions of peyote and about every other stitch. So think how many things you can create even if you only know one stitch, such as peyote. It's rather exciting.

Also, using Delica or Toho cylinder beads gives peyote that perfectly flat fabric many beaders admire. Try Delica size 10s--they are a bit larger than size 11 and should make it easier on your eyes, and help enable your success. And remember to keep your thread tension snug and consistent, that will also help your work turn out best.

Happy Beading!

PS: Thanks to Joy D. for inspiring me to get this post out there.

Playing with Beadalon Rubber Tube

For my Oct 6th appearance on Jewelry Television, Beadalon asked me to design using their 1.7mm rubber tubing, in both black and frost colors. Slender as a flower stem but very durable, the tubing is hollow which means WooHoo! You can thread through it with beading wire or Artistic Wire (less than 20g) and it cuts like buttah with a scissors, snips or craft knife. Was I a happy camper! (Y'all know I love the look of rubber in jewelry designs!)

Since lots of people ask about how ideas come about for my finished work, I'm sharing some of the constructions I played using the tubing. 

My first idea was to cut black and frost tubes into pieces and string them with 4mm round Swarovski Siam crystals, for one of my fave combos of  red and black and white. I curled .015 beading wire (same way you do with curling ribbon) to give the strands movement and more body. This necklace is unfinished. I think it will succeed if there are tons more strands for a more substantial presence, and, having (for the moment!) a limited supply of the tubing, I moved on to a new direction.

Having a pile of cut pieces of tube leftover, I took beading wire--not curled--and crisscrossed through the tubes and crystals in a traditional netting stitch. The only diff here between beadwork netting and this is that I strung the pieces of tubes instead of beads between the junction crystals. I'm not quite sure yet how to give this a polished finish as a piece of jewelry but it sure looks unique around a glass holiday ball or votive.

Here I strung doubled over lengths of the frost and the black tubing through a pendant bail, which I taped to a table on a wire. I strung one of the new Swarovski silver lined big holed beads intending eventually to do some sort of weaving with the tubes, as in those lanyards we all made as kids. (With gimp, remember?) I still need to work out that process.

Grabbing a handful of the tubing inspired me to work with it in bunches. I cut pieces into varied lengths, strung them with beading wire, and crimped more Siam crystal rounds on each wire end. I simply took Beadalon crimp beads (not tubes) and squashed them flat with a chain nose pliers. The crimp beads are small enough to be innocuous yet add a touch of silver.

Here's how I wired the crystal-tipped tubes together so I could hang them from a pendant bail. Totally easy!

More multiples of tubes, wired with beading wire and crimped onto a slide multi-strand clasp. I attached a pendant bail at the center of the tubes.

Here's the finished pendant, using stacked turquoise donuts and a whirl of tubing wired with Artistic Wire.

Using the frost color tubing seemed perfect with Beadalon's SP Quick Links and chain. I strung short lengths of the tube on eye pins with Swarovski Comet Argent Light 4mm bicones, and used simple wire wrapped loops to space the embellished eye pins along a lovely rolo chain. This necklace sparkles big time! So – the discovery I made in this play time with rubber tubing was that it can look dazzling and elegant, as well as industrially chic.
Do you think?