Lovin' Me Some Bead Soup (Tutorial)

Making Bead Soup

I love the term bead soup, because it just exactly describes what we beaders do. We throw in different sizes, shapes, and colors of beads until they become the right mixture for the project at hand. 

It’s not simple, though; you have to have “highlights” and “shadows” just as if you were painting a picture. That goes double if you have an item in mind you want to bead around.

Here’s mine

You generally want about 3 colors in your soup, and then several variations of each color. Here's what I had to start with. The light green beads are size 11 matte seed beads. The darker ones are also 11s, and the aqua beads with the clear around them are called color-lined, so they'd be something like "aqua-lined crystal size 8".

Below are some other beads (they are in the box, but I pulled them out so you could see). These are all larger than seed beads, maybe 6 mm for the sandstone and 8 for the unakite. The shiny polished stones are aventurine, and I don't know what the others are!

Below are more seed beads that went into the mix. I thought that a burnt umber or rootbeer shade would match the "tree" in the center of my focal bead. (Doesn't it look like a tree?)

All 3 of the beads to the left are called rootbeer color, but the styles are different so I wanted you to see them. The leftmost box is size 6 "transparent rainbow matte rootbeer." The next box is called glass transparent rootbeer. They're straight-up brown, no rainbow coating. The 3rd box is silver-lined and they're size 8. The box on the right is size 15, teeny tiny beads. They have a metallic coating. 

As you can tell, Root Beer is a color I use a lot! It goes easily with greens, coral/orange, or pretty much anything on the warm side of the color  wheel.

 I chose dark green, brown/red, and lighter green as my main colors. Sometimes you need to add the color that's across the color wheel from the main color; that will help create the right soup.

And here’s the bead soup as I made it:

Think of your main color as the medium shade. You want some lighter ones for highlights, and some darker shadow colors. You'll also like it better with different textures, shapes, etc.

I'm feeling a little limited because I made a resolution this year to use what I already have. 

See the strand of light (almost lime) green beads off to the right? They, and the bigger beads the same color that are already in the soup, are too light.

Above: I tried adding more dark beads to offset the light color, but it still wasn't working.

You wouldn't think gray could work, but it looks like a neutral against the darker beaded cabochon. I put those in.  Finally I removed the bigger green ones, must've been after the photo shoot.

Here’s the final outcome of the soup:

Those unakite beads are just right with this mix! So glad I had them!

And I’ll post the finished project….errr…..soon! Sometimes I make up the mix but it takes me ages to get the whole thing completed. 
Enjoy making your own bead soup. 

The TN Beader is now happily ensconced in Florida, but somehow the FL Beader just doesn't have the same ring. 

New notecards, minicards, necklaces

Good Sunday afternoon! What are you thankful for today? I am thankful for my family and the ability to work on my art, which I love. Today I have some new items to post in The Perfect Jewel 4U. Mini notecards, 3X3. I stamped them with tiny dogs. Aren't they darling?

And this card goes into the shop but also into a challenge at the Papercraftingstar. The theme is "girly". I can do girly!

And I have 2 simple necklaces, FISH charms (y'all know how I love my fishies) beaded with silver and blue / silver and green beads.

What I've been doing lately...

I have 3 projects I've been working on. One is an onyx piece that I"ve beaded around and now I'm making a necklace for it. I want this one to be a little different from my others so it's taking awhile. I also have an agate teardrop that I beaded around but haven't put the fringe on yet. You will see those in a few days. Then I got this book: It is so awesome. If you've read my posts, you know how I love beading beads. So I've done 2 so far. The first one looked like a blob. The 2nd was a little rounder but it seems....twisted at the ends or something. The book is wonderful, the instructions are clear. It's just operator error and NO you don't get to see them.

 In the interest of being more transparent (less private), I wanted to share my new Planted Tank blog with you. It's all about my aquarium. If you've never seen a planted tank you should google them. They're awesome and inspire all sorts of creativity.

I'm listening to the Beatles today. I downloaded their album "1." Very cool. What's even more fun? I know all the words. :)

What's new in the studio

This handmade beadwoven and gemstone necklace is my newest piece. I used agate and rose quartz first, weaving frames around them in colors that set off the stones. Then I created a necklace from seed beads and pearls, Czech glass beads, and more. When it was nearly done, I stitched the agate and quartz pieces into the piece. I then wove many more rows to hold them into the design. Fun! :D

It's for sale in my Ruby Plaza shop. Thanks for looking.

My jewelry show goals are killing me!

People are always asking me what my goals are. Since jewelry – making is something I’ve decided to keep as a HOBBY I try not to have any. But it’s so my nature to approach things like a business: what are your goals? What are the steps to achieve that goal? What are the sub-steps? What supplies do you need to make that happen? Aargh. I drive myself nuts.

This week I actually do have goals, and I’m not meeting them. I feel like there’s an interruption every 10 seconds. It doesn’t matter how important it is – it’s something that draws me away from my craft. And since I’m actually doing my first craft show this weekend, these goals are important. At least to me. J

The show is in Rogersville at the Armory on Saturday. It’s from 10-6. I’m sharing my booth with Roslyn, who is RazzleDazzleMe on etsy. So I emailed her today and said I have 200 pendants, about 100 other beaded pieces, and maybe 50 sets of earrings. And I told her how I feel so far behind. I could feel her laughing in her response: its plenty, don’t worry, we’ll have fun. And yes – we will. If I can just get those other 50 earrings made…….

Here are a few pieces I plan to take with me:

 

                                   

New Glass Tile Pendant Kits

Hurray. I finally got my kits together for sale. I have pendant making kits with the round cabochons (like the Halloween ones, I'll post a few here ....). They're for sale. I've made both

regular style with various pretty papers, and

Christmas style with a red/green assortment. I'm posting listings for 2, 4, 6, and 10. What do you think? Is that enough, or too much? Should there be a kit for making 1? I'm trying them on both eBay and etsy.




The instructions for making the pendants are in a previous post, here, and I'm including bails and ball chains (and of course the glass cabochons) in the kits. For some reason it's taken weeks to get these together! I hope they work out.

Beaded Bead Necklace Completed, and a Feature

As promised, I will show you the necklace I made with the most recent beaded bead. It took so long because I  did the middle section, then tied it in knots and let it sit on my desk, waiting. I couldn't decide how to finish it.... couldn't even seem to just try something....finally I said, finish it dummy, and if it doesn't work take it apart.
It was done within the hour. I just had to get mean with myself. ;)

Here you go:

And -- here's a lovely collection which features moi -- my pendant is in the top row, second from the left:
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=27885

Yay! My glass tile "bat" pendant was featured in an ARTFIRE collection today.

Spooky White Hall...

  Curated By: antiquorama

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Paintings

How to make a glass tile Pendant

I know there are already several tutorials out there showing how to make glass tile/scrabble tile pendants. I found them all lacking though; as I made my first ones, I had questions. So I'm going to show you "my way" of making them. Not necessarily THE way -- just a way. :D


First, you need a few supplies. Your glass tiles (I have some for sale on etsy, or you can even get them at Michael's).


Some glaze --try Judikins Diamond Glaze. It's great, inexpensive and readily available. For glue, try  E6000 (a jewelry glue you can find almost everywhere) or any old craft glue that you've already got. You'll need the pictures you want to put on your tile.... I buy mine from a favorite etsy friend but you can use just about any picture file, a part of a picture, or google "digital collage" and you'll find tons.

Here's my glaze (that's when I was using Sun and Moon glaze) and some other necessities: paper towels, a craft knife or razor blade for cutting out the picture, a straight pin (or you could use a paper clip) for when your glaze clogs up -- and it will. I also use a paint brush for spreading the glaze, though you don't have to. And I keep it all on a sheet of wax paper so things don't get stuck together. It's sort of a messy process.


Besides the picture I'm going to make into my pendant, I like to have a backing for the pendant. Sometimes I use a second copy of the same picture. Sometimes I just use craft or scrapbooking paper with a nice design.


It doesn't matter too much about the back, you're just giving it a finished look. (Or not!)




So the easiest way to make your pendant is to lay the picture down on the wax paper and pick up your glass tile. Wipe it off with a paper towel, then slowly turn your glaze upside down (the slowness helps prevent bubbles). Don't shake your bottle, like I did at first. You'll end up with a bubbled picture!


Put a thin layer of glaze on the tile -- the thinner the better. Using too much can make your picture become wavy, plus it runs down the sides, causing you more clean-up later. You're putting this layer on just the flat surface, the one that will touch the picture. Spread it around with a paint brush or (easier) just use the tip of the bottle. Wipe the tip often.

Once the glaze is coated on, flip the glass tile over and set it right on top of your picture, glaze side down. You might have to adjust it by moving it around some. I then press gently -- not hard -- if I can see any air bubbles. I find that, for me, this is what works. Otherwise the air bubble is there for life! Now let it dry for a couple hours.


When that layer is dry, you can add a backing if you like by glueing your backing paper on. Then trim around the whole thing with a knife or razor blade. It's easy enough just to hold it up and run carefully around the edge with the blade. There are lots of square and round punches that theoretically should cut the picture to the exact size of your glass -- trust me, save your money. You'll still have to do some trimming.


Now you have a decorated tile but no glaze on the back.


The next step is to lay the tile back down on your wax paper picture side up and use the brush (or the tip of the bottle) to spread glaze on the back. You are doing this layer to preserve the picture. Someone gave me a cute photo of my daughter once that wasn't preserved -- it ruined pretty quickly. So this step is important!


Be sure to use a thin layer, but spread it carefully where the edges of the picture meet the tile. You want to cover them well. If you're using a paint brush, you might have brush marks:

I've decided I don't care too much; the brush seems to really "get" the edges. Also, you're going to apply a 2nd coat so you can go the other direction, which tones it down a bit.


After you have done at least  2 coats on the back of your tile pendant, let it dry a good while, preferably overnight. Then pick it up and inspect it carefully. If any glue has dried in the wrong place, use your knife or razor blade to scrape it off. Then wipe again with a paper towel. 


Now you are ready to add the bail or the magnet. Bails are for necklaces - use the smallest size you can get away with. Magnets can be fun too. Here are some of my bails:



Taa-daaaah! You're done! Congratulations on making your first pendant. String it on a simple ball chain, a ribbon necklace, or a leather cord. 


Use the link to the right if you need to email me with questions. ;)