Euro Wood Beads!

Part of the necklace designed by Lena Gillespie for John Bead is featured in our current advertising for our Euro Wood bead collection.  We wanted you to see the entire piece so you can see the many ways wood beads were incorporated into this beautiful necklace.

 

Lena used round beads along with oval, spaghetti and large hole beads.  Chain was added to create even more unique links and dangles.  This lightweight necklace has movement.

 

Brazilian Wood Bead Bracelet

This new bracelet smells fabulous!

The Brazilian wood beads are part of our aromatic line.  The sandalwood scent is very light and lovely.

I used big hole wood beads as spacers.  Their openings curve around the round Brazilian wood beads and create movement on the strung bracelet.

A silver kumihimo bail was the ideal way for me to add my dangles.

My tassel adds a little softness to the bracelet.

A pressed glass white/green turtle paired perfectly with the wood beads.

This bracelet was strung with two strands of black stretch elastic.

 

Brazilian Sandalwood Beads

Brazilian-Sandal-Wood (1)

We have added Brazilian sandalwood to our Aromatic bead collection.
Sandalwood is often described as “a creamy, lightly perfumed warm scent.”  It is one of the most loved ingredients for perfumes such as Chanel Coco Eau de Parfum and many other legendary scents. 
There is a gradation in color in each unique strand.
The matching Guru beads will complete all projects.
Wood is from Brazil.
Bead cut and drilled in China.

Golden Days Necklace – A Fernando DaSilva Atelier Project

Materials

2g Delica 8/0 rd gun metal

8 icy bead pebble metallic gold – 2780 0486-06s8

8 large bronze jump rings

1 topaz 14mm SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS rivoli stone

14 xilion pp18 SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS gsha chatton

2 large wood rings

9 textured 22mm gold curved pewter links

1 pewter bail sun rays 20mm gold plated

Gilder’s paste – Foundry Bronze

Gilder’s paste –Antique Gold

2 part epoxy clay Apoxie – orange

21 pieces of 14inch gold twisted cord

5 antique brass chain

1ft gold-plated German style wire

G-S-Hypo cement glue

Tools:  Side cutter,  Flat noseRound nose

Instructions:

1. Use a small piece of sand paper to sand the work surface of a wood ring. Repeat the same with a second wood ring. Attach one gold-plated bail onto one of the rings and set aside. 

2. Follow packaging instructions to mix 2 part epoxy clay to be molded on top of wood rings. Spread clay on top of sanded area molding around of the edge slightly elevated. Preserve an open area right across gold-plated bail – middle of the ring. The quantity of clay used on each ring will be divided in two portions, leaving two sections of the ring exposed.

3.  Once clay is molded on top of rings, use a sponge, brush or small piece of cloth to rub gilders paste on top of clay before it starts hardening.  Cover both sides and and edges of wood ring with gilders paste. Use one color as background and then add second color to create a ore interesting effect.

4. Adding components on top of Apoxie clay.

Ring 1: topaz rivoli + four gold icy pebble beads + 8 golden shade crystal chatton stones + 74 delica seed beads.

Ring 2:  four icy gold pebble beads + 14 golden shade crystal chatton crystal stones + 38 delica seed beads

Add big components first and then sprinkle delicas and set crystal stones on top of clay.

Please, use the photo as a guide when your placing components on top of clay.

Let both rings cure for 24 hours.

5. Cut 21 pieces of 15-inch length of twisted gold cord.

6. Cut 1ft of 20 gauge of gold-plated German style wire.  Put all the cords together and begin wrapping wire right in the middle to create a tassel with it. Using one of the ends of wire, wrap wire 5 times to secure all the strands of cord together.  Make the sixth turn to go around the other long end of wire and wrap it around its base 5 times and then trim excess wire.  Be careful not to cut the wrong end of wire.

7. Cut a 20-inch piece of twisted gold cord. Wrap each tip of the cord three times around the cords put together on step 6 and holding both tips tight a double know to tighten all the cord ends together and finish forming a tassel. Add several dabs of stringing glue underneath of knot. Use same glue to cover ¼-inch on each cord ends.

8. Use large portion of round nose pliers to make half loop of wire tip form step 6.

Slide over the loop five gold-plated textured rings, then start finishing the loop wrapping several times around its base. Open a large jump ring and scoop up tassel through its loop. Open another jump ring and attach through the loop of bail of wood ring.

9. Section gold antique chain on the following sizes: four pieces of 3-inch, and then two pieces of 21-inch. Set all section of chain aside.

11. Open a link of one of the pieces of chain and attach to jump ring of wood ring. Close link and then add a second piece of chain on same fashion.

12. Repeat step 11 attaching both ends of both chains to another large jump ring and then attach to wood ring # 2. Place jump ring over the open space left between both sections ornate with components set on Apoxie clay. Add a second large jump ring on the opposite side.

13. Open one of the end links of a 22-inch piece of chain and attach to large jump ring attached to previous piece. Add second piece of chain on same fashion.

14. Create a intertwined section over the final 3-inch length of chain linking components on following pattern:

one large jump ring + two gold-plated fancy links + large jump ring + two gold-plated fancy links .

15. Weave the chain inside and out of the rings to create an interesting visual appeal.

16. Finishing necklace attaching both final links of antique gold chain to center large jump ring. Close links carefully.

Designer’s Tips:

1. Many components were “randomly” placed on top of Apoxie clay.

2. Perfect measurements are not important on this project. Create your own version based on this design but feel free yourself to make it your own.

Fernando has created many pieces of jewelry which are displayed in the John Bead showroom.  Some of these designs appear in our catalogues and may have been published.  For those of you who can’t visit in person we will have a regular post on this blog giving you a closer look at the finished jewelry.  Fernando has written all the instructions and is sharing them with you. Welcome to the series we call: Fernando DaSilva’s Atelier. 

Simple Summer Bracelet

This bracelet is light and airy!  It is ideal for these hot summer days and will pair nicely with virtually any summer outfit.  This post could have been titled “how to save $845 Euros on a bracelet.”

Looking at some of my favorite sites I came across this pretty bracelet.  The price tag was very steep!  It reminded me that Lilla from John Bead had given me a bag of small wood beads a few weeks ago.  I had no idea what to do with them until I saw this advertisement.

A bag of 500 beads sure does go far!  I used memory wire and one of my crystals from the SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Fall/Winter innovations launch.

My options for dangles and charms are endless.  In the end I decided to just showcase the pretty beads on their own.  A new bracelet in ten minutes!

WOOD BEADS ROUND 6mm BRIGHT COLOURS MATT

Beadalon Memory Wire Bracelet