Category: Tropical Punch!

Lush Green Multi Length Simply Stylish Necklace

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By Carmi Cimicata for John Bead Corp and Perles Et Cetera
This is the English translation for this project which appeared in the magazine in French.

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When Pantone announced that the 2017 Colour of the year was GREENERY, I was ecstatic. Green is such a powerful colour. Pantone described it as fresh, restorative and Nature’s neutral. “A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality.”

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I truly enjoy stringing interesting components, so it was easy for me to just go to my stash and gather strands of green beads for this project. John Bead Corp has over 3000 items that are “green” including Czech pressed glass beads, wood beads and semi precious stones.

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The unique product that I was most interested in using for the first time was the green Lucite petal beads in our Tropical Punch collection. These petal beads are available in several colours. The green is a non-traditional flower colour, however for this project it is a perfect addition.

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The curved petal beads become a flower shape when strung on elastic and tied tightly together with a knot. This creates a circle center.

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You can stretch the circle center over the flower component crystal and it will settle into place. For extra security you can add a little bit of glue to the knot you made with the elastic.

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I strung a very long strand of multi shaped beads from my collection. I finished each side of the beaded necklace with an EZ Crimp End.

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My beautiful long strand of beads does not need a clasp to get it on and off. I opted to attach both ends to my Flower Maker components. The necklace is ready to wear.

I could have stopped at this point and would have been happy with my statement piece.

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However, I had already decided that I would want to wear this necklace a couple of different ways. My next step was to create this simple necklace extender with some lobster clasps, jump rings and chain.

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Then I placed some large jump rings in several key spots on my long necklace.

 

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The jump rings look like part of my design.

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My necklace looks wonderful worn as one long piece.

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When I attach my necklace extender to those jump rings I can created tiered lengths.

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Add in a necklace extender and jump rings and I have several new looks to enjoy.

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This will be my go-to summer look!

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When I want the flower to be showcased differently I can wear it this way.

The GREENERY colour of the year has inspired me to create a new necklace that I can wear several different ways. Like the colour, I am feeling refreshed and restored now that I have completed this project.

All products from John Bead Corp

Tropical Punch Flower Maker (Gold)     26011512
Tropical Punch Petal Curved (Shaded Green)      28400689-03
Elastic Cord
Large and small Jump Rings
Lobster Clasps
Selection of pressed glass beads
Wood beads
EZ-Crimp Ends from Beadalon

How to set a Flat Cabochon into a Filigree Setting

Filigree Set by Carmi Cimicata

I have been making some unique jewelry sets with our vintage Japanese Porcelain cabochons (almost out of stock) and our filigree settings.

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There are so many choices in this collection.  The rings are fabulous for showing off a special cabochon.

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The issue you may discover is that these vintage components were not designed to fit directly into these setting.  The jewels normally set, have a pointed back, such as those we already selected to work with these items.

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But I could not resist showing off these vintage items.

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The filigree is a perfect frame for these floral themed cabochons.

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So many of the sizes we have in flat cabochons fit into the filigree so I made an effort to set them as though they also had a pointed back.

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That is when apoxie clay really comes in handy.  It is the ideal “glue” because it holds its shape and allows you to press something into it which will cure in place.

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I used a little here on on Tropical Punch Flower Maker.  You can see that the flat setting now appears to be set on air.

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Mix and match cabochons with some help from an epoxy two part clay.

Japanese-Cabachons

Retro Blooming Necklace

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace for CHA 2016

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace Workshop Created for CHA 2016

“Make a cutting edge leather necklace using components from the Tropical Punch line by John Bead Corp in association with Sizzix machines and brand new dies created by Jill MacKay.   Mixed media has never been this hip…until now!   A workshop literally to die for.”  Workshop by Carmi Cimicata

Soft Leather

This workshop was created to showcase our soft leather sheets and some of the unique components in the Tropical Punch jewelry making collection.  Since the workshop techniques were demonstrated in person, these pictures are a good summary of what you need to do in order to create something similiar.

cut1  RETRO BLOOMING Necklace for CHA 2016

The Retro Blooming Necklace stands out because of the layered leather blooms.  We were able to create and cut the flowers with special dies from the Jill Mackay collection. Thank you Sizzix for allowing us to use your new “Movers and Shapers” dies for workshop.

Tip – You will be able to die cut more flowers if you cut your leather into smaller shapes. There will be less waste. (see picture above)

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace for CHA 2016

You can cut as many flower shapes as you may want for your necklace. Some of my pieces are over the top with more than three layers. You may prefer far fewer flowers on your necklace.  Simply cut and build layers until you are satisfied with the groupings.

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I used a tiny dab of glue between each flower layer to secure it in place.  For the layer on top I added the special circular bead.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace for CHA 2016

The bead I used as the flower centre is a Preciosa Ripple™. I sewed mine with a tiny bead anchor to give my necklace more of a hand-finished appearance. RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

I only sewed through a single layer of leather.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

One good stitch with a knot holds the bead in place. Then I glued the layers of leather together. The Ripple bead covers the tiny hole in each flower and any possible glue seepage. (Notice where I added glue.)

NOTE: If you do not enjoy sewing, you can glue the bead in place too.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

I worked on a non-stick surface so I did not accidentally glue my leather flower to my table/work surface.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

I always let glue dry overnight if I can.  In a classroom setting, we are on the clock, so it was great to be able to use a fast glue such as Quick Grip for this project.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

 

To make the flowers wearable I used Tropical Punch polyester pipe for my necklace.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

I created the tiered look by cutting my pipe to the length I liked and taping it in place to maintain its shape.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

 

I added a pendant bail slider to my last polyester pipe cord before gluing on my end caps.

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The bail slider allowed me to add this special lucite Tropical Punch flower to the necklace. Then I glued my leather blooms to the polyester pipe necklace so that the lucite flower was perfectly framed.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

If you do not like working with frayed ends (1),  you can tape your polyester pipe before cutting it (2)  or use a flame to seal the edges (3).

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

The Tropical Punch endcap I picked has a deeper center, so I cut my cords into a triangular shape so that I could glue them properly into the cap.  This allowed the cords to sit side by side snuggly in the cap with glue.

RETRO BLOOMING Necklace

If you are working on a beading board, place a little masking tape under any area where you apply glue.  This way your project won’t accidently stick to the board if glue seeps out.

Your last step is to add a clasp.

Retro Blooming Necklace

I used these products from John Bead Corp.

Soft leather sheets – Retro Pink and Black Suede   75103102-05 + 75103100-00

Tropical Punch Polyester Pipe   75001000-01 (available in many colors)

Tropical Punch Findings   26002001-03

Tropical Punch Lucite Flowers   28400684-04

Pendant Bail Sliders   26002053-01

Bead Design Board   74530132

Quick Grip Glue

Czech Preciosa Ripple Beads  27800957-01s5

Tropical Punch Spring

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

Tropical Spring Necklace by Carmi Cimicata for John Bead.

This gorgeous flower pendant was created with some of the fabulous products in the Tropical Punch collection at John Bead

 

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

The new flower maker component featured yesterday allows you to customize your flower to reflect whatever color palette your heart desires.  I used these Tropical Punch products for my floral corsage:

Gold Flower Maker

Rose/Salmon Drop Beads

Lucite Mini Flower Bead Caps

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

I chose the 12mm Scarabaeus Green Crystal for my centre jewel.  It sits beautifully in the Flower Maker.

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

These two colors are a breath of fresh air.  Once I set my crystal I thought it might need more so I also added the bead caps.

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

The bead strands in the Tropical Punch collection are absolutely inspired.  I knew I would have no problem creating a necklace with components to set off my rose/green pendant.

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

Tropical Punch lucite chain is available in two sizes and several fantastic colors.  They are easy to add to the Flower Maker component with jump rings.

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

I added some strung beads and completed my design with many wonderful bright beads to compliment my main color choices.  Ready to wear!

Flower-maker

Tropical Tea Party

 

0Tropical Tea Party designed by Carmi Cimicata for John Bead Corp.

Spring has finally arrived which means summer is just around the corner!  I am starting to think about gardening and picnics and all sorts of outdoor activities.  It is time to create some fun jewelry!2

To make my bracelet I began with the elements I needed to make the unusual flower pendant component.

Tropical Punch Flower Maker

Tropical Punch Curved Petals

Elastic, Resin Clay –  Apoxie Sculpt

Miniature people, cupcake, teacup and saucer from my only collection.

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This is our latest flower maker.  The original Flower Maker already has a crystal in the centre but we wanted to give designers the opportunity to select their own colours and products to customize their projects.

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We have a complete step by step showing you how to add the lucite petals to the flower maker linked right here.

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To add my tea party miniatures I added a little “dollop” of resin clay to the open area. Since my miniatures would be placed at odd angles, I opted to make sure my lucite petals were already in place.

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You can see that I just pushed my miniatures right into the clay.  This was left to cure for 24 hours.

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At first I thought about wearing my pendant on a necklace.  I gathered two sets of color strands (these are lucite beads) from Tropical Punch.  A necklace would have been nice but I opted for a bracelet instead.  Beadalon memory wire was the simplest way to make everything wearable quickly.

Tropical Punch Bead Strand Collections

Beadalon Memory Wire For Bracelets

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The bead strands are so pretty.  It makes sense to grab two if you like the color palette.

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While adding my lucite beads to the memory wire I also added a few extra seed beads.

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My tea party now sits straight up from my wrist.   The final touch was a leather tassel to finish the end.

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Here is a closer look at the Flower Maker component.  You can see the loops allowing you to easily attach a finished piece to any stringing material.  It is also available in silver.

Instant Statement Necklace

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Instant Statement Necklace by Carmi Cimicata for John Bead.  This necklace is easy to create if you enjoy simple twisting techniques and hand stitching.

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Polyester Pipe was one of the newest stringing materials to be introduced by John Bead as part of their Tropical Punch collection.  There are many color options to choose from.  For this project I used Aqua/Royal Blue and Navy/Burgundy.

The fabulous crystal filled bezels you see featured are created with Instant Glam components.  The Blue Crystal Rock applique paired beautifully with the blues in the polyester Pipe.

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In order to get my necklace shaped, I used masking tape to help me keep both polyester pipe strands side by side.

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Strategic hand stitching on the back side of my piece ensured that the curves would stay in place.

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I even added a tiny bit of glue to my thread knot for extra security.

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The Instant Glam bezels already have three soldered links on the back.  I used a needle and thread to join the bezels components to the polyester pipe using those links.

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I was almost done.  I could not decide if a third bezel was needed.

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After showing my work in progress to our Creative Director; Fernando Dasilva it was pointed out that perhaps another loop was needed.  So I added these three loops by simply gluing end caps to some of my leftover polyester pipe pieces and attached them with a jumpring.

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I think the bezels are now balanced and the asymmetrical look I was envisioning has been achieved.