These shamballa bracelets are a perfect way to show off our cotton wax cords and some gorgeous Preciosa Beads.
If you would like to learn how to make one you could download a wonderful how-to PDF from Preciosa.
Tag: Shamballa
Dazzle-it Shamballa Beads
We have a dazzling new collection of shamballa beads!
Each colour set is available in an 8 inch strand.
- Golden Diamond
- Violet
- Green Turquoise
- Turquoise
- Crystal/Jet
- Crystal
- Black Diamond
- Golden Diamond
- Orange
- Pink
Shamballa and Ladhaki!
I am continuing on my quest to find interesting beads to make shamballa bracelets with! Aren’t these colours fabulous?
When the bead is so beautiful, it really is hard to take credit for the bracelet. A few knots of rattail are all you need to show off these Ladhaki beads.
I found the beads by accident when I wandered down an aisle I don’t usually go down at the warehouse. Each bead is so over the top! These are the LADHAKI BEADS WIRE WRAP tubes.
Turquoise will always be a favorite colour.
The turquoise LADHAKI BEADS W/TEARDROP STONE are so pretty.
There are many beads in this collection to choose from. The holes are nice and big and rattail passes through them with ease.
I am definitely going back to get these!
Pink Shamballa!
Now I am getting somewhere! The shamballa bracelets are starting to make themselves now!
For this bracelet I used the Dazzle-It strawberry pink rattail 1.5mm and pink 1mm cotton wax cord. I needed the thinner wax cord so it would be easier to string my fabulous rhinestone beads.
The silver crystal beads have quite a few openings, so while I could use a thicker cord, 1mm was the easiest to work with.
The choice to work in pink was my own. Spring is here and I need a brighter bracelet to wear! There are so many colours in the rattail line though!
I have been teaching myself these knotting techniques. I have learned that a clipboard is really helpful. It is your third hand.
I can almost say I have mastered the square knot. Every now and then I forget what I am doing and I have to unravel my knots. Rattail is forgiving.
I even tried a special technique of adding these knots to my bracelet as a sliding closure. Success!
To finish my cord ends I have been using a little flame from my lighter. It makes the ends look finished.
A few people have been asking where they can learn about knotting techniques. The book that has really taught me the most is this one. If you go online though, many crafty folks have made Youtube videos and “how to” blog posts.
This UK magazine is wonderful. This month’s issue came with a special extra techniques booklet also chock-full of knotting ideas!
Kumihimo Earrings
We have had several great kumihimo blog posts about everything John Bead has to get you started making necklaces and bracelets. These earring are what you can make with any extra kumihimo braid you have. In fact, you might make a longer braid now in order to make matching earrings.
I used these small Pewter End Caps to make my earring attachment.
When you want to cut a kumihimo braid you need to tie off a section so it doesn’t unravel too much. This is the first time I wanted to let my rattail ends remain un-braided as part of my finished earrings. I needed to cover up that tied off section.
I used a closed jump ring to make it look finished. I glued it in place with Hypo Cement which also kept the braid from unraveling in the future.
All you need now is an earring hook!
Shamballa Bracelets
It seems as though everyone is sporting a knotted bracelet these days. The “shamballa bracelet” is the reference I have been seeing in fashion articles. I found in my research that shamballa can be spelled differently and for some people has a symbolic or religious meaning. For others, the bracelet is a series of Chinese or macrame knots with no symbolism.
Google the word shamballa. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll see. Sample after sample!
So, by looking at online imagery I decided to see if I could make a bracelet too!
All you need is some cord/string and some interesting beads. AND…you need to know how to do a square knot. I just learned how to make that knot yesterday!
My first bracelet features a longer series of knots and three rhinestone beads.
These RHINESTONE BEADs are available in many different sizes and colours.
I used 12mm ANT.COPPER/ CRYSTAL AB
I happened to have LEATHER GENUINE CORD in my stash so I opted to use this as my stringing material.
Since I only used three beads in my first bracelet I decided to make a second bracelet with the remaining seven beads. I REALLY love how this looks! Shamballa is a trend right now…why not make or teach someone to make a bracelet soon!
Take a peak at all the rhinestone components in the John Bead catalog.
