Jewelry Center

It’s a diminutive Dia de los Muertos bead skull! And it’s my latest new tutorial on About.com Beadwork. I picked up the 18mm howlite skull bead last month, initially thinking I’d use it for a Halloween design. Then I decided to do a Dia de los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead) design

My cagework tutorial is finally ready for viewing! For findings, I used a round mesh pendant and ball chain from Designers Findings. They carry a variety of mesh items, and you can use the same technique to create brooches, clasps, connectors, and even magnets. As always, if you

I’m participating in the next Mirrix weave-along! Yep. And, like the first weave along, this one features a wonderful woven tapestry and bead bracelet. But this one has a different theme: it’s the Wedding Bracelet (shown below) in white (or, if you’d prefer, the Elegant Bracelet bracelet

The latest free pattern on About.com Beadwork uses the intriguing hexagon stitch, a.k.a., hexagon angle weave. This is the first in a series of hexagon stitch tutorials that will allow you to gently adapt to this less-common stitch. Ultimately, we’ll work on a band of beaded hexagons.

By request, I have a new tutorial up on About.com, this one on good-old Russian spiral stitch. This stitch is pretty easy to do once you understand how it works — and, unfortunately, getting to that point can be a bit of a challenge. My hope is that this diagram/photo-combo step-by-step

This new tubular peyote pattern creates a lightweight, textured little bracelet that’s great for layering. Even though it’s petite, it has a sort of miniaturized chunky look created by the angles of the cylinder beads. The clasp is a beaded toggle that makes a nice focal point. Post

If you’ve never tried shaped flat peyote stitch, and wondered how it works, take a look at this new tutorial over on About.com. (Please ignore the typo in the subtitle . . . sigh . . . it should be corrected soon.) I’m planning a short series of these articles to walk through the

The Olive Bariela free beaded bead pattern and tutorial is now available on About.com Beadwork! You can create lots of interesting designs by mixing up the color palette. Be sure to comment here with any questions or suggestions.  

Here’s a really cool, free summer jewelry event open to everyone with a Mirrix brand weaving loom: Mirrix’s Tapestry Cuff Bracelet Weave-Along. This is Mirrix’s first weave-along, and I certainly hope it’s not their last. Elena explains how it works in the latest Mirrix newsletter: From