Romance Mixed With The Art Of Bead Making

Now take a look at master pieceing in reality... the work of hand that would no doubt spice of a little romantic feeling for that one who you LOVE and would make you touch the sky... . The next time I do some neck piece for you, YOU RATHER REMAIN A BOY THAN BEING A GIRL... TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!!!

CLASSIC PEARL

By Williamson Ofiavwe

07037999464

The High Class Beads With Style

You might notice if you have read my articles that I have a special fondness for freshwater pearls.
In my article, Freshwater Pearls and Coco Chanel, I mention how I think Coco Chanel would have loved
them, had they been as available and inexpensive then as they are now. I made this statement based on the way that Ms Chanel would mix fake pearls with real pearls, making it seem as though she was covered in the most beautiful of all gems.
At one time not too long ago, Freshwater pearl necklaces would be made of keshi pearls, those little pearls that look like rice krispies. Even though the Chinese were making some cultured pearl Buddhas around 600AD, when they entered the pearl culture world in the last century, they began with nothing.
With perseverance of dedicated capitalists, they kept growing pearls and getting better results year after year. Finally the best freshwater pearl, in my mind, rival the higher priced akoya pearls.
The real beauty in a fresh water pearl necklace is the nacre. Because of differences in pearl culturing, from different mollusks to different techniques of starting the pearl, Freshwater pearl s are solid nacre; whereas, in the saltwater pearl culturing, the technique is to take a "mother of pearl" bead and implant it very carefully into an akoya oyster's gonad. They must do it carefully because this surgery often kills the mollusk, and the mollusk even at this point reflects a substantial investment.
The culturing of the freshwater mussel, requires taking small pieces of mussel mantle, this is the soft membrane of the mussel that is the layer in direct contact with the shell. The technique itself is much less invasive, and hardly ever kills the animal. Because of the relatively non-invasive nature of the culturing, these mussels are able to be grafted many times.
The akoya pearl oyster is only able to handle up to a maximum of 4 or 5 pearls before death. The freshwater process is able to get 40 to 50 pearls per mussel. And this in its own right is one reason for the inexpensive price. And that many freshwater pearl farms are also the family's fish and duck pond, tripling its use. China's pearl production is measured in metric tons.
And so finally, my point of writing this is to examine the reason why freshwater pearls are less expensive than salt water pearls. The big reason is the quantity of pearls produced versus the cost of production.
Salt water production is more expensive because of the reasons above, and also when storms hit or red tides, or desalination of the area because of heavy rain, small temperature changes can destroy a pearl farm.
The pearl is every bit as much a pearl; if not more pearl because the freshwater necklace pearl is solid nacre, and the saltwater is a coating of nacre on the "mother of pearl" bead. This is important for a couple of reasons. The lower grades of akoya pearl nacre can chip and crack; whereas, a solid nacre pearl cannot crack and chip. Another thing a solid pearl has is the beautiful pearl feature called orient. Orient is the subtle shimmering color that looks like the way that oil looks when poured on water, or the look of gasoline. It is the natural rainbow that shines through on Freshwater pearl. The thinner nacre of a low quality akoya pearl can't produce the orient; because, orient only happens when the nacre is very thick as in freshwater pearl necklace.

And if Julius Caesar thought enough of them to make him want to go and invade England.
Oh that's another story.

Beading With Class

Beads can be made of various materials like seeds, wood and plastic. But glass beads are the best ones from the aspect of looks as well as durability. Glass as a material is transparent and this is the reason you can add pulsating colors and textures to them. There are various types of glass beads like handmade dichroic, Czech etc.
The usage is very common in making of lampshades, jewelery, bead embroidery and many more. They come in different shapes, which include round, oval, and shapes like various figures like fishes and birds. The textures that can be added to the glass beads are like druk glass and many more. The glass beads are comparatively expensive than the general ones.
Types of Glass Beads
They categorized in various types according to the shape and designs. The beads that are perfect round in shape and often come with an optically polished finish are called the druk glass beads. The colorful beads with innovative twisted and figurative shapes are the type made for lamp work.
Incandescent beads which are available in a whole host of contours. The Czech beads are the ones with pearl finish and vibrant colors. The glass beads are made from molten glass and different additives are used to bring the exquisite colors and textures.
Glass Beads and Jewelery Making
There are variety of designs and patterns available in making jewelery. You can buy them from the stores or the professional jewelery designers or even make them on your own. Commonly bracelets, necklaces, earrings and other jewelery can be made with them. As this jewelery can be made with a variety of colors and textures, they can be matched with the dresses quite easily.
There are many people who prefer their rosaries to be made of glass beads. A traditional rosary with 59 beads or a bracelet with 11 glass beads can look simply great. The process of making jewelery with them is quite easy and takes very little time. You will just need a needle, some wire and few multicolored glass beads to make an outstanding piece of jewelery.
Other Uses For Glass Beads
There are many people who like to decorate their designer tops with colorful glass beads. These beads can be used to make excellent patchworks and embroidery on women's garments using the technique of normal bead embroidery. Then there are lamp workers who include the glass beads to create a dreamy effect in the lampshades.
Apart from the conventional usage you can use the beautiful glass beads in making handbags, stylish hair bands and many more with the bit of imagination in you.

Facts About Bead Embroidery

Bead embroidery is all about making beautiful and artistic handworks using the general embroidery stitches and inserting beads in it. There are many people who earn their living doing this as their profession. You can learn the simple techniques of this artwork and simply master them by practice.
Beads Used in Embroidery
Crotchet Bracelet, brooch, Crotchet Bracelet, Earring dangle, Embellished Peyote Bracelet, Rosary are few beautiful and interesting stuff that you can make using these technique. There are various types of beads that can be used to do this. The most popularly used beads are probably the seed ones which are generally made out of colourful plastic or glass.
There are other types of beads too like the bugle beads, centre beads, oval shaped beads, sequins etc. The bugle beads and the oval ones are popular in bead embroidery especially for jewellery making.
The bracelets and earrings are the best products where these two sorts of beads are used. If you can use multicoloured beads for bead embroidery then they will surely look quite attractive.
Techniques of Bead Embroidery
There are various types of embroidery with beads and the techniques are different for each of them. There are a number of people who a typical process of doing bead embroidery which is basically an alternative way to the technique of bead weaving.
They make small and beautiful designs on the cloths and garments using this method. Then they simply cut out the embroidered patch from the rest of the cloth, which are generally used to garnish different stuffs, and also used as appliqué patches on the designer garments.
A small needle, some beads and thread can make exceptionally beautiful pieces with the help of bead embroidery techniques.
Stitches of Bead Embroidery
There are various types of stitches, which are uses, some of them are common stitches that are also used in the general embroidery techniques. The only difference is that here the colorful beads are inserted to make them look very attractive.
You can see the general stitching patterns like backstitch, chain stitch, couching and many more. In back stitch the needle is used to bring up the thread on the piece of clothes and three beads are inserted together.
Then again the needle is taken back to keep the beads tight in the correct position. In case of the couching method the few beads are stung in the thread altogether and then they are fixed taking the thread back.
The most important fact about bead embroidery is that you need to be careful enough that the beads are sown properly. Otherwise they can come out spoiling the design.

Making Beads For What I Call "FUN"

Bead and Jewelry making today is much simpler than most people think. Anyone can do it. This is a hobby where you can use your creativity to create unique and one of a kind pieces of jewelry you can wear and showcase daily.
There are many types of jewelry making techniques that don’t require welding or other advanced techniques. You can make beautiful, one of a kind pieces through assembling beads, stones, pearls and crystals with basic jewelry materials known as “findings”. Pliers are used extensively to cut, bend, and manipulate the findings to assemble a piece of jewelry. Findings include clasps, connectors, ear wires, jump rings, and many others. Jewelry can be made from specific designs or from custom layouts of beads and other elements.
Some of the basic techniques include stringing and knotting, bead weaving, and wire wrapping.
· Stringing is the most basic technique where beads, pendants, crystals or stones are threaded onto a thread or cord. Knot or crimps are typically placed between them to separate the pieces.
· Bead weaving is where smaller beads are threaded and interlaced to make intricate designs.
· Wire wrapping is where wire itself is wrapped to become the jewelry elements. Wire can also be combined with beads and other elements to form unique pieces. You can even make your own findings with wire.
A variety of different threads/wires/cords, findings and stringing elements (beads, pearls, stones, or crystals) are made from different materials and come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. These variations and the way in which they are used within the piece make up the basic elements of a piece design. Materials range in prices due to their materials and their quality. Most simple findings are a base metal and dipped in silver, gold, or nickel. More expensive ones may be pure gold or other metals. The threads/wires/cords, findings and stringing elements are typically included with different project ideas; you can also experiment with different items to create your unique jewelry designs.
Most hobby and craft stores carry all the supplies and tools you will need to get started in this fun filled craft. Spend a little time researching the type of jewelry you would like make and then purchase the tools you need to complete the task.
Do not skimp on the tools. The tools used by crafters of jewelry make completing your project much easier and the finished project looks professional. Have fun and enjoy making jewelry.
It is always a great feeling when someone asks “where did you get those earrings?” and you can say “ I made them myself.”

The Perfect Look

The new look of Bead making is eye catchy. One that you have to look twice without no doubt that indeed beading will never fade out, but rather, it is a trend that has come to stay and would move along with the train of fashion no matter how far or how long it goes...

Indeed,it is a master piece.

How To Make Glass Beads

Getting Ready

Step 1
Coat a mandrel (a metal rod for building beads) with bead release (a fireproof material for coating a mandrel) by dipping it into the jar. Let it dry.
Step 2
Secure a propane, MAPP or oxygen-propane torch to a heatproof work surface with a clamp or place it in its stand.
Step 3
Wipe any dust or oil off a glass rod with a clean rag to prevent contamination.
Step 4
Put on didymium lens safety glasses.
Step 5
Light your torch with a sparker or barbecue lighter with the gas on low, turning it up when lit.

Making a Bead

Step 1
Heat the coated mandrel in the flame, moving it behind the flame when it becomes hot.
Step 2
Warm the glass rod slowly in the outer part of the flame. Moving the rod in and out of the flame at first will help to prevent the rod from popping.
Step 3
Bring the glass rod into the hotter part of the flame as it starts to glow.
Step 4
Rotate the glass rod as the glass melts until a blob forms. The molten glass will have the consistency of thick honey.
Step 5
Touch the tip of the blob to the coated part of the mandrel through the flame.
Step 6
Rotate the mandrel to wind the melting glass onto the mandrel.
Step 7
Pull the glass rod away when the wound glass is big enough, separating the new bead from the melting glass rod.
Step 8
Rotate the new bead in the hot part of the flame until any irregularities even out.
Step 9
Rotate the new bead against a marver (a flat, heatproof ceramic, metal or graphite surface) if shaping is desired.
Step 10
Keep rotating the mandrel until the glass stops glowing.
Step 11
Cool the bead slowly in a fiber blanket or heated vermiculite.

Finishing Your Bead

Step 1
Allow the bead to cool to the touch (approximately 30 minutes).
Step 2
Grasp the mandrel with pliers and the bead with your fingers, and twist and pull the bead from the mandrel.
Step 3
Clean the bead release out of the bead hole with a small brush or pipe cleaner.
Step 4
Wipe your bead with a cloth to remove any dust or fingerprints.

Beadmaking Variation

Simple glass beadmaking variations consist of important details on how to make your beads look unique and extraordinary among the others. It consists of different ways on how to make your bead to look attractive. You can even make beads in different shapes like round, oval, square, teardrop, heart and many other more. You can also put different styles on them by decorating them with eyes, spots, dots, stripes and trails. There are so many to choose from. Glass beads can also be foiled, feathered and grooved. Be creative in designing your bead to make your beads stand among the rest.
There are different methods in making your bead special in simple glass beadmaking variations that you should be familiar with. These methods are lamp working, drawing and tubing and molding or pressing. It is said that the commonly used method by most bead makers is lamp working. Lamp working is the simplest and easiest way of making beads. This is the process of making beads through heating glass rods in flame until it melts then winding it in a mandrel while continuously heating until you have formed a perfect bead. Long ago in ancient times, lamp working method uses flame from lamp but nowadays torch with propane and oxygen is used for heating the glass rods.
By using simple glass beadmaking variations in your beadmaking, you can make different coloured beads by applying stringers. Just learn the technique of mixing and matching different coloured stringers to come out with a very nice multi-coloured bead. You can even apply overwraps or put raked patterns in your beads to make it look more unique. There are so many ways to make your beads look different. Enhance the talent in you by putting different decors, colours and designs in your beads. Simple glass beadmaking variations is very important especially when were talking about styles because it really enhances your talent on how to make your bead look amazing.
Now that you have some ideas on the simple glass beadmaking variations in beadmaking, you can now make different shapes and styles of beads in no time. Get those hands working and enhance the talent in you by starting now.

Simple Beadmaking

Simple glass beadmaking variations, consists of different methods in manipulating different kinds of glass for beadmaking. These methods and techniques depend on what materials and equipments you are going to use. In simple glass beadmaking variations, glass beads can be feathered, grooved, foiled, multi-coloured or decorated with spots, stripes, trails, dots and eyes. There are many ways how to turn a simple glass into a bead like through lamp working, winding, pressing or molding, drawing and tubing. That's why all glass beads that are seen beautiful and fascinating is made possible by these beadmaking methods and techniques.
In simple glass beadmaking variations, lampworking or lamp winding method is the commonly used method in glass bead making. Lamp working method uses gas fuelled torch to melt glass rods or coloured glass rods until it reaches molten stage. After it reaches molten stage, annealing process is the next step to make it hard and firm. Glass rods are formed and shaped through shaping and blowing to make the glass rods in different shapes. You can produce lots of glass beads in different shapes and styles using this method anytime. That is why most bead maker's uses this easy and simple method in making beads.
Simple glass beadmaking variations also consist of drawing and molding method, other alternative methods in making glass beads. Drawing and tubing method is done by pulling a strand out of a glass to put the bubbles in the center of the glass to serve as the hole of the bead. This was done by inserting a metal tube into the hot glass ball thus pulling the glass strand out around it, to form a tube. The drawn glass tube is chopped to small tubes to produce individual drawn glass beads. Molding method is done by putting a thick rod in a flame till it reaches molten stage then fed into a complex apparatus that stamps the glass and a needle that pierces the hole. Molding method is said to be expensive that's why it is not usually used in making beads.
Simple glass beadmaking variations make your beads in different shapes, sizes and styles. The methods here help a lot in making such beautiful beads for jewelry making. Now you can start making your basic beads look different by applying the simple glass beadmaking variations