Beaded Jewelry

Beaded jewelry articles and project tutorials, tips, techniques and inspiration.

Beaded Convertible Eyeglasses Leash / Necklace Project Tutorial - Down with cheesy, ugly or boring eyeglasses chains! Learn how to make versatile and stylish eyeglass holders that truly are "jewelry for your eye glasses" and, as a bonus, can also be worn as beautiful beaded necklaces when you aren't wearing your glasses or sunglasses. My convertible eyeglasses leash tutorial includes detailed, step-by-step instructions and lots of close-up process photos so that even those with limited bead stringing and jewelry making experience can whip up a whole wardrobe of them in different colors in a jiffy.

Romantic Queen of Hearts Earrings Project - I designed this romantic, heart-themed drop earrings with jointed beaded dangles for Valentine's Day, but they're also perfect for anyone who loves hearts and heart jewelry. While I was making them I took close-up photos every step of the way and then wrote detailed step-by-step instructions. Even though the finished earrings have a very glamorous and sophisticated look, this heart-themed beaded earrings tutorial is easy enough for even beginning jewelry makers to follow successfully!

Bead Storage Solutions and Organizers - Anyone who uses beads for either jewelry making or crafts knows that organizing and storing them can be a challenge. I've been designing and making one-of-a-kind and custom beaded jewelry for 16 years, and I've been collecting vintage glass beads for even longer. I've gone from a small personal stash of vintage Venetian glass beads that my mother brought back from Italy to an enormous collection large enough to stock a bead store! I've tried out more than a dozen different bead organizers and storage solutions over the years and it took me a long time to find the ones that really worked for me as my bead hoard grew. So I've decided to share my favorite bead storage solutions and bead organizers to help out my fellow jewelry makers and crafters.

How to Make Vintage-Inspired Jewelry with Vintage or Reproduction Vintage Beads - This article is jam-packed with valuable information and resources including my favorite sources for buying genuine vintage and good reproduction vintage beads, filigrees, stampings and findings, some of my favorite jewelry making tutorials, books and videos on the techniques you'll need to make your own vintage-inspired jewelry, and a gallery of some of my own vintage-inspired jewelry designs to inspire you!

Lampwork Glass Beads, Collectible Art Glass and Blown Glass Art Installations - Glass is a uniquely beautiful, sometimes mysterious and endlessly fascinating material for creating jewelry and other forms of art. Read about my life-long love affair with glass beads and my introduction to lampworked glass bead making with internationally renowned glass artist Kristina Logan. Get inspired by her work and that of other master glass artists including Josh Simpson and Dale Chihuly. Learn about the history of Venetian glass bead making in Murano, Italy. See how the magic is made. After reading this article you might not be able to resist trying your hand at making lampwork glass beads!