Blog for Beaders

Next Thursday, April 22 is Earth Day. Consider creating some of these jewelry designs from our Learning Center that celebrate our beautiful planet. Each design comes with a complete component list and easy to follow step-by-step instructions.

Home Necklace

Celebrate the planet we call home by creating this stunning necklace that features a complementary green and blue color palette alongside an artful depiction of our world.

Nature’s Essence Necklace

The golden tones of this beautiful necklace are reminiscent of a glowing sunset. Combine that with the nature-inspired pieces of this necklace, and you’ve got an accessory perfect for Earth Day or any day that you want to feel a little more free spirited.

Recycled Chain Necklace

Have you ever bought a foot of chain for a bracelet and had five inches left over? Or made a 16-inch necklace and had eight extra inches of chain that you weren’t sure what to do with? We all do this, and end up with drawers full of bits of chain. This necklace is a perfect way to recycle those mismatched pieces of chain in a beautiful necklace. Make every day Earth Day when you wear this beautiful piece made from your recycled leftovers!

As an added incentive to create this fun and environmentally aware pieces, you can currently save storewide during our Tax Relief Sale.

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Find your inspiration this Mother’s Day in our newly renovated Mother’s Day section. Featuring a wide variety of products perfect for Mother’s Day jewelry designs, as well as completed design ideas, you’re sure to find something to help you celebrate the women in your life. Whether you’re making something special for your mother, grandmother, sister, daughter or friend, you’ll find all the inspiration you need, and they’ll love their handmade gift.

Scroll down to see just a sampling of the ideas that you will see in this section. Clicking on an image will allow you to see a complete component list as well as easy to follow instructions. Follow the step-by-step instructions exactly to replicate these looks or use them simply as a starting point for your own creative Mother’s Day-inspired designs.

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Taxes are due and you could use a break, so shop the Artbeads.com Tax Relief Sale and save up to $35 on your entire order. The more you shop, the more you save during this storewide sale! Start today, and pick up everything you need to create gorgeous works of art. These fantastic savings end at 9am (PT) on Thursday, April 22, 2010. The individual values and coupon codes are listed below.
$3 off orders between $25 and $49.99 – ZZW3D-25
$7 off orders between$50 and $74.99 – ZZW7D-50
$15 off orders between $75 and $149.99 – ZZW15D-75
$35 off orders $150 or more – ZZW35D-150

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Q: This might seem really silly, but when i measure out wire, i always measure too much. Are there standard sizes for necklaces that with an extender could be used for everyone? Are there standard sizes as well if I wanted to use a clasp? How much wire do I actually cut to accommodate that actual size? As I have a short neck, it’s hard for me to imagine the size on someone.

As well, is there a particular length for a necklace with a pendant.

Randi

A: There are standard necklace sizes. They are 16 inches which is considered a choker, 18 inches which falls near the collar bone, 20 inches which falls a few inches below the collar bone, 22 inches falls at or above the neckline, 24 inches falls below the neckline and 30 inches or opera length. Always include the clasp (measure the clasp closed) in the overall length. There are a variety of ways to make a necklace length adjustable. One way is to attach a spring ring or lobster style clasp to one end of the beaded strand and a section of chain to the the other end. Then you can hook the clasp anywhere along the length of the chain. I always add 1 1/2 to 2 inches of length to each end of my necklace or bracelet when I cut my jewelry wire. This allows plenty of length for crimping. If you are knotting, you may want to add more. You can put a pendant on any length necklace.

Sincerely,
Bailey Beader

Have a question you’d like to ask Bailey? Email her at artbeadsblog@gmail.com or post your question to our blog.

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The Paloma necklace is a full of vibrancy and energy, making it perfect for celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Created with a variety of beads from TierraCast™’s new Viva Mexicana line of products, this necklace is a celebration of the artistry of Mexico. If you want an accent to this necklace, or just something smaller, each individual dangle created in this design could be made into a pair of stunning earrings.

Follow the step-by-step instructions exactly to replicate this prismatic design, or simply use them as inspiration for your own brightly-colored spring necklace. For other new jewelry and craft ideas, visit our Learning Center.

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Shop our Spring Cleaning Clearance Sale and save up to 86% on more than 700 items! From pearls and glass to toggles and stringing materials, you’ll find a large collection of jewelry supplies at rock bottom prices. Shop now, as these items are available in limited quantities and once they are gone, they may not be seen on our site again!

Don’t forget to shop our Jewelry Kit Sale and save 20% on all jewelry design kits. Simply enter coupon code ZZW20P-MDS at checkout! Hurry, this sale ends at 9am (PT) on Thursday, April 15, 2010.

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I was inspired by Swedish spring and tried to incorporate two of the most common spring flowers – bluebells and liverwort. I’ve put some small birch leaves on the vines around the 3D RAW “branches” (called “musöron”, “mouse ears” in Swedish). And the huge Swarovski Fancy Oval is just representing the quintessence of Spring as I see it. This is the time when the nature awakes from the winter hibernation. That is why I called it “Spring Rhapsody”.

I used the following materials:
Toho Seed Beads – TBRD11-2C, TBRD11-4, TBRD11-13, TBRD11-1300
Swarovski – 4127-CSL39, 5328-CRYSAB3
PowerPro – BF28WH06
Silver-plated copper wire, 1mm
Fire-polished beads, 4mm

–Submitted by Artbeads.com Customer Olga
Foxan’s Beading Blog

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If you’re not sure what to get your mom this Mother’s Day, consider purchasing an Artbeads.com gift card. She’ll be touched by your support of her artistic endeavors, and you won’t run the risk of buying her jewelry supplies that she already owns. Gift cards from Artbeads.com are a great way to share the beading experience with others and make wonderful last-minute gifts, teacher’s gifts, stocking stuffers or birthday party favors! Each gift card purchased will come with a free steel necklace while supplies last. Gift cards can even be mailed directly to the recipient. Your gift card will be sent in a beautiful purple sleeve and will contain a code that can be used all at once or repeatedly until the gift amount is reached. If the recipient exceeds the gift amount when shopping, the balance can be paid by credit card or other payment method.

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I was asked to make a necklace for the 15th annual charity auction for A.B.C., Any Baby Can. Any Baby Can provides comprehensive assistance for the family of child born with a chronic illness, developmental delay, health risk or challenge. Their belief is that every child deserves a chance to live a happy healthy life. They feel that by also serving the needs of the family, they serve the child.
By supporting, encouraging and assisting the family they can give every child a chance at a better life.

I was intrigued by your Create Necklace Kit. I used that as a base and added other elements along with using your sterling silver train charm.
This mixed metal necklace is 20″ with the toggle clasp.
And I hope it will raise funds for a very worthy cause.

–Submitted by Artbeads.com Customer Lynn
www.coronacreations.com

If you want to recreate this look, check out our large selection of jewelry design kits that are currently 20% off.

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Shop the Mother’s Day Sale to save 20% on our selection of hearts, flowers, butterflies and other mother-themed items for five days only. From Swarovski crystal hearts and hand-painted Russian butterfly pendants to mother charms and sterling silver heart chain, our collection of mother-themed items is perfect for thoughtful gifts and unique designs. Start saving today by entering coupon code ZZW20P-MDS at checkout. This sale ends at 9am (PT) on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

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