Are you thinking about Christmas in July? We are. We want to give you a heads up about the gift of handmade this upcoming Christmas. And what better way to jump start your jewelry projects by learning the basic skill of how to make a headpin wire loop.

Make sure to have lots of headpins on hand. Plated headpins are inexpensive and a great starter for wire looping. Don’t be discouraged if your first or second or tenth loop doesn’t turn out the way you want it. Practice. Practice. Practice. Just remember to grip your tools loose but firm and as cliché as it may sound, it’s all in the wrist.

The tools you will need:
Round Nose Pliers
Needle Nose Pliers
Side Cutter

Supplies you will need:
Beads
A LOT of headpins (for practicing)

Tutorial:

Tip:
When clipping, be safe and hold headpin end so that the end doesn’t shoot away. You can also face the headpin end away from you – towards your jewelry mat – to avoid excess from flying off.

Get your holiday gifts done and ready with this essential skill. You can make multiple bead dangles for a chunky beaded bauble bracelet, a statement pendant for a necklace or simple holiday dangle earrings. For a fun and easy idea to test your skill, pick up one of our many earring kits. The necessary beads, headpins, and ear wire are included to make a charming pair of earrings.

Happy Holiday and Happy Beading!

Tools and Supplies used in images:

Tools:

• A001400 – Super Fine Side Cutter
• FTTL0002 – Super Fine Chain Nose Pliers
• FTTL0004 – Super Fine Round Nose Pliers

Supplies:

• A006236 – Peridot Swarovski Christmas Tree Earring Kit
• A006547 – Garnet Swarovski Holiday Light Bulb Earring Kit
• A019505 – Holiday Tree and Swarovski Earring Kit
• A002428 – Natural Gift Box
• A001493 – 2 Inch Headpins

A hot trend this summer are tassels. We have three fun inspirational tassel jewelry projects for you to enjoy at your next music festival or relaxing under the shade by the beach.

Mala Meditate Necklace

Mala is a strand of counting beads used in Hindu or Buddhist practice for praying or reciting a mantra to aid concentration during meditation. A typical mala is made with 108 beads that are strung with a knot tied in between each bead. Depending on the type of chant, counts of strung beads may vary. It is said that with each knot, people recite a mantra to bless the beads. The strand is also accompanied with a larger bead named the “Guru” bead and a tassel.

For our Mala necklace, we used 8mm round gemstone beads for a 42” necklace. Using a sturdy Super-Lon bead cord, cut a piece of cord about 150″ and make a knot 6″ in. This will help stop the end bead from falling off. String on your first bead and make a knot (using a pliers or tweezers if needed) flush to the bead to keep it in place. Repeat until you’ve strung and knotted all 108 beads.

Now take both cord ends and tie together. At these two ends, you will string on your Guru bead and tassel.

We made our tassel portion by using a large rust suede leather tassel. Insert a 3” eyepin from the middle-bottom of the tassel up. Slip on a 10mm tulip end cap to cover the top of the tassel. Wrap the headpin and your tassel is ready. (see images below)

Now take the two tied ends, string on the 12mm wood bead and place the tired ends through the tassel wire loop. Bring the strings back through the bottom of the wood bead and make a knot or two. Secure it with some clear adhesive like GS Hypo Cement. Cut the ends and you are ready to meditate or wear your Mala as a fashion accessory.

Beaded Tassel Earrings

For these Beaded Tassel Earrings, we used our brand new Tassel Maker from Beadalon®. You can find a tutorial of how to make tassels HERE. We took Super-Lon bead cord and made 25 loops to make the tassel. Attach an eyepin to the top of the tassel and slip on a cone bead cap and a 4mm round bead. Make a simple wire loop and attach to earring hooks.

If you find that some of your tassel ends have kinks, twists or curls, dampen with water, twist and pull them straight. After a few seconds when dried, you will find them straightened out. Taking about a third or half of the tassel ends, string 10 beads to each strand and knot the end. We recommend using an already-mixed, size 8 seed bead for a fun colorful look. Cut the remaining, unstrung tassel ends at a variety of shorter lengths to blend into the rest of the beaded tassels. Now you are ready to rock these earrings at your next music festival!

Wood Tassel Bracelets

One of our easier projects is our Wood Tassel Bracelets. Make these quick and easy bracelets to show your love of tassels. For each bracelets, we used different round wood beads in a sequential design along with a tassel, strung on elastic. Make sure to stretch the elastic string lightly to loosen the elasticity before stringing on beads. Also, after knotting the elastic, use GS Hypo Cement to secure your knot.

Malas Meditate Necklace

• A012991 – Super-lon Cord (Maroon color)
• (4 strands) FJR8RD-8 – 8mm Fossil Coral Round Bead
• (1) NBWB0003 – 16mm Wood Bead
• (1) A018886 – Tulip End
• (1) A003255 – 3 Inch Eyepin
• (1) Z008825 – Large Rust Suede Leather Tassel
• Tool: A007224 – GS Hypo Cement
• Optional Tool: A013730 – Bent Chain Nose Pliers

Beaded Tassel Earring

• SB01054 – Size 8 Honey Butter Mix Seed Bead
• A012991 – Super-lon Cord (Maroon color)
• (2) A021484 – Bali Etched Cone
• (2) Z001480 – Antique Gold-Plated Round Bead
• (1 pair) A008998 – French Wire Earrings
• (2) A001495 – 2 Inch Eyepin
• Tool: TL00230 – Tassel Maker Tool

Wood Tassel Bracelet

• (1) Z002653 – Red Tassel
• (1) Z003429 – Brown Tassel
• (3) NBWB0003 – 16mm Wood Bead
• (8) A002425 – Rondelle Wood Bead
• (26) Z004978 – Red, Black, and Brown Round Wood Bead
• (14) Z002802 – Ivory Round Wood Bead
• (4) A004268 – Dot Design Wood Bead
• A002290 – .7mm Stretch Elastic Cord
• Tool: A007224 – GS Hypo Cement

Who doesn’t love summer? It’s a season full of sunny days, barbecues and beach waves. And who doesn’t love an easy-to-wear, easy-to-make hemp bracelets? Here is an inspiring project to keep you kicking back this summer!

Our friend Adrianne, from HappyHourProjects.com, has an easy-to-follow beaded button-clasp hemp bracelet tutorial for designing the perfect festival bracelet. All you need is some hemp cord, seed beads, a button piece and a few minutes. With a minimal purchase, you should have enough time and supplies to make more than one!

Create several handcrafted hemp bracelets to mix, match and love this summer!

Click HERE to go to tutorial now.

Goody Beads has a fun collection of watercolor flat leather. With a touch of soft and vibrant hues and strokes of whimsical patterns, watercolor flat leather projects can be perfect for bright summer days ahead. Here are some inspiring bracelet designs you can do with watercolor flat leather.

Watercolor Double Rainbow Bracelet

Have you seen a double rainbow before? I almost lost my head the first time I saw one; which would have literally been a bad idea since I was driving in traffic. To make this bracelet, I chose 5mm squares watercolor flat leather, because it reminds me of rainbows. A double wrap-around style would be prefect for my double rainbow-themed design.

What you will need:

• (4) A008809 – 7mm Brass Jump Rings
• (2) Z011513 – 5mm Brass Jump Ring
• (15) CH00571 – 5mm Squares Water Color Flat Leather
• (1) SW00665 – 6mm White Pearl
• (1) Z006528 – 15mm Brass Lobster Claw
• (1) TC00733 – Brass Key Charm
• (1) TC00735 – Brass Heart Locket
• (1) TC00547 – Brass Headpins

Because I wanted to show a different way to clasp a flat leather bracelet, use this alternative on your next flat leather project: first, cut the 5mm watercolor flat leather at twice the length of your wrist, and add 2-3 inches. Fold over each leather end about 1” and loop through a jump ring. Flatten the each jump ring using a serrated pliers, squeezing the leather together gently. Add another jump ring to each of the leather loops you’ve created. Add fun charms, or create a bead dangle to decorate your bracelet. Finish it off with a lobster claw and you are ready to wrap yourself in a watercolor double rainbow bracelet.

Crisscrossed Watercolor Bracelet

Here’s an interesting take on combining flat leathers.

What you will need:

• (7) CH00043 – 5mm Tan/Black Flat Leather
• (7) CH00577 – 5mm Blue Floral Flat Leather
• (1) A015678 – Silver Fold Over Clasp
• (2) A015700 – Silver Bar Slider
• A015821 – Super New Glue

Take two same-length 5mm watercolor flat leather, glue both ends side by side into one side of the clasp. For this project we used a solid color flat leather to enhance the colors of the watercolor flat leather. Keeping the strands straight side by side, thread through the bar slider. Now, cross the watercolor leather over the solid color flat leather. Thread through the second bar slider and glue the ends to the other side of the clasp. Neat, huh?

Golden Watercolor Bracelet

This Golden Watercolor Bracelet is simple yet packs a golden glow!

What you will need:

• (6) CH00579 – 10mm Brushed Water Color Flat Leather
• (1) Z001814 – Gold Double Bar Slider
• (1) Z001318 – Gold Magnetic Buckle Clasp
• A015821 – Super New Glue

After measuring your 10mm watercolor flat leather to your preferred wrist length, slide on the gold double bar and then glue the ends to its golden clasp. You can make this simple bracelet in less than a minute and it is sure to brighten your sunny outfit!

Here in the Midwest, you know that spring is approaching when people are wearing shorts in 45-degree weather. If you think like me, spring reminds me to clean the winter-long mess inside and outside of the house, a thought that makes me groan. Since I LOVE distractions, let’s do some spring beading projects to ready ourselves for lovely spring days, instead.

Nothing says good morning like budding and blooming tulips in early spring. So of course, the theme for our first spring beading project is tulips. I personally enjoy the freshness of pink tulips. Pairing the subtle color with a gold-accent finding, you get a bold jewelry piece sure to get a conversation brewing.

Tulip Earrings

Here’s how to make a pair of gorgeous tulip earrings with pink Swarovski crystals dangling from tulip end caps. First, take three headpins and add a crystal to each, then make a simple wire loop, keeping in mind to stagger the lengths (this adds more movement to the earring). Attach the looped headpins to an eyepin and thread it through the 5mm tulip end cap. Then, top it off with a dainty TierraCast bead cap, another crystal and a seed bead. Lastly, make another loop and hang it on a French wire earring. Repeat for a complete, easy-to-create pair of tulip earrings.

Items used in earrings: (2) Z009539, (8) SW00120, (2) TC00638, SB00413, A019693, A019617, A014108

Tulip Necklace

To coordinate with the tulip earrings, a complementary tulip necklace is best! We will basically use the same concept design as for the earrings, but for the necklace we’ll use a 10mm tulip-plated end cap for a more prominent look, along with 5 dangles of 4mm and 6mm pink Swarovski crystals for a variation of dangle size. Because our tulip should shine, we have selected a finer gold chain. Size it according to length, add the clasp of your choice, and violà—you are ready to enjoy your spring tulip necklace and earrings!

The great thing about any beading project is that you can personalize it and alter it to your liking. Perhaps you prefer more colors than the pink or want to use some Czech crystals, pearls, iridescent cat’s eye or charms. Maybe you fancy silver over gold. Choose what excites and inspires you.

What comes to mind when you think of spring? Do you have any favorite pastimes? Please drop us a line or share your project stories on our Facebook page or in the Comments below. Until next time, stay inspired!

Items used in Necklace: Z018885, (3) SW00120, (2) SW00244 , TC00638, SB00413, A019693,  A019617, (2) A008126, A008808, A011537